Boris Godunov.Coronation 1934

Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin gave us this coronation scene, probably in oils, with a color palette that’s almost faded into memory, but no less impactful. It feels like a half-remembered dream. The surface of the painting is alive with a flurry of marks that suggest rather than define. Look at the crowd, rendered as a sea of dashes and dabs. It’s less about the specifics and more about the overall impression, the feeling of a vast, unified mass of people. I like how Korovin balances detail with abstraction, giving you just enough to latch onto without spelling everything out. This hazy indistinctness only adds to the grandeur and mystery. Korovin’s process seems to be one of layering and improvisation. It’s a conversation between the artist, the paint, and the subject. Much like the impressionists, like Monet, he manages to capture the essence of a fleeting moment with remarkable sensitivity. It's as though we are viewing a memory play out before us.