Paris at Night 1909

Boris Kustodiev gives us a glimpse of *Paris at Night* with a kind of moody charm. The scene unfolds through layered dark tones, built up with expressive brushwork; you can almost feel the artist figuring it out as he goes. The paint is applied with a real sense of physicality. In the upper left, see how the sky is rendered with these thick, almost creamy strokes, contrasting with the more diluted washes that suggest the figures below? The dark palette pushes forward a few key moments, like the flare of a streetlamp, or the bright splash of color in a figure’s dress. The way Kustodiev captures these flickering moments of light reminds me of how a memory can persist; the more you reach for it, the more dream-like it becomes. Looking at this, I think of Whistler's nocturnes, these paintings are like cousins, exploring the poetics of the night. Like any good painting, it leaves you with more questions than answers.