On Swings
1888
- Period Late 19th century
- CategoryGenre Painting
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This painting lacks the notes of social criticism encountered in the majority of Nikolai Jaroshenko’s canvases. On Swings reflects the artist’s interest in the lives of the common people and their everyday joys and sorrows. The master depicts a couple riding on swings — one of the favourite attractions at the national fêtes held in the Russian countryside. The artist pays close attention to the psychological development of the images. The debonair soldier surrounds his girlfriend with attention, while she looks at him out of the corner of her eye, chewing nonchalantly on sunflower seeds. The diagonal composition conveys the rapid movement of the swings, while the elegant tones contribute to the impression of festivity. Nikolai Jaroshenko painted this picture in Kaluga Province. Russian Museum: From Icons to the Modern Times. Palace Editions, St Petersburg, 2015. P. 204.
This picture occupies a special place in the art of Yaroshenko, a typical representative of the Peredvizhniki movement. Compared with other works by him, showing the harsher aspects of reality, this picture stands out by virtue of its unexpected joie devivre. Play and Passion in Russian Fine Art. St-Petersburg. 1999. P. 99.