Girls Chorus 1916

Nikolay Bogdanov-Belsky made this painting, Girls Chorus, with oil on canvas sometime in the early 20th century. Look at these girls, their faces illuminated from below. I can just imagine Bogdanov-Belsky building up the image, stroke by stroke, each adding to a sense of warmth. It's like he’s composing a song with paint, and it feels so intimate. He probably mixed a warm palette on his easel, with reds and yellows, maybe some purples to give it that depth. And those girls, they seem so absorbed in their singing. Their expressions are what really get to me. The faces glow in the warm light but remain shadowed in other areas, evoking a sense of mystery. Bogdanov-Belsky and other painters, they’re all in conversation with one another through their art, aren’t they? Different voices speaking to each other across the years. Like echoes in a gallery. Painting is about feeling, about expressing something that can't be put into words. The artwork is a window into his mind, a record of a fleeting moment captured with paint and feeling.