Sitter 1913

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin made this charcoal drawing entitled ‘Sitter’, we don't know exactly when, and perhaps the title indicates a study for a larger work. The pose is reminiscent of classical sculpture, but the sitter is more earthy and solid than an idealized figure. Petrov-Vodkin was part of the Russian avant-garde, which flourished in the years before the rise of Stalinism. Much of the art of this period was closely tied to revolutionary politics, even when the connections are not explicit. The idealization of the human figure in art was thought to have the potential to assist in the creation of a new, equally ideal, society. But equally, the Russian avant-garde experimented with the erotic and homoerotic. As historians, we can shed light on the social and political context that shaped its creation and reception by studying manifestos and political tracts. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.