Swimming Women 1902

Konstantin Gorbatov painted ‘Swimming Women’ with oil on canvas with broad brushstrokes. He must have stood on the shore, with the water lapping at his feet, squinting in the sun. I can imagine him building up the scene with layer upon layer of paint. The water is rendered with horizontal strokes of blues and greens, reflecting the sky above. The women themselves are just blobs of creamy white and pink, barely defined, yet somehow full of life. Gorbatov's painting makes me think of the Impressionists, like Monet and Renoir, who were also fascinated by the effects of light and the fleeting moments of everyday life. It’s like they were all in conversation, bouncing ideas off each other across time and space. Painting is such an interesting process, and how it constructs a site of inquiry. It’s not about perfection, but about capturing a feeling, an impression, a moment in time.