Soldiers, brave lads! Where is your glory. 1905 Valentin Serov (1865-1911)

Description of Valentin Serov’s painting "Soldiers, bravo children, where is your glory!"

A painting painted by Valentin Serov during Russia’s first revolution, "Soldiers, Bravo Child Soldiers, Where’s Your Glory!" was created from cardboard, gouache, and pastel. The guardsmen on horseback symbolize the events of January 9, 1905 in St. Petersburg, but according to some suggestions, it depicts the dispersal of demonstrators in the present capital, which took place near the school of painting, architecture and sculpture. Also, according to one widespread version, Serov painted from life, having witnessed the violence against the demonstrators on Bloody Sunday.

Serov dared to write a sharp satire on the tsarist regime of the beginning of the revolutionary unrest in 1905-1907. The artist has made an indelible impression on the defeat of a peaceful demonstration with fresh slogans.

This event touched the artist to the core of his soul forced him to abandon his honorary right to be a member of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. It is known for certain that starting from the nineties of the twentieth century the artist painted portraits for the imperial family, so you can say with certainty about the change of his moral compass during the first Russian Revolution.

The title of the painting, which reflects a line from a popular Russian military song, is sarcastic: "Soldiers, brave kids...", as chosen by Serov. Obviously, the Guardsmen swung their sabers bravely at the demonstrators could not be in the artist’s field of approval.

In a letter to the artist Repin, Serov expressed his indignation, saying that the Tsar had not expressed a desire to come to the meeting of the demonstrators, taking into account their demand, but instead arranged violent actions against his own people, choosing the stick instead of the carrot once again.

The picture, made on cardboard, the artist gave to his good friend Maxim Gorky, together they were part of the editorial board of the satirical magazine Zhupel, and after the publication of scathing articles in it, the magazine, of course, was closed.