Portrait of the commandant of the Mariinsky Palace, Major-General Pavel Shevelev 1903

Boris Kustodiev made this portrait of Major-General Pavel Shevelev, the commandant of the Mariinsky Palace, with oil paint. Look at how the blue of the uniform is laid down – not flat, not blended, but almost scrubbed onto the canvas, like he’s trying to get the colour just right. It feels like Kustodiev is figuring it out as he goes, which, let's be honest, is how it often is when you're painting! I love the way the light hits Shevelev's face. The texture around the eyes and forehead is so alive, so human. The brushstrokes are visible, like little jabs and caresses, building up this sense of a real person, not just a uniform. And then, the buttons, each one a tiny dab of gold – they feel almost playful. It's like Kustodiev is saying, "Here's a man in authority, but also just a man, with his own thoughts and feelings." Think of someone like Alice Neel, who was able to capture the humanity of her subjects in a similar way. It makes you realize that art is always a conversation, an ongoing exploration of what it means to be alive.