Ilya Repin’s “Barge Haulers on the Volga” and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union’s “We Smite the Lazy Workers” both focus on the perception of laborers in Russian society. Particularly, both depictions rely heavily on the movement of the figures to emphasize and cement the tone of the pieces. For instance, in Repin’s “Barge Haulers on the Volga,” the workers, depicted in brown-toned colors against a sandy and neutral background, droop tiredly and despondently. They strain helplessly against the bonds that tie them to the ship and hold them back. A sense of weary stagnation is evident from the palpable effort that is hauling the barge in question. By way of these artistic choices to purposely elicit emotion, it is evident that laborers …show more content…
The image of the ever-growing hammer swinging down forcefully implies that labor, in this epoch of Russian society, is perceived as powerful and meaningful. Additionally, both paintings reflect the contemporary conditions of Russian society, and this context amplifies the purpose of the paintings. When Repin’s “Barge Haulers on the Volga” was painted, Russian society was very hostile to the disadvantaged. Serfdom was recently abolished, but the oppressive nobility prevented integration of these people into society. Therefore, the despondent mood created by the coloring and movement of the people serves to critique the grueling work and manual labor of the underclasses. Furthermore, Repin, considered one of Russia’s best artists, was part of the anti-establishment “Peredvizhniki” movement (often called “The Wanderers”), which was famous for its critique of inequality and injustice. Created, as seen by its sophisticated style and techniques, for the eyes of the upper classes, the painting serves to shed light on the pain of the laboring peasantry, further cemented the laborers as people to be
Liu encountered these families during her four years in the countryside. The painting depicts two men, perhaps a father and son, working together to pull a boat upstream. Although the boat is not in the picture, one can sense the weight from the postures, effort and strength of the men. Two men are contrasted by small images of the fragile, precious snuff bottles and the delicate dragonfly in the corner, both traditional Chinese symbols. The painting shows the 2 men in perfect rhythm with the appearance of sweat falling from their efforts. The positive focus is the 2 men in the picture with many negative white and dark colors. I believe the artist wanted you to feel the darkness and the sadness of the men as they did what that had to do to survive. You can almost feel the pain as they stress their bodies to the limits. I was truly intrigued by this piece of work, and would love to learn more about the artist’s
During one of the therapy and wit sessions between Rivers and Prior at Craiglockhart, we discover that class struggle is an issue plaguing Prior. Pat Barker introduces the reference to Bolsheviks on page 135 in order to have her readers strictly denounce the caste system of British society, both for the soldiers returning home, and also the women who continued to be victims of the same system in Britain during World War One.
Modern industry has replaced the privately owned workshop with the corporate factory. Laborers file into factories like soldiers. Throughout the day they are under the strict supervision of a hierarchy of seemingly militant command. Not only are their actions controlled by the government, they are controlled by the machines they are operating or working with, the bourgeois supervisors, and the bourgeois manufacturer. The more open the bourgeois are in professing gain as their ultimate goal, the more it condemns the proletariat.
The second stanza of “Art vs. Trade” introduces the powerful people in the society of the text. In Marxist Theory, the powerful people, also known as the bourgeoisie, are the people who “own property [and] control the means of production” or base (Dobie 89). In “Art vs. Trade,” Trade is the powerful person or entity. Trade is described as living
Industrialization finally results in the separation of the classes and the subsequent dialectical tension of production and consumption. This dualistic separation is made possible through the machine, the integral element that cements the unequal distribution of power. In his moral diptych, Melville questions industrialization by exploring these class divisions and the power relations within them. Ultimately, he concludes that it results in an exploitative system that thrives on both connection and isolation. Although the two spheres are physically and emotionally separated, they depend on each other for their continuation. Melville’s “The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids” expertly shows this interrelationship between the owners of the means of production (the bachelors) and the workers (the maids), and how it finally results in the oppression of the workers.
The representation of the new age of exploration, which serves as an allusion to man’s potential, is starkly contrasted with the depiction of Icarus that serves as an allegory for man’s limits, indicating the shift from a euro-centric universe. This painting is an oil canvas landscape of the sun setting on the horizon of the ocean sea, while the ships were sailing through the body of water. The focus on humanism during this period is clearly portrayed by the presence of the plowman, shepherd, and fisherman performing their daily task. Lighter colors are used, which differ from the darker colors that were emphasized during the Dark Age or Medieval period. Shadows can be seen on the ground next to the plowman, showing the increasing artistic methods that begin to be utilized.
...s work The 3rd of May, 1808 is a very detailed and dramatic narrative within a collection of war themed works by the artist. I believe that by using the formal elements of color, texture, shape, lines, space, and the value I was able to sufficiently provide evidence that Goya offers a sequential order of direction for the audience to comprehend from their personal viewing. The twisted and grief stricken work creates a massive emotional connection and the artist plans for the viewers’ to grow and understand this message. The subject highlighted is obvious that Goya is passionate on his stance and outlook on war is suggested in the work. It’s obvious that Goya’s formal organization of his color palette, variation of brushes, repeating shapes, and play with lighting all correspond to depict man’s savage and at times monstrous actions are justified during war.
The influence of Repin’s upbringing features is notable in almost all of his works; therefore, in order to achieve a greater understanding of his paintings, it is essential to know Repin’s background. Firstly, Repin’s life spanned a vast and turbulent time among Russian History. Born in 1844 and living until 1930, Repin witnessed key events such as World War I, the Assassination of Alexander II and the emancipation of the serfs. The latter event played a key role in R...
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was born a year before the emancipation of serfism in Russia took place. Although he was the grandson of a serf, Chekhov was able to attend the medical school at the University of Moscow and become a physician. Chekhov started writing in order to support his family economically, becoming a master in drama and short stories. His literature is characterized by the use of colloquial language which could be understood even by the less educated and recently liberated serfs. Social change is the main theme in ‘The Cherry Orchard’, a four-act play written in 1904. In this play the different characters portray how changes in Russia after the emancipation of 1861 were taking place and although the play is set several years after this, it is clearly seen how the play develops around this event. For peasants, the liberation of 1861 brought different consequences. Not all of them took advantage of their freedom, and for some, their lives were the same after being liberated. In this play, these differences can clearly be seen. A main character of this play is Yermolai Lopahkin. Being son and grandson of serfs, represents the young class of peasants who got advantage of the emancipation and achieved economic success. Also, we have minor characters that represent other side of liberated serfs, who did not have Lopakhin’s opportunities to success after emancipation.
The Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is a piece full of rich colors that reflect both the time period and the artist’s impressionist style. This composition not only conveys a leisurely gathering of people, but also expresses the changing French social structure of the time due to the industrial revolution. To portray these themes Renoir uses, shape, space, color and texture. Shape is seen in the modeled figures and bottles, and space is created by overlapping of the bodies, but it does not give a realistic illusion of depth. Color is most evident in the painting by the deep blue and green contrasted by the vibrant red and greens making it very rich in colour. Texture is also evident in the clothing which was emphasized by the artist’s impressionist brushstroke style. Renoir also used principals of design to make his composition more effective like balance, movement, repetition and unity. A symmetrical balance is evident because most of the subjects in the painting are on the right side. Movement is achieved in this painting by the gesture and expression of the subjects as well as the drapery on the table and the gazebo cover. Repetition can be seen in the curves of the gazebo cover, the stripes and the posts in the railing. All these elements and principals of design unify this piece and make it very pleasing to the eye. Renoir reflects the theme is this painting because the impressionist style was new to the art field, just as the advances fr...
Introduction Upon my first encounter with Kandinsky's painting, my eyes and indeed my mind were overcome with a sense of puzzlement, as it seemed impossible to decipher what lay beneath his passionate use of colour and distorted forms. Kandinsky hoped by freeing colour from its representational restrictions, it, like music could conjure up a series of emotions in the soul of viewer, reinforced by corresponding forms. Throughout this essay, I will follow Kandinsky's quest for a pure, abstract art and attempt to determine whether his passionate belief in this spiritual art and his theories on its effects on the soul, can truly be felt and appreciated by the average viewer, who at first glance would most likely view Kandinsky's paintings as simply abstract. Kandinsky was indeed a visionary, an artist who through his theoretical ideas of creating a new pictorial language sought to revolutionize the art of the twentieth-century. Regarded as the founder of abstract painting, he broke free from arts traditional limitations and invented the first painting for paintings sake, whereby the dissolution of the object and subsequent promotion of colour and form became means of expression in their own right.
This paper will explore Vladimir Tatlin and Naum Gabo's differences in the role of the Avant-Garde artists and how their beliefs influence the kind of work they produce. A pioneer of Russian design, Vladimir Tatlin is a representative of Russian Realism. He left home when he was fifteen and served on the shipboard. When he became a painter, he often represented sailors in his pictures. Art and culture in Russia after Revolution was a tool for creating industrially aesthetic reality.
middle of paper ... ... In USSR in Construction, Issue #12, 1935 (White Sea Canal Issue, see figure 9), his photography and design showcase the construction of the waterway as a triumph of Soviet engineering, not the fact its construction cost the lives of 200,000 political prisoners. Hopefully both artists will be remembered for the mastery in which they applied the principles of Constructivism and Suprematism within their graphic design, rather than the political ideologies they were required by the regime to promote. It is difficult to ascertain the political commitment among the Russian Avant-garde artists.
...iks and the Petty Bourgeoisie." Lenin Collected Works. Vol. 12. Moscow: Foreign Languages House, 1962. 179-83. Marxist Internet Archive. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
... mentioning. Nikolai Gogol deftly and eloquently illustrates the spitefulness and the many faults that lay within the very roots of Russian serfdom, through his mastery and impeccable usage of satire.