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. 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.
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 composition ‘Portrait of a Man with a Child’ depicts a middle-aged man sitting on a traditional fur carpet with a drooping look. Slouching under the weight of heavy thoughts and emotions, he puts his right arm around a small boy whose clear face bathed in a gentle blush attracts the eye. The boy looks at us with interest, but at the same time with a slight note of disbelief, and his eyes are clearly frightened. His lips are slightly parted, and his small hands are holding on to the strong palm of the man as if they are looking for protection and support in him. In world culture, including Yakut culture, the image of a child has always represented spontaneity, unconditional sincerity, and inner purity of thoughts, and was also associated with the continuation of life. The color design of the canvas is designed in a strict, warm color of the figures against the dark background of the traditional home of the northerners.
The artist used temperamental and broad strokes of the brush, but at the same time subtly and carefully painted the faces of the characters. Afanasy Osipov wrote ‘Portrait of a Man with a Child’ in 1969.
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 composition ‘Portrait of a Man with a Child’ depicts a middle-aged man sitting on a traditional fur carpet with a drooping look. Slouching under the weight of heavy thoughts and emotions, he puts his right arm around a small boy whose clear face bathed in a gentle blush attracts the eye. The boy looks at us with interest, but at the same time with a slight note of disbelief, and his eyes are clearly frightened. His lips are slightly parted, and his small hands are holding on to the strong palm of the man as if they are looking for protection and support in him. In world culture, including Yakut culture, the image of a child has always represented spontaneity, unconditional sincerity, and inner purity of thoughts, and was also associated with the continuation of life. The color design of the canvas is designed in a strict, warm color of the figures against the dark background of the traditional home of the northerners.
The artist used temperamental and broad strokes of the brush, but at the same time subtly and carefully painted the faces of the characters. Afanasy Osipov wrote ‘Portrait of a Man with a Child’ in 1969.
