Head of a boy 1916

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin made "Head of a Boy" in 1916, and it looks like he used a mix of chalk and watercolour to build up the image. There’s a kind of searching quality to the lines. I’m drawn to the way the red chalk blooms across the boy’s face, almost like a sunburn. It’s this intense, feverish colour, but then it's softened by the watery blues in the background, which creates a strange balance. You can see the marks of the making so clearly, the way the colours blend and bleed into each other feels very immediate, as if the artist was working quickly, trying to capture a fleeting impression. The smudges and soft lines around the eyes give him a vulnerable look, like he’s seen too much, too soon. In a way, this reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker, who also used very simple palettes and raw marks. I guess this piece reminds us that art is always about a conversation, a back-and-forth between artists and ideas, more than just pinning down a single, right answer.