The horse in harness. Sketch for painting 'The Return from the fair. " 1926

Pyotr Konchalovsky made this oil on canvas sketch, 'The Horse in Harness', as a study for a larger painting. I can imagine Konchalovsky outside, quickly laying down these strokes of brown, green, grey, and white, probably trying to capture the light. It makes me think about the relationship between painting and nature, the artist and the subject, and the sheer physicality of painting. Look at those gestural marks forming the horse's body. Aren’t they so expressive? You can almost feel the weight and movement of the animal, the texture of its fur and the leather of the harness. The paint isn't too thick, but there's enough there to give it some depth. It reminds me a bit of some early Cézanne, where the everyday is somehow ennobled through the act of painting. These artists are all in conversation, you know, an ongoing exchange of ideas across time. What can we learn from each other? It's all about keeping that dialogue open, embracing the ambiguity, and allowing for multiple interpretations.