Peasant Working in a Field 1940

David Burliuk made this scene of rural life with oil on canvas. I can almost feel the artist plotting out this composition, balancing the figures in the foreground with the stately buildings looming behind the trees. It’s like Burliuk is asking, “How do all these different elements coexist?” The peasant works the land, pulled by the donkey, while the castle, houses and trees offer a sense of place. I wonder if Burliuk started with the sky and then built up the forms from there, layer by layer. Maybe he wanted to show how we are all working toward the same end, coexisting in the same space and time. The application of paint is flat, almost like house paint. It reminds me of the work of Henri Rousseau, who was self taught and loved to paint landscapes. Artists are always in conversation with each other, even across time.