Mediterranean Pergola with View of a Mountain Village 1926

Konstantin Gorbatov made this painting of a Mediterranean pergola with a mountain village in the background with oil on canvas, and it's all about how he put the paint on. I'm really drawn to how the surface almost vibrates, alive with energy. Look at how he renders the leaves overhead: each dab of paint is like a little jewel, catching the light. You can almost feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, right? The colors are so vibrant, especially those reds and greens, contrasted against the cool blues of the mountain backdrop. My eye keeps going back to the little pots of flowers in the foreground. The way the colors blend and blur, makes them feel so real, like they are breathing! There's this push and pull between representation and abstraction that I find super compelling. You see that also in some of Bonnard's paintings of France. It's that kind of interplay, that ongoing dialogue between artists, that keeps art alive and kicking!