Lightning 1909

Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis made this painting, Lightning, with oils and probably a whole lot of intuition. It's a wash of greens and stormy blues depicting vertical bolts of lightning illuminating a lake at night. I can imagine Ciurlionis standing before the canvas, trying to capture something elusive about the natural world, or maybe it’s an emotional state. Look at the way the paint is applied – thin, almost translucent layers, built up to create a sense of depth and luminosity. See how the lightning streaks are rendered with such energetic lines? It gives the scene a real feeling of drama and awe. Ciurlionis was a symbolist painter, so he wasn’t just interested in representing reality, but something deeper, something mystical. He’s in conversation with a lineage of painters who were trying to capture inner visions or spiritual experiences. Like Monet's impressionism, or even Van Gogh's emotive landscapes. It makes me wonder what kind of storms, literal or metaphorical, Ciurlionis was trying to channel onto the canvas. Ultimately, painting is a portal, and maybe he’s inviting us to step through and see the world in a different light.