Guitar 1915

Lyubov Popova made this painting of a guitar with oils on canvas, though we're not sure exactly when. Look at how the guitar emerges in grey tones, almost like she's tuning into something just out of reach. I imagine Popova standing in her studio, brush in hand, squinting at the object before her, trying to find its essence. The forms feel both solid and like they’re dissolving into the background. I love how she balances representation and abstraction! This reminds me of other Cubist painters, like Picasso and Braque, but Popova brings her own sensibility to the table. There's a lightness and airiness here. It’s as if the act of painting itself becomes a way of questioning what we see and how we see it. It feels like a moment in time, a brief, almost ethereal glimpse into the artist's mind.