Drowned City (Kitezh) 1933

Konstantin Gorbatov painted this dreamy city, Kitezh, with oil on canvas. The colour palette is mostly blues, greens, and browns, with touches of yellow and red. The painting feels like a memory, hazy and indistinct. I can imagine the artist standing before the canvas, layering the paint, building up the city from the depths of his imagination. It's like he’s trying to grasp something just out of reach. There's something really special about how the buildings seem to emerge from the mists, their forms suggested rather than defined. Look at how the brushstrokes create a sense of movement, like the water is swirling around the city. I'm reminded of other painters who explored similar themes of memory and loss. It's like we're all part of a big conversation, trying to make sense of the world through paint. Gorbatov’s choice to embrace ambiguity invites us to bring our own stories and interpretations to the work, enriching its meaning and resonance.