Summer Melody (sketch for a panel) 1904

Victor Borisov-Musatov made this sketch for a panel, Summer Melody, in a private collection, and it feels like a half-remembered dream, doesn’t it? The way he layers watercolor, everything shimmering and kind of hazy, it's all about mood and memory, a sense of something just out of reach. Look closely, and you'll see how the washes of color bleed into each other, making the edges soft and undefined, which is a process in itself, surrendering to the flow. The dresses of the women become landscapes of their own, all these intricate folds and shadows rendered with these loose strokes. The light isn't quite natural, it’s more like how light feels in a memory, warm and diffuse. It puts me in mind of Puvis de Chavannes, how he uses pale color and composition to evoke a sense of timelessness and stillness. But this is a sketch, an open question, a moment of seeing.