1964 is the beginning of a particularly valuable “monochrome period”, when for the sake of silence and peace Krasnopevtsev muted the colors of the previously bright palette. This method had a striking effect. The rejection of shadows and garish colors, the utmost laconism and pictorial austerity allowed the artist to highlight the main thing in his still lifes — harmony, balance, the beauty of peace.

Vulokh of the highest order. One-of-a-kind. Exceptional quality. 1972! The author kept the intrigue by calling the painting as abstract as possible — “Details”. But connoisseurs know that Vulokh's works are almost never purely “abstract”. Streaks of lines and scratched “strokes” usually contain coded landscapes or seasons. Here, too, the viewer may discern rather a pebble beach or a field of flowers, or even an alien view.

Pacifying, contemplative, sybaritic, philosophical Nesterova. The sun is setting. The evening descends. A couple looks out from the veranda at a cozy Mediterranean town, whose houses are scattered along the mountainside. Grapes and chopped walnuts are on the table. Much has been accomplished, and how much good is yet to come.

The master of metaphysical still life, Dmitry Krasnopevtsev, is today one of the most expensive artists of unofficial art. His auction record at the peak of the market was almost a million dollars. The philosophical basis of Krasnopevtsev's metaphysical still lifes is the idea of the frailty of the world and the desire for natural harmony, embodied in the equilibrium without symmetry.

What do we remember about Krasnopevtsev? This is a special artist — an artist outside the era. According to his quiet philosophical still lifes, no historian can determine that outside is the USSR, the time of “developed socialism”, all around are propaganda slogans and hypocritical films calling for the fight. And you will never think that the author of these inspired paintings works in the Soviet “Reklamfilm”, while he himself dreams of France, is friends with Svyatoslav Richter and George Kostaki and creates works that collectors will hunt for in 50 years.

One of the favorite subjects of the Freudian, the ideologist of psychophysiology in painting, is nude in space. And, of course, the signature technique of the “Russian Morandi” is the immersion of a character or object in an atmosphere cleansed of everything superfluous. This watercolor has it all. The secret of whiteness. “Invisible” colors. Cold silence. And even the model's face in his system should not distract from immersion in this infinity. Weisberg is a phenomenally subtle colorist who works painstakingly and precisely.

The village of the Kiev province — Odessa — Vienna — Paris. A normal route for a talented and moderately ambitious provincial artist. Well, where else to go if not to the cultural capital of Europe? There, where Montmartre, the Salons of the Independent, favorite impressionists and progressive audiences who have seen a lot, and therefore are not inclined to obscurantism. Looking ahead, I will say that a miracle will happen. In a few years, yesterday's shoemaker himself will become a prominent participant in these salons. And his personal exhibition in Paris will be paid for by the famous Baron Rothschild himself.