In the late 1930s, Alexander Mikhailovich Gerasimov worked a lot in the genre of portrait painting. The artist was attracted by creative, intelligent and remarkable people.
Alexander Mikhailovich and Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov were close friends. The artist said the following about their first meeting, “Once the sculptor M.A. Denisova-Shchadenko came up to me and asked, ‘Do you have your box of paints? ’ ‘Yes, ’ I replied. ‘Then let’s go now to Comrade Voroshilov. I am sculpting a bust of him, and you could paint a study at the same time.’ Unfortunately, I had no canvas with me, so I took a piece of plywood instead. I was very nervous and for a reason. I had never seen Voroshilov, who at the time held the post of People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, but when he came out and greeted us quite informally, my anxiety vanished, and I somehow calmed down at once. Kliment Yefremovich posed patiently, asking if he was sitting the right way and whether he was interfering with my work. After sitting for exactly an hour, he begged: ‘Let me rest.’ Approaching my study, he expressed great satisfaction. Then, emboldened, I asked him to let me work in earnest on a portrait of his, and he agreed to pose. This portrait displayed at the Ninth Exhibition of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia was purchased by the Museum of the Revolution.”
Gerasimov was on friendly terms with Klim Voroshilov, enjoyed his patronage, and was close to his family. There are at least a dozen portraits of the People’s Commissar of Defense by Gerasimov. On December 27, 1929, Gerasimov wrote a letter to Voroshilov asking him to protect his family from dekulakization (the Soviet campaign of land expropriation). Voroshilov appealed to the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin. The brief note from the People’s Commissar to Kalinin has been preserved to this day. Not only did the artist’s family escape repression, but even retained their vast estate. Kliment Voroshilov also introduced the artist to Joseph Stalin.
The portrait is made in a classical manner, with colors typical for this genre. Voroshilov is wearing a formal dark suit, a white shirt, and a dark tie. Voroshilov is probably depicted in a library: Klim Yefremovich was known to be fond of reading. There are bookshelves in the background, with Voroshilov himself holding a book in burgundy binding. The picture is a portrait of a strong-willed person, endowed with power and authority.
Alexander Mikhailovich and Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov were close friends. The artist said the following about their first meeting, “Once the sculptor M.A. Denisova-Shchadenko came up to me and asked, ‘Do you have your box of paints? ’ ‘Yes, ’ I replied. ‘Then let’s go now to Comrade Voroshilov. I am sculpting a bust of him, and you could paint a study at the same time.’ Unfortunately, I had no canvas with me, so I took a piece of plywood instead. I was very nervous and for a reason. I had never seen Voroshilov, who at the time held the post of People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, but when he came out and greeted us quite informally, my anxiety vanished, and I somehow calmed down at once. Kliment Yefremovich posed patiently, asking if he was sitting the right way and whether he was interfering with my work. After sitting for exactly an hour, he begged: ‘Let me rest.’ Approaching my study, he expressed great satisfaction. Then, emboldened, I asked him to let me work in earnest on a portrait of his, and he agreed to pose. This portrait displayed at the Ninth Exhibition of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia was purchased by the Museum of the Revolution.”
Gerasimov was on friendly terms with Klim Voroshilov, enjoyed his patronage, and was close to his family. There are at least a dozen portraits of the People’s Commissar of Defense by Gerasimov. On December 27, 1929, Gerasimov wrote a letter to Voroshilov asking him to protect his family from dekulakization (the Soviet campaign of land expropriation). Voroshilov appealed to the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin. The brief note from the People’s Commissar to Kalinin has been preserved to this day. Not only did the artist’s family escape repression, but even retained their vast estate. Kliment Voroshilov also introduced the artist to Joseph Stalin.
The portrait is made in a classical manner, with colors typical for this genre. Voroshilov is wearing a formal dark suit, a white shirt, and a dark tie. Voroshilov is probably depicted in a library: Klim Yefremovich was known to be fond of reading. There are bookshelves in the background, with Voroshilov himself holding a book in burgundy binding. The picture is a portrait of a strong-willed person, endowed with power and authority.
