Coast of the sea with a rock 1908

Arkhyp Kuindzhi painted this oil on canvas sometime in his life, and what strikes me is the way he’s pushing the blueness of the sea. The texture in this piece feels almost like enamel, smooth and reflective, especially in the sky and sea. It’s like he wanted to capture the light itself, not just the colors of the scene. Look at the way he’s rendered the cliff face on the right. Short, choppy strokes of ochre and gray create this sense of solid, rugged form. There's a real contrast between the way he has painted the cliff and the way he has painted the water, it really sets them apart. Kuindzhi's approach to landscape painting reminds me of someone like Gerhard Richter, in the way he’s pushing the boundaries of representation. It is all about light and form, and the way they can evoke an emotional response. There’s a kind of freedom and ambiguity in the way he handles paint. It invites you to bring your own feelings and experiences to the scene.