Forest dwellers 1910

Arkady Rylov's painting "Forest Dwellers" feels like a glimpse into another world, rendered with thick strokes and a palette of deep greens and browns. Imagine Rylov standing in the forest, squinting at the light filtering through the dense canopy. He mixes his paints, trying to capture that specific shade of green, that fleeting moment of light. Look how he layers the paint to create depth and texture – you can almost feel the rough bark of the trees and the soft needles of the firs. There is a little squirrel, peeking out from behind a branch. What was Rylov thinking when he painted it? Was he trying to capture the essence of wildness, or was he simply delighted by the sight of a small creature in its natural habitat? Painters are constantly in conversation, borrowing and building upon each other’s ideas. Rylov’s work reminds me of other landscape painters, all trying to capture the ephemeral beauty of the natural world. And that’s what I love about painting – it’s a constant exploration, a never-ending quest to capture the ineffable.