Bakhchisarai Street 1952

Yuriy Khymych created this watercolour, Bakhchisarai Street, using washes of diluted pigment, building up colour and form through a layered process. What strikes me is the way Khymych handles light and shadow, almost as if they're solid objects. Look at the deep blues and purples pooling in the foreground, suggesting both depth and the sun's intensity beating down. The paint is applied in such a way that it feels immediate, like a fleeting impression captured in time. There's a real push and pull between representation and abstraction, especially in the way the buildings are rendered. It’s representational, but it also feels like the artist is playing with shapes and forms. Khymych’s approach reminds me a little of Raoul Dufy, in the sense of capturing a location through a kind of shorthand. Ultimately, this painting isn't just a depiction of a street; it’s an exploration of how we see and experience the world around us. It shows how something can be both precise and open-ended, inviting us to bring our own interpretations to the scene.