Goat 1935

Pavel Filonov made this painting, Goat, and I want to say, what a painting! It's a kind of explosion, a controlled chaos of marks. He wasn't just painting a goat; he was building a whole world out of dabs and dashes of color, like he was constructing reality from scratch. You can see how the canvas is absolutely packed with tiny, almost geometric shapes, each one a deliberate choice. Look at the way he uses color – not to describe, but to build up this shimmering surface. The pinks, blues, and reds aren’t just there to show you a goat; they’re there to create a feeling, a kind of dizzying, exhilarating energy. The way each shape is defined with contrasting colors, it's like he's saying, "Every little piece matters". It puts me in mind of Kandinsky, who wanted to paint music. It's like Filonov wanted to paint the very act of seeing, to show you how much goes into perceiving the world. This piece reminds us that art isn't just about what you see, but how you see it.