Siya Monastery 1920

Igor Grabar made this painting, Siya Monastery, using oil on canvas. Looking at this piece, I'm immediately drawn to the colour, that blue – a deep, almost melancholic blue that dominates the scene. There's a real sense of process at play here, you can imagine Grabar building up layers of paint, each stroke a deliberate act of construction. The paint itself has a lovely texture, thick in some places, thinner in others, creating a surface that's both tactile and visually engaging. If you look closely at the water around the boat, you can see the individual brushstrokes, little dabs and dashes of blue, white, and brown that somehow come together to create the illusion of rippling water. It's like he's capturing a fleeting moment, a specific quality of light and atmosphere. You might compare his sensitivity to light with that of someone like Camille Pissarro. The Impressionists really knew how to create paintings that were ongoing conversations about the possibilities of light and shade. Ultimately, Siya Monastery reminds us that art is always a process of discovery, a journey into the unknown.