Hungarian Christ 1968

Piroska Szanto’s "Hungarian Christ" is a collision of muted greys, reds, and ochres, spread across the canvas in loose, gestural strokes. I can imagine Szanto building up the image bit by bit, not afraid to let each layer peek through, like memories half-forgotten. I see the rawness of the subject in the texture of the paint, its almost rough application making it look like a fresco. There's this incredible tension between the iconic subject matter and the artist’s own expressive vocabulary. The colour has a muted quality with browns and yellows evoking the earth while the splatters of white above the two figures at the bottom, suggest rebirth. The starkness of the composition echoes the work of Rouault, but with its own folk-art directness, as though Szanto is in conversation with all those artists who have grappled with the weight and mystery of the crucifixion. It’s a reminder that painting is never just about representation, but about the act of translation, filtering tradition through one's own unique lens.