mother picture
In Maria Lomakina’s painting Sleeping, the image of a sleeping old mother appears to the viewer as defenseless, vulnerable, and fragile. The scene radiates boundless love and compassion, capturing the quiet intensity of a caregiver’s heart. The hands are arranged to frame the face of the heroine, making it the central point of the composition. The flickering texture of the paint evokes a dreamlike unfolding within the mind, inviting viewers to linger in the quiet intimacy of the moment.
Portrait of the artist’s mother by Petrov-Vodkin presents another vision from 1909. The work, executed in oil on canvas, rests in the collection of the Russian Museum. The portrait depicts a gray haired woman with a distant, clear gaze that carries a sense of humility before life’s trials. The influence of icon painting is evident in the sitter Anna Pantleevna, whose presence seems to bridge sacred tradition and personal devotion. The image of a mother who rose from serf origins and raised children within Christian values reads as an archetype of enduring wisdom, love for all living beings, and a timeless strength that few lives can rival.
Still life
In the postwar era, the still life became a space of release for many artists who did not align with socialist realism. Lomakin was no exception, and during these years his still lifes do not strike as experimental at first glance. Yet the 1946 painting Wildflowers from Dolinka reveals a subtle dynamism through a top view of the vase and the sharp diagonals of the surrounding boards. This contrasts with more decorative efforts like Flowers and Peaches. The unexpected energy in Lomakina’s still life hints at lessons drawn from Petrov-Vodkin, who turned the genre into a field of fearless experimentation. The influence is visible in how Lomakina embraces vision, texture, and movement within a single composition and a restrained color world.
After the revolution and into the 1920s, Petrov-Vodkin spent significant time exploring still life. He used the genre to advance the core principles of his method, especially the exploration of movement. In many of his still lifes one can see reflective planes that create the sense of additional dimensions. In a 1925 still life shown at an exhibition, for example, a faceted glass of water, a metal spoon, a paper box, and a mirrored surface all contribute to a sense of depth that hints at a door or portal beyond the immediate objects. This approach makes a simple set of items feel part of a larger cosmic order. Petrov-Vodkin also encouraged students to push beyond conventional categories, conveying different textures within a single color and using compositional choices to generate dynamic energy.
Crimea
The Crimean peninsula held a markedly different place in the bodies of work by Petrov-Vodkin and Lomakina. For Kuzma Sergeevich, the region first visited in 1927, Crimea became a place linked to healing from tuberculosis, a diagnosis he carried in 1929. The landscape there demanded a separation from family and, at times, a restraint on paint. Yet that same place was also a site of lived experience, and the year of that initial visit brought a powerful memory of the 1927 earthquake, a catastrophe that would shape his art. The event did not lead him to evacuate; instead it intensified his sense of the vast, planetary scale of human experience. The painting Earthquake in Crimea embodies this outlook, presenting human figures from broad perspectives and multiple angles. The central figure is a young man pressed against a column, his head thrown back as if awaiting another push from fate. The tragedy becomes timeless, not simply tragic, through a wide vantage that renders it universal and enduring.
For Maria Lomakina, Crimea was home. The land, the sea, and the light of the peninsula inform her canvases in a way that is both intimate and expansive. Her portrayal of Crimean Tatars conveys a striking inner energy. A portrait of a smoking Tatar, with a dark, weathered face and a sideways gaze that does not seek approval, presents a figure of pride and resilience. The subject embodies strength and the vitality of a region shaped by sunlit fields and rugged mountains. Lomakina’s landscapes of her homeland carry a deep affection that never delays into rose-tinted sentimentality; they remain grounded, vivid, and alive with character. The painting Road in the Crimean Mountains, with its sweeping horizon, reinforces a global perspective, and the warm color palette gives the sense of sun even when clouds loom. The work is a testament to place, memory, and a connection to a land that continues to shape the artist’s vision.