Anders Zorn 2017

Andrey Allakhverdov’s painting, titled *Anders Zorn*, presents a scene rendered in oil with expressive brushstrokes and a rich palette of blues, yellows and reds. I can imagine the painting has come into being through a gradual layering of colours, with the artist intuitively building up the composition. It must have been an act of observation and interpretation for Allakhverdov. Did he have a model or was he working from a photograph? You can see the thick impasto giving a tactile quality to the surface. I love the way Allakhverdov captures light and shadow. See how the cool blues interplay with warm yellows creating a sense of depth and volume. The loose handling of the brushstrokes brings a sense of energy and spontaneity to the work. The artist's gesture feels intimate. This painting feels like a conversation between Allakhverdov and Zorn, with the former engaging with the latter's artistic legacy through a process of creative interpretation and homage. Ultimately, it is through this embodied act of painting that meaning emerges and the artist leaves their mark, literally and figuratively, on the canvas.