Anchored Boats 1921

Konstantin Gorbatov painted "Anchored Boats" with oils, and you can almost smell the salt in the air as you look at it. The brushstrokes are thick and full of intent, like the artist was wrestling with the scene, trying to capture the exact mood of a cloudy day. I can imagine him, out there on the docks, battling the wind, squinting at the light. What kind of dialogue was he having with the boats, the water, the sky? Was he arguing or agreeing with nature? The grey and blue palette makes me think of the artist's emotional state, maybe a little melancholic, but hopeful. The boats themselves are rendered with such tactile intensity, you can feel the weight of the wood and the pull of the tide. The clouds are smudged and smeared, but they still carry the threat of a coming storm. And those touches of ochre and rust hint at warmth and life. The conversation between the artist and the world is right there on the surface.