Apple and cherry 1917

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin made this painting of an apple and a cherry sometime in his career, using oil on canvas. Look at how the brushstrokes create this almost geometric sense of volume, not trying to fool you with illusion, but interested in the process, the artmaking. The texture of the canvas is so clear through the paint, especially in the blue background. It makes me think about the weave of fabric, and how that texture is part of the image. You can see the way the cherry and the apple both have these halos of red, maybe it's about light, maybe it's about something else. The background looks like a cloth, but also like a landscape. Painters like Giorgio Morandi come to mind, maybe because of the stillness and simplicity. The painting feels like a conversation, not just about seeing, but about feeling and thinking too.