Music in the USSR. Fine arts and architecture in the USSR Musical art of the 30s of the USSR

The plan of "monumental propaganda", adopted at the suggestion of V. I. Lenin, was the most striking expression of the general principles of the new art. Lenin saw the main goal of "monumental propaganda" in putting art at the service of the revolution, in educating the people in the spirit of the new, communist world outlook.

Together with the abolition of some monuments that "glorified tsarism", it was ordered to mobilize artistic forces and organize a competition to develop designs for monuments in honor of the October Socialist Revolution.

Beginning in the autumn of 1918, the first works of “monumental propaganda” appeared on the streets of Petrograd, Moscow and other cities: monuments to Radishchev, Stepan Razin, Robespierre, Kalyaev, T. Shevchenko, and others.

Many sculptors representing various creative trends worked on the implementation of the plan - N. Andreev, S. Konenkov, A. Matveev, V. Mukhina, S. Merkurov, V. Sinaisky, architects L. Rudnev, I. Fomin, D. Osipov, V. Mayat. The ideas of the Leninist plan also influenced the wider field of monumental and decorative art - the festive decoration of cities, mass processions, etc. Prominent artists, including K. Petrov-Vodkin, participated in the design of the streets of Moscow and Petrograd during the days of the first anniversary of the October Revolution , B. Kustodiev, S. Gerasimov.

A characteristic feature of the fine arts of the era of the revolution and the civil war was the propaganda orientation, which determined the significance and place of its individual types. Along with monuments and memorial plaques, the poster became the mouthpiece of revolutionary ideas and slogans, speaking the language of allegory (A. Apsit), political satire (V. Denis) and then reaching its greatest height in the classic works of D. Moor (“Did you sign up as a volunteer?”, “ Help").

Unsurpassed in its kind were also "ROSTA Windows" by V. Mayakovsky and M. Cheremnykh. The "telegraphic" language of these posters, deliberately simplified, was sharp and concise.

The art of the poster was closely associated with political graphics, which were widely popularized by the magazines "Flame", "Krasnoarmeyets" and other periodicals. Revolutionary themes also penetrated into easel graphics (drawings by B. Kustodiev), especially into engravings on wood and linoleum. "Troops" by V. Falileev, "Armored car" and "Cruiser Aurora" by N. Kupreyanov are typical works of graphics of this time. They are characterized by intense contrasts of black and white manner, increasing the role of the silhouette.

The era of the revolution was also reflected in book illustrations (drawings by Yu. Annenkov for A. Blok’s The Twelve, covers and bookmarks by S. Chekhonin), but this kind of art was more associated with new editions of classical literature, primarily the People’s Library ”(works by B. Kardovsky, E. Lansere and others).

In portrait graphics, sketches by V. I. Lenin made from nature (N. Altman, N. Andreev) were of particular value. A galaxy of great masters (A. Benois, M. Dobuzhinsky, A. Ostroumova-Lebedeva) developed landscape graphics.

The easel painting of the first post-revolutionary years, more than any other form of art, experienced the pressure of the “left front”. The paintings "New Planet" by K. Yuon, "Bolshevik" by B. Kustodiev, etc. testified to the desire of their authors to reveal the historical meaning of what is happening. The allegory characteristic of all Soviet art of the early period penetrated even into landscape painting, giving rise to such a peculiar response to modern events as, for example, A. Rylov's painting “In the Blue Space”.

Among other arts, architecture was in a special position, the possibilities of which in this period did not go beyond the design of new tasks.

20s

In the 20s. there were many different groups among Soviet artists: the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia, the Society of Easel Artists, the Society of Moscow Artists, the Society of Russian Sculptors, etc.

Despite the fact that Soviet art then had a transitional character, a common style was gradually developed in it. In painting, classical traditions, and especially the traditions of the Russian realistic school, acquire decisive importance. Artists are increasingly turning to the present. Together with the masters of the older generation, young painters also perform. For this time, the works of S. Malyutin, A. Arkhipov, G. Ryazhsky in the portrait genre, B. Ioganson in the everyday genre, M. Grekov, I. Brodsky, A. Gerasimov in the historical and revolutionary genre, A. Rylov, N. Krymov, B. Yakovlev - in landscape, etc. The artists who were grouped before the revolution around the journal "World of Art", former Cezannes, change their attitude to the environment, to the tasks of art. P. Konchalovsky, I. Mashkov, A. Kuprin are experiencing the flowering of their talent; the stylistic work of K. Petrov-Vodkin has recently been filled with real, vital content; a new approach to the problems of figurative expressiveness is reflected in the works of M. Saryan, S. Gerasimov and others. The innovative tendencies of Soviet painting were especially clearly manifested in the painting “Defense of Petrograd” by A. Deineka (1928).

Political caricature (B. Efimov, L. Brodaty and others) occupied a prominent place in the graphics. At the same time, the importance of book illustration, especially book woodcuts, is growing (A. Kravchenko, P. Pavlinov, and others). Its largest master, V. Favorsky, laid the foundation for a whole creative movement. The development of easel drawings made in charcoal, pencil, lithography or black watercolor was also successful (N. Kupreyanov, N. Ulyanov, G. Vereisky, M. Rodionov).

Sculpture of the 20s continued to follow the ideas of Lenin's plan of "monumental propaganda". The range of its tasks has noticeably expanded, portrait sculpture has achieved great success (A. Golubkina, V. Domogatsky, S. Lebedeva).

However, the main efforts of sculptors are still directed to the creation of monuments. Unlike the first plaster monuments, which were of a temporary nature, new monuments are being built from bronze and granite. These include monuments to V. I. Lenin at the Finland Station in Leningrad (V. Schuko, V. Gelfreich, S. Yeseev), on the dam of the Zemo-Avchal hydroelectric power station in Transcaucasia (I. Shadr) and in Petrozavodsk (M. Manizer).

Images of generalizing meaning were created by A. Matveev (“October Revolution”), I. Shadr (“Cobblestone is the weapon of the proletariat”), V. Mukhina (“Wind”, “Peasant Woman”), who already at that time determined the face of Soviet sculpture with their work.

After the end of the civil war, conditions favorable for the development of architecture arose. Its primary, most pressing task was housing construction (complexes of residential buildings on Usacheva Street in Moscow, on Traktornaya Street in Leningrad, etc.). But very soon the architects focused their attention on urban problems, the construction of public ensembles, and industrial construction. A. Shchusev and I. Zholtovsky are developing the first plan for the reconstruction of Moscow. Under their leadership, the planning and construction of the All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition of 1923 is carried out. A. Shchusev creates the mausoleum of V. I. Lenin. Until the end of the 20s. according to the plans of Soviet architects, a number of buildings for various purposes were built (the Izvestia house by G. Barkhin; the State Bank of the USSR by I. Zholtovsky; the Central Telegraph Office by I. Rerberg), industrial complexes (Volkhovskaya hydroelectric power station by O. Muntz, N. Gundobin and V. Pokrovsky ; Dnieper hydroelectric power station V. Vesnin), etc.

One of the important aspects of the creative activity of Soviet architects was the desire to develop new forms of architecture that correspond to new tasks, modern materials and construction technology.

30s

The successes of Soviet painting of these years are especially fully represented by a new stage in the work of M. Nesterov, in whose works (portraits of academician I. Pavlov, the Korin brothers, V. Mukhina, surgeon S. Yudin) the depth and relief of the image of human characters is combined with a broad general theme of creative work Soviet people. A high level of portrait painting is supported by P. Korin (portraits of A. Gorky, M. Nesterov), I. Grabar (portrait of his son, portrait of S. Chaplygin), P. Konchalovsky (portrait of V. Meyerhold, portrait of a Negro student), N. Ulyanov and others. The theme of the civil war was embodied in the painting by S. Gerasimov "The Oath of the Siberian Partisans." Kukryniksy (M. Kupriyanov, P. Krylov, N. Sokolov) also wrote “Old Masters” and “Morning of an Officer of the Tsarist Army” based on historical subjects. A. Deineka (“Mother”, “Future Pilots”, etc.) becomes an outstanding master of paintings on a modern theme. Yu. Pimenov ("New Moscow") and A. Plastov ("Collective farm herd") make an important step towards the development of the everyday genre.

The development of graphics in this period is associated primarily with book illustration. Masters of the older generation - S. Gerasimov ("The Artamonov Case" by M. Gorky), K. Rudakov (illustrations for the works of G. Maupassant), and young artists - D. Shmarinov ("Crime and Punishment" F . Dostoevsky, "Peter I" by A. Tolstoy), E. Kibrik ("Cola Breugnon" by R. Rolland, "The Legend of Ulenspiegel" by Charles de Coster), Kukryniksy ("The Life of Klim Samgin" by M. Gorky and others), A. Kanevsky (works by Saltykov-Shchedrin). The illustration of the Soviet children's book was noticeably developed (V. Lebedev, V. Konashevich, A. Pakhomov). A fundamentally important change compared to the previous period was that the Soviet masters of illustration switched (albeit somewhat one-sidedly) from the decorative design of the book to the disclosure of the ideological and artistic content of literary images, to the development of human characters and the dramaturgy of the action, expressed in a string of successive other images.

In book illustration, along with realistic drawing, watercolor, lithography, engraving also retains its importance, represented by the works of recognized masters such as V. Favorsky (“Vita Nuova” by Dante, “Hamlet” by Shakespeare), M. Pikov, A. Goncharov.

In the field of easel graphics, the portrait genre came to the fore at that time (G. Vereisky, M. Rodionov, A. Fonvizin).

A serious obstacle to the development of Soviet art in these years is handicrafts, trends of false monumentality, splendor associated with Stalin's personality cult.

In the art of architecture, the most important tasks were solved in connection with the problems of urban planning and the construction of residential, administrative, theater and other buildings, as well as large industrial facilities (such as, for example, a car factory in Moscow, a meat processing plant in Leningrad, a heating plant in Gorky, etc. .). Among the architectural works, the House of the Council of Ministers in Moscow (A. Lengman), the Moscow Hotel (A. Shchusev, L. Savelyev, O. Stapran), the Theater of the Soviet Army in Moscow (K. Alabyan, V. Simbirtsev) are especially characteristic of these years. ), the Ordzhonikidze sanatorium in Kislovodsk (M. Ginzburg), the river station in Khimki (A. Rukhlyadyev), etc. The main aesthetic trend in the course of these works was the attraction to the traditional forms of classical order architecture. The uncritical use of such forms, their mechanical transfer to the present often led to unnecessary external splendor and unjustified excesses.

The art of sculpture acquires new important features. Strengthening the links between monumental and decorative sculpture and architecture becomes a characteristic feature of this period. The sculptural work - the group "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" - Mukhina arose on the basis of the architectural project of the USSR pavilion at the International Exhibition of 1937 in Paris. The synthesis of sculpture with architecture also manifested itself in the design of the Moscow Metro, the Moscow Canal, the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition, and the USSR pavilion at the International Exhibition in New York.

Of the works of monumental sculpture of these years, the monuments to Taras Shevchenko in Kharkov (M. Manizer) and Kirov in Leningrad (N. Tomsky) were of the greatest importance.

The sculptural portrait was further developed (V. Mukhina, S. Lebedeva, G. Kepinov, Z. Vilensky and others). Many sculptors are successfully working on a typical generalization of the images of their contemporaries (Metallurg by G. Motovilov, Young Worker by V. Sinaisky).

The most important tasks of this period were the elimination of illiteracy of the population and the implementation of universal primary education. In an ideologized society, every person had to be able to read at least the slogans of the ruling party, its guidelines for building socialism, to understand from the newspapers who is a friend and who is an "enemy of the people." In the 30s. illiteracy was completely eradicated. According to the 1939 census, the proportion of literate people in the RSFSR aged 9 to 49 was about 90%. Since 1930, they began to introduce universal primary (four-grade) education (in tsarist Russia, according to the Stolypin reform, universal free education for children from 8 to 13 years old was introduced back in 1908).

A large number of schools were built, and a broad program of teacher training was carried out. The network of higher educational institutions has expanded significantly. By 1940, there were 4.6 thousand universities in the country. The number of specialists with higher education increased from 233,000 in 1928 to over 900,000 in 1940, that is, more than three times.

In 1934, the teaching of civil history, which had been canceled after the October Revolution, was restored in the secondary school. The historical faculties liquidated in 1918 were opened at the Moscow and Leningrad universities.

Scientific research in the 30s. were carried out by academic, branch (departmental) and university scientific forces. The Academy of Sciences of the USSR became the center of fundamental science. A characteristic feature of her work was visiting scientific sessions to help in solving specific problems of modernizing the economy. At the same time, the mechanical transfer to science of the forms and methods of organizing industry and agriculture caused damage to fundamental research, since scientists were required, for example, to participate in socialist competition under the slogan "Catch up and overtake the science of the capitalist countries!" (only in 1939 this slogan was canceled as erroneous).

Soviet scientists in the 30s. achieved many outstanding achievements. Under the leadership of Academician S. Lebedev in 1932, for the first time in the world, synthetic rubber was obtained on an industrial scale. In 1932, the first Soviet rocket was tested, and at the same time the Reactive Research Institute (RNII) was established. Research was successfully carried out in the field of nuclear physics (the scientific school of Academician A. Ioffe) and others. The accelerator of elementary particles launched at the Radium Institute in Leningrad in 1936 became the largest in Europe. Great success was achieved by Soviet science in the development of the Arctic, and intensive study of the stratosphere began.

However, in the 1930s science also suffered serious losses as a result of repression and incompetent interference by the authorities. So, heliobiology, the science of the relationship between solar phenomena and living beings, was persecuted, and its founder A. Chizhevsky and his research were forgotten. Theoretical physicist L. Landau, rocket designer S. Korolev and many others were repressed. Pedology - the science of the age characteristics of the child - was defeated.

In social science, it was allowed to conduct research only within the framework of Marxism-Leninism and party guidelines. In historical science, the scientific school of Academician M. Pokrovsky was crushed. The book “History of the CPSU (b.)” was recognized as the main historical work. A short course, published in 1938. Stalin was directly involved in its writing.

Significant progress has been made in Soviet literature and art. The novels of M. Sholokhov "Quiet Flows the Don" and "Virgin Soil Upturned" (the first book) appeared. One of the most widespread works of Soviet literature was N. Ostrovsky's novel "How the Steel Was Tempered". Popular were the books of the writers A. Tolstoy (the trilogy "Walking through the torments", the novel "Peter I"), A. Novikov-Priboy ("Tsushima"), V. Shishkov ("Gloomy River"), etc. Many books appeared for children. The most famous books by A. Gaidar "School", "Military secret", "Timur and his team". Among the most famous poets were M. Svetlov, N. Aseev, I. Utkin and others.

In cinematography, there was a transition from silent to sound cinematography. Films about the events of the revolution and the Civil War were popular: “Chapaev” (directors G. and S. Vasiliev), “We are from Kronstadt” (E. Dzigan), a trilogy about Maxim (G. Kozintsev and L. Trauberg), as well as “ Tractor drivers ”(I. Pyryev). The film comedies "Merry Fellows", "Volga-Volga" and "Circus" (G. Alexandrov) enjoyed great success.

In the visual arts, the leading artists were those who depicted the events of the revolution, the Civil War, socialist construction: B. Ioganson (“Interrogation of the Communists”, “At the Old Ural Factory”), A. Deineka (“Future Pilots”), Yu. Pimenov (a series of sketches and portraits "New Moscow"). The studio, led by the founder of Soviet battle painting M. Grekov, was actively operating. Studio artists dedicated their paintings to the Civil War.

The well-known painter M. Nesterov painted deep, sharp-character portraits (“I. Pavlov”, “V. I. Mukhina”). The sculptor and artist V. Mukhina in 1937 completed the sculptural group “Worker and Collective Farm Girl”, which immediately became widely known.

Musical culture was on the rise. Such outstanding composers as D. Shostakovich (opera Katerina Izmailova, ballets The Golden Age, The Bright Stream) and S. Prokofiev (ballet Romeo and Juliet) worked in the country. Music for films was written by I. Dunaevsky, brothers Dm. and Dan. Pokrass and others. The songs of M. Blanter and V. Solovyov-Sedovoy on the verses of M. Isakovsky, A. Surkov, V. Lebedev-Kumach immediately became popular. Everywhere in the country and abroad they sang the song "Katyusha" (1939: music by M. Blanter, lyrics by M. Isakovsky).

At the same time, already in 1932, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution “On the restructuring of literary and artistic organizations”, as a result of which all diverse literary associations and groups were liquidated and a single Union of Writers of the USSR was created. The first congress of writers took place in 1934. Subsequently, similar unified unions were created among composers, architects and other figures of the creative intelligentsia. Literature and art were under vigilant strict and party-state control. Socialist realism was declared the main creative method in literature and art, which obliged writers, artists and composers to create works based on party guidelines. In the literature, priority attention was recommended to be given to the production theme, to reflect the heroic efforts of the people during the period of industrialization and collectivization. "Production" prose appeared. In the novels and stories of F. Panferov "Bruski", M. Shaginyan "Hydrocentral", F. Gladkov "Energy" and many others, labor exploits and production relations of workers and peasants became the object of the image. The model of "social order" has become a reality.

In the 30s. many outstanding figures of literature and art were forced to work, not hoping for lifetime publication or public recognition of their works. Such was the fate of the novel "The Master and Margarita" by M. Bulgakov, the story "The Pit" and the novel "Chevengur" by A. Platonov, the poem "Requiem" by A. Akhmatova and a number of others. Among the banned writers and poets were S. Yesenin, M. Tsvetaeva, M. Zoshchenko.

Harassment and harsh criticism have become the lot of many talented representatives of Soviet culture. The musical works of D. Shostakovich were declared a confusion, theatrical productions of V. Meyerhold - formalism, etc.

Poets N. Klyuev and O. Mandelstam, writers I. Babel, D. Kharms, B. Pilnyak, director V. Meyerhold and many others died as a result of repressions.

In the visual arts, only the Wanderers of the 19th century were promoted as a model. Other directions were either rejected or hushed up. So it was with the works of P. Filonov and K. Malevich, the brightest representatives of the Russian avant-garde in painting. At the same time, on many canvases, artists in the 30s. portrayed Stalin, which testified to the reliability of the painter.

In the 30s. the Soviet government continued the purposeful policy of the state to defeat religious organizations in the USSR, in which the Communist Party saw its enemy. Many Orthodox monasteries, cathedrals, churches, as well as religious buildings of other religious denominations were closed or destroyed. In 1929 alone, 1,119 churches were closed in the country. In 1931 the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was blown up. All this led to the almost complete extermination of the legal clergy.

The tragedy was the split of national culture, when many of its leaders were in exile. However, despite being isolated from their homeland, Russian emigrants led an intense creative life. Newspapers and magazines were published in Russian, books were published, exhibitions were organized. In 1933, the writer I. Bunin was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He became the first Russian writer to receive such high recognition.

Among the exiles were the philosophers N. Trubetskoy and L. Karsavin (he was shot after the Soviet troops occupied the Baltic states in 1940). Comprehending the historical path of Russia, they founded a rather odious Eurasian movement, the main task of which was to prove that Russia belongs to two worlds - Europe and Asia, that Russia has a special place in history - to be a link between these two continents.

A native of Russia, engineer and inventor V. Zworykin in 1931 in the United States created an iconoscope - the first transmitting television tube. The Russian aircraft designer I. Sikorsky founded a company in the United States, where he designed and launched military and passenger aircraft and helicopters, which received international recognition.

By the end of the 30s. The USSR came out on top in the world in terms of the number of pupils and students and in terms of the rate of training of specialists. At the same time, the nationalization of culture, science and education was supplemented in the 30s. total politicization and ideologization. Even primers became a tool for the necessary orientation of a young man who was then entering the political world. In the struggle for the minds of children, the totalitarian system has triumphed over the family. Soviet primers instilled in children not only a readiness for a feat, but also sacrifice: "Comrade Voroshilov, I will quickly grow up and stand in place of my brother with a rifle at the post." An indispensable element of the school educational program was preparation for a future war.

Along with the theme of the external enemy, the textbooks always contained the theme of the “enemy of the people”. The version of their existence was introduced into the heads of children at the subconscious level, and the names of "enemies of the people" were obligatorily erased from textbooks.

For the children of that time, radio, cinema and a tractor were real miracles of the Soviet government, next to which “priest's tales” faded, so schoolchildren easily grew into a totalitarian society.

Propaganda work became more and more one-sided. In the context of the elimination of adult illiteracy, which coincided with a new round of exacerbation of the class struggle, the basics of the taught literacy were necessarily combined with the basic political guidelines of the CPSU (b). The student, along with the basics of literacy, had to receive a full measure of political knowledge. Each lesson in the countryside ended, for example, by imprinting the slogans into the brain: “Do not bow to the fists”, “Commune - flour to the fist” (Siberian primer for adults). Such a psychological "socialization" of the individual created the necessary prospects for the success of the reforms planned by the Communist Party.

In the USSR by the end of the 30s. there was an integral political, socio-economic system - socialism, which meant the socialization of private property. Socialism was "state", since the functions of disposing of property and political power were carried out not by society, but personally by Stalin and the party-state apparatus. (As historical experience has shown, there can be no other "non-state" socialism in principle).

Objectively, the main historical task, which was solved at the cost of huge sacrifices in the course of building socialism in the USSR, was the forced final breakthrough from an agrarian society to an industrial one. A number of researchers define this system as a left-totalitarian regime.

The culture of the Soviet and post-Soviet period is a bright large-scale coil of the Russian heritage. The events of 1917 became a reference point in the development of a new way of life, the formation of a new way of thinking. The mood of society in the late XIX - early XX centuries. resulted in the October Revolution, a turning point in the history of the country. Now she was waiting for a new future with its own ideals and goals. Art, which in a sense is a mirror of the era, has also become a tool for putting into practice the tenets of the new regime. Unlike other types of artistic creativity, painting, which is forming and shaping a person’s thought, penetrated people’s consciousness in the most accurate and direct way. On the other hand, pictorial art was least of all subordinated to the propaganda function and reflected the experiences of the people, their dreams and, above all, the spirit of the times.

Russian avant-garde

The new art did not completely avoid the old traditions. Painting, in the first post-revolutionary years, absorbed the influence of the futurists and the avant-garde in general. The avant-garde, with its contempt for the traditions of the past, which was so close to the destructive ideas of the revolution, found adherents in the face of young artists. In parallel with these trends, realistic tendencies developed in the visual arts, which were given life by the critical realism of the 19th century. This bipolarity, ripening at the moment of the change of eras, made the life of the artist of that time especially stressful. The two paths that emerged in post-revolutionary painting, although they were opposites, nevertheless, we can observe the influence of the avant-garde on the work of realistic artists. Realism itself in those years was diverse. Works of this style have a symbolic, agitational and even romantic appearance. Absolutely accurately conveys in symbolic form a grandiose change in the life of the country, the work of B.M. Kustodiev - "Bolshevik" and, filled with pathetic tragedy and uncontrollable jubilation, "New Planet" by K.F. Yuon.

Painting by P.N. Filonov, with his special creative method - "analytical realism" - is a fusion of two contrasting artistic movements, which we can see in the example of a cycle with a propaganda title and meaning "Entering the world's heyday".

P.N. Filonov Ships from the cycle Entering the World Heyday. 1919 GTG

The unquestioning nature of universal human values, unshakable even in such troubled times, is expressed by the image of the beautiful “Petrograd Madonna” (official name “1918 in Petrograd”) by K.S. Petrov-Vodkin.

A positive attitude to revolutionary events infects the bright and sunny, airy work of the landscape painter A.A. Rylov. The landscape “Sunset”, in which the artist expressed a premonition of the fire of the revolution, which will flare up from the growing flame of the doomsday fire over the past era, is one of the inspiring symbols of this time.

Along with symbolic images that organize the rise of the people's spirit and carry them along, like an obsession, there was also a direction in realistic painting, with a craving for a concrete transfer of reality.
To this day, the works of this period keep a spark of rebellion that can declare itself within each of us. Many works not endowed with such qualities or contrary to them were destroyed or forgotten, and will never be presented to our eyes.
The avant-garde forever leaves its mark on realistic painting, but a period of intensive development of the direction of realism begins.

The time of artistic associations

The 1920s is the time of creating a new world on the ruins left by the Civil War. For art, this is a period in which various creative associations launched their activities in full force. Their principles were partly shaped by early artistic groupings. The Association of Artists of the Revolution (1922 - AHRR, 1928 - AHRR), personally carried out the orders of the state. Under the slogan of "heroic realism", the artists who were part of it documented in their works the life and life of a person - the brainchild of the revolution, in various genres of painting. The main representatives of the AHRR were I.I. Brodsky, who absorbed the realistic influences of I.E. Repin, who worked in the historical-revolutionary genre and created a whole series of works depicting V.I. Lenin, E.M. Cheptsov is a master of everyday genre, M.B. Grekov, who painted battle scenes in a rather impressionistic madder. All these masters were the founders of the genres in which they performed most of their works. Among them, the canvas "Lenin in Smolny" stands out, in which I.I. Brodsky in the most direct and sincere form conveyed the image of the leader.

In the painting "Meeting of a member cell" E.I. Cheptsov very reliably, without artificiality depicts the events that took place in the life of the people.

A magnificent joyful, noisy image filled with stormy movement and victory celebration is created by M.B. Grekov in the composition "Trumpeters of the First Cavalry Army".

The idea of ​​a new person, a new image of a person is expressed by the trends emerging in the portrait genre, the brightest masters of which were S.V. Malyutin and G.G. Ryazhsky. In the portrait of the writer-fighter Dmitry Furmanov, S.V. Malyutin shows a man of the old world who managed to fit into the new world. A new trend is declaring itself, which originated in the work of N.A. Kasatkina and developed to the highest extent in the female images of G.G. Ryazhsky - "Delegate", "Chairwoman", in which the personal beginning is erased and the type of person created by the new world is established.
An absolutely accurate impression is formed about the development of the landscape genre at the sight of the work of the advanced landscape painter B.N. Yakovleva - "Transport is getting better."

B.N. Yakovlev Transport is getting better. 1923

This genre depicts a renewing country, the normalization of all spheres of life. During these years, the industrial landscape comes to the fore, the images of which become symbols of creation.
The Society of Easel Artists (1925) is the next art association in this period. Here the artist sought to convey the spirit of modernity, the type of a new person, resorting to a more distant transmission of images due to the minimum number of expressive means. In the works of "Ostovtsev" the theme of sports is often demonstrated. Their painting is filled with dynamics and expression, which can be seen in the works of A.A. Deineka "Defense of Petrograd", Yu.P. Pimenov "Football", etc.

The members of another well-known association - the "Four Arts" - chose the expressiveness of the image, due to the laconic and constructive form, as well as a special attitude to its color richness, as the basis of their artistic creativity. The most memorable representative of the association is K.S. Petrov-Vodkin and one of his most outstanding works of this period - "Death of the Commissar", which, through a special pictorial language, reveals a deep symbolic image, a symbol of the struggle for a better life.

From the composition of the "Four Arts" P.V. Kuznetsov, works dedicated to the East.
The last major art association of this period is the Society of Moscow Artists (1928), which differs from the rest in the manner of energetic modeling of volumes, attention to chiaroscuro and plastic expressiveness of form. Almost all representatives were members of the "Tambourine Volt" - adherents of futurism - which greatly affected their work. The works of P.P. Konchalovsky, who worked in different genres. For example, portraits of his wife O.V. Konchalovskaya convey the specifics of not only the author's hand, but also the painting of the entire association.

On April 23, 1932, all art associations were dissolved by the Decree "On the Restructuring of Literary and Artistic Organizations" and the Union of Artists of the USSR was created. Creativity fell into the sinister fetters of rigid ideologization. The artist's freedom of expression, the basis of the creative process, was violated. Despite such a breakdown, the artists previously united in communities continued their activities, but new figures occupied the leading role in the pictorial environment.
B.V. Ioganson was influenced by I.E. Repin and V.I. Surikov, in his canvases one can see a compositional search and interesting possibilities in a coloristic solution, but the author's paintings are marked by an excessive satirical attitude, inappropriate in such a naturalistic manner, which we can observe in the example of the painting "At the old Ural factory".

A.A. Deineka does not remain aloof from the "official" line of art. He is still true to his artistic principles. Now he continues to work in genre themes, besides, he paints portraits and landscapes. The painting "Future Pilots" shows well his painting during this period: romantic, light.

The artist creates a large number of works on a sports theme. From this period, his watercolors, written after 1935, remained.

Painting of the 1930s represents a fictional world, the illusion of a bright and festive life. It was easiest for the artist to remain sincere in the genre of landscape. The genre of still life is developing.
The portrait is also subject to intensive development. P.P. Konchalovsky writes a series of cultural figures ("V. Sofronitsky at the piano"). The works of M.V. Nesterov, who absorbed the influence of V.A. Serov, show a person as a creator, the essence of whose life is a creative search. This is how we see the portraits of the sculptor I.D. Shadr and surgeon S.S. Yudin.

P.D. Korin continues the portrait tradition of the previous artist, but his pictorial style consists in conveying the rigidity of the form, a sharper, more expressive silhouette and harsh coloring. In general, the theme of the creative intelligentsia is of great importance in the portrait.

An artist at war

With the advent of the Great Patriotic War, artists begin to take an active part in hostilities. Due to the direct unity with the events, works appeared in the early years, the essence of which is a fixation of what is happening, a "picturesque sketch". Often such paintings lacked depth, but their transmission expressed the artist's completely sincere attitude, the height of moral pathos. The genre of the portrait comes to relative prosperity. Artists, seeing and experiencing the destructive influence of the war, admire its heroes - people from the people, persistent and noble in spirit, who showed the highest humanistic qualities. Such trends resulted in ceremonial portraits: “Portrait of Marshal G.K. Zhukov" by P.D. Korina, cheerful faces from P.P. Konchalovsky. Of great importance are the portraits of the intelligentsia M.S. Saryan, created during the war years - this is the image of the academician "I.A. Orbeli”, writer “M.S. Shahinyan" and others.

From 1940 to 1945, the landscape and everyday genre also developed, which A.A. Plastov. "The fascist has flown" conveys the tragedy of the life of this period.

The psychologism of the landscape here fills the work even more with sadness and silence of the human soul, only the howl of a devoted friend cuts through the wind of confusion. In the end, the meaning of the landscape is rethought and begins to embody the harsh image of wartime.
Narrative paintings stand out separately, for example, "The Mother of the Partisan" by S.V. Gerasimov, which is characterized by a refusal to glorify the image.

Historical painting timely creates images of national heroes of the past. One of these unshakable and inspiring images is "Alexander Nevsky" by P.D. Korin, personifying the unconquered proud spirit of the people. In this genre, by the end of the war, a trend of simulated dramaturgy is outlined.

The theme of war in painting

In the painting of the post-war period, ser. 1940 - con. In the 1950s, the leading position in painting was occupied by the theme of war, as a moral and physical test, from which the Soviet people emerged victorious. Historical-revolutionary, historical genres are developing. The main theme of the everyday genre is peaceful labor, which was dreamed of for many war years. The canvases of this genre are permeated with cheerfulness and happiness. The artistic language of the everyday genre becomes narrative and gravitates toward lifelikeness. In the last years of this period, the landscape also undergoes changes. The life of the region is revived in it, the connection between man and nature is strengthened again, an atmosphere of tranquility appears. Love for nature is also sung in still life. An interesting development is the portrait in the work of various artists, which is characterized by the transfer of the individual. One of the outstanding works of this period were: "Letter from the front" by A.I. Laktionov, a work similar to a window into a radiant world;

the composition "Rest after the battle", in which Yu.M. Neprintsev achieves the same vitality of the image as A.I. Laktionov;

work by A.A. Mylnikova "On Peaceful Fields", joyfully rejoicing at the end of the war and the reunification of man and labor;

original landscape image of G.G. Nissky - "Over the snows", etc.

Severe style to replace socialist realism

Art 1960-1980s is a new stage. A new "severe style" is being developed, the task of which was to recreate reality without everything that deprives the work of depth and expressiveness and has a detrimental effect on creative manifestations. He was characterized by conciseness and generalization of the artistic image. Artists of this style glorified the heroic beginning of harsh working days, which was created by a special emotional structure of the picture. "Severe style" was a definite step towards the democratization of society. The portrait became the main genre for which the adherents of the style worked; a group portrait, an everyday genre, a historical and historical-revolutionary genre are also developing. V.E. Popkov, who painted many self-portraits-paintings, V.I. Ivanov is a supporter of a group portrait, G.M. Korzhev, who created historical canvases. The disclosure of the essence of the "severe style" can be seen in the painting "Geologists" by P.F. Nikonov, "Polar explorers" A.A. and P.A. Smolins, "Father's Overcoat" by V.E. Popkov. In the genre of landscape, there is an interest in northern nature.

Symbolism of the era of stagnation

In the 1970-1980s. a new generation of artists is being formed, whose art has influenced to some extent the art of today. They are characterized by symbolic language, theatrical entertainment. Their painting is quite artistic and virtuoso. The main representatives of this generation are T.G. Nazarenko ("Pugachev"),

whose favorite theme was a holiday and a masquerade, A.G. Sitnikov, who uses metaphor and parable as a form of plastic language, N.I. Nesterova, creator of ambiguous paintings ("The Last Supper"), I.L. Lubennikov, N.N. Smirnov.

The Last Supper. N.I. Nesterov. 1989

Thus, this time appears in its variety of styles and diversity as the final, formative link of today's fine arts.

Our epoch has discovered a huge wealth of the pictorial heritage of previous generations. A modern artist is not limited by almost any framework that was defining, and sometimes hostile to the development of fine arts. Some of today's artists are trying to adhere to the principles of the Soviet realistic school, someone finds himself in other styles and directions. The tendencies of conceptual art, which are ambiguously perceived by society, are very popular. The breadth of artistic and expressive means and ideals that the past has provided us must be rethought and serve as the basis for new creative paths and the creation of a new image.

Our art history workshops

Our Gallery of Modern Art not only offers a large selection of Soviet and post-Soviet art, but also holds regular lectures and master classes on the history of contemporary art.

You can sign up for a master class, leave wishes for the master class that you would like to attend by filling out the form below. We will definitely read an interesting lecture for you on the topic of your choice.

We are waiting for you in our LECTORIUM!

"Music Lessons" - The use of ICT in music lessons. Programs for working with music on the computer. Problems: To promote the development of interest in musical culture. Modern technical means. Encyclopedia "Musical Instruments". Dedicated to rock, jazz and pop - music. Help to qualitatively change the control of students' activities.

"Musical image" - Jean Sibelius. V.A. Mozart. What image is revealed in Chopin's waltz No. 47? Words and music O. Mityaev. 6 Musical image. Self-esteem. The main song of the state. Founder of Polish music. Musical introduction to a major piece of music. What is the name of the work of J. Sibelius? With what works of art does the “Sad Waltz” by J. Sibelius sound in tune?

"The Musical Culture of the Baroque" - Edvard Grieg. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91). Mozart's last work, Requiem, remained unfinished. Family of W. A. ​​Mozart. Austrian composer. Legacy left by Mozart. Ornamentality reaches the limits of the possible” T. Vladysheskaya. The birthplace of W.A. Mozart is Salzburg. Operas "Orpheus" (1607), "Ariadne" (1608), etc.

"Musical Composers" - Laureate of the Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR. “Why does genius live endlessly? People's Artist of the USSR. Why does fashion quickly disappear? Andre? Yakovlevich Eshpa? (May 15, 1925) - Soviet and Russian composer. Member of the Union of Composers of the USSR since 1952. Demonstration material for a music lesson (program "Music" ed.

"Kazakh musical instruments" - But the sherter was much smaller and had a stronger sound. Uranus. Asyks were placed under each string on both sides. In ancient times, percussion instruments were widely used in the life of the Kazakhs. Sherter. In addition to reed sybyzgy, there were also wooden ones. The strings are tuned by pegs and by moving the bridges.

"Musical games" - . He didn’t allow me to jump from line to line, he said: “Harmony is broken.” Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. The teacher introduces the children to the game, explaining the task. Classification of games. On spoons: TUK - TUK - TUK. Winter has come to earth! When a good song sounded, both the composer and the poet were praised. composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Despite the totalitarian state control over all spheres of the cultural development of society, the art of the USSR in the 30s of the 20th century did not lag behind the world trends of that time. The introduction of technological progress, as well as new trends from the West, contributed to the flourishing of literature, music, theater and cinema.

A distinctive feature of the Soviet literary process of this period was the confrontation of writers into two opposing groups: some writers supported Stalin's policy and glorified the world socialist revolution, while others opposed the authoritarian regime in every possible way and condemned the leader's inhumane policy.

Russian literature of the 30s experienced its second heyday, and entered the history of world literature as the period of the Silver Age. At that time, unsurpassed masters of the word worked: A. Akhmatova, K. Balmont, V. Bryusov, M. Tsvetaeva, V. Mayakovsky.

Russian prose also showed its literary power: the work of I. Bunin, V. Nabokov, M. Bulgakov, A. Kuprin, I. Ilf and E. Petrov firmly entered the guild of world literary treasures. Literature during this period reflected the fullness of the realities of state and public life.

The works covered those issues that worried the public at that unpredictable time. Many Russian writers were forced to flee from the totalitarian persecution of the authorities to other states, however, they did not interrupt their writing activities abroad either.

In the 1930s, the Soviet theater experienced a period of decline. First of all, the theater was considered as the main instrument of ideological propaganda. Chekhov's immortal productions were eventually replaced by pseudo-realistic performances glorifying the leader and the communist party.

Outstanding actors who tried in every possible way to preserve the originality of the Russian theater were subjected to severe repression by the father of the Soviet people, among them V. Kachalov, N. Cherkasov, I. Moskvin, M. Yermolova. The same fate befell the talented director V. Meyerhold, who created his own theatrical school, which was a worthy competitor to the progressive West.

With the development of radio, the age of the birth of pop music began in the USSR. The songs that were broadcast on the radio and recorded on records became available to a wide audience of listeners. Mass song in the Soviet Union was represented by the works of D. Shostakovich, I. Dunaevsky, I. Yuriev, V. Kozin.

The Soviet government completely denied the jazz direction, which was popular in Europe and the USA (this is how the work of L. Utesov, the first Russian jazz performer, was ignored in the USSR). Instead, musical works were welcomed that glorified the socialist system and inspired the nation to labor and exploits in the name of the great revolution.

Cinematography in the USSR

The masters of Soviet cinema of this period were able to achieve significant heights in the development of this art form. A huge contribution to the development of cinema was made by D. Vetrov, G. Alexandrov, A. Dovzhenko. Unsurpassed actresses - Lyubov Orlova, Rina Zelenaya, Faina Ranevskaya - became the symbol of Soviet cinema.

Many films, as well as other works of art, served the propaganda purposes of the Bolsheviks. But still, thanks to the skill of acting, the introduction of sound, high-quality scenery, Soviet films in our time cause genuine admiration of contemporaries. Such tapes as "Merry Fellows", "Spring", "Foundling" and "Earth" - have become a real asset of Soviet cinema.