Two Breton Women 1904

Konstantin Makovsky made this oil painting of two Breton women, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, capturing a quiet moment in what looks like an attic space. I’m drawn to the way Makovsky builds up the scene with layers of light and shadow. There’s a lot of detail, but it doesn't feel overworked. Look at the way the light falls on the brickwork near the ladder: short, broken strokes of red and brown which suggest the texture without rendering every brick. You can see a similar approach used throughout, building up the surfaces with delicate touches of paint. It’s like he is more interested in evoking a feeling than creating a photographic likeness. These kinds of choices affect how we experience the scene. It gives it an informal, almost dreamlike quality. The artist John Singer Sargent used a similar approach. Both artists remind us that paintings aren't about perfect representation, but about the artist's way of seeing, thinking, and feeling. Each brushstroke a philosophical idea.