The Guitar Player 1915

Konstantin Korovin made this oil painting, The Guitar Player, with expressive brushstrokes and a warm, inviting palette. You can really sense the energy of the moment. Look at how Korovin builds up the textures. The paint isn't just applied; it's sculpted. Notice the thick daubs of color that create the figure's jacket and the way the light catches those raised surfaces. This is about the physicality of paint. It’s not just representation, it’s about making something real. The whole painting has an orange tint, like you're looking at the world through a sunset. It gives the painting a romantic, melancholic feel. Korovin was a contemporary of other Impressionists like John Singer Sargent, both exploring similar territory in terms of light and capturing fleeting moments. But there's also something uniquely Russian about Korovin’s approach. Ultimately, painting is about process, and meaning is something that arises from that process, rather than being fixed from the start.