Soviet Art

Autumn gifts. Mushroom time. Oil, 1983. Soviet artist Alexandr Alexeyevich Gritsai (1950, Leningrad – 1988, Moscow)

Soviet artist Alexandr Alexeyevich Gritsai

Unfortunately, he lived a short time – thirty-eight years, and from them more than thirty years he drew, sculpted, and painted. In his early childhood Sasha was carried away with modeling of colored plasticine and drawing, depicting heroes of fairy tales and first impressions of the surrounding world. His work attracted attention with vividness and sharpness of characteristics, expressiveness of images.
When for the father of Sasha – People’s Artist of the USSR Alexei Mikhailovich Gritsay – the son’s giftedness became apparent, he began to engage with him regularly. Later, together they went to sketches, spent days in the workshop, often drawing near the sitters. Sasha observed how his father works, and he painted still lifes, landscapes. As time went by, the fastened dialogue between the teacher and the student moved into a close creative community. After four classes of the secondary school, Sasha continued his studies at the Moscow Secondary Art School at the Surikov Institute. The atmosphere of creative competition inherent in the art school, successfully supported by teachers. Frequent visits to the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts contributed to the development of talent for the future artist and the strengthening of his professional training.
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Kolkhoz holiday. 1936-1937. Oil on canvas. Tretyakov gallery. Soviet artist Sergey Vasilievich Gerasimov (1885–1964)

Soviet artist Sergey Vasilievich Gerasimov (1885-1964) studied at the St. Petersburg State Art and Industry Academy named after A. L. Stieglitz, workshops of KA Korovin. And later also in the workshop of Korovin at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Member of the associations “Moscow Salon” (1911-1920), “World of Art” (1920), “Makovets” (1921-1922), Association of Moscow Artists (1926 -1929), and Association of Artists of Russia (1930 -1932). Professor St. Petersburg State Art and Industry Academy (since 1950). People’s Artist of the USSR. Full member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR. Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR and Lenin Prize. His works are in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the State Museum of Fine Arts of A. Pushkin, the State Literary Museum in Moscow, and others.
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Street children play cards. 1925. Oil. Tretyakov Gallery. Soviet artist Fyodor Bogorodsky (1895, Nizhny Novgorod – 1959, Moscow)

Soviet artist Fyodor Bogorodsky
Portraits of homeless children, painted by Fyodor Semyonovich Bogorodsky in the mid-1920s, became a significant phenomenon in the history of Soviet Art. A generalized social portrait of a homeless child is a boy of 12-14 years old, whose parents were workers or peasants. In early childhood, children were brought up in complete families, therefore, despite the breaking of the psyche in the hardest conditions of homelessness, many of them were oriented to a worthy future. Particularly, to getting education and a good profession from the child’s point of view that would allow them to live a normal life. However, not everyone was destined to return to normal life. Such was the price for the socio-political upheavals that swept Russia in the first quarter of the 20th century.
In addition, along with homeless children, Fyodor Bogorodsky devoted his paintings to revolutionary sailors.
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Young worker. 1937. Bronze. Fragment. Soviet sculptor Viktor Sinaisky (October 21, 1893 – January 27, 1968)

Soviet sculptor Viktor Sinaisky
One of the oldest Soviet sculptors, Vitor Alexandrovich Sinaisky went a long way of an artist. He began it in 1918, actively involved in the implementation of the Leninist plan for monumental propaganda.
Creativity of Sinaisky is diverse. He paid much attention throughout his life to easel and monumental and decorative sculpture, a portrait of a contemporary and work on the monument. Stylistic features of the sculptor Sinaisky – the rigor of the plastic system, based on careful study of nature, the clarity of the artistic design and ease of expression, a deep sense of sculpture and a brilliant technique of performance.
And one more remarkable aspect of the master’s work is teaching. Sinaisky has won the fame of a talented and experienced teacher. With all the passion and sincerity he devoted himself to this occupation, seeing in it no less opportunities than those that are incorporated in the artist’s work.
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Generous Earth (fragment of painting). 1976. G.I. Popov (born 1939, Vologda region). Oil on canvas. Soviet naive art 1974 All-Union exhibition

Soviet naive art 1974 All-Union exhibition
In essence, amateur art is one of the brightest social phenomena characteristic of our, the Soviet way of life. From the first years of the existence of Soviet power, the party and government attached great importance to the movement of independent activity. In addition, it was a means of education in every working person a harmoniously developed personality. Still, it was one of the most important factors in creating a rich spiritual culture of the people. It is well known, what attention the party and the government paid to the development of the amateur movement. In particular, the number of amateur circles, clubs, studios, full-time and correspondence forms of upbringing and education grew. Also, concerts, exhibitions, festivals of amateur art were systematically organized. And, finally, the special government resolutions of 1978 and 1979 consolidated the achievements of amateur art and opened the way for its development. In particular, the Resolution of the CPSU Central Committee (March, 1978) “On measures for the further development of amateur artistic creativity,” and a similar resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 275, March 1979.
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Fragment of painting ‘To the memory of twenty million people’ (died in WWII). Artist G.P. Sapozhnikov. 1975 Soviet Self-taught Artists All-Union exhibition

Soviet Self-taught Artists All-Union exhibition
First of all, this post is a tribute to the amateur artists of the USSR, and, in particular, those, whose works became a part of All-Union exhibition of 1977. By the way, the exhibition, titled “Self-taught Artists – to their Motherland” was a great success. According to a prominent Soviet artist D. Shmarinov, the exhibition was the self-portrait of the country. And those who sincerely love art, who had occasion to see the exhibition of amateur artists, still keep bright memories of them for a long time. Indeed, there is so much amazing truthfulness, integrity of perception, vital persuasiveness and at the same time, poetic freshness and spiritual health.
Especially rich in information about the life of the country were all-union expositions, representing the work of people’s talents from all the republics of the USSR.
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St. Bernard dog sleeps. Painting by Soviet artist Igor Skorobogatov

Soviet artist Igor Skorobogatov (10 June, 1920 – 1997) – animal painter, member of the Leningrad organization of the Union of Artists of the USSR. Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. Born in 1920 in Saratov into the family of a professional actor Konstantin Skorobogatov. Veteran of the Second World War (1941-1945), awarded with medals “For the defense of Leningrad”, “For victory over Germany”. During the Great Patriotic War he fought on the Leningrad front. Demobilized in 1945 in the rank of sergeant. And the same 1945 he entered the painting faculty of the Leningrad Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture of the Academy of Arts, from which he graduated in 1951. Skorobogatov studied in the workshops of prominent Soviet artists Isaak Brodsky and Professor Rudolf Frentz (1945-1951). His thesis work was the picture “On the collective farm” (1951). Already after the institute (1952), he began participating in exhibitions of Soviet art, together with the leading masters of fine arts of Leningrad.
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