March 4th, 2010
Russian and Soviet Art: Levitan and Pimenov
Tags/ Posted by Stephen PainThe road unwraps like scissors slicing down a strip of ribbon to make it curl.continue reading this poem
Like the term “erotic fatigue,” there is probably a term for looking at too many Russian landscape paintings, i.e. “landscape fatigue.” One starts with good intentions, but after twenty or so paintings–they all tend to merge into one Ur-landscape of the nineteenth century. A lot of it has to do with the problem of foreground and field. If you’re looking at the usual stock of trees, skies and a few buildings, nothing stands out. But if you are arrested by a detail or a sharp contrast in the style, then you can make out something significant.
