Venice 1907

Boris Kustodiev made this painting of Venice, probably in oil paint, and the making looks like it was a blast. He's working with color in such a way that everything feels on the verge of collapsing into pure sensation. Look at the water, rendered with these gorgeous swathes of green. I can almost feel the push and pull of the brush. It's not just about representation, but about the sheer joy of applying paint. And notice those two striped poles, they almost look like barber's poles stuck right in the canal. They are so intensely blue, they vibrate against the ochres and browns of the buildings. I find myself wondering if he was looking at Matisse, whose work has a similar kind of devil-may-care attitude towards color. Ultimately, though, Kustodiev's Venice embraces a spirit of playful experimentation and reminds us that art is a conversation, not a lecture.