Rex 1909

Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis made this painting, Rex, sometime before 1911, using tempera on paper. Look at the earth-like sphere, resting at the base of a monumental tower. Ciurlionis’s brushstrokes are incredibly delicate. He coaxes the tempera to create a kind of hazy atmosphere, with layers of translucent color, almost like watercolor. It’s as if he’s trying to capture not just what he sees, but what he feels, maybe even what he dreams. This tower, it’s like a symbol, right? Of power, of reaching for the sky. The way Ciurlionis paints it, though, it’s not solid or imposing. It’s almost dissolving into the landscape, becoming part of the earth and the sky. The surface is built up of many tiny marks. Each dab of paint feels like a breath, a moment of consideration. It reminds me a little of Odilon Redon, a fellow symbolist painter. Both were interested in dreamscapes, in making the invisible visible. It’s like Ciurlionis is saying that art is a process, a conversation between the artist and the world.