Carpet Seller (Tatar) 1920

Boris Kustodiev seems to have painted this picture of a carpet seller, perhaps in the early 20th century, with watercolor and maybe gouache on paper. The thing about watercolor is that it can be layered and blended, so it might be that Kustodiev worked on this piece over a longer period. The dominant colors are these muted yellows and greens, which give the piece a kind of sun-drenched, slightly faded feel. I love the patterns on the carpets, too! The artist's hand is super evident. You can almost see him there, patiently building up the forms with delicate washes of color, responding to the way the pigments bleed and mingle on the paper. It reminds you that painting is a conversation between the artist and their materials. There's a bit of Matisse in it, with that love of decorative pattern, but it's also very much its own thing. Kustodiev had this way of capturing everyday life with a kind of gentle humor and warmth, like he really cared about the people he was painting, and that's what comes through for me.