V.A. Kastalsky. Tree sketches 1919

Curator: This work is entitled “V.A. Kastalsky. Tree sketches” by Boris Kustodiev, created in 1919 using pencil. Editor: Brrr, I feel cold just looking at it! Three men bundled up in what looks like layers of fur. It’s funny—"Tree sketches" isn’t exactly the phrase that springs to mind. Curator: Indeed. The nominal paradox invites semiotic probing. The apparent subject contrasts starkly with the title, creating a level of tension. We see three figures rendered in varying detail and poses; each a study in texture and form achieved through meticulous pencil work. Editor: You're right about that texture. Look at the fur – Kustodiev really captures the different weights and feels of the fur with what must be a very precise touch. It almost makes you want to reach out and feel it. But then you realize how stiff and posed each one looks. Like mannequins in really expensive clothes. Curator: Their postures are decidedly studied, aren't they? And that academic quality reinforces an appreciation for the details: the cut of the coats, the fall of the fabric, even the individual hairs of the fur. Editor: Maybe that's why it doesn't quite click for me. The coldness is a problem for me because it's technically amazing but it is really missing a sense of warmth in my perception, especially coming from the inside. There is no real emotion coming across. The overall palette of muted browns doesn’t exactly invite a feeling of human warmth either. It gives more of a calculated precision instead. Curator: The monochromatic palette certainly constrains emotional overtness. I believe the artist has favored capturing the objective form of the subject in as objective a manner as possible, adhering to the stylistic precepts he set. Editor: Well, however much the artist may not agree with me here, I think I have to find myself on the other end: Maybe this piece can warm up a bit still. The very fact we are speaking about his composition still reveals an interest that goes well beyond simple composition; it is art, not mannequin display. Curator: A final point I find especially relevant involves the temporal context of this drawing; given it dates back to 1919 and thus possibly done as preparation for later works or possibly even a memory or reflection about them. It certainly offers avenues of inquiry for experts. Editor: It also proves, quite powerfully in my eyes, the true vitality art gives to its subject by prompting curiosity so long after it’s conceived and sketched into life, here together on display in this very form to the public eye.