Yuri Orlov. A Family Celebration. no date (1990s?)

A Family Celebration (Yuri Orlov, no date (1990s?))

Of course, you have noticed that all three paintings today deal with families at home. The first work dates from 1909, and the last from the 1990s, yet, one sees a basic continuity in family life, and even a stubborn persistence of traditional “gender roles”. I know that I shall have a brick or two thrown at me for saying this, but, isn’t this a strong hint that such roles are inborn and instinctual rather than learned and societal? Needless to say, such a statement does not exclude “exceptions to the rule”, but, I cannot accept the proposition that gender roles are cultural artifacts. I would prefer to say that they are ontological realities that we tamper with at our own risk.

Ivan Kulikov. A Family at Table. 1938

A Family at Table (Ivan Kulikov, 1938)

We continue the practise of comparing Russian middle class and peasant life in Ivan Kulikov’s work. However, notice a telling detail in this painting. Go back at look at the Self-Portrait (1939) by Mr Kulikov, and, then, look at the paterfamilias in this scene. I say there is a stunning resemblance. In short, this is a depiction of the Kulikov household done by its doting husband and father.

Ivan Kulikov. A Forester’s Family. 1909

A Forester’s Family (Ivan Kulikov, 1909)