Anchor, still anchor! by Pavel Fedotov

The hero of the painting “Anchor, still an anchor!” – an officer who, apparently, serves somewhere in a remote province. He lies on the couch and plays with the dog, under the shorn “under the lion”, forcing her to jump through the chibouk of the pipe. And this stupid occupation, and the whole environment of a shabby temporary home, express the boredom of a man who does not know how to fill his monotonous days.

According to the apt phrase of Fedotov, such people “kill time until time will do them.” In the title of the picture the same word is meaninglessly repeated. The color contrast of a candle lit by a red tablecloth and a cold winter landscape outside the window enhances the feeling of anguish and despair.