Fish 1916

Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin made this painting, called "Fish", with oil paints. It's like he was thinking about painting as an act of playful exploration. The thickness and opacity of the paint really bring out the textures here. You can almost feel the scales of the fish, the rough weave of that basket, and the smooth coolness of the bottle. Notice the way he's built up the paint in layers, especially on the fish themselves, giving them this three-dimensional presence. Check out the single stroke of pale blue, right across the body of the bottom fish. It’s bold and direct and adds a surprising pop of color. It almost feels like he’s not just painting what he sees, but what he feels about these objects. Korovin was part of a generation of painters pushing the boundaries of representation, like Manet or maybe even someone like Sargent, who were also using loose brushwork to capture the fleeting qualities of light and life. In the end, it all adds up to a painting that’s as much about the joy of looking and painting as it is about the objects themselves.