Sunset 1908

Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis made this painting, Sunset, sometime in the early 20th century, probably using tempera or watercolor, maybe even both. Look at the earth tones, the yellows and browns. You can almost feel the sun setting as it casts its golden glow across the water. I can imagine Ciurlionis standing before his easel, trying to capture that fleeting moment when the sun dips below the horizon. The painting is built up of layers, a kind of rhythm with the vertical lines in the sky, balanced by the horizontal streaks in the sea, and then the soft, free-flowing brushstrokes on the birds in flight. It’s like a musical composition, with each element playing its part in the overall harmony of the painting. Ciurlionis’s work often explores the intersection of music and art, and you can definitely see that here. It reminds me of other painters like Kandinsky, who were also trying to find ways to express the unseen, to capture the emotional and spiritual power of art. It's like they’re all in conversation, bouncing ideas off each other, across time and space.