Konchalovsky Peter – “Dry paints”

Pyotr Konchalovsky is rightfully considered one of the strongest masters of still life and one of his best works is the very famous painting “Dry Paints”. The unsurpassed liveliness of color and technique puts this work of Konchalovsky on a par with recognized world masterpieces.

At the beginning of his career, Pyotr Konchalovsky was an admirer of the genres that were new at that time – cubism and fauvism, therefore in the work “Dry Paints” you can find elements of both styles.

The artist in the picture depicted a work table, on which various objects necessary for the artist and decorator are laid out: cones, bottles, jars. Behind you can see a jug with brushes and a large flask in which paint is diluted. The background to the picture is a blue curtain.

The artist paid great attention to the drawing of the table: every twist and crack in the wood is drawn with love. But the rest of the still life the artist performed in a slightly different manner: the outlines of the objects standing on the table are a little blurry, as if they are dissolving in paints. And there are a lot of colors in the picture: the color just splashes: yellow, blue, red, green. Mixing colors creates a rainbow on the canvas.

The plot of the picture is ingenuous – the artist depicted his workplace. But he did it with such love and with such skill that this picture stood on a par with the recognized masterpieces of world art.

Year of painting: 1913.

Dimensions of the painting: 105.5 x 86.6 cm.

Material: canvas.

Writing technique: oil, paper stickers, printed labels.

Genre: still life.

Style: Cubism, Post-Impressionism.

Gallery: State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.