Petersburg. The Obvodny Canal. 1902

Mstislav Dobuzhinsky made this small drawing of Petersburg's Obvodny Canal with pencil on paper. The work's grainy texture, achieved through the use of pencil, beautifully captures the bleak midwinter scene of laborers trudging along the snowy canal-side. The material itself becomes evocative, lending a tactile quality to the depiction of snow, water, and the solid mass of the buildings. The artist used the medium to create a sense of the city's atmosphere, the heavy sky rendered through dense, layered strokes, conveying a feeling of cold and stillness. The work’s social significance lies in its depiction of labor. We are invited to consider the back-breaking work of the silhouetted figures pulling a boat along the canal, set against the backdrop of the city's architecture. In focusing on the material and process, we recognize that this image is more than just a depiction of a place; it is a commentary on the lives of those who lived and worked there.