Ледяев / Степанов

9 The exhibition entitled “Art as an eidetic reflection of the bygone epoch” was arranged to the 120th an- niversary of two remarkable Orenburg artists: Nikolai Mikhailovich Lediayev (1893-1974) and Alexander Fio- dorovich Stepanov (1891-1965). The time of their work coincided with the tragic events in our country’s history: the Revolution of 1917, the Civil War, the Great Patri- otic War (the part of WWII dated 1941-1945) and the hardships of the post-war times. The works by Lediayev and Stepanov preserved the best traditions of realistic Russian painting, they are featured by a focused at- tention to the social realm, love to their fatherland and dedication to lofty artistic ideals. In narrative Lediayev’s pictures of the 1930s we can see severe everyday work in Orenburg region of the pre-war period. However, Lediayev later switched to solely land- scape painting and Stepanov switched to still life, thus the artists chose the genres which were extremely dis- tant from ideological influence and most relevant to their creative searches. Still life and landscape works are able – notwithstanding that they seem to be indif- ferent to historical events – to render and preserve mental and emotional atmosphere, feelings and expe- riences of an artist’s contemporaries. Lediayev’s and Stepanov’s works carry a most sophisticated structure of public and social, ethical and aesthetical oscilla- tions of the people’s life of these years. Everyday life is revealed in interiors of N.M. Lediayev’s home, in its austere ordinary furniture with such an indis- pensable attribute as an aspidistra in a planter. Yet it was a home of a representative of Russian intel- ligentsia, we see a piano and pictures on the walls. One of these is a portrait of his son who was killed in action in the first days of the war, the picture is filled with such a severe pain, it depicts bright clear eyes and such a thin childishly defenceless neck within a heavy collar of the boy’s uniform. Pain and bitterness became permanent tenants in Lediayev’s home, and it was one of a multitude of homes in this country. These pain and bitterness were uni- versal. In his landscapes, the nature is depicted in a very touchy manner, it is quiet and modest, he liked most of all grey, dull days. At the same time, nature is a great comforter and healer. The beauty of birch-trees, of cosy clearings in the woods, of the Ural river high bank, of trembling poplars – all these are recognisable and touch hearts, but always with a mist of grief; as the artist explained, “I see the beauty which touch my heart up to pain, but it is impossible to reach it… what a sadness!”. Unerr-