Sketch and floor plan of Holy Trinity Church in Biokhovo village 1903

Vasily Polenov made this sketch and floor plan of Holy Trinity Church in Biokhovo village with watercolor and pencil. The building is rendered with a kind of see-through quality, the colours are translucent, and the marks are tentative. It feels like we are seeing a vision slowly emerge. The texture of the paper really shines through, especially in the sky. Polenov coaxes the pigments across the surface, leaving faint trails of colour. Look at the dome of the church and notice how the metallic grey is achieved through delicate washes. It's as if the building is exhaling into the atmosphere. The floor plan below shows a bird's eye view of the church, with the walls rendered in a slightly darker shade. This simple contrast anchors the ethereal quality of the building above. You can sense the artist trying to capture the essence of a place and understand its structure. It reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin’s work, a real sense of lightness of touch. Here, Polenov shows us that art isn't just about what we see, but how we see.