Winter Morning 1903

Editor: Here we have Andrei Ryabushkin’s "Winter Morning," painted in 1903, using oil on canvas. It’s wonderfully…still. A hushed, almost dreamlike scene, with snow everywhere and wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: What grabs me immediately is the materiality, that he's focusing our attention on this humble built environment, emphasizing its wooden construction. What kind of labor went into this village scene? What was the timber trade like? How readily available was the material to ordinary people versus more elaborate architectural designs for wealthier patrons? Editor: So you’re thinking about the production of the buildings themselves as part of the artwork's meaning? I hadn’t considered the act of building as directly relevant to the artwork’s purpose. Curator: Precisely. The starkness, the visible wood grain - these aren't just aesthetic choices. They speak to the lives lived within those structures and the resources available. And see how the snow almost equally blankets both the simple houses and the more ornate church in the background? How does that flatten the social hierarchy in the scene? Editor: I see what you mean! The materials almost equalize the playing field. Everyone’s contending with the same weather, and they're all seemingly reliant on the same, fundamental material, wood, to make it through the winter. Even the labor involved in gathering wood to make the fires indicated by smoke. Curator: And consider Ryabushkin's own labour – applying the paint, layer upon layer, creating these striking textural contrasts, transforming these common materials into a culturally significant landscape painting. This blurring of the line between ‘high art’ and everyday experience makes Ryabushkin a relevant artist still today. Editor: This makes me appreciate Ryabushkin's attention to detail but in a totally different light! I had only considered that this painting represents a cityscape but really it also portrays how fundamental materials form the basis of everyday life in 1900’s Russia.