Still Life. Fruits. 1908

Pyotr Konchalovsky made this painting called Still Life. Fruits. with oils, though we don't know exactly when. Isn’t it funny how a painting just comes into being—shifting, emerging through trial and error? What was Konchalovsky thinking as he built this still life with thick daubs of paint? I imagine him totally absorbed in it. You can feel his energy here. There's the cool blue of the pitcher contrasting with the reds and oranges of the fruit. Then the purplish grapes set against the greens in the background. Look at how he’s handled the pitcher. The blues and pinks feel like a conversation between warm and cold. It’s all so physical and direct. Painters are always in conversation with one another, inspiring each other across time. Each stroke, each color choice is like a thought, an exchange between what he sees, what he feels, and what other artists have done before him. It’s about discovery more than answers.