The painting by the artist Dmitry Ladygin depicts the writer Vitaly Aleksandrovich Zakrutkin, with his wavy hair, mustache, glasses, tunic, and military trousers. Vitaly Zakrutkin met Ladygin on the banks of the Don River while the artist was sketching for his future painting. Dmitry Ladygin was the artist from the city of Stakhanov in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.

From their very first meeting, Ladygin and Vitaly Zakrutkin became friends. The artist invited Zakrutkin to visit him and came to see the writer at his home, where he met Zakrutkin’s family and admired the farmstead, along with the writer’s beloved dogs and cats. For many years, the two remained close friends. Both were veterans of the Great Patriotic War; Zakrutkin participated in the Battle of the Caucasus, while Ladygin fought at Stalingrad. They often reminisced about their military experiences, recalling comrades-in-arms and sharing stories of the heroes whose exploits brought victory over fascism closer.

Once, Dmitry Ladygin offered to paint the writer’s portrait for an upcoming anniversary. Initially, Zakrutkin was not particularly interested in doing this, but Ladygin was persuasive, and the work began. It lasted more than two months, as the artist also decided to create a companion portrait of Zakrutkin’s wife, Natalya Vasilyevna Zakrutkina.

The portraits were completed in time for the writer’s anniversary celebration. Many guests, upon viewing Vitaly Zakrutkin’s portrait, remarked that he bore a striking resemblance to Don Quixote. Dmitry Ladygin confessed that he had intentionally sought to capture this similarity in his work, as he had long believed Zakrutkin shared much in common with the famous knight. The villagers, too, spoke of the writer as a noble, sincere, and generous soul, always coming to the rescue. In fact, the idealized image of romantic Don Quixote served as a guiding inspiration for Zakrutkin himself.

Indeed, in life, Vitaly Aleksandrovich Zakrutkin was a sincere romantic, a true Don Quixote, and a noble knight. His relatives, colleagues, fellow soldiers, and fellow countrymen remembered him as a kind and sympathetic friend. This is the image that emerges in the anniversary portrait displayed in the museum.