Night at the seaside 1903

Konstantin Bogaevsky made this moody, evocative “Night at the Seaside” with oil paint, sometime in the early 20th century, though we don’t know exactly when. The painting is all about drama, mostly thanks to the thick brushstrokes and the way he uses a dark palette to build up the scene. It's like he’s not just painting what he sees, but also how the place *feels*. Check out the waves closest to us, crashing against the rocks. Notice how the whites and grays are swirled together, rough and immediate. You can practically feel the spray. Now, look at the rocks themselves; they're almost abstract shapes, just chunks of color thrown down with confidence. This isn’t about detail; it’s about capturing the essence of the scene, the raw power of the ocean meeting the land. Bogaevsky’s got this thing for romantic, kind of melancholic landscapes; I’m reminded of some of Caspar David Friedrich's seascapes. But Bogaevsky's got a wilder, more gestural touch. It's a reminder that art is not just about what you see, but how you see it, and how you feel when you do.