Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov is a recognized classic of Soviet realism, laureate of the Stalin and Lenin Prizes. And yet the work of the master does not fit into the rigid framework of socialist realism. Arkady Plastov has official portraits of leaders and scenes of collective farm holidays.

But a more important place is occupied by the image of peasant everyday life and the beauty of the Russian land. Human life in harmony with nature is the leitmotif of this artist’s work, which makes him the heir and continuer of the national artistic tradition. This is a classic not only of Soviet, but also of Russian painting, who made a great contribution to the development of national culture.

Arkady Plastov biography

The name of Arkady Plastov is closely connected with the village of Prislonikha, Ulyanovsk province. Here, the future artist was born in 1893, and then lived with his beloved wife, only leaving for Moscow for a while. His parents were poor peasants, but his grandfather and great-grandfather were icon painters. Until the age of 19, Arkady managed to study at a school, a religious school and the Simbirsk Theological Seminary. His parents wanted to make him a priest. But watching the icon painters at work impressed Arkady so much that he decided to change his life.

Plastov went to Moscow to receive an art education. At first he studied in the studio of Ilya Mashkov, then he entered the Stroganov School. The completion of education was the Metropolitan School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.

After the revolution, the artist returned to his native village, became the secretary of the village council and lived, mainly engaged in agriculture. There was little time for art. Basically, in the 20s of the last century, political posters and book illustrations were created. Everything changed after a big fire in 1931, when many village houses were destroyed in the flames, as well as all the artist’s property and his sketches. Plastov, who was already almost 40 years old, decided to devote himself entirely to creativity. Already in 1935, his paintings were successfully shown in Moscow.

Awards and paintings

In the future, Arkady Plastov participates in all important events in the art world, and his fame grew every year. In 1946, he was given the Stalin Prize of the first degree for the works “Haymaking” and “Harvest”. And a year later he was admitted to the Academy of Arts. In 1962, the master became a people’s artist. And four years later he received the Lenin Prize. He was posthumously awarded the Repin Prize. The painter died in 1972 in his native village. Married to Natalia von Wieck, a girl of noble origin, he had a son, who also became an artist. The grandson of the painter continues the family tradition and is a member of the Union of Artists.

The most famous paintings of the artist on the theme of peasant labor are “Haymaking”, “Harvest”, “Collective Farm Current” and “Tractor Driver’s Dinner”. Somewhat poeticized village life is depicted on the canvases “Bathing the Horses”, “First Snow”, “Spring”, “March Sun”, “Spring” and “Youth”.

The military theme is reflected in the work “The Fascist Flew”. This work hung in the Soviet embassy, ​​where a meeting of the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition was held and it was decided to open the Second Front. Among the later works, many are devoted to the theme of motherhood, for example, “The Sun” and “Mom”.