The painting "Letter from the Front" first hung in the dark corridor of the Tretyakov Gallery. At the stairs that led to the second floor. Soon, the All-Union Art Exhibition of one thousand nine hundred and forty-six was opened, and it became impossible to squeeze into a narrow corridor. To the amazement of the gallery staff, the audience lingered for a long time at the picture of Alexander Laktionov.
Creation of Laktionov's work and the attitude of critics
The idea of the picture came to Alexander Ivanovich, when he met a wounded soldier in the rear of Zagorsk, who had a triangle of front-line writing in his hand. The creation of the work had in nineteen forty-seventh year.
While critics did not provide a description of the painting "Letter from the Front" in their reviews, some artists scolded her, while others simply kept silent. And the audience nevertheless managed to not only learn, but also to fall in love with this masterpiece.
Field mail was expensive during the war years to every Red Army soldier. People still had fresh memories of how they themselves were waiting for any news or letters from the front. Photos sent by fathers and sons who defended their homeland were kept very carefully. Indeed, often this became the last memory of those who did not return from the war.
How was the selection of works for the exhibition
Alexander Laktionov recalled that life itself was a kind, and therefore creative work was easy and inspirational. He took the canvas to the capital. There she underwent rigorous selection, during which the artistry of the work, the depth of the image, and many other factors were taken into account. A competent jury, which consisted of well-known and recognized artists, sat right in the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery.
There were many disputes, but the painting "Letter from the Front" selection passed. But just a few hours before the start of the exhibition, another group of reviewing committee members arrived. It was they who looked at the works from both an ideological and political point of view.
Description of the painting "Letter from the Front" by Soviet ideologists
Representatives of the committee immediately saw how striking the work. It was located on the central wall. And, of course, they began to reason whether it was not dangerous. And it turned out that, in their opinion, the Soviet family represented on this canvas looked somehow poor.
The woman's legs are too disheveled slippers. And the house itself! The wall on which the plaster peeled off, the floor on the porch with broken boards. How can you imagine the Soviet family. After all, foreigners will be present at the exhibition.
A member of the Arts Committee demanded that Alexander Ivanovich fill holes and lay the floor from new boards. In Soviet reality, this gender should not be.
However, the floor did not have to be redone. We found another solution for the masterpiece that Laktionov wrote. The artist found out that his painting, created with such love and trepidation, is in the dark corridor of the Tretyakov Gallery by the stairs leading to the second floor.
Little dark wall where the picture was hidden
The work is located in a small entrance hall. It turned out that when people went into the Tretyakov Gallery, they simply did not notice it. But, returning from the excursion, it was impossible not to stumble upon the picture. And then something unimaginable began to happen.
Crowds of people gathered around the masterpiece. Someone just looked, others did not hide tears. Because the topic touched by this work touched absolutely all viewers. A terrible war has recently ended, and there haven’t been anyone who has suffered over the years. And most importantly, the picture was painted very unusual.
The view of an ordinary Soviet man on the work of Alexander Ivanovich
What did ordinary people see when looking at Laktionov’s work? The whole painting "Letter from the Front" was permeated with very bright colors. The sun, greenery, insanely blue sky. Everything was so voluminous and illusory that each viewer felt like a participant in the events presented on the canvas.
The plot is very simple. But how emotionally Alexander Laktionov could convey it! "Letter from the Front" is a picture that reflects the unpretentious atmosphere of life of ordinary Soviet people in the difficult years of the war. A small Russian town, a clear sunny day, and a Soviet family gathered at the wide open door of an old wooden house.
The happiness that filled the hearts of the audience who saw Laktionov’s masterpiece
It was in this poor family that many viewers recognized themselves. Almost everyone was waiting for news of the front, as well as the woman with children depicted in the picture . And finally, the wounded fighter brings a letter from his father, which the boy reads aloud. He holds the pieces of paper dear to the heart firmly and carefully in his children's hands. And the faces of mother and sister are lit up with happy smiles.
And all the jubilant and bright colors of the composition are filled with a sense of limitless happiness. The golden rays of the sun play in the bright strands of the girl, and even the air itself seems to glow. The whole picture, “A Letter from the Front,” each of its strokes, is filled with the feeling of the breath of near victory.
Several years passed, and one April morning, one thousand forty-nine, by radio, announced the award of the first degree of the Stalin Prize to the creator of the picture he liked. And the artist, having heard this news, remembered his father’s words: “I’m a blacksmith, and I’ll see you, Sasha, as an artist.” It was the highest award that Alexander Ivanovich Laktionov received. “A letter from the front” is a picture not only loved by the audience, but also appreciated by the government according to its merits. And at that time such recognition was for the Soviet man much higher than any material wealth.