Culver City,
California
x
Bathing of the Red Horse
Date Made: 1990
Country: Soviet Union
Measurements: 90 cm x 60 cm; 35 7/16 in x 23 5/8 in
This artwork references Petrov-Vodkin’s most iconic work, "Bathing of a Red Horse” painted in 1912. Petrov-Vodkin’s painting depicts a nude young boy riding a red horse facing left, while other similar youths cavort in the water in the background, the slender youths and their rides representing the coming of a new age. This poster design from 1990, however, portrays a very muscular man with grey skin, his head straining upwards as he stands stationary and upright. Rather than sitting astride an equally strong horse, this man’s waist is encircled by a toy red horse made from a theater curtain. Several pieces of white paper are falling against a dark gray background with torn and ripped edges, and the scene seems to be mounted on a white sheet. The Russian text printed below the composition reads: "Skinny Red Horse No.2." The man, with a hammer and sickle emblem hung around his neck, evokes the image of the Soviet Man often represented in statue form, hence the unnatural grey color of his skin. The horse, on the other hand, is a fragile façade of a toy animal. Its hollow nature brings to mind the Trojan horse, albeit in a comic manner due to the enormous difference in size between the man and the horse.
Accession Number: 2009.053.013
Item Name: Painting
Credit Line: The Ferris Russian Collection, Donated by Tom and Jeri Ferris
Collection/Series: The Ferris Russian Collection, Donated by Tom and Jeri Ferris