Nadezhda Filicheva
Saint Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, Russia
The Avant-garde is now appreciated as an artistic school which belongs to the classical cultural heritage; this is an inherent part of the contemporary art. Though initially the avant-garde contradicted traditional values, nowadays it is no longer considered to be destructive to the classics. It naturally developed the idea of creativity, which is intrinsic to the art and was originally infused by the Creator in his “image and likeness” — human. The avant-garde glorified the artist, the beauty of colours, shapes, figures, rhythm and the diversity of patterns and textures.
One of the honourable representatives of the Russian avant-garde is Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, who created his works in a very authentic and distinctive manner. Petrov-Vodkin is not just an artist, whose art is based on religious and moral traditions, he is a philosopher. He sought to understand and to put into his art the idea of an individual, a thing and the universe in all their complexity, thus comprehending the laws of the objective reality.
“Bathing of a Red Horse” by K. Petrov-Vodkin is “a sign of the time”. The painting represents a small universe where we can see the riot of the red colour, which symbolizes pagan Rus’ and its antinomies: the symbol of sacrifice, love, the Holy Fire, passion, power, conscience and blood. This masterpiece of the artist expresses his reflection on the fate of the country, “its eternal battle”.
Feeling “moral poverty” of the world of hate and evil (revolutions, the First World War and the civil war in Russia), the artist creates a special theme of motherhood, a series of his Madonnas: “Mother”, “Tenderness of Evil Hearts”, “1918 in Petrograd”.
The painting “Mother” (1915) is characterized by a distinct clarity of composition and transparency of colours. Petrov-Vodkin took the iconic image for the easel painting in his religious-theme work (“The Mother of God of Tenderness of Evil Hearts”). The artist embodies an earthly feeling, which becomes sublime in its purity and strength. These paintings-hymns to family life, joy and holiness of motherly love are appreciated as significant for the world art.
The art and the religion are morally related in their mission to protect people and their memory. They enable us to understand the tragic background of the nation, embodied in the culture. The artist appeals to our love, mercy and sympathy, and reminds of the eternal values — the moral purity and beauty.