Flowering - National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus

Zoya Litvinova is one of the rare Belarusian female artists with a pronounced talent for monumental forms. Her easel works are impressive not only with rich color and light, but also with the universal character of what is depicted on the canvas. The ‘Flowering’ is such a work painted in 1988. This painting is a symbol, a parable, a reflection of the vital forces of nature, of a holiday birth, motherhood and Being. After all, flowering is not just a special period of vital activity of plants, but also human health and well-being from a symbolic point of view. We say that a man flourishes if he is healthy, and he presents us with his physical, intellectual and spiritual beauty.

Flowering reminds us not only of the holiday of color and light, but also of the holiday of spring, and therefore of rebirth and the continuation of life. This is why, Zoya Litvinova depicts women sowing the field with seeds which will bloom again and give new life against the emotional space in bright colors. An angel-like child is that new pure and bright life. The painting itself is a continuously flowering garden. The sign of this is the rainbow as a symbol of the covenant ‘between God and the Earth’, as a symbol of the renewed world.

The depicted scene also reveals the connection with folk Slavic and Christian roots. The color system, the triumph of red with a golden glow, the use of an iconic silhouette and the depiction of Christian symbols – all this looks like the methods of ancient Russian masters. At the same time, sonorous intensive colors, simple visual images and a schematization of forms completely correspond to the traditional principles of Belarusian culture.

In this sense, the canvas ‘Flowering’ is an iconic work for its time. It emphasizes a link with the deep layers of national history and culture. It was made during the national revival that was important for the Belarusian fine arts. There was the need for national self-identification after gaining independence in our country. The cult of Belarusian antiquity and the focus on the topic of the origins of the Belarusian people became the main core for many Belarusian artists. The ornaments of embroidery and for traditional items made of clay, wood and straw become relevant for plastic outline. The tendency to reverse avant-garde methods through the prism of folklore motifs, ancient myths and holidays is spread in the work of Belarusian artists.