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.

Vasily Yaklich, or Vasya the Lanternman, as he was called by those who were on a short footing with him, is a legend of unofficial art. Seemingly a simple sitter and operator of diapositive display at the Surikov Institute, Vasily Sitnikov was a very influential figure in the world of unofficial art.

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.

Former official sculptor Petr Belenok exchanged a well-fed life in Ukraine for the thorny path of an underground artist in Moscow. He lived in poverty. And today he is one of the most sought-after artists of the post-war unofficial art. Prices for the best paintings have doubled over the past year and are regularly storming the million-ruble mark.

The works of “Vasya the Lanternman” — Vasil Yaklich — Vasily Yakovlevich Sitnikov are a rarity at auction. And so characteristic of his nude — a rarity and even more so. That's exactly the kind of Sitnikov collectors are after. Sitnikov, as it is commonly said, is a legend of the 1960s. A self-taught man who went through hell in prison and a mental hospital. No formal education. Only books, museums, lectures at the Surikov Institute (there he showed slides on a projector — hence the “lanternman”). Vasily Sitnikov is in the top of the most expensive 1960s artists.

Vasily Yakovlevich Sitnikov is a legend of unofficial art of the thaw era. His nickname Vasya the Lanternman is due to the fact that he worked on a projector for showing transparencies at the Surikov Institute. A virtuoso artist who was able to paint a picture with a broom or a floor brush was actually self-taught or a person of natural gifts (whoever you like). He painted beautifully and kept a whole “academy” of his students.