By the spring 1919

Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin made this painting, titled "By the Spring," with what looks like a loaded brush and a confident hand. There’s a real sense of seeing, feeling, and then translating, straight onto the canvas. Look at how the snow on the roof of the house is rendered, thick slabs of white and grey, almost sculptural. Then there's the fence. It's not just a barrier; it's a rhythm of verticals, punctuated by the gaps in between. Each stroke feels deliberate, capturing the rough texture of the wood, transformed by the light. See how the red of the bushes is repeated in the brickwork? These small colour echoes animate the whole scene. For me, these visual devices are what make painting so rewarding. Korovin was part of a wave of painters taking cues from Impressionism but he seems to be paving his own path. Like, say, Manet, the brush strokes become the subject. It's a painting about seeing, about the joy of capturing a fleeting moment, and the beauty of impermanence.