Moscow Street 1911

Natalia Goncharova’s ‘Moscow Street’ is a painting with a kind of raw energy, like a sketch quickly captured. The earthy palette feels so Russian somehow, full of ochre, red, and smoky blacks. Up close, you can see how she attacked the canvas. It’s not about being precious or delicate; it’s about getting the feeling down, that immediacy. Look at the ground in the foreground, those thick strokes of orange and brown, it’s almost violent but, together, they create movement, like the street is alive and breathing. The paint is luscious but not labored. You can see the hand of the artist, confident and bold. Goncharova reminds me a bit of Kirchner, with the shared love of the city, the raw application of paint and interest in capturing modern life in motion. Ultimately, Goncharova’s ‘Moscow Street’ is a reminder that art doesn’t always need to be perfect, sometimes it just needs to be real.