The novel with the Russian ballet and with the ballerina Olga Khokhlova began with Picasso in 1917. The artist began to write scenery for the ballets of Dyagilev, and it is with this that Picasso’s return to realism and classical traditions is connected.
And indeed, the painting “Sleeping Peasants” looks very surprising against the background of previously created works in the style of cubism. Undoubtedly, this work can be attributed to the classics, although very peculiar. This is something in the style of neoclassical personal representations of Picasso.
The plot of the picture is very simple – it is resting peasants. Everything in their appearance speaks of their origin and kind of activity – strong, knocked-down bodies give birth to health and strength, the young man’s large feet stand firmly on the ground, huge, rough palms are used to work.
The color of the picture reminds of the field burned out in the sun. At the same time, the nature of the work “breathes” with summer heat, peace and tranquility. Peasants Picasso dressed in bright beautiful clothes – blue, almost aquamarine pants on the young man, a green skirt on the girl, loose white shirts and a wide-brimmed straw hat on his head.
If you look closely, it becomes immediately clear that only very weary people with heavy work can sleep so serenely. The girl fell into a dream, throwing her legs on a haystack. Her bosom looked out of her downed shirt, but that doesn’t bother her – her head thrown back with her mouth slightly open, speaks of a deep sleep.
The young man managed to fall asleep in a half-sitting posture, leaning on a stack and picking up his right leg. A massive body with hyperbolic limbs contrasts with an almost childlike expression on his sleeping face. The picture hints about the proximity of the characters to each other, and the viewer has little doubt that the peasant couple is in front of them.
Peasants are immersed in sleep, and a hot midday melts around. The poses of these peasants are so naturalistic and relaxed that they involuntarily attend a thought – these people are made from another test. Their lives are hard, but they are free from the tight shackles of morality and secular etiquette. Why do they sleep in the heat of the day? Probably, because their working day began with the first rays of dawn, and now they are resting and they do not care about the burning out sun.
Considering the work, you mark to yourself both gruff figures and huge hands, but you invariably feel the beauty of this canvas. Other aesthetics, other heroes, but incredibly harmonious and beautiful.
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