Still Life. Samovar. 1913

Pyotr Konchalovsky made this drawing of a Samovar, probably in the early 20th century, with ink on paper. Look at how the lines just keep going, zigging and zagging, piling on top of each other, each one seemingly searching for something, defining the volume of the objects while also flattening them. I can just imagine Konchalovsky, moving quickly, trying to capture the essence of the scene before it disappears. I wonder if he was thinking about Cezanne? All those still lifes? The table seems to tilt up towards us, and I think of Cubism, too, and how it tried to show all sides of an object at once. You can see the planes shifting and colliding. And that samovar! It's like a fortress, a monument to everyday life. It's all about mark-making, and how those marks can build a world. It’s the conversation all artists have with each other across time.