1918 in Petrograd 1920

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin painted "1918 in Petrograd" sometime in 1918, and what hits you first is how he juggles warm and cool tones. Check out the building on the left, bathed in a melancholic blue, then jump over to the right, where a fiery orange building pops against a crowd of, presumably, busy people. Up close, the canvas is worked almost like a fresco, a thin veil of pigment pulled across its surface, which gives the whole thing a kind of matte, dream-like quality. It's like you're seeing this through a memory, or maybe a haze of historical significance. But the real drama lies in that central figure, doesn’t it? Mother and child, set against the backdrop of a city in turmoil. Look how the artist used a muted palette to create a sense of stillness, focusing our attention on the quiet act of nurturing amidst chaos. There’s something almost Byzantine about it, a timeless echo of Madonna and child, like maybe Petrov-Vodkin was tipping his hat to icons of the past while capturing a very specific moment in Russian history.