Cheslav Kazemirovich Stefansky
Smolensk, Lighting the Lamps
1919
oil on canvas
56 х 72 cm
Smolensk State Museum-Reserve

Stefansky completed this painting at a time when he was greatly influenced by Van Gogh’s work. This composition nevertheless shows a level of emotion that is typical of the artist. The emphasis lies in the colourful and luminous shimmering of space in a city street in winter; his blend of light blue and dark blue hues is typical of winter in Central Russia. In fact, the painter’s interest lay precisely in these shimmering colours, because the city itself, and features typical of a city, are virtually absent from the composition, whereas the details of the landscape dissolve under the rhythmic application of energetic brushstrokes. The streetlamps, whose circles of light gradually expire towards the edge of the canvas, are the true centre of the composition. This light contains no emotional overtones, but is simply the light that warms deepest winter. The shimmering of the light is accompanied by small genre scenes from urban life, both amusing and serious, which imbue the whole landscape with warmth.