Portrait of Z. I. Grzhebin 1919

Jury Annenkov made this portrait of Z. I. Grzhebin, we don't know when, but it's a moment frozen in time. I look at this and think about the surface, how the paint must have felt going on, all those little dabs and strokes building up an image. What was Annenkov thinking as he mixed those skin tones, trying to capture the way the light fell on Grzhebin's face? The glasses create such a huge shadow, distorting our perception of his eyes, and therefore his expression. The checkerboard background is a nice touch, maybe nodding to Cubism, but it also gives this sense of a chess game, a strategic mind at work. Then there’s the jacket and tie, solid blocks of color and pattern – each decision, each brushstroke, adding to the story. We, as painters, are always in dialogue with each other, building on what came before, trying to make sense of the world one canvas at a time. And sometimes, like here, we get a glimpse into another's mind.