Still life with Pussy Willows (painting)

Still life with Pussy-Willows is a painting by Taisia Afonina (Russian: Таисия Кирилловна Афонина), known Russian painter, who lived and worked in Leningrad and was a member of the Leningrad branch of Union of Artists of Russian Federation, regarded as one of the representatives of the Leningrad School of Painting,. The painting shows a table laid for tea drinking spring day in Leningrad apartment mid-1960s.

One of his most famous work Taisa Afonina painted in April 1964 at his home in Leningrad on the Zverinskaya Street 2/5 in apartment 21, where she was one of the rooms. Here she lived from 1952 to 1994. Set of objects in the picture is organic and natural, causing numerous associations. Composition of the painting is devoid of stage effects. It seems that the observant eye of the artist kept on canvas instant daily life of a bygone era, almost nothing is staged. And it gives the created image special force of impact on the viewer. Exquisite silver palette said high purity compositions and fills it with the invisible presence of those who are dear to us, and whom we will always be waiting. Talking about that the willows on the table.

For the first time the painting was exhibited in 1965 on the Spring Exhibition of Leningrad artists in the Leningrad Union of Artists. In 1994, picture again was shown in the halls of the Leningrad Union of Artists at the exhibition «The Paintings of 1950-1980s by Artists of the Leningrad School». In 1995-1997 painting "Still life with Pussy-Willows" was shown in Saint Petersburg Nikolai Nekrasov Memorial Museumn on exhibitions "Lyrical motives in the works of artists of the war generation" (1995), "Painting of 1940-1990s. The Leningrad School" (1996), and "Still life in painting of 1950-1990s. The Leningrad School" (1997). Saint Petersburg's largest publication covering exhibitions always wrote about the painting "Still Life with willows" and placed prints.

In 2007 the painting «Still life with Pussy-Willows» was reproduced and described among 350 art works by Leningrad artists in the book «Unknown Socialist Realism. The Leningrad School», published in Russian and English. In 2011 the painting «Still life with Pussy-Willows» was detail described in article by Sergei Ivanov "Still life at the Leningrad table", published in St. Petersburg Art History Notebooks. In 2012 «Still life with Pussy-Willows» was exhibited at the Art Show devoted to 80th Anniversary of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists.