Portrait of the artist’s brother-in-law, Kirill Zdanevich 1916

Here’s Zygmunt Waliszewski’s portrait of his brother-in-law, Kirill Zdanevich, made using watercolour. Watercolour is one of those mediums that seems simple but is actually really tricky. Look at the layering in this work. The ochre and brown of the figure’s coat are built up with such thin washes that they create a depth you wouldn’t expect. The pigment settles into the texture of the paper in a way that gives the whole image a kind of glow. I keep thinking about how the figure is posed. The way he holds the sword is so gentle, almost tentative. Now, check out the cloak. The lines are much softer here, more diffuse, as if it’s less about describing the object and more about capturing its essence. Waliszewski is doing something similar to what Cézanne was doing when he used watercolour to capture the feeling of a landscape. I love the way Waliszewski uses colour to create form and emotion in this portrait. He invites us to see the world in a new way, and it's all about openness and possibility.