Heat. Running Dog. 1909

Martiros Sarian made this painting, Heat. Running Dog., using oil on canvas. Look at the way he’s dabbed at the surface, those brushstrokes are laid down quickly, capturing the immediacy of the scene. There’s a kind of dream logic at play. The colors are intense, almost clashing, but somehow they create a feeling of heat and languor. Notice how the blues and yellows are not blended, but sit side-by-side, creating a vibrating energy. The running dog itself is a simple, bold shape, flattened against the landscape. It’s like a memory, or a symbol, rather than a realistic representation. That vertical stroke of blue just behind the dog almost feels like a painterly stand-in for a shadow, or maybe even a modernist exclamation mark. Sarian’s work reminds me of early Kandinsky, both artists were interested in distilling form and color down to their emotional essence. Art is about feeling your way through, rather than knowing all the answers.