A photograph is a unique method for capturing a fleeting moment. But this becomes impossible when working directly with nature, even when it is static as an artist does in his paintings. This composition of color and form existed in a moment that lasted as long as the click of a camera shutter. Then everything changed, and it will never be repeated. And a person who sets himself the task of remaining completely realistic will be utterly unable to portray this instant on canvas. The human brain will bring it all together into an integrated picture.

Matters are further complicated by the fact that some buildings are portrayed by the artist from a point of view that even a camera would be incapable of. His scenes are in a big city, with its intricate structure and narrow streets, yet the architectural fragments are so tall that a photographer would only be able to capture them in his viewfinder by standing on a crane of equal height. Despite this, the artist was particularly careful to ensure that the paintings still resemble photographs in every other sence.

Andrey Kovalev
Ph. D in art history,
assistant professor at the faculty of arts,
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
laureate of the Innovation prize