Stars 1922

Konstantin Bogaevsky made this work, ‘Stars,’ with graphite, rendering a nocturnal landscape populated with celestial bodies. The stars here serve as beacons of hope, yet they also evoke a deep, existential contemplation of the cosmos. Throughout history, stars have been powerful symbols. In ancient cultures, they were often linked to deities and fate, guiding sailors and marking the passage of time, similar to the stars depicted in the celestial maps of the Renaissance. Consider, too, the recurring motif of the starry night in Van Gogh’s work. The swirling skies evoke a sense of cosmic unease, a far cry from the serene order implied here. Bogaevsky offers a vision where the night sky elicits an overwhelming sense of solitude. These astral symbols are not static; they evolve, constantly shifting and adapting as collective memory reshapes their significance. The stars, like the eternal return of the same, invite us to gaze into the abyss, confronting our own transient existence.