Wildflowers 1910

Martiros Sarian painted these "Wildflowers" sometime in the 20th century, and immediately I'm drawn into his playful process. He makes these confident marks, almost like a collage, where colours bump up against each other in unexpected ways. The paint has a real physicality to it; you can practically feel the texture of the canvas. Look at the blues nestled deep within the bouquet. It's like Sarian is conjuring up the memory of a wildflower, rather than just painting what he sees. I see a field of memories and sensations. It reminds me a bit of Bonnard, that same interest in domestic space. Both artists embrace ambiguity, letting the colours and shapes dance together in a way that feels both familiar and dreamlike.