Autumn 1919

Boris Kustodiev made this drawing, called Autumn, with what looks like ink on paper. It's all about the marks. You can see how Kustodiev embraced the process, letting the ink create these lively, almost frenetic lines. The texture is implied rather than real, but those tiny marks build up, especially in the trees, to suggest depth and shadow. The way the dogs leap across the fields, they are so full of energy! And that lone tree on the left, it has such character, like a figure standing tall. I can almost feel the crispness of the autumn air. The marks that describe the clouds are also beautiful. It reminds me a bit of some of the German Expressionist woodcuts, that raw energy. But Kustodiev has his own thing going on. It's a scene, but it is also a record of looking, thinking, and feeling through the act of drawing. And that's what makes it so cool.