Depiction of naked female body is one of the oldest themes in the world art. In Europe the beauty of naked body was discovered by the Greeks. Images of valiant heroes and beautiful goddesses were captured by classical sculpture with exceptional expressiveness and strength. In the Greek sculpture man appeared a perfect creation of nature, his proportions were ideal, his movements natural, his shape supple. The Middle Ages brought about the idea of sinfulness of naked body, therefore despised and ascetic, but exalted the strength of human spirit. These two conceptions defined the way of the naked body theme developing in the European art of the following periods. In the XIX century male model depicting moved to the drawing classes and stayed there, and the nu theme became attached to the depiction of the female body almost exclusively. It was within this theme that the struggle between the Academic art and the newer styles unfolded in the end of the century. The nudes were no more mythical goddesses, they turned into ordinary models or women getting dressed. The twentieth century went even to greater lengths. It destroyed integrity and naturalness of the image the naked model represented, turned naked body into a similitude of a machine, into a plastic dummy, a lifeless mechanical copy, or into an orgiastic cult object, provoking forthright lust. Russian art even in the XX century managed, along with avant-garde experimenting, stay true to the classical tradition, and created poetic images by V. Lebedev as well as vigorous images by Deyneka. But is it possible at the beginning of the next century to blindly follow into the predecessors’ footsteps, and repeat things that have already been pronounced? This exhibition gives us answer to this question. Even while rooted within tradition one can look at the nude model in a new way. The author doesn’t disguise the fact that all his models are models, and that they are posing as models. Plasticity motives seemingly have already occurred in the art of the previous periods, but here they are perceived in an entirely different way. The artist’s attitude to his models is not so much admiration and sensuality, but rather matter-of-factness and irony: now he mocks classical subjects and scenes (Venus’s looking-glass motive, allusions to a Bible fable – Susannah and the Elders), now we are reminded of “lubok” (popular print), now a most peculiar profile strikes the eye, or a playful and coquettish posture. His viewing his model also betrays the fact that the artist was brought up among the modern architectural and industrial structures: the shapes now become pronouncedly geometrical, now nervous, and the gaps stare from the silhouette; movements turn mechanical, the rhythms those of chanting. But there is one more feature of the presented pastels: shade of sad day-dreaming – it is no accident that all of them are in the blue-violet color scheme. And this dreamy shade of melancholy regrets may declare best of all the author’s attitude, his understanding of the irrevocability of the lost ideal. V.N. Tyazhelov, honored worker of culture
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