Portrait of a Woman (Portrait of an Unknown) 1908

This portrait of a woman, or an unknown, was painted by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, though we don’t know exactly when. Looking at the painting you can see the artist has applied the paint in small deliberate strokes, building up the image, and creating a real sense of depth and texture. What strikes me most is the colour. It's not exactly naturalistic, is it? More like a dream, or a memory. The way the ochres and reds of the background vibrate against the cooler blues and whites of her dress creates a subtle tension that draws you in. Look closely at the woman's face, the planes of her cheeks and nose are rendered with a kind of geometric precision, giving her an almost sculptural presence. But there's also a softness, a vulnerability in her eyes. It reminds me a little of some of the portraits by Modigliani, that same sense of elongated form and quiet introspection. But Petrov-Vodkin brings his own unique sensibility to the genre, a kind of earthy, Russian soulfulness. It’s like a conversation across time, each artist building on what came before.