Finale (Sonata of the Serpent) 1908

Ciurlionis created this landscape, "Finale (Sonata of the Serpent)," with paint and probably mixed media that give it a very atmospheric, translucent quality. You know, seeing this, I think about Ciurlionis making marks, layering color washes, almost like building up a memory, or maybe like a dream he was trying to catch. I imagine him standing there, brush in hand, trying to capture some kind of inner vision. The color palette, those soft blues and yellows, give the landscape a celestial feel. And the way the paint is applied so thinly and evenly. It makes me think about the endless possibilities of painting, and the way that artists keep riffing off each other, across time. There's something kind of unfinished about it, like he's inviting us to complete the picture. What is the story? What is the sonata? I love that uncertainty; for me painting isn't about answers, it’s about questions.