Head of a boy 1916

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin painted this head of a boy, in 1916, using tempera. Imagine Petrov-Vodkin layering reddish washes, building up the boy's features with delicate, almost tentative strokes. It's like he's feeling his way around the form, searching for the planes of the face. I wonder what it was like for him, during that time, to focus on this single figure when the world outside was in turmoil. Maybe it offered a sense of calm, a way to ground himself in the present moment, in the materiality of the paint itself. You can see the tenderness in the way he captures the boy's gaze, a mix of vulnerability and quiet strength. There’s a real humanity here, a connection between artist and subject that transcends time. That's what painting does; it creates these little portals of empathy, reminding us of our shared experience.