Waves lapping the shore in a diagonal line appear in El Kazovskij's [1948, Leningrad [now St Petersburg] - 2008, Budapest] painting, ‘Siren on the Island 4’, creating a complex force field full of tension. The sea penetrates diagonally into the land from the left. The horizontal force of repeated ovals is counterbalanced by a system of abstract vertical gestures that blend sky and water. The sea and sky are filled with wonderful light, creating a silvery glow. The density of the space is enhanced by a pyramidal tomb in the foreground, which combines diagonal and horizontal-vertical divisions. The painting is built up from three primary colours - red, blue and yellow - which, together with characteristic thick black contours, expand into an elemental, eerily ominous composition, embodying the powers of Nature. In front of the entrance to the tomb stands a winged siren, one of the characteristic icons of Kazovskij's private mythology, which embodies unattainable desire and Beauty. The fierce gestures of the siren’s multicoloured wings almost split the figure. The siren seems to be alone, but at its feet lies its prey, the jackal-like dog, tied up, lifeless, like an Egyptian mummy, representing the artist Kazovskij himself. The painting radiates infinite pain, for there is neither triumph nor sacrifice, and the siren is as sad and lonely as the dog that yearns for her. But there is no boat on the shore to offer escape from the island and the horizon of release is lined with translucent vertical brushstrokes representing prison bars of confinement.