Portrait of Shishanovskaya 1921

Boris Kustodiev's "Portrait of Shishanovskaya" was created in 1921, using pencil on paper. The subject is a woman glancing to her right, wearing a hat and holding a small bag. Made during the Russian Civil War, the drawing encapsulates the aesthetic transition from pre-revolutionary opulence to the austere visual culture of the early Soviet era. Kustodiev, trained in the Imperial Academy of Arts, found himself in a new socio-political landscape after the 1917 revolution. The delicate lines and subdued colors here hint at the lingering influence of pre-revolutionary artistic styles. However, the subject's simple attire and direct gaze also suggest the new emphasis on egalitarianism and functionality. Institutions of art were also being called into question during this period. The Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia promoted art that served the interests of the proletariat and Kustodiev's later work would often embrace these more direct forms of propaganda. By consulting archives, letters, and publications from the period, we can get a richer understanding of the artist's own balancing act between tradition and revolution. The meaning of art, as we can see, is inseparable from its moment in history.