Canvas “An autumn evening,” alongside with another similar work “Morning” (1999), was gifted to the museum by the artist himself. It is one of the brightest examples of the conceptual realism of Nikolay Kasatkin. The work, which is a part of the series “Puddles” (1999–2002), is executed within the tradition of Russian landscape painting, referring the viewer, for example, to the motives of Isaac Levitan. The philosophical theme of the road, the autumn thaw, which is generally characteristic of Russian art, in Kasatkin’s work reaches the level of metaphysics. The color of the picture, in modern terms, is “digitalized,” the details are highlighted and isolated. The gray, lifeless ground, in combination with a piercingly bright sunset, creates a feeling of unearthly landscape. The central theme is puddles in the road potholes. Their outlines resemble large lakes, seen from a bird's eye view or the windows of the illuminator.

Vladimir Prokhorov