Anchored Boats 1921

Konstantin Gorbatov made this painting, Anchored Boats, with oil on canvas and, right away, I get the sense of a blustery day. Gorbatov’s brushstrokes are laid on pretty thick, almost as if he’s sculpting the scene rather than just painting it. You can see how he's layered the paint to create texture, like in the clouds. There are so many shades of grey, blended together in this stormy sky, but then you get these pops of brighter colour in the boats. Look closely at the boat on the left. The way he uses these bright colours for the hulls, reflected in the water, feels almost like a shout. I am reminded of the bold impasto strokes of Van Gogh, or even some of the early Fauvist painters. In the end, I see a conversation about light, movement, and emotion, and that’s what makes it sing.