In the desert of Afghanistan 1931

Alexandre Jacovleff painted this landscape in Afghanistan with oils in 1931. It’s a scene dominated by earth tones, browns, and tans, with touches of blue sky peeking through. You can almost feel the heat radiating off the canvas. The brushwork is loose, almost impressionistic, giving the whole scene a hazy, dreamlike quality. Look closely at the way Jacovleff renders the figures – they're not sharply defined, but rather blend into the landscape, becoming one with the dusty terrain. Notice the long strokes of brown and tan that build up the foreground, creating a sense of depth and texture. There's a real feeling of being there, of walking alongside those figures as they journey through the desert. The way he captures the light in the sky, with those soft blues and whites, reminds me a little of Corot. It's like he's trying to capture not just the look of the landscape, but also the feeling of it, the mood, the atmosphere. It embraces a sense of openness, inviting us to wander through its vastness.