Baku. Oil rigs. 1931

Here, Konstantin Bogaevsky pictures Baku’s oil rigs in watercolor, likely in 1931. The muted palette of browns, grays, and creams hints at the industrial landscape, but the transparency of the watercolor also allows a sense of air and light. It's all about layering, a process of adding and subtracting, like the landscape itself. Looking closer, see how the washes of color create texture, almost like the gritty surfaces of the rigs themselves? The reflections in the water are particularly interesting. They’re not exact copies, but rather, fluid interpretations, which adds to the dreamlike quality of the scene. The drips and bleeds of the watercolor mirror the spills and leaks of an oil field, a beautiful accident. Bogaevsky's style reminds me a bit of Lyonel Feininger, who also played with light and architectural forms, but with a more geometric edge. Ultimately, this painting invites us to see the beauty in industry, and the poetry in process. It’s not just about what’s depicted, but how it's depicted.