A Lady in Red (Fyodor Shapayev, 1957)
Not all art of the Soviet period was “heroic tractor drivers and milkmaids” nor was it all beaming Pioneers and hunky Red Army soldiers. Most of it was dependable realism, and the art faculties turned out many competent artists. This, perhaps, was a blessing in disguise. It spared Russian art much of the pseudo-intellectual trash that hangs in MOMA and other such venues. I still say that I have not seen a man with two noses, or, a woman with three breasts. Such is not art… what it is… I truly can’t say. Oh, well, the “artists” who paint such shlock have found a good “hustle”, if nothing else.
This lady reminds me of so many I remember from the 1950s, here in America! Brought back lots of happy memories, particularly of a christening I attended as a girl of 10 in the Bronx — lots of ladies dressed just like this sitting around in the courtyard of the apartment house, lots of good food, lots of good Old-Country music! Thanks!
Comment by Mrs. Mutton — Tuesday, 24 June 2008 @ 1330