Snowdrifts 1904

Igor Grabar made this painting, *Snowdrifts*, by layering thick strokes of white and blue paint. The act of painting itself must have felt like building a snowdrift, one stroke at a time. You know, I often wonder what an artist is thinking when they’re making a painting, especially something like this. Maybe Grabar was thinking about the weight of the snow, or the way the light hits the surface. It's like he's trying to capture the feeling of winter, the cold, the quiet. The texture is built up so much that you can almost feel the chill. Each stroke is so present, so physical. I can imagine him standing there, brush in hand, layering paint, maybe shivering a little! This reminds me of other painters like Courbet, who were interested in capturing the raw, physical experience of being in the world. Ultimately, painting is all about being in conversation with each other, across time, inspiring new ways of seeing and feeling.