Alexander Samokhvalov (1894–1971) was a Soviet artist and graphic artist who worked in the style of socialist realism. However, unlike many other artists, Samokhvalov's work was truly original and memorable: Samokhvalov very cleverly combined features of Art Nouveau and Symbolism with socialist realism. Despite the major pathos, his paintings are distinguished by considerable charm, glorifying the images of "modern goddesses" ready for labor achievements.
Girl with a shovel
Samokhvalov brought the idea of the "correct" Soviet girl, strong in body and spirit, to a certain ideal. For the sake of the proper impression, he often used monumental forms; his heroines fill the maximum possible space of the canvas, somewhat reminiscent of Deineka's paintings. These are no longer the former "jelly young ladies" ready to pretend to faint at the sight of a mouse, but real builders of socialism, not afraid of the hardest work.
At the winch
Samokhvalov was born in the city of Bezhetsk in the Tver province. His father ran a small shop, his mother was a housewife and raised children. Little Sanya first went to a parochial school, and when he grew up, he began studying at the Kalyazin Mechanical and Technical School. True, he was much more attracted to painting than engineering, and in any free minute he immediately began to draw, and very well. Friends who saw his drawings strongly advised him to become an artist, since it was not right for such talent to go to waste.
Headwash
In his third year, Samokhvalov was expelled from the school, citing his participation in street riots during the revolution of 1905-1907. But he was not too upset and entered the Bezhetsk Real School, where his teacher was Ivan Kostenko. Samokhvalov did not think that the knowledge he had acquired was enough, and he entered the school at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. He often went to the Hermitage, where he admired Rubens' paintings. Samokhvalov was no less impressed by ancient Russian icons; he even used their techniques, for example, he painted his famous self-portra in 1916 in tempera.
Alexander Samokhvalov. Self-portrait
He began exhibiting his works already in his first year, and in 1917 he joined the art association "World of Art". After the revolution of 1917, the Academy of Arts was closed, and VKHUTEMAS was organized in its place, where Samokhvalov studied until 1923. The time had come to seriously prove himself, which is what the ambitious artist was striving for.
"Weaving Workshop", 1929
True, he had to forget about serious easel painting for the time being. Samokhvalov drew propaganda posters, restored frescoes in the St. George Cathedral and even created sketches for porcelain plates, where he did not fail to depict women in a rather frivolous form, fortunately in those years censorship was not too rampant, and such pictures were considered a new art, free from bourgeois prejudices.
Plate "Worker's Breakfast"
He also drew a lot for children's publishers, since their books were published in large print runs, and payment for drawings was often based on the number of copies published.
Osoaviakhimovskaya, 1932
He was a member of many art societies, at whose exhibitions he presented paintings in which he glorified the Soviet way of life and the Soviet woman, while striving not for a realistic depiction, but for a certain collective-idealistic image, as in ancient Roman frescoes, embodying a certain abstract ideal.
Metro construction worker with a drill
He painted the famous series of watercolors "Metrostroyevki", where he brought his ideas to their logical conclusion. Formally, the metro workers themselves posed for him, but Samokhvalov probably changed their appearance significantly in accordance with his vision. He was not too interested in portrait resemblance; what was more important was the opportunity to introduce elements of Art Nouveau into their images, to create the proper impression of indestructible power, which, with all this, can also be femininely charming.
Conductress
Samokhvalov especially loved to depict various mass parades of athletes and portraits of female athletes. Thus, in the 1930s, he created a series of paintings called “Female Athletes,” where he could not deny himself the pleasure of depicting athletic and self-confident girls who, according to the artist, are “participants in a new life.” One of his best works, “Girl in a T-shirt,” was even sent to Paris for display at the World Exhibition.
Nude
Admiring Parisians called her the "Soviet Mona Lisa". However, Samokhvalov himself admitted that this nickname did not please him at all: "Mona Lisa has an ironic smile, while my girlfriend does not smile, and even if she did, it was sincere and cheerful, moving towards new successes." Critics noted the clarity and ingenious simplicity of the composition, the competent selection of colors, the ability to display a modern view of female beauty, and the competent combination of classical painting with modernist elements. As a result, Samokhvalov was awarded a gold medal for this painting, which for the artist himself and for Soviet art in general was an unconditional sign of recognition.
Soviet Venus (Bather)
In 1940, a personal exhibition of the artist was held in Leningrad. During the Great Patriotic War, Samokhvalov moved to Novosibirsk. There he created theatrical scenery, and when the war ended, he painted a number of pictures dedicated to it. However, Samokhvalov was not interested in battle painting, but in the people who managed to survive it and bring victory in the Great Patriotic War closer.
The fighters recalled the days gone by
In the 1950s, Samokhvalov began to paint more detailed pictures, gradually abandoning modernist elements. But the theme of many of them was still the same as in the 1920s - Soviet girls.
В филармонии
He was also not afraid to paint nudes, reasonably believing that the beauty of the human body should not be under any prohibition. He managed to avoid any vulgarity with amazing precision, and even the strictest Soviet censors could not find fault with these pictures.
Swimmer
In the end, beauty has always come first for Samokhvalov, and ideology is just a way to build a career, be in demand, and bring his art to the widest possible audience.
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