View of Mar Saba 1935

Konstantin Gorbatov made this watercolor painting of Mar Saba in 1935. It’s like he was trying to catch the light itself, you know? I imagine him there, squinting, trying to nail that ochre glow of the buildings against the landscape. Look how the paint thins and pools, creating these soft, almost hazy edges. See the figures huddling at the bottom? They’re just suggestions, barely there, like ghosts in the landscape. The artist has applied strokes with such freedom, I can almost feel the dry desert air. It's like he's saying, "Here, look at this place, feel it, but don't get too close." It’s kind of dreamy.