“Hatva”, Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov – overview of the painting 
- Posted by Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov
- Museum: Tretyakov Gallery
- Year: 1945
Overview of the painting :
Zhatva – Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov. Oil on canvas 166 x 219 cm
1945, the war has just ended. AND.AND. Plasks in their work return to the topic of peaceful work of collective farmers, conveying feelings of joy, spiritual growth and optimism in their canvases. Summer suffering. In front of us, a white-bearded old man and three children settled on the edge of the field for lunch.
Grandfather sits on the right, on him blue polishing shirt and pants, an old brown little coat is thrown on his shoulders. On the legs trampled boots shod on portions. The troubled hands with swollen veins gently hold the scrap of black bread and a wooden spoon. A small black dog with a beige breast near him patiently awaits his share.
Next to him stands on his lap a teenager in a white spacious shirt. He eagerly drinks water from a large green-red clay jug, holding it tight with thin hands. He has burnt blond hair, cheekbones clearly stand out on his face circled over the tan.
On the left is a little girl dressed in a black jacket and a red skirt. Two tight dark brown braids tied with blue ribbon pee out from under a white handkerchief. She gently brings a spoon to her mouth.
Behind her is another boy a little older. Against the background of a yellow-green shirt, grown red hair is played with golden glare. A gentle blush lies on children’s cheeks. Everyone eats very concentrated and silently.
After eating, they again have a hard job – they need to squeeze bread on the edge of the field, where the rods on the horses cannot pass. They work as sickles and scythe, which at the time of lunch stuck in a cop standing next to them. The rake neatly lies nearby. Not a single seed should disappear, so the fallen columns are carefully collected in the bucket standing on the right.
Neural color of the picture. The main color is the calm golden, honey yellow, pale-solomenous shades of large stacks and a cleaned field. Against this background, color spots stand out, on which the artist focuses: cheerful red, pure white and cheerful yellow in the image of children, wise blue and calm brown in the clothes of an old man.
In the background, already mowed fields stretch to the horizon. Arguments harnessed by horses bring sheaves to huge yellow-red feet. On the right of the strip of still uncompressed bread, heavy ears of corn bent to the ground.
Light fluffy clouds float across the high blue sky. And, of course, many small details that give the abdomen a canvas: blue cornflowers in straw, green pot-bellied cucumbers, blue mug, amber reflection of a wooden spoon.
Affects the reality of the image. This is a real hymn of work, the resilience of people, not without reason this canvas along with the painting “Senokos” was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1946.