Still life 1910

Pyotr Konchalovsky made this still life with oil paint, probably sometime in the first half of the 20th century. Just imagine the act of painting, the artwork coming into being, shifting, emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with Konchalovsky, imagining what it might have been like to create this. What was he thinking when he made it? Look at the materiality: the texture, color, surface, and the sheer physicality of the medium. See how the paint sits on the canvas, thick in some places and thin in others? It's all very carefully considered. It shapes our experience and contributes to the emotional and intellectual resonances of the work. And what about that dark blue brushstroke defining the drapery? You can almost feel his hand moving across the canvas, communicating feeling, intention, and meaning. His work is part of an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. I love how painting is a form of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.