Monument to Peter the Great 1923

Dobuzhinsky created this drawing of the Monument to Peter the Great with ink on paper and the overall effect is dramatic, due to his approach to mark making. He’s using a range of different strokes, some short and textural, others long and sweeping, to suggest the play of light across the scene. Look at the way the texture of the rock, under the horse’s hooves, is rendered with these really dense, almost frantic marks. They give it a kind of solidity that contrasts with the smoother, more stylized rendering of the statue. The way he balances these areas of detailed texture with the large flat expanses of the paper is really interesting. These create a sort of push and pull, where our eye is drawn to both the detail and the overall composition, creating a dynamic visual experience. You might be reminded of Piranesi’s architectural drawings, which also play with light and shadow to create a sense of drama and scale. It’s like Dobuzhinsky is having a conversation with other artists across time.