February azure

Study for the painting "February azure" Igor Grabar wrote them specifically for that purpose, dug trenches in the snow. This is not a metaphor, Grabar literally climbed into the trench with his easel and set to work. In his view, was to display soaring birch, truly endless high sky and needed in this case to the author of the low horizon. "Trench" method he used here for the first time, used it and after. In entomonograph "My life" Grabar argues that the discovery method was a Fluke: "I stood a marvelous instance of a birch, a rare rhythmic structure of the branches. He turned to look at her, I dropped the stick and bent down to pick it up. When I looked at the top of the birch from the bottom, with the surface of the snow, I was stunned opened before me the spectacle of fantastic beauty: some chimes and pereklyucheniya of all colors, United by blue enamel of the sky".

Grabar loved to write winter in the warm and he was content the creation of still lifes but the winter with its sparkling snow, laced with frost, the sun glistens and white inspired him like no other. "Feast of azure sky, the pearl birches, coral branches and sapphire crystal lilac shadows on the snow"– so the artist himself described what he wanted to convey in my "February azure".

A view "from the trenches" allows you to increase the space of the picture up and uncover a lot of colors of the sky, from very light at the bottom to cobalt at the upper part of the picture. Grabar wrote "February azure" on location for two weeks. He worked almost without interruption and he believed that his painting the most important stage. "I felt I managed to create the most significant work of all hitherto written by me, most his, not borrowed, new concept and implementation"– it's all about, "February azure".

Author: Alain Grosheva