Russian painting is rightfully distinguished from the world artistic arts. The fact is that until the seventeenth century, domestic painting was associated exclusively with a religious theme. The situation changed with the coming to power of the reforming tsar, Peter the Great. Thanks to his reforms, Russian masters began to engage in secular painting, there was a separation of icon painting as a separate direction. The seventeenth century is the time of such artists as Simon Ushakov and Joseph Vladimirov. Then, in Russian art world portrait was born and quickly became popular. In the eighteenth century, the first artists appeared, moving from portrait painting to landscape. The artists’ pronounced sympathy for winter panoramas is noticeable. The eighteenth century was also remembered for the emergence of everyday painting. In the nineteenth century, three movements gained popularity in Russia: romanticism, realism and classicism. As before, Russian artists continued to turn to the portrait genre. It was then that the world-famous portraits and self-portraits of O. Kiprensky and V. Tropinin appeared. In the second half of the nineteenth century, artists increasingly depicted the common Russian people in their oppressed state. Realism becomes the central movement of painting of this period. It was then that the Itinerant artists appeared, depicting only real, real life. Well, the twentieth century is, of course, the avant-garde. The artists of that time significantly influenced both their followers in Russia and throughout the world. Their paintings became the forerunners of abstract art. Russian painting is a huge amazing world talented artists who glorified Russia with their creations
M. Bree-Bain. Women radio operators. 1933 ~ O. Vereisky. Three sisters
E. Samsonov. To new lands. 1954
S. Kamanin. Construction of tugboats. 1953
E. Danilevsky. Steel sample. 1952
I. Simonov. Foundry workers. 1959 ~ E. Kharitonenko. Electric welder. 1959
A. Deineka. Who will win? 1932
V. Kuptsov. ANT-20 ("Maxim Gorky"). 1934
B. Yakovlev. Transport is getting better. 1923
G. Ryazhsky. Mine. Ural. 1925
V. Malagis. Steelworkers. 1950
I. Bevzenko. Young steelworkers. 1961
N. Bazylev. Excursion to the factory. 1956
G. Brzozowski. In the steel smelting shop. 1964
Ya. Romas. On rafts. 1949
M. Maltsev. On watch. 1953
V. Tsvetkov. Poultry farm. 1971
M. Maltsev. Crane operator. 1953 ~ Z. Popova. Good catch. 1970
S. Balzamov. Frontline worker. 1951
N. Bazylev. Plant named after Ordzhonikidze. 1972
A. Petrov. "Mosfilm". 1978
A. Petrov. Moscow. Kazansky railway station. 1981
V. Firsov. Column. 1984
F. Reshetnikov. Arrived on vacation. 1948 ~ F. Reshetnikov. Two again. 1951
T. Yablonskaya. Morning ~ Yu. Raksha. Little bathers. 1979
N. Zhukov. We are growing and doing well. 1953 ~ A. Laktionov. Visiting grandchildren
I. Vladimirov. At the girls' school ~ V. Korneev. Schoolchildren at a concert. 1952
F. Reshetnikov. For peace! 1950 ~ N. Solomin. Young mothers
E. Gordiets. Illuminated by the sun. 1982 ~ B. Ugarov. Mother
K. Petrov-Vodkin. Sleeping child. 1924
Yu. Kugach. At the cradle
N. Terpsichorov. Window to the world. 1928
P. Krivonogov. Girl with skis. 1963 ~ V. Zholtok. Winter has come. 1953
A. Ratnikov. We had a walk. 1955
T. Yablonskaya. In the park. 1950
T. Yablonskaya. I caught a cold. 1953
N. Ulyanov. Bullfinches
D. Kolupaev. Holiday at school. On the Christmas tree. 1949
A. Kostenko. I. Michurin with children. 1964 ~ P. Drachenko. Pioneer song. 1959
V. Zholtok. Girl with a red hat. 1955
A. Mylnikov. Verochka on the veranda. 1957
S. Grigoriev. Goalkeeper. 1949
K. Uspenskaya-Kologrivova. Didn't take me fishing
S. Grigoriev. Fisherman. 1958
I. Shulga. Pioneers visiting the Black Sea residents. 1940
P. Krylov. Two Natashas
R. Galitsky. At the finish line
I. Shevandronov. In the village library
I. Shevandronov. The rehearsal is underway. 1959
A. Deineka. Future pilots. 1937
V. Pribylovsky. Future captains. 1963
S. Grigoriev. Pioneer. 1951 ~ P. Krokhonyatkin. Children on the balcony. 1954 ~ O. Bogaevskaya. Children's holiday. 1980
E. Chernyshova. Vyshnevolotsk brides. 1984 ~ A. Levitin. Peace to the grandchildren. 1985
K. Petrov-Vodkin. Girl with a doll. 1937 ~ M. Bogatyrev. Future champions. 1950
Ya. Titov. At the mausoleum of V.I. Lenin. 1953
P. Krivonogov. Funeral of I.V. Stalin. 1953
I. Davidovich, E. Tikhanovich. May Day demonstration
I. Davidovich, E. Tikhanovich. May Day demonstration (fragment)
A. Kazantsev. I.V. Stalin with his mother
B. Vladimirsky. Roses for J.V. Stalin
I. Penzov. Happy childhood. 1978
L. Kotlyarov. Bread and salt (L. I. Brezhnev with village workers)
I. Radoman. L. I. Brezhnev on ZIL
A. Gerasimov. I.V. Stalin and A.M. Gorky at the dacha. 1930
A. Gerasimov. Family portrait. 1934
People's Artist of the USSR A.M. Gerasimov
Despite his parents' reluctance, he goes to Moscow, passes the drawing exam brilliantly and becomes a student at the School. His teacher in the landscape class was M.K. Klodt, in the head class - K.N. Gorsky and A.M. Korin, in the figure class - S.D. Miloradovich and N.A. Kasatkin, in the full-scale class - A.E. Arkhipov and L.O.Pasternak. Teachers V. Serov, K. Korovin, A. Vasnetsov gave him a lot in painting. Having brilliantly completed the painting department of the School, A.M. Gerasimov decided to attend the workshop of K. Korovin. To do this, it was necessary, on Korovin’s advice, to enroll in another department of the School. Gerasimov firmly decided on architecture. Konstantin Korovin, rightfully considered the founder of Russian impressionism, gave him a lot. Often visiting Paris, K. Korovin told students about French impressionism and, of course, influenced the work of young Gerasimov. This influence can be especially seen in his early student works, created in 1912-13: “Portrait of V.A. Gilyarovsky”, “Portrait of N. Gilyarovskaya”, “Portrait of V. Lobanov”. All these works were written at V. Gilyarovsky’s dacha, in Gilyaevka. “Portrait of V.A. Gilyarovsky” is now in the writer’s apartment in Moscow, and two other portraits are in the collection of the museum-estate of A.M. Gerasimov.
During these years, V.A. Gilyarovsky often attended student exhibitions at the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. From his works, he could easily determine not only the artist’s talent, but also where this or that artist came from. He acquired paintings by the very young Gerasimov, supported him morally and financially, and this had a beneficial effect on the artist’s work.
In the garden. Portrait of Nina Gilyarovskaya, 1912
Portrait of art critic V.M. Lobanov. 1913
At the end of the 30s, A.M. Gerasimov became interested in portraiture: “The portrait genre is the main type of my creativity, expressing my essence as an artist,” Gerasimov wrote. The artist was attracted to creative, intellectually rich and significant personalities. “I loved and love the strong and bright in nature, I look for the same in a person and when I find it, I uncontrollably want to capture it in a colorful image,” recalled A.M. Gerasimov. The need to perpetuate a strong, beautiful person, seen in his broad connections with time, era, and environment resulted in the creation of a truly grandiose series of portraits. Among them, “Portrait of the ballerina O.V. Lepeshinskaya” (1939) especially stood out. The ballerina is depicted in the rehearsal hall, against the backdrop of a huge mirror, standing on pointe shoes. This technique allows you to show the dancer’s figure from two angles. The mirror reflects a table with makeup supplies and part of a ballet barre, and the easel at which the artist worked is also visible.
Remarkable are the portraits of A.K. Tarasova (State Russian Museum), the Moscow Art Theater actor I.M. Moskvin (1940) (Lviv Art Gallery), and “Portrait of the Artist Tamara Khanum” (1939). Later he wrote “Group portrait of the oldest artists of the State Academic Maly Theater of the USSR A.A. Yablochkina, V.N. Ryzhova, E.D. Turchaninova” (1956), “Portrait of Rina Zelenaya” (1954), etc.
Portrait of the artist A.K. Tarasova. 1939 ~ Portrait of a daughter. 1951
A.M. Gerasimov. Portrait of K.E. Voroshilov. 1927
Portrait of Klim Petrovich Voroshilov, grandson of K.E. Voroshilov. 1949
Gerasimov Alexander Mikhailovich
Gerasimov had the gift of easily capturing portrait likeness and felt himself primarily a portrait painter. Among his works, images of high-ranking people gradually begin to dominate. Gerasimov gained particular fame as the author of numerous images of V.I. Lenin, I.V. Stalin and major party bosses. He deliberately gave his brush to the service of the triumphant communist government in exchange for personal prosperity.
Extraordinary talent, cheerful, “luscious” style of painting - all this as the artist progresses through career ladder acquired a ceremonial luster (Portrait of K. E. Voroshilov. 1927. Museum modern history Russia). His most recognized paintings were “V. I. Lenin on the podium" (1930. State Historical Museum; repeat 1947 in the State Tretyakov Gallery) and "Speech by V. I. Lenin at the Plenum of the Moscow Soviet on November 20, 1922" (1930. State Historical Museum).
Success and recognition were not long in coming. At the beginning of 1936, a personal exhibition of Gerasimov opened in Moscow, where 133 works were shown, starting with the earliest ones. The central place, of course, was occupied by portraits of party leaders; the main place in the exhibition was given to “Speech by J.V. Stalin at the 16th Party Congress” (1933. Archive of artistic works).
Unlike many others, Gerasimov was allowed to travel abroad. In the 1930s he visited Berlin, Rome, Naples, Florence, Venice, Istanbul and Paris. Abroad, the artist wrote many sketches (“Hagia Sophia.” 1934. State Russian Museum) and constantly attended art exhibitions. But the “correct” fighter for socialist realism did not like what he believed to be the unprincipled art of Europe. French artists, according to Gerasimov, they listened with interest to his stories about “ artistic activity in the USSR." “The wonderful life and working conditions of artists in the Soviet Union, where all types of art are surrounded by care from the party and the government, seemed like a fairy tale to them” (Sokolnikov M. A. M. Gerasimov. Life and creativity. - M., 1954. P. 134. ).
In the second half of the thirties and in the forties, such officially pompous works of Gerasimov appeared as “I. V. Stalin and K. E. Voroshilov in the Kremlin" (1938. Tretyakov Gallery), "I. V. Stalin makes a report at the XVIII Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the work of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (1939. Tretyakov Gallery), “Hymn to October” (1942. State Russian Museum), “I. V. Stalin at the tomb of A. A. Zhdanov" (1948. Tretyakov Gallery, Stalin Prize 1949). Such “epoch-making” paintings were usually created using a team method, that is, by apprentices - the maestro himself prescribed only the critical details. His huge canvases, full of poster pathos, became standards of the official style of Soviet art.
His paintings created the image of a “wise leader” and played an important role in propaganda campaigns. The artist uncontrollably flattered Stalin both in his pompous images of the Secretary General and in his statements about him. Perhaps, just to raise his authority, he assured that Stalin, in conversations with him, “expressed the most valuable, for us artists, comments concerning the very topic of our craft.” However, Stalin himself did not consider himself a connoisseur of painting; rather, he was indifferent to it, unless it concerned his own portraits (Gromov E. Stalin: power and art. - M., 1998. P. 288, 305.).
The artist tirelessly also painted portraits of high-ranking officials of the Communist Party and government (Portrait of V.M. Molotov. [V.M. Molotov speaks at a meeting in Bolshoi Theater November 6, 1947]. 1948. Tretyakov Gallery), military leaders and heroes of socialist labor. Sometimes Gerasimov also painted representatives of the creative intelligentsia: “Ballerina O. V. Lepeshinskaya” (1939), “Group portrait oldest artists I. N. Pavlova, V. N. Baksheev, V. K. Byalynitsky-Biruli, V. N. Meshkov” (1944, Stalin Prize 1946). He also painted portraits of his family – “Family Portrait” (1934. Museum of the Republic of Belarus).
For himself, Gerasimov was engaged in rough and simplified eroticism; numerous sketches for the unfinished paintings “Village Bathhouse” (1938, A.M. Gerasimov House-Museum, Michurinsk) and “Polovtsian Dances” (1955, property of the artist’s family, Moscow) have been preserved. On the theme of the “Village Bathhouse,” Gerasimov wrote many sketches “for himself” over many years (Village Bathhouse. Etude. 1950. Collection of the artist’s family). He also “vented his soul” in his work on illustrations for “Taras Bulba” (1947-1952), in which he may have been looking for lost paths to the national romanticism of the beginning of the century.
By the end of the 1930s, during the period of mass repressions and the emergence of totalitarian Stalinist system, Gerasimov achieves complete official success and prosperity. Now he is not only a courtier, a highly paid painter, Stalin’s favorite, but also a leader endowed with power artistic life countries. He was entrusted to lead and, most importantly, control the work of other artists. He was appointed chairman of the board of the Moscow branch of the Union of Artists (1938-1940) and chairman of the organizing committee of the Union of Soviet Artists (1939-1954). When the USSR Academy of Arts was created in 1947, Gerasimov was appointed its first president at the insistence of Voroshilov; he remained in this chair until 1957.
In all his posts, Gerasimov showed himself to be an energetic assistant to the party in suppressing the creative intelligentsia. He strictly fought against any deviations from socialist realism under the false slogan of “loyalty to the great traditions of Russian realism.” He firmly and consistently fought against “formalism”, against “admiration for the degenerate art of the bourgeoisie.”
As a devoted assistant of Voroshilov, he actively contributed to the closure in 1946 of the Museum of New Western Art, in the building of which the Museum of Gifts to J.V. Stalin was located. In 1948, during a discussion on formalism, he tirelessly advocated “for high ideological art,” that is, for art that was emasculated and ideological. Gerasimov asked rhetorically and answered bluntly: “Why should I consider the tastes of formalist artists above my taste? [...] with all my gut I understood that this was some kind of death, I was sick of all this and aroused hatred, which still does not diminish.”
With particular fury and pleasure, he trampled the impressionists. Gerasimov’s faithful people sought out rebellious artists and reported them to the strict guardian of the socialist realist order. The proceedings were always short and peremptory. If the artist painted with strokes, then the accusation of “impressionism” followed. From that moment on, any works by such a disgraced painter were no longer accepted anywhere and he was doomed to a hungry existence.
At the same time, Alexander Gerasimov understood perfectly what real art and true creativity are. When his thoughts were far from responsible posts and high stands, he created chamber, lyrical works, giving preference to landscape and still life. These works reflected, willy-nilly, the painting system of his teacher Konstantin Korovin. Many of them bear clear traces of impressionistic writing: “Song of the Starling” (1938. Tretyakov Gallery), “Apple Trees in Blossom” (1946. Collection of the artist’s family). In my opinion, his best work is “After the Rain. Wet terrace"(1935. Tretyakov Gallery). In it, the artist showed true painting skill.
In everyday life, Alexander Mikhailovich was known as a gentle and friendly person. In conversations with close people, he allowed himself very unorthodox statements. He advised young artists: “The most important thing is to grab life by the tail. Its uniqueness. Don't go after particularly formal paintings. You’ll get the money, but you’ll lose the artist in you.”
By old age, the venerable artist seemed to have decreased in stature and looked like a dwarf, his wrinkled yellow skin hung in folds on his face, his black Mongoloid eyes under flabby eyelids seemed sad. There was nothing villainous in his appearance. He said about himself: “I am a pure Russian! But the Tatars, apparently, have been thoroughly present in my family. I would like to sit on a horse, beat dried basturma under the saddle, drink if I want, trim a horse’s sinew, drink blood. However, I’ve already sucked the blood of all sorts of formalists, and imagists, and Jack of Diamonds guys like this... I don’t want any more, I’m sick...”
With the death of Stalin, Gerasimov's influence began to fade, and after the 20th Congress of the CPSU and the exposure of the cult of personality, the former ruler of artists was removed from business. In 1957, he lost his post as president of the Academy; paintings of former leaders were removed to museum storerooms.
Gerasimov’s disgrace was perceived by the intelligentsia as one of the symptoms of Khrushchev’s “thaw.” However, the artist himself, who highly valued his talent, considered himself undeservedly rejected. When one of his acquaintances, an art critic, met the former head of socialist realism on the street and asked how he was doing, he responded with a striking phrase: “In oblivion, like Rembrandt.” However, he exaggerated the extent of both his rejection and his talent. Socialist realists will be in demand until the fall of the partyocracy in 1991.
The phenomenon of Gerasimov and many similar artists of the Soviet period is ambiguous. Gerasimov is a painter endowed by God with great talent. Any master in his work, whether he wants it or not, depends on power, on socio-culture, on the established community, on money. To what extent can he afford to make compromises that cannot be avoided? Gerasimov clearly crossed the invisible line of demarcation. He began to serve not his Talent, but the Leaders.
After the rain. Wet Terrace, 1935
On display in Tretyakov Gallery Two Gerasimov paintings are on display: “Wet Terrace” and “I.V. Stalin and K.E. Voroshilov in the Kremlin.” An example of a creative alternative for future art historians. But, perhaps, descendants, when they are covered with the patina of time, the crimes and injustices of the Stalin era, will see in them only a great artistic gift, regardless of the political situation of the past. And in the still unwritten history of Russian art there will remain both “Wet Terrace” and “I. V. Stalin and K. E. Voroshilov.” As outstanding monuments of their era. After all, no one would now think of reproaching D. G. Levitsky, F. S. Rokotov, V. L. Borovikovsky, I. E. Repin, V. A. Serov for the royal portraits.
Alexander Mikhailovich Gerasimov died in Moscow on July 23, 1963; in the same year, the memoirs of a “militant socialist realist” (“The Life of an Artist”) were also published.
In March 1977, a memorial house-museum of the artist was opened in Michurinsk. This is an extensive two-story brick building. There is a garden, outbuildings, a carriage house and a barn. Apparently, the artist’s parents were wealthy merchants who knew how to trade profitably. The son followed in their footsteps.
Original taken from uglich_jj in Anti-Soviet painting
Below is a selection of anti-Soviet paintings from different years. Some of these paintings were painted back in the USSR, secretly, “on the table”; the public saw them only after the fall of the Soviet regime. Another part of the paintings was painted in the 1990s. and later, when censorship and Lubyanka no longer threatened the authors. Both parts are interesting in their own way, especially today, when the restoration of the Soviet Union is in full swing in the Russian Federation and nostalgia about these times is being instilled. And there is something to remember there.
Let's start with this:
Yuri Kugach. "Glory to the Great Stalin!" 1950
But who would have thought that since the 1960s. In the silence of his studio, Kugach worked for 30 years on this canvas, which he succinctly called: “From the recent past.”
Yuri Kugach. "From the recent past." 1960-90s
Dispossession, a peasant with laboring peasant hands and security officers who evict his family from the village. Ahead is another line of carts with other families. Somehow there is no joy, no one is dancing.
Yuri Kugach had the title of People's Artist of the USSR, was quite kind to the Soviet government, although he painted all sorts of nasty things about it (secretly). Many could not afford this either. They just remained silent and waited in the wings.
Egils Veidemanis (1924-2004), Soviet artist, son of a Latvian rifleman, who remained in Russia after 1917. Egil Karlovich lived all his life in Moscow, about which he wrote a lot of good paintings. Well, for example:
Egil Veidemanis. " Winter evening in Zamoskvorechye". 1968
But the time has come and it turned out that in addition to the Kremlin and Zamoskvorechye, there is also the Butovo training ground in Moscow. The place where in 1937-38. The security officers shot and threw 20,000 people into ditches, including the artist’s father. Father after civil war worked in the Latvian theater "Skatuve" in Moscow, which was shot almost in its entirety.
Egil Veidemanis. "Butovo. NKVD execution range." 1999-2003
The ages of those executed in Butovo ranged from 14 to 82 years, of all nationalities and classes, incl. about 100 artists and more than 900 clergy. The execution technique itself in the picture, however, is not depicted with historical accuracy.
In this manner, “on wheels,” the NKVD shot Poles in Katyn - they drove them out of their cars into the forest and shot. In Butovo everything was a little different. There was a special barracks where people were brought to around 1 am (up to 400-500 people per night). They were brought there supposedly for “sanitation” (one to one, like the Nazis in their camps). There they checked their identities, undressed them, and announced the verdict. At that time, the firing squad was sitting in a separate house, drinking vodka. Only then did they start driving them out into the street to be shot, one by one. When the whole job was completed, by morning the bulldozer operator filled up the hole.
Sergei Nikiforov. "Linden trees at the site of executions (Butovo training ground)." 2002
Sanitation in the Butovo barracks is good, but not as effective. Therefore, effective managers of the USSR also used more massive methods of killing. For example, hunger. In this connection, I would like to introduce you to the Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR Nina Marchenko. At the height of Soviet power, she painted such optimistic pictures:
Nina Marchenko. "Childhood Restored" 1965
A Soviet soldier liberates children from a German concentration camp. The artist then dedicated this painting (thesis) to the children of Buchenwald. True, the Americans liberated Buchenwald, but that doesn’t matter.
Or here:
Nina Marchenko. "Twins". 1972
In the picture there is a Ukrainian village, a happy granny, children, towels.
But since the mid-1980s. Nina Marchenko began to draw what was happening in the Ukrainian village during the time of Stalin.
Nina Marchenko. "Registration for the collective farm." 1985
A brutal communist in a Budenovka drives a peasant into a collective farm.
When they drove me to the collective farm, they took away the bread. The grain was confiscated and sold to the West to earn currency for industrialization. The famine of 1932-33 began in the grain-producing regions of the country, primarily in Ukraine (Holodomor).
Nina Marchenko. "Road of Sorrow" 1998-2000
The idea of starving several million people to promote industry is not new. It was first used by British colonialists in Bengal at the end of the 18th century. They taxed the Indians so much that they took everything from them and took them to England, where the industrial revolution was unfolding at that time. True, from this 7 million people. in Bengal in 1769-1773. died of hunger. Ukraine, as well as the Russian Volga region and Kuban became Inner Bengal Soviet Union.
Nina Marchenko. "Mother of 1933" 2000
According to the most conservative estimates, in 1932-33. At least 3 million people died from hunger in the USSR. They were exchanged for a Ford assembly line at the GAZ plant in Gorky and Siemens turbines for the Dneproges. And that's right. What value do the lives of the average Bengali have? And turbines - you can spin them.
Nina Marchenko. "The Last Path". 1998-2000
The war with the Germans of 1941-45 was fought in approximately the same style as industrialization. This is what the Moscow artist Sergei Sherstyuk (himself the son of a front-line soldier, a general of the Soviet Army) showed in his 1985 painting.
Sergey Sherstyuk. "Men of the same family. 1941."
Sergey Sherstyuk. "Men of the same family. 1945."
And the final blow to the country’s male population was dealt by the post-war alcoholization of the USSR. He captured it most clearly in the 1970s and 80s. artist Vasily Kolotev. Kolotev was a non-conformist, did not cooperate with the authorities, did not seek any titles, awards, or exhibitions. He worked as a mechanic at a factory and painted “on the table”, living in a wretched Moscow communal apartment.
Vasily Kolotev. "Red day of the calendar." 1985
Drunken Soviet proletarians celebrate May 1st.
Vasily Kolotev. "...And the ship sails. Beer house." 1979
The state-forming nation of the USSR during the late Brezhnev...
Vasily Kolotev. "The poplar leaves fall from the ash tree." 1984
It's her.
Vasily Kolotev. "Boulevard Scene" 1984
1984 "Andropovka" at 4-70. Well, for spirituality!
Vasily Kolotev. "Sunday". 1984
Russian world.
Vasily Kolotev. "On the staircase." 1983
Third Rome.
Vasily Kolotev. "Rush hour" 1986
And his Romans.
Vasily Kolotev. "Neighbor's Morning" 1984
Soviet communal apartment. Dirt, poverty, superpower.
Vasily Kolotev. "The Ninth Wave" 1979
Soviet family. My wife, in my opinion, went along with him. And these bulls are on the table, on the floor... Why smoke in front of children?
Vasily Kolotev. "Queue". 1985
Soviet stores. The USSR was a country of queues. Behind everything. From sausage to toilet paper.
The famous Soviet queues, an integral part of the planned economy, are also reflected in the paintings of other artists.
Alexey Sundukov. "Queue". 1986
Queues for food are monotonous and squalid dressed women They made a really depressing impression. There was an air of hopelessness about them.
Vladimir Korkodym. "Waiting for goods." 1989
Queue at the village store. Dejection and resignation. A people broken by despotism.
However, this is not surprising. They broke for a long time and cruelly. And they fooled me again. In the older generation who lived under Stalin, the fear of 1937 sat firmly and forever. Fear and habit of believing propaganda. Getting rid of this took years, not for everyone, but the metamorphoses that resulted were sometimes surprising. A striking example- Igor Obrosov, folk artist RSFSR (1983), master of socialist realism, painted in the so-called. "severe style", popular in the 1960s-80s. He was completely loyal to Soviet power, titles, exhibitions, incl. number abroad.
Igor Obrosov. "Malchish-Kibalchish." 1963
A painting based on the children's fairy tale by Arkady Gaidar "About the Military Secret, the Boy-Kibalchish and his Firm Word." Propaganda began from diapers, with efforts including: such people as Gaidar Sr. and the artist Obrosov.
But this is not just propaganda. This is an allegorical picture, with a double bottom. Little boy in Budenovka he stretches out his hands to the stern Red Army soldier walking away. The leaving man is actually the artist's father, the famous surgeon (and communist revolutionary) Pavel Obrosov, who was shot in 1938. In the late 1980s. under Gorbachev, a campaign will begin to expose Stalin's crimes. The artist Igor Obrosov will paint a series of paintings “Dedication to the Father” (1986-88) and it will become clear who is who on the 1963 canvas.
Igor Obrosov. "Mother and Father. Waiting. 1937." 1986-88
Here he is that same Red Army soldier and the black funnel is waiting for him in the yard.
Igor Obrosov. "No right of correspondence." 1986-88
The security officers take the arrested man out. The standard sentence of “10 children without the right to correspondence” plunged the relatives into the unknown: it could actually be 10 years, or it could be an execution, which they were simply not informed about. In the case of Igor Obrosov's father, it is the second.
Later, Igor Obrosov continued the topic he started. In 2008, his personal exhibition “The Tragic Past (Victims of Stalin’s Repressions)” was published.
Igor Obrosov. "Victim of the Gulag." 2000s
A group of security officers rapes a female prisoner.
Two paintings by the same artist, 40 years apart.
More from the late Obrosov:
Igor Obrosov. "GULAG Zombies" 2000s
Stalin's concentration camp. Two security officers are dragging the corpse of an emaciated prisoner.
The last picture is reminiscent of David Ohler’s graphics about Auschwitz, only in this case it’s a Soviet concentration camp. Ohler was a prisoner of Auschwitz, working as a crematorium attendant, but managed to survive. After the war, he made a series of drawings from camp life from memory.
David Ohler. "Dragging corpses from the gas chamber of Crematorium III to the elevator." 1946
Obrosov, unlike David Oler, never spent time in a concentration camp. I just drew about him. But in the USSR there were several artists who PERSONALLY went through the Stalinist GULAG and depicted what they saw from memory. For example, Georgy Cherkasov (1910-1973), who was convicted three times for anti-Soviet agitation and was released only after Stalin’s death.
Georgy Cherkasov. "Northern Lights. Ukhtpechlag, late 1930s." 1960s
Georgy Cherkasov. "On the last journey. Ukhtpechlag, 1938." 1960s
This is the Vorkuta camp, where in 1938 the so-called. “Kashketin executions” (after the name of the security officer Efim Kashketin, who organized them). In the picture, a group of prisoners are being led to execution. On the left - two "knotted" prisoners are tying up a priest (this is real character, Father Yegor, with whom Cherkasov was sitting). They knit it so that before execution the condemned cannot take communion.
Another bright camp artist is Nikolai Getman. A native of Kharkov, he ended up in the Gulag in 1945 for “anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda.” I was in Taishetlag (construction of the BAM) and in Kolyma. After being released for almost half a century (from 1953 to 2004), he worked on a series of paintings “The Gulag through the Eyes of an Artist.”
Nikolai Getman. "By stage." 1954
Nikolai Getman. "Lagpunkt Verkhniy Debin. Kolyma." 1985
This is the mine where the artist worked to mine gold. Approximately 400 km from Magadan along the Kolyma highway.
“At the Debin mine (Kolyma) in 1951, a group of prisoners were once allowed to pick berries. Three got lost - and they were gone. The head of the camp, Senior Lieutenant Pyotr Lomaga, sent torturers. They set dogs on three sleeping men, then shot them, then split their heads with rifle butts, They turned them into mush, so that their brains were hanging out, and in this form they were taken to the camp on a cart. Here they replaced the horse with four prisoners, and they pulled the cart past the line. “This is what will happen to everyone!” Lomaga announced.(A.I. Solzhenitsyn. The Gulag Archipelago).
Nikolay Getman. "Lunch. They brought some gruel." 1991
As in the Nazi concentration camps in the Soviet Gulag, prisoners were constantly kept in hunger. This way the will to resist broke down faster.
Nikolai Getman. "Wick". 1987
The wick is a prisoner whose strength is running out, a goner.
Nikolay Getman. "A ration of bread for a dubar." 1989
In the lower right corner there is a dying prisoner lying on the floor. If his barracks neighbors manage to hide his death for some time, there will be an extra ration of bread, 800 grams per day.
Nikolai Getman. "Morgue of Gulag prisoners." 1980
The picture shows prisoner Ivan Pavlovsky, a Russian engineer who was in the same camp with Getman. His task was to prepare the bodies of the dead for burial. He made tags from tin cans, which he attached to the corpse with wire.
Nikolai Getman. "Mosquitoes" 1990
Torture, known since the time of SLON (Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp). The prisoner was tied to a tree (in some camps - thrown into a hole) during the mosquito (midge) season. In a maximum of an hour, he lost so much blood that a painful death occurred.
Nikolai Getman. "Waiting to be shot." 1987
Well, I guess that's enough. Especially at night. And who still has nostalgia for the scoop, then here:
In this section - Soviet painting, socialist realism. Artists of the Soviet period, which covers half a century of Soviet art, from 1930-1980, you can buy a painting by almost any Soviet artist on any subject.
Industrial landscape. Industrial landscape, Soviet sport in painting. Holidays and workdays in Soviet fine art are a kind of iso-reports of that time. Soviet painting of the 50-60s is the most popular segment in our section.
Buy a painting as a gift.
You can not only buy socialist realism as a symbol of the era, but also purchase forest and river landscapes of the Moscow region and Volga, sunny Crimea and Central Asia, like hundreds of other corners of our vast homeland. Soviet landscape often showed the connection between man and nature. It is enough to remember the titles familiar to everyone from childhood: “On peaceful fields”, “over the snow”; copies of these paintings by famous Soviet artists are always in great demand.
Buy a still life. Buy a genre painting.
Soviet painters absorbed all the best that was created in world realistic art. Outstanding masters AHRR and OST laid down the painting traditions that were successfully implemented by Soviet artists of the post-war generation. Still lifes with flowers and fruit symbolize abundance and fertility and are often devoid of an ideological component.
Buy landscapes of Moscow and views of Leningrad.
Often Soviet painting presented a fictional world, the illusion of a bright and festive life. The landscape genre allowed many masters to remain sincere. The Moscow streets depicted in the works of the 50s and 60s evoke healthy nostalgia and mentally transport us to the times of our student youth and allow us to remember the long-gone details of that unique era.
Buy a portrait.
The Soviet portrait emerged in these years as an independent movement, showing man as the creator of a new world. The world of labor, exploits and creation. The artists of Grekov's studio are especially often represented in this genre. Portraits of Soviet military leaders, Portraits Soviet writers and creative intelligentsia, such exhibitions were held within the walls of our gallery.
The Soviet school of painting was rightfully considered the best of that period, using the heritage of world realistic art and that is why many famous artists interned and studied at the USSR Academy of Arts. Realistic manner execution, the highest academic skill, these are the main criteria by which it is profitable to buy a painting or several for your interior or private collection. Contact our staff and you will find the most great deals, both for buying a painting as a gift and for decorating your everyday life.
Soviet painting of the 20th century this is our specialty. We buy and sell paintings by Soviet artists. Artists of austere style, Soviet impressionism, artists of the left Leningrad Union of Artists and the group of “eleven”, unknown socialist realism of the Leningrad school, Soviet monumental artists, socialist realism in architecture, these are the trends that we constantly exhibit at our auctions and numerous exhibitions.
Sale and purchase of socialist realism paintings. All this can be easily done by contacting us. Today, Soviet artists, like the masters of socialist realism, are again on the wave of popularity. Evidence of this is not only the successful auction sales of the Soviet school of painting, as within the walls of our auction house Sovcom and on the world's leading auction sites.
Soviet paintings for sale. We constantly buy paintings by Soviet artists and hold several thematic exhibitions a year. We probably have the largest selection of works on all topics and don’t be upset if you didn’t find something in this section that you immediately liked. Our gallery's holdings are much larger. Contact us and we will definitely find you exactly what you need.
Investments in art.
We have been working for more than 15 years and during this time we have created many significant collections that are not only pleasing to the eye, but have also made it possible to make profitable investments in art, and some have been added to museum collections and made up the exhibitions of new private museums.
The Soviet period in the history of Russia is a period of almost eighty years, during which the country, without a shadow of a doubt, changed more than during the last two hundred years of the reign of the Romanov dynasty. These changes have affected absolutely all spheres of life, from everyday life to breakthroughs in science, the development of technology and, of course, art.
We cannot ignore the fact that the population of pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary Russia are absolutely two different societies, and the revolution of 1917 itself became a kind of watershed that forever established the boundaries of eras.
TO historical events can be treated differently, but for collectors of antiquities and art, history is the setting within which the object of their interest was created on the stage of time. For students of the artifacts of time, history serves as an explanation of why this or that thing looks the way it does. It cannot be denied that the Soviet government began its fight against illiteracy of the population and paid maximum possible attention to issues of education, realizing that such citizens would be at least a little more useful to society. Art education, which was previously available to a much smaller percentage of the population, was no exception. Of course, the party elite and the leadership of the USSR had their own interest in this. They needed those who would illustrate the life of the new country and demonstrate its achievements and superiority over the old world. Nevertheless, despite the huge imprint of propaganda, which could not but leave an imprint on artists and their works, it was in the Soviet Union that many artists who later became very famous were not only born and developed. But even the creators who began their journey under Tsarist Russia developed much faster than their Western colleagues; Soviet painting had its own recognizable handwriting and style.
If you are reading this text, it means that you are, to one degree or another, interested in such a layer in the fine arts as Soviet painting. Working with artists’ canvases is a priority direction of the “Russian Antique Gallery” and should be ignored most interesting works Of course, we couldn’t do Russian artists who painted their paintings during the Soviet era.
You don’t have to be a sophisticated collector to want to buy paintings from the times of the Soviet Union. With a relatively affordable price compared to paintings by Western European artists of the nineteenth century, paintings from the Soviet Union are no less interesting and were painted in a unique period of time by real masters. Often Russian and other art lovers begin their collection of paintings with the works of USSR artists. One of the explanations for the interest in Russian painting of that period can be called the unusual high level training of artists and art education Soviet school in general, as well as greater accessibility to education in general.
We are proud to offer you before you buy Soviet painting, familiarize yourself with our section to evaluate the level of skill and genius of Soviet artists, choose your favorite paintings.
For many, Soviet painting will certainly evoke nostalgic feelings, because these works largely reflect their childhood. Half-forgotten life of the past, ancient buildings and streets that today have changed beyond recognition, stadiums, demonstrations, the work of workers, harvesting, scenes from production, demonstrations of the achievements of Soviet craftsmen. These motifs come to us from the paintings of many creators of the USSR. Our collection includes works by such artists as:
· A.A Deineka
· E.E. Moiseenko
· A.I. Lutsenko
· Yu.A Volkov
If you want to start collecting USSR paintings, we recommend that you first determine the boundaries of your collection. They can be the time period, theme, creative association, method of painting and much more. Of course, when determining the boundaries of your future collection, it is best to consult with those immersed in the antique environment. fine arts people who will at least help you with advice on how to avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that lie in wait for beginners. The experts of the Russian Antique Gallery are always ready to give you advice on any questions of interest.
We also always recommend that you first buy Soviet paintings by currently little-known artists for your collection. Their paintings are cheaper, but just like any antique, they consistently increase in price, being an excellent investment, much more reliable than modern banks. Moreover, the world of antique fine art also has its own fashion. Just yesterday, an artist known only to a narrow circle of professionals suddenly receives worldwide recognition; an academic paper is published on the topic of his works. scientific article or science-based material and its canvases instantly become needed by everyone, and, consequently, seriously increase in price. And such cases are not exceptions at all.
You can buy a painting by a Soviet artist as well as a decorative element. And this solution also has many advantages that cannot be discounted. Let us note that the painting of the USSR has its own characteristic and recognizable features, the skillful use of which can either create a certain atmosphere of a bygone era, or emphasize some “Russianness” of the space in which the painting is located. Soviet painting is very accessible to those looking for an interior solution by the very fact of its quantity, and, therefore, this section of the “Russian Antique Gallery” is regularly updated. No less interesting is the stylistic and genre diversity of works by Russian artists in the USSR. The rapid change of ideological paradigms of Soviet society gave rise to very, very much in an amazingly short period of time. The explosion of the avant-garde, which gave birth to absolutely all the main art movements of the twentieth century: abstractionism, suprematism, constructivism, futurism, rayonism, analytical art, which developed towards socialist realism. Later, thanks to this amazingly multifaceted path, the world of fine art received nonconformist artists who created their canvases from the 60s to the late 80s of the twentieth century. And all this diversity existed
and developed in parallel, being either in favor or out of favor with the ruling elite. This is an incredible and multifaceted period that is simply impossible not to love and appreciate.
Despite the fact that the “Russian Antique Gallery” deals with rarities of the past, we all live in the present and quite modern world. Who else but us knows that the most valuable thing a person has is time. And in pursuit of his witnesses, you can lose this precious resource. When creating this site, our store team put a lot of effort into soviet paintings the purchase was as convenient and simple as possible in order to save your personal time, which you can always spend on things that are important to you.
Buying paintings by Soviet artists today is easy and simple in our online store, spending just a few minutes and completing the minimum possible number of steps. Absolutely every item from the archives of our store is presented on our website, accompanied by detailed description, with the maximum possible indication of all the data important for the rarity, as well as with high-quality photographs in which you can easily see the antiques in the smallest detail. To buy Soviet paintings, all that remains for you is to find a painting that interests you, place it in the cart and complete the order. After this, our managers will contact you and discuss the details.
If you have any questions about any painting or item presented in our online store, you can always contact us through the feedback form or call the number indicated in the upper right corner. Our specialists are always happy to help you.
For those who are accustomed to making purchases only by directly examining the item with their own eyes, our online store, where Soviet painting is presented, is also not useless. It shows the current availability of items in our collection and allows you to get all the necessary brief information about the antiques you are interested in.
Our team of experts works daily to find new unique items for our collection and is always ready to accept individual orders to search for specific items. The best way to buy Soviet paintings is to come to our store and tell our consultant what kind of painting you are interested in, and we will accept your request for work. The employees of the Russian Antique Gallery have completed hundreds of individual orders, and we are confident that we will be able to find the item you are interested in on mutually beneficial terms.
Invites you to choose in our salon
READ FULL