Promenade Along the Volga 1909

Boris Kustodiev made this painting, Promenade Along the Volga, with oil on canvas. Look at how Kustodiev builds up these layers of color. The way he contrasts the deep greens of the trees with the light greens of the distant bank makes me think about how a painter makes a painting; layer upon layer, of course, but also decision upon decision. I'm drawn to the signs in the foreground of the painting, the way Kustodiev renders the Cyrillic script with such care and attention. The word 'Воды' or 'Waters' in the lower left of the picture makes me think of all the possible meanings and connotations of water itself; the flow of time, of course, but also the ebb and flow of human life, and the constant process of renewal and change. There's something very Chagall-like about this work for me, though a more realist painting style is evident. This could be something to do with how both artists captured a sense of nostalgia for a lost world. There’s no single story here, just a multitude of possibilities.