‘In a Field. Planes Flying’ is one of the first paintings worked on by both Tkachyov brothers. They started the project in Belarus in the early 1950’s, and finished it at the “Akademicheskaya Dacha” in 1954. The brothers moved to Belarus after finishing their studies - they were assigned to Minsk. They lived there between 1952 and 1955. The arrival of the warm weather meant the brothers would go to the village of Golotsk, not far from Minsk. These summers saw the brothers spending a great deal of time in the local school, where a classroom had been turned into a studio. The artists once saw local village children lying on the grass out of the studio’s window.
This view inspired the brothers to work on a new painting. In ‘In a Field. Planes Flying’, the artists portray children lying in a field after school. The students are lying on the grass in a semicircle, looking attentively at planes flying high in the sky. The painting’s complex color scheme reliably conveys a calm autumn day: the artists realistically depict a narrow strip of gray sky and September’s sun-bleached vegetation. The artists have also perfectly captured the boys - it seems as if they are all perfectly understood, like the artists are sharing their childhood memories with the viewer.
The Tkachyov brothers admitted that Alexei Stepanov’s 1891 “The Cranes are Flying” was also an inspiration for them. They noted that the general decisions of the paintings felt like a clear roll call: “We are both children of Russia. We, just like him, admired the expanse of the fields, the curiosity of the children, the poetry of the landscapes. However, we still conceived this landscape in our own way: here is a different children”s world with different dreams. But, just like Stepanov”s subjects who are in the distance, our subjects love their motherland. They have this in common.”
Art Historian Anna Diyakonitsyna has spoken about their special creative process, which was developed by the brothers in the 1950’s. This is when the brothers started to paint together. ‘At the preliminary stage of developing sketches, the brothers usually worked independently. Then, in a joint discussion, the best possible version according to both brothers is compiled together. Its main features are transferred onto a canvas, before being further refined by numerous full-scale sketches, among which there will be many genuine masterstrokes. Each of the brothers’ creative individuality is clearly visible in their studies. The director of the Bryansk Art Museum, Elena Klyuyeva suggests that Sergei Tkachyov masterfully composes his paintings, and Alexey Tkachyov has an incomparable talent as a colorist.
This view inspired the brothers to work on a new painting. In ‘In a Field. Planes Flying’, the artists portray children lying in a field after school. The students are lying on the grass in a semicircle, looking attentively at planes flying high in the sky. The painting’s complex color scheme reliably conveys a calm autumn day: the artists realistically depict a narrow strip of gray sky and September’s sun-bleached vegetation. The artists have also perfectly captured the boys - it seems as if they are all perfectly understood, like the artists are sharing their childhood memories with the viewer.
The Tkachyov brothers admitted that Alexei Stepanov’s 1891 “The Cranes are Flying” was also an inspiration for them. They noted that the general decisions of the paintings felt like a clear roll call: “We are both children of Russia. We, just like him, admired the expanse of the fields, the curiosity of the children, the poetry of the landscapes. However, we still conceived this landscape in our own way: here is a different children”s world with different dreams. But, just like Stepanov”s subjects who are in the distance, our subjects love their motherland. They have this in common.”
Art Historian Anna Diyakonitsyna has spoken about their special creative process, which was developed by the brothers in the 1950’s. This is when the brothers started to paint together. ‘At the preliminary stage of developing sketches, the brothers usually worked independently. Then, in a joint discussion, the best possible version according to both brothers is compiled together. Its main features are transferred onto a canvas, before being further refined by numerous full-scale sketches, among which there will be many genuine masterstrokes. Each of the brothers’ creative individuality is clearly visible in their studies. The director of the Bryansk Art Museum, Elena Klyuyeva suggests that Sergei Tkachyov masterfully composes his paintings, and Alexey Tkachyov has an incomparable talent as a colorist.
