Bather 1917

This is "Bather" by Boris Kustodiev, and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when he made it, but it feels like a timeless scene captured with oils. Look at how Kustodiev lays down the paint; it’s not about hiding the brushstrokes but letting them breathe. The sky alone is a lesson in layering – soft blues and grays that give way to these creamy, almost edible, clouds. The fence is made of broad strokes of brown that somehow manage to suggest both solidity and permeability, which is kind of what a fence is, right? It’s like he’s saying, "Here’s paint, here’s a scene, now let’s see what happens when they meet." Speaking of meeting, notice the cow, totally unbothered, grazing amidst the bathers. There’s something so matter-of-fact about its inclusion. It reminds me of the work of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, who also loved to mix the epic with the everyday. In the end, art isn’t about answers; it’s about embracing the beautiful, bewildering mess of it all.