Novgorod. Peter and Paul Church. 1925

Pyotr Konchalovsky made this oil painting of the Peter and Paul Church in Novgorod, and it’s all about greens and browns, the colors of nature reclaiming a sacred space. I can imagine Konchalovsky outside, squinting, palette in hand, trying to capture the way the church nestles into the landscape. See how the paint is laid on thick? It’s almost sculptural, like he’s building up the forms with globs of color. Those greens are wild, almost vibrating against the muted tones of the church itself. I bet he was thinking about how light changes everything, how a building isn’t just a building, it’s a living, breathing thing, shaped by the atmosphere. Look at that one stroke of deep green defining the edge of the tree. It’s so direct, so confident. Konchalovsky knew his Cezanne, his Matisse, and he’s right in there with them, pushing paint around, trying to find the soul of a place. Artists like him, they keep the conversation going, each brushstroke a response to what came before, a question for what comes next.