The Kiss 1916

Mstislav Dobuzhinsky made "The Kiss" using an uncertain medium, sometime in the early 20th century. The sepia palette is like a faded memory, and the way the marks build up, hatching into form, reminds me of how we construct images in our minds. It’s all process. The surface feels almost like it's been rubbed and worried, a palimpsest of layered gestures. Look at the way the couple are rendered in the same hue and density as the buildings behind them, as if they are a part of the city. The whole scene feels unstable, a society in decline. The embrace, a desperate attempt to create love and life amidst a scene of devastation. I’m put in mind of Umberto Boccioni’s Futurist paintings, but Dobuzhinsky has a completely different sensibility, a kind of melancholic romanticism. Art isn't about answers, it's about holding space for the questions.