CLOWNS
M. Feigin
Pressboard, oil
65 x 50 cm (25.6" x 19.7")
Year: 1986
Description:
Moses Feigin is the last Russian avant-garde artist and member of the "Jack of Diamonds" group. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records. He absorbed many styles and trends in his work - fauvism, cubism, post-impressionism, expressionism, realism.
Circus actors and animal handlers dressed in bright costumes made of colorful patches and holding Russian folk instruments - balalaika and zhaleika. The faces of the musicians are sad, as is their song. A small white dog is hiding at their feet. Since the time of Jan van Eyck, the dog has been a symbol of loyalty and vigilance in painting. When looking at this work, one recalls a painting from the Russian Museum, which depicts self-portraits of two friends - classicist artists of the first half of the 20th century - Vasily Shukhaev and Alexander Yakovlev as Harlequin and Pierrot, who thus cited the work of Cezanne.