Village in northern Russia 1890

Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin made this painting of a Russian village using oil paints. The material qualities here are so important. Korovin’s paint is laid down in strokes that register the movement of his hand, and the architectural structures are expressed in a utilitarian way. Note the rough textures and tones; these capture the way people make do, building with readily available timber. There is little adornment here, but a strong sense of the physical effort required to survive. The scene is not polished or idealized. Instead, Korovin lets the inherent qualities of the oil paint – its viscosity, its capacity for capturing light – suggest the hard facts of rural labor. He brings an immediacy to the artwork. Through these techniques, painting becomes a way to acknowledge everyday existence, and question traditional hierarchies.