Portrait of the artist's daughter 1935

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin made this portrait of his daughter sometime in the early 20th century. You can see that gentle warmth in the painting, the way her skin is painted with these translucent rosy colors. I imagine Petrov-Vodkin standing in front of the canvas, brush in hand, mixing those hues, trying to capture her likeness. He layers the paint thinly, almost like watercolor, letting the canvas breathe. Look at how the strokes build up the form of her hands, they're clasped so peacefully. I feel like she’s right here, waiting. Petrov-Vodkin was always experimenting with perspective, trying to find new ways of seeing. I wonder if, by painting her, he's also trying to understand her, to see the world through her eyes? It’s a feeling that I understand as an artist myself. In the end, we’re all in conversation, you know, trading ideas across time.