A painter 

David Burliuk painted “A Painter”, showing an artist in a rural landscape. The painting evokes questions about art's relationship to everyday life and the artist's role in society. Burliuk was a key figure in the Russian avant-garde, but later in his career he painted in a more conventional style. His choice to depict another artist painting seems to point towards an awareness of the changing status of art in the twentieth century. The setting is ambiguous, but the houses and figures suggest a scene from rural America, where Burliuk spent his later years. What does it mean to create art in this setting, away from the cultural centers? What is the relationship between the artist and the people? To explore this we might consult Burliuk’s writings and look at the history of artists immigrating to the US in the mid-20th century.