Woman on White Horse 1933

Aleksandr Nikolaevich Samokhvalov created this drawing, Woman on White Horse, at some unknown date using what looks like charcoal. The artist’s hand moved back and forth, layering marks to build texture and density, pushing the medium to its expressive limits. The dramatic lighting and distorted figures create a sense of unease. It feels like a nightmare scene. I wonder if Samokhvalov felt trapped, caught between different ideologies, and used this image to express his frustration and anxiety? Looking at the wild marks, I think of other Russian artists like Kandinsky, who were trying to create a new visual language to express the inner turmoil and social upheaval of their time. There's a raw honesty in the artist's mark-making, which reminds me that painting and drawing, at their best, can be a form of truth-telling. Artists are always in conversation with one another, wrestling with similar questions and pushing the boundaries of what art can be.