Children of the Bricklayer Morozko (A. Ivanova. Nanny)

The Ukrainian-language caption below the photograph, written in pencil, reads "1937 Oil. Nalchyk Zatyshshia". However, this inscription should be substantially clarified since the original work, which is kept in the Gallery's collection, has the author's russian-language inscription, made in red paint on the back (Ж-5141): "1937 Ivanova Antonina Myk. Moscow, Kirova St. 32, sq. 2 "Children of the Bricklayer Morozko". The painting shows only two people – a teenage girl who was still a pioneer (given her pioneer's tie and body proportions, she is about 12 years old), on whose lap there is probably a girl of about one year (in the child's right hand there is an unidentified red object, possibly a toy). However, given that the title refers to the "Children of the Bricklayer Morozko" rather than "Daughters of the Bricklayer Morozko", it is likely that the younger child is a boy. The term "nanny" in the caption may indicate that the older sister is looking after the younger one. In our opinion, however, using the title given by the artist herself is more appropriate. It should be noted that there are allusions to the Western Christian iconography of the Virgin and Child in the composition, not only in the position of the figures but also in the expression on the face of the pioneer girl, which is more like an expression of pity or sadness. At the same time, the child in her arms makes almost direct eye contact with the viewer, as can be seen, for example, in the "Madonna and Child" by Lo Spagna (1515, State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, russia). The object in the child's hand may also be an allusion to the iconography of the Christ Child in Western Christian iconography. It is noteworthy that the place of the painting's execution is Nalchyk (Antonina Ivanova may have given her home address not for the reason that the work was painted there), where the artist and her husband Mykhailo Lezviiev worked for a long time on a series of commissions (for more details see Khorunzha, H., & Maksymiv, M. (2022). Boychukist Mykhailo Lezviiev: Unknown heritage (Works from the collection and archive of Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery). Obrazotvorche Mystetsvo [Fine Arts], 3–4, 94–97. Kyiv and Khorunzha, H., & Maksymiv, M. (2023). Boychukist Mykhailo Lezviiev: Unknown heritage (Works from the collection and archive of Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery). Obrazotvorche Mystetsvo [Fine Arts], 1–2, 82–85. Kyiv). The year is significant in this context because, on 20.11.1937, Mykhailo Lezviiev was executed, probably in Nalchyk, by the decision of the NKVD troika of the Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (arrested on 8.10.1937). Considering this factor, this apparently intimate family work acquires an additional dimension: the reconstruction of the context of the artist's personal tragedy.

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery