Yefim Chestnyakov’s art was not separate from his literary works. Everything in his creations was in harmony: real life, fairy tales, poetry and theater. The artist often illustrated the literary works he wrote. He based his paintings and drawings on their plots, which Yefim Chestnyakov then often used in his improvisational theatre.
Only some of his art and literary works survived to this day, hence some of his creations remain a mystery and are still hard to understand. Art experts and amateurs alike have long been drawn to the painting “Entrance into the City of Universal Welfare”, the name that employees of the museum assigned to this art work, which they had brought from their exploratory trip. The painting, as most of Yefim Chestnyakov’s creations, is not a stand-alone work of art.
Each of his creations or excerpts or fragments from them are all part of his vision: to create a harmonious unified world of beauty. And even if it does not exist in real life, it does in fairy tales. One of the first researchers of Yefim Chestnyakov’s works, Vyacheslav Ivanovich Shaposhnikov, wrote “What incomprehensible and strange procession is depicted here?.. a row of barefooted folk, like enchanted children, is slowly moving forward towards an invisible goal… The people in front, who are pressing against each other, seemingly having lost their nerve, are climbing underground… What mysteries await them?.. Probably, quite a few! Even above ground, there is much that is otherworldly and magical!.. Some distance away from the people, there are golden-plumed owls with fat cheeks. The birds look important, as if they are inspecting the parade. Next to them, the two plump water nymphs are blowing their large horns as if triumphantly signaling the start of an important celebration or announcing a joyful event of great importance to all people… But what is this? Is this the artist”s dream depicted on a canvas?.. Everything about this artwork is mysterious. It is incomprehensible to anyone who does not know the secret behind it…”.
The painting is still a mystery, although there is a little more clarity at this stage. Several years ago, a fairly small watercolor painting, similar in some ways to the “Entrance into the City of Universal Welfare”, was handed over to the Kostroma Museum Reserve. On the top of it, there is barely discernible writing “Tetetoorito Gates into Feretoorootor”. The size of the painting matches that of pages in Yefim Chestnyakov’s manuscripts. But these names are not from any of the fairy tales attributed to him. Undoubtedly, the painting ‘Entrance into the City of Universal Welfare’ occupied a special place among the artist’s works. Perhaps, we will one day learn the story behind it.
Only some of his art and literary works survived to this day, hence some of his creations remain a mystery and are still hard to understand. Art experts and amateurs alike have long been drawn to the painting “Entrance into the City of Universal Welfare”, the name that employees of the museum assigned to this art work, which they had brought from their exploratory trip. The painting, as most of Yefim Chestnyakov’s creations, is not a stand-alone work of art.
Each of his creations or excerpts or fragments from them are all part of his vision: to create a harmonious unified world of beauty. And even if it does not exist in real life, it does in fairy tales. One of the first researchers of Yefim Chestnyakov’s works, Vyacheslav Ivanovich Shaposhnikov, wrote “What incomprehensible and strange procession is depicted here?.. a row of barefooted folk, like enchanted children, is slowly moving forward towards an invisible goal… The people in front, who are pressing against each other, seemingly having lost their nerve, are climbing underground… What mysteries await them?.. Probably, quite a few! Even above ground, there is much that is otherworldly and magical!.. Some distance away from the people, there are golden-plumed owls with fat cheeks. The birds look important, as if they are inspecting the parade. Next to them, the two plump water nymphs are blowing their large horns as if triumphantly signaling the start of an important celebration or announcing a joyful event of great importance to all people… But what is this? Is this the artist”s dream depicted on a canvas?.. Everything about this artwork is mysterious. It is incomprehensible to anyone who does not know the secret behind it…”.
The painting is still a mystery, although there is a little more clarity at this stage. Several years ago, a fairly small watercolor painting, similar in some ways to the “Entrance into the City of Universal Welfare”, was handed over to the Kostroma Museum Reserve. On the top of it, there is barely discernible writing “Tetetoorito Gates into Feretoorootor”. The size of the painting matches that of pages in Yefim Chestnyakov’s manuscripts. But these names are not from any of the fairy tales attributed to him. Undoubtedly, the painting ‘Entrance into the City of Universal Welfare’ occupied a special place among the artist’s works. Perhaps, we will one day learn the story behind it.
