In 1930, Ilya Mashkov lived in his homeland — in the village Mikhailovskaya, which at that time was called the Kliment Voroshilov collective farm. At this time, the artist performed three works commissioned by the Soviet Art Publishing House ISOGIZ: ‘Collective Farm Woman with Pumpkins’, ‘Girl on the Tobacco Plantation’, and ‘Girl with Sunflowers. Portrait of Zoya Andreyeva’. The publishing house was supposed to make reproductions from these paintings for calendar walls on gardening, tobacco growing, and butter-making themes. The calendar wall was a thick sheet of cardboard with a bright picture, on which the calendar was hung.
‘Girl with Sunflowers’ was displayed at the exhibition ‘Contemporary Art of 79 countries’ in New York in 1939. Today, this painting is in a private collection in Moscow.
‘Girl on the Tobacco Plantation’, displayed at the museum’s exhibition, differs from the other two works of this series by its restraint in color, the absence of sharp contrasts, and soft light. If in “Collective Farm Woman with Pumpkins” Mashkov painted individual flecks of sunlight with thick strokes, then soft light seems to flood the whole picture in this more delicate work.
Working with light and various solutions of illuminated surfaces was characteristic of all paintings in the 1920s–1930s. This was due to the ideological interpretation of light as a metaphor for the triumph of victorious socialism.
During his visit to his hometown in 1930, Mashkov not only painted pictures, but also organized an exhibition in the school building of collective farm youth. Many young guys became interested in his works, and Mashkov began to teach them. Soon, he organized an art club.
At the same time, Mashkov was developing a plan for the global transformation of Mikhailovskaya into an exemplary town of socialist culture. The center of the new life in the village was to become the House of Socialist Culture (DSK), located in the closed Sretenskaya Church.
For six years — from 1930 to 1936 — this ambitious project became the main thing in the painter’s life. He spent the summer in Mikhailovskaya, and in the winter, he left for Moscow, where he also dealt with the village affairs, keeping in touch with the collective farmers in letters. In the capital, Mashkov launched a vigorous activity in search of support for his projects. He turned for help to various organizations, to party leaders, organized the collection of donations for the House of Culture, the delivery of equipment and materials, and invested his own money in the construction. For the reconstruction of the village, Mashkov proposed to attract leading architects and sculptors, for example, Alexey Shchusev.
‘Girl with Sunflowers’ was displayed at the exhibition ‘Contemporary Art of 79 countries’ in New York in 1939. Today, this painting is in a private collection in Moscow.
‘Girl on the Tobacco Plantation’, displayed at the museum’s exhibition, differs from the other two works of this series by its restraint in color, the absence of sharp contrasts, and soft light. If in “Collective Farm Woman with Pumpkins” Mashkov painted individual flecks of sunlight with thick strokes, then soft light seems to flood the whole picture in this more delicate work.
Working with light and various solutions of illuminated surfaces was characteristic of all paintings in the 1920s–1930s. This was due to the ideological interpretation of light as a metaphor for the triumph of victorious socialism.
During his visit to his hometown in 1930, Mashkov not only painted pictures, but also organized an exhibition in the school building of collective farm youth. Many young guys became interested in his works, and Mashkov began to teach them. Soon, he organized an art club.
At the same time, Mashkov was developing a plan for the global transformation of Mikhailovskaya into an exemplary town of socialist culture. The center of the new life in the village was to become the House of Socialist Culture (DSK), located in the closed Sretenskaya Church.
For six years — from 1930 to 1936 — this ambitious project became the main thing in the painter’s life. He spent the summer in Mikhailovskaya, and in the winter, he left for Moscow, where he also dealt with the village affairs, keeping in touch with the collective farmers in letters. In the capital, Mashkov launched a vigorous activity in search of support for his projects. He turned for help to various organizations, to party leaders, organized the collection of donations for the House of Culture, the delivery of equipment and materials, and invested his own money in the construction. For the reconstruction of the village, Mashkov proposed to attract leading architects and sculptors, for example, Alexey Shchusev.
