What Does the Art of Alexander Deineka Tell Us Today? @Tretyakovskaya Gallery, Moscow
When: 26.06.25 - 26.10.2024
Where: Tretyakov Gallery
A large-scale retrospective, “Hymn to Life,” at the Tretyakov Gallery is a reason for a serious conversation.
MOSCOW — How often, and at what interval, should we return to reassessing the work of a once significant artist? What is it that the waves of daily life bring to the surface of his oeuvre, with experts and the public looking again at legendary artwork? These questions hang in the air of the Tretyakov Gallery, where the exhibition-retrospective “Alexander Deineka: Hymn to Life” is on view from June 26 to October 26, 2025
The answer lies in the context of each era that naturally wants to dive into a dialogue with the past. Today, in 2025, as the search for a new collective identity and a language to describe society is once again relevant, Deineka’s art proves to be more timely than ever. It returns for a complex, at times uncomfortable, conversation.
The exhibition brings together over 200 works from the Tretyakov’s holdings and the world’s largest collection from the Kursk Picture Gallery named after the artist. The curatorial statement is brilliantly organized and structured. The curators have done a magnificent job. The clear logic and impeccable navigation impresses as soon as you step into the room. Each of the eleven thematic sections is color-coded, so the viewer can easily follow the master’s complex evolution—from the “Beginning of the Path” through “In the Air” and “Design. Sketches” to the “Contemporaries” and war paintings hall.
Relay Race, 1947. State Tretyakov Gallery
It is very symbolic that the most complete collection of the master’s work is held not in the capital but in his native Kursk. The history of the Kursk Picture Gallery began with a gift from Deineka himself after he donated two key early works— “Pioneer” and “Football Player”. “Pioneer” (1928) is a dreamy and impersonal canvas, sets the tone for Deineka’s entire career. Later on he created portraits that depict archetypes and embodied big ideas. Here, in the “Beginning of the Path” section, the curators have created a dialogue: the “Pioneer,” gazing spellbound at the sky, is answered by the famous painting “Future Pilots” (1938). This visual juxtaposition reveals the central nerve of his art—a romantic faith in progress. That was very much in trend during Soviet times, and again, very much in trend today. The technological and industrial journey we made since then is trully amazing.
Football Player, 1932. Kursk State Art Gallery named after A.A. Deineka
Another major focus of his work is an admiration for an idealized, almost monumental human body. He had a great love for sports, and his art pays tribute to the old adage "Mens sana in corpore sano" (a healthy mind in a healthy body), which was immensely popular in Soviet times. This is clearly seen in his 1948 self-portrait, a monumental work measuring 110x175 cm. In it, he depicts himself as a trim, healthy man in excellent physical condition. He appears visually younger than his years; Deineka was 49 years old when he painted this work.
Self-portrait, 1948. Kursk State Art Gallery named after A.A. Deineka
The theme of war is another loud aspect of Deineka’s art. Deineka once wrote that he experienced WWII primarily as an artist, and his graphic works from the front lines are raw, emotional, and naturalistic, drawn from his direct experience. This makes the most notable absence in Moscow all the more poignant: his monumental masterpiece, “The Defense of Sevastopol” (1942), a two-by-four-meter canvas depicting a battle he did not witness, remained in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. Visitors can only see a preparatory sketch. This absence, along with other key works like “Stakhanovites” and “Expanse” from the same museum, and the decision not to move “The Defense of Petrograd” from another Tretyakov building, is itself a curatorial choice. It shifts the focus from the iconic, epic statements to the process and the underlying emotional core of his work.
The theme of war is another loud aspect of Deineka’s art. Deineka once wrote that he experienced WWII primarily as an artist, and his graphic works from the front lines are raw, emotional, and naturalistic, drawn from his direct experience. This makes the most notable absence in Moscow all the more poignant: his monumental masterpiece, “Defense of Sevastopol” (1942), a two-by-four-meter canvas depicting a battle he did not witness, remained in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. Visitors can only see a preparatory sketch. This absence, along with other key works like “Stakhanovites” and “Expanse” from the same museum, and the decision not to move “Defense of Petrograd” from another Tretyakov building, is itself a curatorial choice. It shifts the focus from the iconic, epic statements to the process and the underlying emotional core of his work.
Defense of Sevastopol, 1942. State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
The lens of Socialist Realism, which Deineka mastered, makes his legacy particularly interesting today. Socialist Realism is not seen as a doctrine anymore; first and foremost it is seen as a powerful artistic language. It combines avant-garde energy, classical monumentality, and contemporary Art Deco.
Alexander Deineka certainly stayed within the mainstream of global art. The “Hymn to Life” retrospective sets uneasy questions and does not provide easy answers. It gives viewers space to reflect and shows that reassessing prominents artist’s work is a chance for a deeper understanding of the past, today and possibly infuse a hope for a better future tomorrow.
