#43777 Boris Kustodiev (1878-1927)

Description of Boris Kustodiev’s painting Bathing

An amazing painting by Boris Kustodiev, the famous master of painting, Bathing was painted in oil on plywood in 1912.

The painting’s broad color palette and saturation of color perfectly show the painter’s handwriting. Bright sunny day is depicted truly "in the style of Kustodiev. The viewer can see the blue of the sky, the shimmering glitter of water in the sun, a green slope with young birch trees. On this background stands out a swimming pool of bright yellow color. And all these details emphasize the beauty of a warm summer day.

With great tenderness and delicacy the author has painted the images of the bathers. He doesn’t detail the figures of the women who bathe, but portrays female silhouettes a little blurred. He does this schematically, drawing the audience’s attention away from the very place of bathing, focusing it on the beauty of a brightly colored, flamboyant nature.

And everyday life is going on all around: boatmen offer their services to people, and a laden cart rises up the road near the slope. On the hill to the right you can see a church painted red.

The artist emphasized the festive summer mood of the bathers with the image of the Russian flag. Tricolor in the picture the painter captured twice. A canvas of white, blue and red color can be seen on the swimmers and on the board of a huge boat.

Women-bathers enjoying the warm sun, the smooth river, they talk to each other, apparently, about the most ordinary things, because around flowing measured life and stands graceful time.

The vividness of Kustodiev’s paints overflows the soul of contemplators with joy and delight.

Everything on the canvas in some way too much - too brightly colored background of the painting, which almost does not leave the air space, too green trees, too much relief waves, too much saturation.