Tatar, who sells watermelons 1924

Boris Kustodiev made this drawing of a Tatar selling watermelons sometime between 1900 and 1920. It’s monochrome, but the image is so full of life that I can almost taste the sticky-sweet juice of the watermelons! You can sense Kustodiev’s own pleasure in the rhythms of everyday life. I can imagine him thinking about other artists like Bruegel who found inspiration in humble scenes of common life, and how he wanted to find that for himself in Russia. I’m really drawn to the way he captures the transaction between the seller and the buyer. This is a fleeting moment, but the artist seems to capture something of its spirit in those lines! Also, the covering draped over the horse makes it look like a walking zebra, a comical effect. Artists are always in conversation with each other, finding new ways to make things work through observation and imagination, each leaving their own mark. Kustodiev certainly did.