Memories of Mantegna 1910

Konstantin Bogaevsky made this landscape 'Memories of Mantegna' with what looks like oil or tempera. It is night. A vision from a dream. Imagine Bogaevsky layering washes of brown and grey, watching the city emerge from the dark waters, bathed in the eerie glow of the moon. There is a circularity, a vortex that sweeps across the sky, drawing you in. The way the artist has blended the tones, the way the clouds seem to swirl and pulsate - it's like the sky is alive, breathing. It makes me think about the emotional possibilities of the landscape. Those tight buildings almost feel like they are growing organically from the earth. It is like a collaboration with the past, an honoring and a departure, a push and pull, a call and response across time. It’s like he’s having a conversation with Mantegna through paint, nodding to the old master while carving out his own space. Artists build on the ideas of those that came before, in order to forge their own path. Painting is always about exchange and inspiration.