After the rain 1938

Konstantin Bogaevsky made this painting, After the Rain, at some unknown time with watercolor, and maybe gouache, on paper. It looks like he mixed ochre with a cool grey, which gives it an almost melancholic feel. It's all about the wetness of the washes. I find myself drawn to the way he built up those mountains in layers. See how the paint bleeds ever so slightly. It's like he's letting the landscape emerge from the mist. And those clouds! They're so soft and billowy, like you could just reach out and touch them. I think he really got the mood of a landscape after a storm, you know, that sense of calm and renewal. Bogaevsky reminds me a bit of Caspar David Friedrich, that whole Romantic vibe. But Bogaevsky has his own thing, a kind of quiet intensity. Like he's whispering secrets about the landscape, instead of shouting them. It's a really beautiful piece, and it shows how much can be done with just a few colours and some water.