Field of the collective farm 1949

Kateryna Bilokur’s ‘Field of the Collective Farm’ is an oil on canvas that imagines the ideal of Soviet agricultural life. Bilokur was a Ukrainian folk artist, and though the date of this work is unknown, it is likely that it was made in the mid twentieth century. The painting depicts a lush, almost Edenic garden brimming with flowers of all kinds, with a lake view framed in the center. The colors are bright and vibrant, and the composition is carefully balanced and reveals the cultural emphasis on the value of collective labor in Soviet society. The image evokes the idea of a prosperous and bountiful collective farm, which was a key element of Soviet ideology. But the reality of collectivization was often much harsher, involving forced labor, famine, and the suppression of individual farmers. The meaning of this painting remains contingent on our understanding of the complex social and institutional context in which it was created. It is up to art historians, using historical, cultural, and institutional research, to reflect on the ways in which art both reflects and shapes social reality.