Heat. Running Dog. 1909

Martiros Sarian made this painting of a running dog in hot hues of blue and yellow, we don't know exactly when, but we can imagine him working at speed, trying to capture something fleeting. Look at the running dog, a solid form of black, stretched out in motion. You can almost feel the animal's breathlessness, panting, its tongue lolling out as it pushes itself forward. The blue stream might be where it's heading to cool down. The artist has built the ground from strokes of yellow, while a small dark animal grazes on the hill behind. Sarian captures the heat of the day through this limited palette. The solid color blocks create atmosphere and depth. The longer you look, the more you can feel how the painting emerged through trial and error. Each touch contributes to the mood, pushing and pulling, adding and subtracting, until something resolves.