At the Window 1919

Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin made this oil on canvas painting, At the Window, using short, choppy brushstrokes that feel almost like musical notes on a page. The colours are rich and deep, but it’s the way he's slapped the paint on that really grabs me. Look at the red jacket on the standing figure – thick, juicy strokes of crimson and scarlet, each dab loaded with feeling. You can almost see him working, trying to capture the way the light hits the fabric, how the colour vibrates. The texture isn’t smooth or blended; it's all about the surface, the physicality of the paint. You can almost see the movement of the brush, the artist's hand in motion. It reminds me a little of Manet, or maybe even some of the Fauves, in its bold use of colour and loose brushwork. Ultimately, it's about the joy of painting, that ongoing conversation between artists across time. It’s a reminder that art is a process, an exploration, rather than a fixed destination.