Carpet Seller (Tatar) 1920

Boris Kustodiev made this watercolor, Carpet Seller (Tatar), at no specific date, and it’s all about seeing the world through a slightly heightened lens, right? The colors here are so juicy; look at that green in the cap. You can really see the hand of the artist in the way the watercolors bleed and blend. The textures and patterns in the carpets clash in such a way that the painting has a real sense of joy. Focusing on the carpet draped over the seller’s arm, there’s a feeling of abundance in the way the folds fall and in the patterns. The whole thing kind of reminds me of those Matisse paintings, with his love for pattern and color, but here, it’s like we’re getting a glimpse into another culture. You can tell that, for Kustodiev, painting isn’t just about representation but about celebrating the sheer pleasure of looking.