The Roads of War
Ilya Glazunov
1957/1985
This was originally painted as Glazunov’s graduation piece from the art academy. To say that it caused a stir is an understatement. This painting is a brutally-realistic picture of war, it is not idealised in any way, shape, or form, it is not “positive” (mistrust anyone who uses that word, it is one of the worst weasel-words, it is devoid of intrinsic meaning, and can be distorted in any one of dozens of different ways). It was rejected categorically. In 1964, he exhibited the work at the Manezh exhibition hall, and the authorities confiscated the canvas and destroyed it. In the mid-80s, he redid the piece.
BMD
Art and Faith 
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