Spring Landscape 1920

Georgi Mashev painted this landscape with oils and a brush, capturing a spring day without pinning down a specific date. The surface is built up from lots of little dabs, a mosaic of brushstrokes, all pale blues and greens and yellows. It's a high-key symphony! Look at that tree on the left – it’s almost dissolving into the sky, the way the light hits it. The paint is applied pretty thickly, giving it a tangible, almost sculptural quality. The way the colors blend and bleed into each other suggests movement and the fleeting quality of light. It reminds me a little of Camille Pissarro, a master of capturing the ephemeral effects of light and atmosphere. Both artists share a sensitivity to the subtle nuances of color and a willingness to embrace the ambiguities of perception. What does Spring look like, really? It's more of a feeling than a fact.