Portrait of Chaliapin 1921

Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin painted this portrait of Chaliapin with oil on canvas, and you can see the process right there in the brushstrokes. It's like he's building the image up, layer by layer. The color palette is muted, mostly browns, greens, and grays, but it’s that contrast with the stark white cuffs and collar that really makes the image pop. There is a real materiality to this painting. You can almost feel the texture of the canvas, the thickness of the paint. Look at the way he's rendered the hand, just a few deft strokes of the brush, but it's so full of life. It is a little like Manet in its seeming casualness, and the way it captures a mood. This painting feels like a conversation, an exchange of ideas between artist and subject, and between painting and viewer. It reminds us that art is not about fixed meanings but about the ongoing process of interpretation and discovery.