A Symbol behind the Image: Reading the Painting by Alexander Volkov

Abstract

Alexander Nikolaevich Volkov (1886–1957) is one of the Soviet Uzbekistan fine art founders. He actively taught in Tashkent and had a significant impact on the younger generation of the artists. He was a member of the association "New East Masters", headed the informal group "Volkov's Brigade" trying to solve the problems of monumental painting. In addition, the artist's work has some traces of symbolism and impressionism, cubism and primitive art. This article is devoted to Volkov's painting "Teahouse with a portrait of V.I. Lenin”, created in 1928 and stored in The Karakalpakstan State Museum of Art. This picture was painted at a time when the master, in his own words, again turned to human. Therefore the masterpiece corresponded the request to design a new Soviet way of life, to invent the heroes among workers and dekhkans (peasants). However, behind the simple interpretation of "Teahouse", there is a deep symbolism, thanks to which the images go beyond the scope of an ideological statement, turning into a kind of myth. The novelty of this research can be found in the formulation of a problem that has not previously been considered in the scientific literature - the symbolic interpretation of the works of A.N. Volkov of the "socialist realist" period. This symbolic layer in the artist's works is the additional evidence of his sincere passion from the ideas of the cultural revolution and socialist movement in Central Asia. In addition, Volkov's paintings of the late 1920s and 1930s are often overshadowed by his earlier creative experiments. The purpose of this article is to consider and analyze one of the most revealing work belonged to the late period of the artist oeuvre, to identify the semantic layers behind the “tangible breath of the flesh”.