Prelude 1908

Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis made "Prelude" using an unknown medium on canvas. It's a moody piece, all in grays and blacks. There's this form that looks like a boat, or maybe a seed, floating on a dark sea under a sky pierced by light. You can almost feel the artist searching, trying to articulate something just beyond reach. I wonder what Ciurlionis was thinking when he made this. Was he trying to capture a dream, a feeling, or some kind of cosmic vision? The surface is pretty smooth, making the contrast between the dark boat-seed and the radiant light above more stark. This gives the work an ethereal quality, like a memory or a premonition. Artists are always in conversation with each other, building on what came before, and pushing into new territory. And I guess that's what painting is all about— embracing the unknown, and finding new ways to express what it means to be human.