Arkady Plastov

Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov (Russian Аркадий Александрович Пластов; born 19/31 January 1893 in Prislonikha, Simbirsk Guberniya; died 12 May 1972 in Prislonikha, Ulyanovsk Oblast) was a Russian social realist painter.

Plastov was born into a family of icon painters in the village Prislonikha in the Russian Province of Simbirsk. He attended the sculpture department of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture beginning in 1914. In 1917, he returned to his native village, where he occupied himself with painting, drawing from nature.

Starting in 1935, he steps introduces his category painting into the public. According to the strict political-artistic doctrine of the time at that time, which only permits the style of socialist realism in all art kinds, Plastovs pictures the life in the Soviet Union, the pervasive building up of socialism heroisieren. His work is characterized by the knowledge around the life in the villages of the Soviet Union, the love for the Landbevölkerung, strong, live pictures and being able relating to crafts. As reaction to the events, which moved the population of the Soviet Union of the time at that time, Plastov shows in his pictures, how the Landbevölkerung and their life in the course of the collectivization change themselves. As models of the Protagonisten of its works Plastov of characters of its homeland village serve. With the beginning 2. World war II inspired new motives for the work of Plastov. He represents those to suffering the Soviet people, the work of the women, old persons and children on the Kolchosfeldern during the war. After the war again motives of the socialist everyday life life introduction in Plastovs work hold.

A characteristic in the work Plastovs forms the painting “spring” (Russian Весна) from the year 1954. It shows a young naked woman and a girl with the hygiene before a wood hut - probably a Banja (the Russian counterpart to the Finnish Sauna). It snows and in the image background is snow remainders on the pastures to be recognized. “Spring” is considered as turning point in the Soviet history of art. For the first time since introduction of socialist realism a work of art shows a completely unpolitical everyday life scene in the official area of the Soviet Union. Neither actual as typical for the past statesmanship - which Physis of the Protagonisten of the work idealizes, nor leaves itself a political message, as for instance in Plastovs to earlier works the Heroisierung of the agricultural obligation collectivization, from which illustrating pick out. The artistic turn, which represents the one year after Stalins death developed picture, reflects the political relaxation in the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushchev against (the thaw in such a way specified, Russian Оттепель).