Portrait of Shostakovich 1976

Tahir Salahov’s portrait of Shostakovich is made with oil paint, applied in visible strokes. It’s a traditional material, but the way Salahov uses it is quite modern. The paint isn’t blended smoothly, but rather laid on with an almost brutal directness, giving the image a palpable weight, mirroring the somber mood of the sitter. You can see how the artist has built up layers of color, creating a thick impasto that catches the light. The surface becomes almost sculptural. Salahov was working in the Soviet Union, where art was often used to promote state ideology, and to depict workers in heroic terms. But here, we see a different kind of labor: the intense, intellectual work of a composer, conveyed through the materiality of the paint itself. Shostakovich’s heavy mood is enhanced by the weight of the application. It reminds us that art is as much about the process and materials as it is about the subject.