Daybreak (I) 1906

Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis made 'Daybreak (I)' with paint on canvas. The whole scene is bathed in this dreamy light, a pale palette where colors bleed into each other, like a memory fading at the edges. You can almost feel Ciurlionis figuring it out as he goes, each stroke a step into the unknown. The texture is so delicate, and the paint is thin. It's more like a stain than a solid layer, letting the canvas breathe. Look at the way he’s built up the sides with these vertical marks. Are they buildings, or some kind of natural forms? They’re like a curtain being pulled back, revealing something hidden behind. 'Daybreak' reminds me of the early abstract work of Hilma af Klint, both artists exploring a kind of spiritual landscape through colour and form. With Ciurlionis, it’s all about this searching, this constant questioning of what a painting can be. And in that ambiguity, there’s a real sense of possibility.