On Wednesday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, where he examined a display of paintings by Pyotr Konchalovsky, pioneer of Russian avant-garde, in the company of the painter's grandsons, film directors Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Konchalovsky.
"He is absolutely distinctive – even in the colour combinations he uses. The energy of his colours is simply fantastic," Mikhalkov remarked.
"When Konchalovsky was ordered to paint Joseph Stalin's portrait in 1936, he refused to copy from a photograph," the painter's other grandson, Andrei, explained. Following the incident, Konchalovsky was not allowed to hold exhibitions in Russia until Stalin's death.
"So he went to Paris with his paintings, only to find that they didn't fit the local trends and that he didn't share Picasso's vision," Andrei went on.
"Picasso stopped sharing that vision at some point," Putin replied.
The prime minister was especially impressed with the paintings The Floor Polisher, A Family Portrait, and Belkino Birch Trees.
"This one is beautiful. I feel like I'm being immersed in it," Putin said about the birch trees.
Larisa Kaftan