Funeral Symphony (III) 1903

Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis made this pastel artwork, Funeral Symphony (III), sometime before 1911. What strikes me is the way Ciurlionis layers color. The marks are visible, almost vibrating, like you could reach out and feel the texture of the pastel on the paper. It's all about process. Look at the trees. They're not just brown; they're a mix of blues, reds, and greens, giving them this otherworldly feel, a kind of dreamscape where a procession of dark figures moves along behind a strange blue fence. The sun hangs low, a fiery orb in a yellow sky. The application feels immediate, the hand of the artist present in every stroke. It reminds me a little of Odilon Redon, who also used pastel to create these intensely personal and symbolic landscapes. Ciurlionis invites us to consider the thresholds between life and death, reality and imagination, showing how art embraces ambiguity, leaving room for endless interpretations.