Circus Motif 19360

Cyprián Majerník made this painting, Circus Motif, probably in the early 1940s with gouache, it's a sort of loosey-goosey, anything-goes type of medium. The colors are muted, dusky, like a memory fading. Look at the figure in red, the thick paint almost sculptural against the blankness of the other figure, who seems to be riding a reluctant horse. There’s a real push-pull between representation and abstraction here; it’s not quite a realistic rendering of a circus scene, and yet, those figures are undeniable. The brushwork is visible, direct—no attempt to hide the hand of the artist. It reminds me of Daumier, with its social commentary and almost caricatured figures, yet there's a vulnerable quality, as if Majerník is saying something about his own position in the world. Is the artist somehow that figure in red, observing, detached, but also deeply connected? It's a poetic riddle, not a definitive statement.