Ilya Repin, Bargehaulers on the Volga 187073

1
Ilya Repin, Bargehaulers on the Volga (1870-73)

• Repins painting was a precursor of socialist
  realism. It not only interpreted the scene in a
  realist style, but it conveyed a message about
  the inhumanity of Tsarist Russia, revealing a
  deeper reality.

2
Socialist Realism

• The most famous definition for socialist realism
  is Aleksandr Gerasimov's (18811963) explanation
  "Realistic in form, Socialist in content."
• According to Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), Socialist
  Realism employed theory to portray the importance
  of social activity in shaping humans. Socialist
  Realism is primarily optimistic about life, Gorky
  explained, and is cognizant of the educational
  role of art, whether portraying information
  through images, sounds or text.

3
Aleksander Gerasimov combined techniques of
academic realism with an Impressionistic light
touch, and favored heroic realism, which
featured images of Revolutionary leaders such as
Lenin as larger-than-life heroes. However, as
Stalin tightened his grip on the country,
Gerasimov's work descended into pompous official
portraits, such as "Stalin and Voroshilov at the
Kremlin Wall," for which he won a Stalin Prize in
1934.
Gerasimov, Lenin on the Tribune (1929 1930)
4

• War

5
Aleksander Deineka (Deyneka), Battle at
Sevastapol
The Great Patriotic War (WWII) figured
extensively in socialist realist painting. The
restrictions on style did not prevent talented
artists from creating dynamic and strongly
composed works of art.
6
Wassilij Satischenko, Return of the Winners, 1953

• Although Marxism rejections nationalism in favor
  of the unity of mankind, it was easier to
  motivate people to respond as Russians to a
  German invasion, than as socialists to a national
  socialist invasion. And the returning heroes
  were feted as saviors of Russia rather than
  saviors of socialism.

7

• Rural Idyllism Agriculture

8
Wladimir Krikhatskij, The First Tractor .

• As discussed in class, socialist realism differed
  from Nazi realism in that it did not look
  backwards, but forwards. Industrialization, and
  advancing technologysuch as bringing
  mechanization to agriculturewas seen as a
  socialist achievement.

9
Boris Wladimirskij, Female Worker .

• Although the Soviets claims
  of gender-equality
  were
  largely false, women as
  productive members of society
  did figure prominently in socialist art. The
  figure here, if not heroic, is at least meant to
  be stoic.

10
T. S. Naumova, Celebration (1950s) .

• Because the peasantry had been the oppressed
  class in Russian feudalism (rather than a true
  laboring class proletariat), images of happy
  peasants under communism were inherently
  propagandistic.

11
Aleksie Vasilev, They Are Writing About Us in
Pravda (1951) .

• Rural idyillism was strong in socialist realist
  painting, but this may have had more to do with
  Russian culture than with Marxism. Nevertheless,
  the title reveals the ideological content.

12
Vladimir Firsov, Convoy (1984) .

• Although much later than the Stalinist era, at a
  time when food production had diminished as a
  problem, agriculture still appeared as a subject.

13

• Industry

14
V. Malagis, Steel Workers (1950)
At the time of the October Revolution, Russia was
an underdeveloped agrarian society. In part
because they needed industrial production, and in
part to help fulfill the Marxist outline (whereby
feudalism gave way to capitalism, rather than
directly to communism), the Soviet government
rapidly industrialized. Consequently, favorable
representations of industry promoted the official
viewpoint.
15
Ivan Bevzenko, Young Steel Workers (1951) .

• Communism emphasized social unity, rather than
  individual striving. In paintings like this one,
  the very composition of the work is the message,
  as all the figures around the sheet of steel are
  clearly working as one. This also highlights
  that the realism of this style was meant to
  reflect the real truth about the world, when
  properly understood.

16

• Socialist realisms focus on industrial
  development continued into the late stages of the
  Soviet Unions existence. Here, a subject
  unlikely to be treated positively by, say, an
  American artist,
  is given the
  full
  glory to
  socialism
  treatment, including
  prominent use of
  
  the color red.

S. G. Krigevskaja, Atom Electric Plant (1982)
17

• The Cult of Personality

18
Karpo Demjanowitsch Trokhimenko, Stalin as an
Organizer of the October Revolution

• When Stalin assumed power, he created a cult of
  personality (that contradicts Marxisms
  anti-individualist approach), and great effort
  was put into exaggerating the significance of his
  role in the October Revolution.

19

• Aleksander Gerasimov Stalin at the Sixteenth
  Party Congress of the Russian Communist Party
  (1929-30)

20
Michail Boschij, Stalin in the Civil War (ca.
1950)

• Although Stalin is shown here as a front-line
  commander in the Civil War, he actually never was
  near the front. But in totalitarian ideology,
  historical truth is no more than what the
  government says it is. Realism refers to the
  visual stylenot to the contents historical
  accuracy.

21
Boris Vladimirski, Roses for Stalin (1949)

• This image of Stalin as hero to children
  blissfully obscures his responsibility for the
  death of tens of millions, including countless
  children who starved to death as a consequence of
  his ill-conceived 5 year plans.

22
Arkadi Rusin, Lenins Arrival at the
Finland-Station in Petrograd in Spring 1917

• Lenin also remained a predominant subject of
  socialist realism. While many prominent early
  members of the party were purged, and their
  existence stricken from the official records
  (including being photoshopped out of pictures),
  Lenin remained a hero on the order of George
  Washington.

23

• Although Lenin was long-dead by the time this was
  painted, the message needed no narrative for
  Russians. Lenins presence, his posture, and the
  fact that he is listening, contrasts sharply with
  the how the feudal nobility of Tsarist Russia had
  treated the peasants.

E. G. Usikova, Lenin with Villagers (1959)
24

• Other Aspects

25
Olexij Schowkunenko, Sun of Communism watercolor)

• Although the state tightly controlled the arts,
  they didnt demand complete uniformity. Here
  realism is allowed a fuzzier, less crisp,
  appearance. But close inspection reveals that
  the human forms are still idealized, unlike, for
  example, the German Expressionists.

26

• Because Marxist-Leninist ideas reviled the past
  and predicted a glorious future, socialist
  painters developed visual cues to convey that
  message, particularly the forward and upward
  look of the characters.
• Communisms modernist outlook is also revealed by
  the train and the electrical towers, which the
  characters are building to bring electricity
  across the country.
• Despite the pretense to realism, most of these
  projects were built by forced labor.

Serafima Ryangina, Higher, ever Higher (1934)
27
Boris Wladimirskij, Black Ravens (1930s)

• Black Ravens (also called Black Marias) were the
  cars used to arrest dissidents (note the prison
  in the background). They created intense fear
  among the population during Stalins reign. It
  is unclear how this painting passed the censors.

28

• The Chinese communists also supported a style of
  social realism. And like the Soviets, they liked
  to highlight the mutual love between the leader
  (Mao) and the peasants.

29

• The use of socialist realism often became
  excessively sloganistic. In this example from
  Lao, the poster reads The Popular Democratic
  System Under the Leadership of the Party is the
  Path to Successful Development.

30

• The End