Downed ace

Picture "Downed As" Deineka wrote by order of the All-Russian Artistic Works. The departmental commission found it “insolvent ideologically and professionally”. The canvas was to be written off and destroyed. Yes, yes, this is not a typo, it is to destroy. Indeed, what else to do with “ideologically unsuitable” works? Deineka, using his position and connections, managed to contrive and buy a painting for one ruble.

In general, yes, there is something to complain about the guardians of ideological endurance. From the sky falls downed German pilot. And in appearance you can’t say that German seems like a sleeping man ...

Passion for poster painting and free treatment with the prospect, inherent in Deineke, turned out to be very appropriate here - a downed ace seems to be literally dropped, expelled from the sky. Unlike the undoubtedly patriotic "Defense of Sevastopol", this picture can rather be defined as anti-war, rather than as a patriotic and restorative spirit. It is about the fact that a man is lonely and fragile, about that endless and brief moment in which he flies, dropped from the sky, about how helpless and touching his huge boots seem, trying to find support in the sky - and not finding it. And also that in a moment this life will end, and any life from death, and being from non-being will separate a split second. It is about the endless loneliness, horror and abandonment of a person - not about the happy Soviet system and not even about the indispensable victory of the Soviet troops over the German ones.

Destroyed houses, wrecked cars, anti-tank battles - to all, attracted by earth gravity, rushing soldiers with a strangely serene face. Yes, it is quite clear that the Departmental Commission suspected the ideological inconsistency.

Author: Alena Grosheva