The Great Patriotic War in the fine arts of the Krasnoyarsk region of the twentieth century: transformation of artistic images and pictorial and plastic language

Abstract

For almost eighty-five years, the theme of the Great Patriotic War has been actively explored by the fine arts of the Krasnoyarsk region. This is evident through the numerous catalogues, booklets, and critical reviews of exhibitions. These years have provided a vast amount of artistic material depicting the events of the war. However, the diversity of war images and the methods used to portray them in regional art are still largely unexplored. Despite the considerable amount of literature on the cultural life of the region during this time, there has been little research on the evolution of imagery, its interpretations, and the artistic methods used to express it. The only exceptions are the author's PhD thesis, “Painting of the Krasnoyarsk region in the second half of the 20th century: the search for an artistic image,” and the exhibition review, “Stage changes in the reflection of the theme of the Great Patriotic War: the example of the exhibition ‘Glory to the Victors!’ in Krasnoyarsk,” by N.V. Trigaleva. In these works, Trigaleva examines the changes in the content of exhibits, depending on the tasks facing artists during specific periods of Soviet and Russian history, and analyses regional art within the context of the Soviet mainstream. Recognizing the relevance of this topic and aiming to fill the gap in regional scientific knowledge, the author's purpose in this article is to analyse the transformation of artistic images, the changes in pictorial and plastic language, and the approach to developing plots on the theme of the Great Patriotic War in the works of Krasnoyarsk painters in the 20th century. It is evident that works created during the war differ greatly from those created in later periods. Each generation brings its own understanding of the history and significance of the war and its victory. By using iconographic, formal and stylistic, cultural and historical analysis of the context in which regional art developed, the author divides the history of post-war Krasnoyarsk painting into several periods and provides a brief overview of the plots and their interpretations in Krasnoyarsk paintings, using examples from the most prominent artists of each period. Through an art analysis of over 60 works of Krasnoyarsk art on the theme of war, presented in this article for the first time in such a volume, the author is able to identify and explain the semantic and stylistic changes that occurred over several decades.