Description of the picture:
Plotogony – Nikolai Ivanovich Andronov. 1960-1961. Canvas, oil. 210×275
N.I. Andronov (1929-1998) is one of the representatives of the “severe style” in Soviet painting, which arose as a reaction to official socialist realism. Andronov turns workers into a “type”: the individuality of their images disappears, masculinity and reliability, typical of all, appear. Depriving heroes of individuality, the artist does not set the task of penetrating their psychology either. More precisely, he fixes only one facet of it – masculinity and readiness for creative work – and assigns it to his “typical” characters. Mean gestures do not unite the heroes, they do not communicate with each other, only the хэнд of one of them, lying on the shoulder of the other, speaks not only of a simple acquaintance, but also of friendship.
The plastic expressiveness of the picture conveys the emotional essence of this scene. Bright local colors, simplicity and clarity of the composition indicate the straightforwardness of the characters of the depicted models. The powerful painting and monumentality of the composition testify to the great social significance of the occupations of these young workers, who contribute to the development of the country."