"Arrived on vacation" () is an

oil-on-canvas Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

painting by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

artist Fyodor Reshetnikov. It was painted in 1948 and is an example of

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

themes in art. It is located in the

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. In 1949, the artist was awarded the

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize * The Stalin Peace Prize, awarded 1949 to 1955, later known as the Lenin Peace Prize The Int ...

of the second degree. Reshetnikov was popular as a

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfred Grévin (1827–1892) * Alf ...

before this painting; "Arrived on vacation" thus was a valuable and successful experience in

genre art Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...

for the artist. The painting itself depicts a joyful event. A family greets a young boy, a returning Suvorov military cadet, who has come home for the

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

celebration and long holidays. The grandson, in

military uniform A military uniform is a standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful and elaborate, ornamented c ...

, is happy – with a glowing face and a wide smile, he greets his grandfather with a mock military salute. His grandfather stands at attention, accepting the salute. The characters in the painting are the Suvorov military cadet, his grandfather, and a girl wearing a

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

tie Tie has two principal meanings: * Tie (draw), a finish to a competition with identical results, particularly sports * Necktie, a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders Tie or TIE may also refer to: Engineering and technology * Ti ...

, depicted with love and humor. The festive atmosphere in the house and the characters' charm highlight the painting's optimism, showing that the long war is over and a bright and happy future is ahead. On the other hand, the piece also has a sense of drama as the boy's parents are not depicted. The fact that after the war, children who had lost their relatives often enrolled in the Suvorov Military School, hints that they may not have survived. "Arrived on vacation" brought Reshetnikov fame and has become one of his most well-known works. The painting has often been used in

Russian-language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living Eas ...

classes to teach students how to write an essay; the Soviet school curriculum used the painting as an essay-writing topic for many years. The circulation of

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

s featuring a reproduction of the painting totals over 13 million copies, much more than any other postcard in the former USSR. Reshetnikov's famous 1952 painting, "

Low Marks Again Low Marks Again (russian: Опять двойка, translated as ''Grade D, Again'') is a painting by Fyodor Pavlovich Reshetnikov Fyodor Pavlovich Reshetnikov (russian: Фёдор Павлович Решетников) ( – December 1 ...

", contains a reproduction of "Arrived on vacation" on the one of the walls. The artist also used a reproduction of "Low marks again" in his later painting "Reexamination". A monument dedicated to graduates of Suvorov military schools and the

cadet corps A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes. ...

was unveiled at the St. Petersburg Suvorov Military School located at

Sadovaya Street Sadovaya Street or Garden Street is a major thoroughfare in Saint Petersburg, Russia, passing through the historic city center. From east to west, it begins near the Field of Mars, crosses the Moika River at the First Sadovy Bridge, then pas ...

26. The composition of the sculpture recreates the scene depicted in "Arrived on vacation": a young military man salutes his grandfather; the heroes of the monument also bear a resemblance to their prototypes. The monument was erected on the initiative of the commander of the

Western Military District The Western Military District (russian: Западный военный округ, Zapadnyy voyennyy okrug) is a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, ...

Anatoly Sidorov Colonel General Anatoly Alekseyevich Sidorov (russian: Анатолий Алексеевич Сидоров; born 2 July 1958), is an officer of the Russian Army, and the current Chief of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organiz ...

, a graduate of Suvorov School. The sculptor was Karen Sarkisov, who created the monument in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Suvorov and Nakhimov schools in Russia.

References

1948 paintings Russian paintings Soviet paintings Collections of the Tretyakov Gallery Paintings of children {{DEFAULTSORT:Arrived on vacation