Cassis 1913

Curator: Ah, "Cassis," a 1913 cityscape by Pyotr Konchalovsky, rendered in ink. A striking example of his move towards cubism. Editor: Wow, immediate impression—dynamic. It’s a jumble of shapes, yet instantly readable as a town nestled, looks like, by the sea? Very energetic, like he captured a breeze running through the place. Curator: Indeed. Cassis, a fishing port in the south of France, was a frequent subject for artists embracing new perspectives. Konchalovsky, part of the avant-garde Jack of Diamonds group, would have been influenced by the formal experiments of Picasso and Braque. We see it here in the fracturing of space, the reduction of architecture to geometric forms. Editor: See, "fracturing" sounds so… violent! But I see it more like an embrace of seeing. He’s not just showing us *one* view, he’s collapsing multiple views into one image. Like how memory works – a collage of impressions. That leaning tower… did he just, like, lean with it as he drew? Curator: Well, we don't have Konchalovsky's sketchbook. It is a sketch, yes, though its public display transforms it from preliminary study to finalized piece of art. The market's view of the Cubist style in the 1910s dictated much in terms of critical analysis. This sketch, for its time, was at once backward and advanced, depending on its perceived politics. Editor: Backward and forward, like a wonky pendulum! Though I see the appeal of it being available for display, given Konchalovsky’s twist on what might seem backward to others. Its immediacy is the punch; the mark-making is so assured, so fluid. Curator: The speed captures the sense of place but also signals the changing art world—one no longer tethered to static, academic landscapes. His interpretation aligns this small town with broader European art movements, and elevates the artist within. Editor: Right. Suddenly Cassis is *the* place to be, at least for an artistic eye. It has given me something to reflect on when considering that balance between capturing a specific locale and a universal feeling of movement. Curator: Exactly, and it offers insights into how revolutionary movements eventually become institutionalized. That’s the legacy this little ink sketch participates in.