Deluge (V) 1904

Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis made "Deluge (V)" with what looks like pastel, a medium that lends itself to atmospheric hazes and dreamscapes. I can imagine Ciurlionis working on this, layering those soft strokes, trying to capture the roiling water and ominous sky. It’s as if the whole scene is in flux, teetering between abstraction and representation. The boat is tilting and the tower is glowing red, maybe in warning. The sky is getting darker, is it a storm coming? The dark, sweeping lines create a sense of movement and tension. Think about J.M.W. Turner, but with a Symbolist twist. Ciurlionis seemed to be reaching for something beyond the visible world, and the physicality of the pastel helps to give form to those ephemeral ideas. Painters build on each other's work, don't they? Creating something from nothing through colour and marks on a surface is always an experiment in trying to find new ways to see.