Rooftops under the snow 1916

Mstislav Dobuzhinsky made this lovely little painting, Rooftops under the snow, sometime in the early 20th century, probably with oil on board. The colours are muted, like a memory, or like looking through a window on a cold day. The paint handling is dry, with gentle strokes that create a sense of texture, like the snow itself. It's like Dobuzhinsky is feeling his way across the surface, letting the medium guide him. Notice the geometric shapes of the roofs, how the triangles of the roofs covered in snow are interrupted by the verticals of the chimneys. Then see how he has used a similar blue to pick out these triangular shapes, repeating them and creating a rhythm across the painting. It makes me think of Giorgio Morandi, another artist who found endless inspiration in the simple shapes and colors of the everyday world. And just as Morandi did, Dobuzhinsky reminds us that beauty can be found in the most unexpected places. Art isn't about answers, it's about the questions we ask along the way.