The Kiss 1916

I imagine that Mstislav Dobuzhinsky made this drawing, The Kiss, with pencil and gouache using delicate marks. It's all warm tones of yellow, orange, and brown. I wonder, did he start with the city, or with the couple, or with those strange rays of light? I'm not sure what's going on in this painting, but I sure can feel it. The lines seem really precise, but the overall image feels dreamlike, even a bit apocalyptic. It has a stage-set kind of vibe; something’s not quite real, is it? I see a bit of de Chirico in the shadows and the mood, but Dobuzhinsky has his own thing, more about human connection, or maybe loss? The city is in the distance, while the couple is very present, solid. It’s like they are the only real thing in the whole drawing, so intense! Artists have always been inspired by each other. We're always borrowing, stealing, and transforming. When I look at this image, I feel how painting can be like a portal into the unknown.