Yaroslavna's Lament 1909

Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin painted "Yaroslavna's Lament" with what looks like oil on canvas, capturing a scene with dynamic brushstrokes. It’s the kind of painting that reveals itself through the process, like the act of remembering something just out of reach. The texture is alive! See how the blues and oranges aren’t just colors, but thick, juicy slabs of paint? It's almost like he's building the scene right in front of us. There's this figure, almost spectral, perched atop what seems like a fortress—a single daub of white. Is she watching, waiting? The buildings themselves are solid yet seem ready to dissolve at any minute. Korovin reminds me a bit of early Van Gogh, someone grappling with how to translate emotion into something physical. Ultimately, it's the ambiguity that really grabs me. It doesn't spell things out, it just asks you to feel.