“The relay race on the ring B”, Alexander Deineka – description of the painting

Description of the picture:

Relay – Alexander Aleksandrovich Deineka. Canvas, oil. Two hundred ninety nine x 100 ninety nine cm

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Deineka is a multilateral and professional painter of the Russian period, a man of the early 20th century who has gone from the emergence of the young country of the Soviets to its heyday. The Russian people in the works of Deineka are beautiful, with the highest moral principles, strong, healthy, athletic, striving for victories.

Such boys and girls are depicted on one of the recognizable canvases of Alexander Alexandrovich, written in one thousand nine hundred and forty-seven years – “Relay” (at exhibitions it was held under the names “Relay race on the ring“ B ”or“ Relay relay on the Garden Ring ”).

The sports theme has always interested the artist and the inspiration in this case was the annual relay race held in the spring in Moscow on the Garden Ring, starting from one thousand nine hundred and thirty years, except for the military of the 1940s.

Deineka was preparing to create the largest-sized work – he did a lot of sketches, sketches, sketches of the characters in motion.

Beautiful, bright, spring day in the picture. A composition of young men and women, probably the best representatives of their own teams, is located in the center near the dividing strip on the asphalt. Staticity in the image is not felt at all, on the contrary, the picture is full of movement and energy due to the angle – it seems to be leaped from the observer.

Left and right – watching the relay, just strolling passers-by, curious.

According to the opinion of some art connoisseurs, in the far right group of spectators, the painter depicted himself. This can be completely, because by the general type and profile there is a resemblance to a photo of Deineka.

Buildings in the distance and flags with Dynamo signs seem to frame the canvas.

The picture is good in compositional construction, light color polytry, “live” shadows from athletes, painstaking drawing of details, right up to cracked asphalt. And, of course, a feeling of a solemn sporting event, a cheerful mood from the spirit of competition, from youth – arrogant and optimistic."