The development of painting in Yakutia for many decades is closely connected with the work of Afanasy Osipov. Afanasy Osipov is a People’s Artist of the USSR, winner of the Ilya Repin State Prize of the RSFSR, and full member of the Russian Academy of Arts. The artist is one of the masters whose art was recognized at the very beginning of his career in the second half of the 1950s. Osipov represents a generation that was formed in the post-war decade and entered the creative life at the historical turn when a new period of development of Soviet fine art began. It is known that since the late 1950s and early 1960s, during a short political “thaw”, significant changes have taken place in the cultural life of Russia. By this time, a group of young progressive painters was formed in Yakutia, and all of them were graduates of central art universities. The work of Afanasy Osipov, a graduate of the Moscow State Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov is closely linked to the traditions of Russian realism and Soviet painting. Equally significant for understanding Osipov’s art is its connection with the Motherland, Yakutia, i.e. its nature, history, and culture. The Yakut painter is also attracted by the restrained Northern landscapes, hard-to-reach mountains, as well as the heroics of everyday work of reindeer herders and the theme of human development of the nature of the Far North.
The canvas depicts a reindeer breeder Ilya Klepechin. Vital force and strong-willed energy are expressed in the radiance of face colors, the hot color of which contrasts with the snow-white background. The integrity of the silhouette and the colorfulness of the spot, as well as the point of view somewhat from below enhance the impression of significance and monumentality of the depicted person. The reindeer herder is depicted in traditional clothing made of skins. The sketches were created by the artist during another trip to the Nizhnekolymsky District of Yakutia in the village of Andryushkino.
In the lower right corner of the picture, one can see a monogram. Many artists, mainly painters and engravers, put them on their works instead of a signature.
The canvas depicts a reindeer breeder Ilya Klepechin. Vital force and strong-willed energy are expressed in the radiance of face colors, the hot color of which contrasts with the snow-white background. The integrity of the silhouette and the colorfulness of the spot, as well as the point of view somewhat from below enhance the impression of significance and monumentality of the depicted person. The reindeer herder is depicted in traditional clothing made of skins. The sketches were created by the artist during another trip to the Nizhnekolymsky District of Yakutia in the village of Andryushkino.
In the lower right corner of the picture, one can see a monogram. Many artists, mainly painters and engravers, put them on their works instead of a signature.
