On the Line of Fire 1916

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin made this painting, "On the Line of Fire," with oil paint on canvas. The ochre of the soldier's uniforms almost disappears into the landscape. The horizon is high, flattening the pictorial space. I can imagine Petrov-Vodkin building up the figures from many layers of thin paint, constantly adjusting the composition to draw our eyes to the figure at the painting's heart. I wonder if Petrov-Vodkin felt sympathy for the soldiers he depicted, caught up in the horror of battle. It is a unique painting, but I think he must have looked closely at Renaissance painting when composing this scene. But he also was part of the Russian avant-garde. It's incredible how artists of different eras and places can have a dialogue through their work, inspiring each other and reinterpreting ideas in new contexts. Ultimately, painting embraces this ambiguity, allowing for multiple readings and interpretations.