Paris at Night. Boulevard des Italiens 1908

Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin captured Paris at Night on the Boulevard des Italiens, with oil on canvas. Just look at those gestural marks. It feels like he's built this scene from feeling, not just sight. Dark blues, grays, and blacks dominate, punctuated by these hopeful daubs of yellow and orange that suggest streetlights and windows. You can almost see him, can't you? Standing there, brush in hand, trying to capture the energy of the boulevard at night. I bet he was freezing! The paint is applied so freely, it's thick in places, creating a real texture that gives the impression of a bustling city. That vertical stroke of white, right there in the center, cuts through the darkness like a car headlight and it pierces through the dark like a flash of insight. Painters like Korovin and others, like Monet, they were all talking to each other, across time and space. Creating new ways of seeing and experiencing the world. It’s one big, messy, beautiful conversation, and we’re all invited to listen in.