Portrait of the writer D.L. Mordovtsev 1901

Boris Kustodiev painted this portrait of the writer D.L. Mordovtsev in oil, using a muted palette of greens, browns, and creams. You can almost imagine Kustodiev dabbing and stroking at the canvas, as if he’s building the writer’s likeness, bit by bit. There’s a lovely looseness to the brushwork that suggests he’s not just copying what he sees but really trying to get to the essence of the man. I wonder if he felt the weight of representing another artist – the responsibility of capturing a whole life of thought and feeling? Look at how the colours blend into each other, creating a sort of hazy, dreamlike effect. It reminds me a little of Whistler, but with a more grounded, earthy quality. It makes me think about how painting is this ongoing conversation, artists riffing off each other across time and space. It’s like a beautiful, endless game of telephone!