Smoker 1911

Natalia Goncharova painted this 'Smoker' with bold strokes and a striking palette of ochre, white, and black, building a space in which the subject seems to emerge out of a play of light and shadow. I wonder what Goncharova was thinking about as she constructed this face, this figure. Her brushstrokes are decisive, flattening and simplifying the forms to create a kind of iconic presence. Look at the way she models the face with broad planes of light ochre, contrasting with the dark accents of the hat and eyes. The paint is applied quite thinly, allowing the texture of the canvas to come through in places, adding a sense of immediacy and rawness to the work. I am reminded of other artists like Picasso and Braque, who were also experimenting with simplification and geometric abstraction. Artists are always in dialogue, aren't they? I am curious to imagine Goncharova in conversation with the ghosts of painters past. I am certain that 'Smoker' speaks to the ongoing exploration of form and expression.