Sophia of Kyiv, interior 1959

Yuriy Khymych made this watercolor painting of the Sophia of Kyiv sometime in the 20th century, and I can imagine him there with his little set of paints. The painting is all about light, right? It’s like he was chasing the way it bounces off the gold mosaics and makes the whole place glow. Look at how the brushstrokes are loose and washy. It gives everything this ethereal feel. You know, standing in a place like that, you're surrounded by centuries of art and history. Khymych probably felt it too. He wasn’t trying to copy what he saw, but capture a feeling, a sense of the sacred space. I imagine him mixing the blues and browns, trying to get the right shade to show the depth and the shadows. It’s like he’s in conversation with all the artists who came before him.