Artist – Petrov -Vodkin
Turning to the artistic traditions of ancient Russian art and, above all, to its high spirituality is clearly manifested in the picture “Morning. Swimwear “. An unusual exquisite aesthetics of the work is a vertical format of canvas, elongated proportions of figures, the noble harmony of the color scheme and, finally, the spiritual fullness of images. The source of everything is the impressions of the study of Dionysius frescoes in the Ferapontov Monastery. A young, slender, naked woman with thin features, thoughtfully, with a shade of sadness, looking somewhere to the side, leads the boy’s hand. At a distance, on the shore, a group of girls is preparing for swimming. Their blue-red-green clothes serve as a color accompaniment to the main characters.
Woman and child are completely natural. They are organic in their exposure. There is no sensuality in Petrov-Vodkin’s picture in female nudity, it seems to keep a reflection of chastity, pristine creation. In the image of the heroine, purity, fragility, special spirituality of the body are perceived as a reflection of the harmony of inner life. According to the artist, the beauty of a woman is in her high earthly purpose to continue the human race. The thread of infinity is binded by mother and son.
The meaning of the picture is revealed through the special character of the landscape. The stepping of its construction up the plane, when the space is compressed in the picture and laconicism of the color, resembles slides (breams) in ancient Russian icons, where the landscape does not just denote the scene, but symbolizes the steps of the spiritual ascent of a person.
The artist’s eternal desire for a great style received a decent embodiment in the picture. The deepest skill of Petrov-Vodkin leads the usual genre scene to the level of a certain timeless action that turns before our eyes.