Man with a cigar 1930

Tadeusz Makowski's "Man with a Cigar" presents us with a compelling study in form, rendered with visible brushstrokes and a muted palette. The composition is immediately striking: the figure is bisected by contrasting fields of colour, fragmenting the face and disrupting any sense of conventional portraiture. Makowski employs a fractured structure reminiscent of cubist techniques, to construct a face of planes and angles, challenging traditional notions of representation. The cigar, a phallic symbol held assertively, introduces a layer of complexity. The smoke, painted with delicate, swirling strokes, offers a counterpoint to the rigid geometry of the face. This juxtaposition of the organic and the geometric, the soft and the hard, raises questions about the interplay between form and identity. The painting invites us to consider how Makowski uses the formal elements of line, colour, and composition to deconstruct and reassemble our understanding of the subject. Is it a commentary on the fractured nature of modern identity, or an exploration of the power dynamics inherent in representation?