Drawing for the painting's Dream 1910

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin made this drawing, a study for a painting, using pencil on paper. Look at the subtlety of the tones he achieves with just a pencil – it's all about pressure and layering. For me, that's what drawing is all about: a dance between intention and accident. See the way he's built up the form with these delicate lines, especially around the legs? There's a real sense of weight and volume, but also a kind of fragility. It's like he's trying to capture something ephemeral, a fleeting moment of beauty. Notice how the lines on the right create this feeling of a veil, or a dream? The artist teases us, by blurring the line between the figure and the space around it, almost as if he doesn't want to be pinned down. Petrov-Vodkin, with his use of a reduced palette, reminds me of Giorgio Morandi, who also captured a feeling of calm and contemplation through simplicity. Art isn't about answers; it's about asking questions.