Cassis. The view from the window - Pyotr Konchalovsky

A 1912 Post-Impressionist view of Cassis by Pyotr Konchalovsky, featuring bold geometric forms and thick, structural brushwork.

Pyotr Konchalovsky painted this view of Cassis in 1912 during a period of intense engagement with the formal principles of Paul Cézanne. As a founding member of the Jack of Diamonds group, Konchalovsky sought to move away from the decorative tendencies of earlier Russian art, favouring instead a structural approach to the canvas. In this work, the architecture of the French coastal town is reduced to a series of geometric volumes. The buildings are rendered with heavy, deliberate brushwork, their forms interlocking to create a sense of physical weight. The palette is dominated by earthy tones, deep greens, and ochres, which serve to unify the composition. The foliage in the foreground is treated with similar structural rigour, with individual leaves and branches suggested through thick, rhythmic strokes rather than fine detail. Konchalovsky avoids atmospheric perspective, opting instead for a flattened pictorial space that emphasises the two-dimensional nature of the canvas. The sky is depicted with dark, turbulent strokes that contrast with the stability of the stone structures below. This approach reflects the artist's interest in the materiality of paint and the construction of form through colour. By focusing on the underlying geometry of the scene, Konchalovsky captures the essence of the Mediterranean environment without resorting to traditional representational techniques. The work remains a clear example of the influence of French modernism on the Russian avant-garde, demonstrating a disciplined application of colour and structure to define space.