Pythia 1917

This painting, Pythia, was made by Jacek Malczewski, and look at those washy, dreamy tones! I imagine him, dipping his brush in turpentine and just letting the paint flow across the canvas. Poor painter - he’s trying to capture something ephemeral, something almost not there. I feel for him, like, how do you paint a feeling? The surface is smooth, almost like a fresco, and the colors are muted, like memories. See how he's painted her hands, all twisted and clasped together? That gesture, that tension, it speaks volumes, right? It's about the weight of prophecy, the burden of seeing. I bet Malczewski was thinking about the weight of history, the echoes of the past in the present. We’re all just trying to figure stuff out and painters help us by doing it in public, they create a space of inquiry for all of us!