The life of a peasant girl was not easy. From an early age, she needed to help her parents around the farm. She worked the whole day in preparation for family life. Yefim Chestnyakov’s dream was that beautiful and naturally talented children of peasants would become interested in art, develop their creative abilities and give free rein to their imagination. The following is an excerpt in Yefim Chestnyakov’s hand-written books ‘Imagination can transform into something more tangible. When you create a fairy tale, it becomes real… And afterwards, it will be a part of daily life, like a kovsh’ (a ladle for drinking). ‘And our life will then be just as we imagined it…’ His creativity found an outlet in theater performances, which Yefim Chestnyakov often staged for village inhabitants. He made costumes and musical instruments for children himself, and wrote his own scripts.
In the painting ‘A group of children with accordions and penny whistles’, one can see festively-dressed girls wearing beautiful hats with the village in the background. The imagery is not typical of every-day life in a village. The artist depicted a festive performance: the girls, holding homemade musical instruments are standing in front of the audience ready to show off their talents. The younger girls have white kerchiefs in their hands, while the older ones are holding various objects: flowers, a colorful umbrella and a large sunflower. The fact that the peasant girls are wearing unusually colorful outfits also indicates that the painting depicts a special occasion. The work follows a horizontal composition and is reminiscent of a curtain call when actors come out onto the stage for a final bow in front of the audience.
The artist used a wide range of hues in the painting: blue, pink, yellow and green. Although the girls are depicted in a similar manner, there is something unique about each one of them. The artist was able to subtly convey the mood of every one of them. And although the painting is of a festive occasion, the background, i.e. of a typical village, adds an element of everyday life to it. A fairy tale has come to life here, nearby, on our native land.
In the painting ‘A group of children with accordions and penny whistles’, one can see festively-dressed girls wearing beautiful hats with the village in the background. The imagery is not typical of every-day life in a village. The artist depicted a festive performance: the girls, holding homemade musical instruments are standing in front of the audience ready to show off their talents. The younger girls have white kerchiefs in their hands, while the older ones are holding various objects: flowers, a colorful umbrella and a large sunflower. The fact that the peasant girls are wearing unusually colorful outfits also indicates that the painting depicts a special occasion. The work follows a horizontal composition and is reminiscent of a curtain call when actors come out onto the stage for a final bow in front of the audience.
The artist used a wide range of hues in the painting: blue, pink, yellow and green. Although the girls are depicted in a similar manner, there is something unique about each one of them. The artist was able to subtly convey the mood of every one of them. And although the painting is of a festive occasion, the background, i.e. of a typical village, adds an element of everyday life to it. A fairy tale has come to life here, nearby, on our native land.
