In the Country 1910

Konstantin Gorbatov conjured this woodland scene with brushes loaded with thick, textured paint. I can imagine the canvas propped up in front of him, as he daubs greens and browns into the undergrowth, and picks out the slender white tree trunks. Painting "In the Country" must have been a patient, meditative act for Gorbatov. He's building up a view of something familiar, something seen and deeply felt. Look how the sun filters through the branches, creating pools of shadow that stretch and distort across the ground. The shadows are almost characters in themselves, reaching out like long fingers. There is a sense of stillness, only punctuated by the flicker of light. This piece reminds me of the work of other landscape painters, like Isaac Levitan, who found drama in the everyday. Ultimately, painting is a conversation across time, a way of seeing and sharing what it feels like to be alive. We pass our insights and techniques on to each other, like a kind of painterly chain letter.