Madwoman Witch -Head c. 1914

Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso made this painting called Madwoman Witch-Head with what looks like oil on canvas, but I can't see the date here. The painting feels fast but not rushed, you know? It's like Souza-Cardoso is trying to catch a feeling, a fleeting expression. The brushstrokes are pretty visible, especially in the face, and they're not trying to hide. There's something really striking about the area around the eyes. The bright blue pops against the darker greens and yellows, almost like a mask, drawing you into that gaze. I get a sense of someone who's maybe a bit of an outsider, someone who sees the world a little differently. I’m thinking about artists like Paula Modersohn-Becker, who also used expressive colors and bold lines to depict people in a way that felt really raw and honest. In the end, the beauty of a painting is that it doesn't have to spell everything out.