The Small Taormin 1904

‘The Small Taormin’ was painted by Tivadar Kosztka Csontvary, we don't know exactly when, using oil paint on canvas. I can imagine him outside, squinting in the sun, trying to capture the light as it hits the stones. There’s something about the way he handles the paint, it feels very direct, like he’s wrestling with what he sees. The colors are earthy, warm oranges and browns, like the ruins themselves are radiating heat. The brushstrokes are choppy, each one a decision, a little struggle to pin down the essence of the place. I sympathize, I really do. It reminds me a little of Bomberg or Auerbach, the way they build up these structures with heavy brushstrokes. Csontvary is part of a long conversation in painting, an embodied expression. It's a conversation that embraces ambiguity and uncertainty. It allows for multiple interpretations and meanings, not a fixed reading.