Pyotr Sokolov — Commissioner of Free State Art Workshops: the Fate of the Reformer

Abstract

This article is the first scholarly publication that analyses the creative path of P. E. Sokolov (1886–1967), an avant-garde artist, an employee at the Department of Fine Arts of the People’s Commissariat of Education, organiser of Free State Art Workshops (SGHM) in Voronezh, Perm, Yekaterinburg, and Penza between 1918 and 1921. For a long time, the artist’s name was almost forgotten, and in the memoirs that appeared in the 1960s–1970s he was mentioned only in the negative light. The process of “revolutionary transformation” was difficult, it was impossible not to take into account the circulars and regulations from the centre and the peculiarities of the old school educational institutions which regional SGHM were based on. Relations with colleagues and party leaders were not easy. That is why, the assessments of the “Commissioner of Art” are so ambiguous and contradictory. The interest in the artist’s personality that has arisen nowadays is connected with the process of studying the history of the SGHM. A comprehensive study of published and newly identified documentary materials on the revolutionary reforms in the system of art education between 1918 and 1920 reveals Sokolov’s creative position and his place in the system of various left-wing trends in the art of the time. New evidence and archival documents make it possible to identify the main stages of the master’s work, reconstruct his activities as an authorised regional SGHM, and analyse the surviving works. Being a selfless ascetic and maximalist, Pyotr Sokolov made a lot of effort trying to change the artistic life of the Russian province. Examples of his paintings and drawings from 1918–1923 allow the authors to conclude that he developed, to some extent, Cubism and Cubo-Futurism. The tendency to go beyond the rigidly defined “canons”, the lack of stylistic boundaries, a certain eclecticism — these are the foundations of the creative method which provided Sokolov with a wide field for formal experiments. Referring to the masters of avant-garde, experiencing strong influence of such artists as I. Mashkov, K. Malevich, and P. Kuznetsov, Sokolov sought to find “his own line”, while preserving creative independence and individuality.