Allegro (Sonata of the Stars) 1908

Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis made Allegro (Sonata of the Stars) with paint and possibly pastel on board, and you can see the traces of each mark, as if he was carving into space. Imagine him, standing, layering colour and shape in a symphonic cascade of intuitive gestures. I love the way his work synthesizes music and painting. The rhythm of colours and forms make the surface vibrate. There are peaks and troughs, zigzags, all of which move your eyes up and down the painting. It's like the painting is breathing, reaching upward towards some divine source! The paint handling is so delicate, so incredibly thoughtful, yet also, it looks like he really let himself go. You know? It's the way he moves between detailed delineation and loose, gestural marks – a dance between control and chaos. It makes me wonder, what was he thinking when he made those marks? Artists, we're all in this ongoing conversation, riffing off each other's ideas across time. And it’s through paintings like this one that we get a glimpse of the infinite possibilities of art and the human imagination.