Korovin in Gurzuf 2008

Alexander Roitburd painted this portrait of Korovin, the Russian Impressionist, maybe sometime around 2006 using oils. Roitburd's got this great way of laying down paint, so thick and juicy. Like a cake decorator, but instead of frosting, it's vibrant color, like the dollops on the palette Korovin holds. You can almost feel the heft of the paint, the way it catches the light, creating these little peaks and valleys. Check out the background – that swirling, abstract space behind Korovin. It's a mix of blues and greens, with these little dabs of yellow that could be flowers or just pure, unadulterated light. It’s hard to say what’s going on, but it gives it a totally dreamy feeling. This reminds me of some of Guston's later works, the way he embraced this kind of chunky, almost cartoonish style. It’s like they're both saying, "Hey, painting can be messy and imperfect, and that's okay!"