The Aragva Bank 1902

Konstantin Korovin made this painting of the Aragva Bank, likely in the early 20th century, with oil on canvas. You can almost feel the brushstrokes layering up the story. I imagine Korovin standing there, squinting in the sunlight, dabbing at the canvas with his brush, trying to capture the way the light hits the ancient stones. It’s like he’s building the scene right in front of us, stone by stone, shadow by shadow. There’s a beautiful looseness to it, especially in the way he renders the figures and the foliage. You can see the influence of Impressionism in his broken brushstrokes, but there’s also a distinctly Russian sensibility in the earthy tones. Looking at the composition, I think of other painters like Isaac Levitan who were also drawn to the Russian landscape, but Korovin brings a certain liveliness, a sense of immediacy that makes you feel like you’re right there with him, breathing in the air, listening to the murmur of the river. Painting is like this ongoing chat, isn't it? Artists riffing off each other across time, each adding their own little brushstroke to the big conversation.