Vilna. The old manor house on Tilto Street. 1910

Dobuzhinsky captured this old manor house on Tilto Street in Vilna with what looks like watercolor—a tricky medium where you have to surrender to the flow of pigment and water. I wonder if he felt a kinship with the buildings, their own colors fading and blurring over time. Look at how he's captured the rough texture of the roofs with short strokes of muted red, like a visual echo of the weathered surfaces. He probably stood there, squinting, deciding whether to let the white of the paper stand for sunlight or mix up a pale wash. The beauty of painting is in that constant negotiation: what to show, what to suggest, when to stop. Each choice opens up a conversation between the artist, the subject, and us. Dobuzhinsky’s work reminds us that every artist is in conversation with the artists of the past, interpreting and reimagining their world. Painting embraces these conversations, inviting multiple perspectives, and allowing for endless reinterpretations across time.