Trees 1893

Konstantin Bogaevsky made this drawing, "Trees," in 1933. Bogaevsky spent his life in Crimea, and he felt deeply connected to the natural world. But, under Stalin, the institutions for art and artists had changed. The Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia, or AKhRR, was the state-approved group. They believed art should be realistic, accessible, and propagandistic. Bogaevsky's symbolist, Romantic style was at odds with this vision. This drawing, of course, is ‘realistic,’ but it doesn’t advance any party line. It’s a quiet, personal reflection. It uses visual codes that refer to the Romantic tradition, but it does not glorify Soviet power. We should ask: was it made for himself? Was it ever shown publicly? What was the status of landscape as a genre? To understand this work, we need to research the AKhRR, Stalinist cultural policy, and the status of artists who did not conform. The meaning of this drawing resides in its complex social and institutional context.