Still life 1930

Nikolay Bogdanov-Belsky made this “Still Life” with oil on canvas, but we don’t know when. The way Bogdanov-Belsky applied the paint, especially in the lilacs, makes me think about artmaking as a process of accumulation, like building something up bit by bit. Look at the way he’s built up the lilacs from individual brushstrokes of pink and purple! It's a kind of tender construction. The paint is applied fairly thickly, giving the flowers a tactile quality as if you could reach out and touch their velvety petals. See how the light catches the surface of the orange vase, creating a warm glow that contrasts with the darker, more subdued tones of the background? It is almost as if he is looking at Chardin, but through a later, post impressionist lens. This piece speaks to me of the ongoing dialogue between artists across time, each building on the insights and discoveries of those who came before. Art embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations.