Samarkand 1921

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin painted 'Samarkand,' with what looks like oils, in a way that feels both solid and dreamy. The colors are earthy – greens and browns mostly – but there’s this hazy quality, like looking through a heat shimmer. I see how the paint isn’t trying to hide itself here. It’s thin in places, thick in others, and you can see the strokes Petrov-Vodkin made. Look at the way the path zigzags down the hill – each little dab of paint feels deliberate, like he’s building the path right in front of us. And then the texture gets all fuzzy and soft. This reminds me a little of Bruegel, how he'd paint landscapes that felt epic and intimate at the same time. Petrov-Vodkin isn't giving us a postcard view, but something stranger, something from memory or imagination. That's what great art does, right? It gives you a place that you can get lost in.