Female image 1975

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this drawing of a woman at an unknown date and with unknown materials. Given that he was born and worked in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the things we might look for in this image is the influence of socialist realism, which was the official artistic style promoted by the Soviet Union. Although the drawing is an image of a woman, it is difficult to determine whether this image of the woman is particularly Soviet or Ukrainian. Instead, the drawing is a clear example of modernist figuration. The simple lines and the way the subject is posed bring to mind artists like Matisse and Picasso. Ultimately, to understand the work, the art historian must examine the work in light of what was happening both in Ukraine and in the broader world of art.