Oaks 1923

Igor Grabar made this painting, Oaks, with oil on canvas. Look how Grabar builds the forms with these separate little strokes of colour. It's like he's building up the image, bit by bit, through a process. The paint is applied with such visible strokes that you can almost feel the texture of the canvas. Notice the way he uses these small dashes of contrasting colors, like the reds and yellows amidst the greens, giving it this shimmering quality. It's as if each stroke is placed deliberately. They're not blended, but exist individually, creating a vibrating surface. Focus on one particular area. Maybe the patch of red and yellow flowers in the middle. Each dab of colour is so distinct, yet together they create a unified, almost glowing mass. There's a similar broken brushwork in a lot of impressionist painting, but I'm also reminded of someone like Van Gogh. It feels so personal.