Angelic Choir 1901

Jozef Hanula made this watercolor sketch, 'Angelic Choir,' around 1901. The grid showing through the pale washes suggests it was probably a study for a larger work, maybe a fresco. I love seeing the architecture of a painting laid bare. The texture is flat, the colors translucent. It’s as if Hanula is showing us the scaffolding of his thought. The angel playing the cello on the right is particularly good; the yellow wash he used gives her dress and instrument a celestial glow. The way the wings are cropped at the edge adds a sense of dynamism and movement to the piece. This reminds me of the early work of Marsden Hartley, who also combined a naive figurative style with a sophisticated understanding of color and composition. To me, the real beauty here lies not just in the image itself, but in the window it offers into the artist's process, a peek behind the curtain.