Everyday Life and the Moscow Metro in Easel Painting and Graphics the mid-1950s-1991.

The subject of the research is the reflection of the image of the Moscow metro in works of visual art from the period of 1955-1991, as well as the evolution of artistic representations of urban above-ground transport during this time. At the same time, the task of this article can be considered as the analysis of the space of the capital's metro in works of visual art. The visual material will be examined, including through the prism of the artists' personal attitudes towards the late Soviet metro. Works by artists such as Leonid Soiferits, Alexander Labas, Vladimir Stozharov, Dmitry Zhilyinsky, and Natalia Nesterova have been used as sources. The works of lesser-known authors, such as Heinrich Stopa, Boris Kazakov, and Olga Yanovskaya, are also considered. Written sources include works of fiction and memoirs by Ilya Glazunov. The study employs an iconographic method and a method of stylistic and artistic analysis. Also significant for this article will be the historical-comparative method, which will allow for the discovery of the continuity of artistic images of the 20th century and the art of the past. The main conclusions of the conducted research highlight two main trends in the depiction of the metro in Soviet art during the examined period: lyrical and critical. They emerged at the same time, but by the 1970s, a predominance of critical perception of the metro became apparent. Some artists took the position of an external observer. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that the Moscow metro is viewed not in an architectural and monumental context, but as a space in the works of easel artists. The practical application of the research findings lies in the potential to awaken interest in the study of artistic images of the Moscow metro in a non-architectural context. Additionally, this article may stimulate interest in the history of public transport as a whole.

metro, painting, graphics, Labas, city, underground, Nesterova, Zhilinsky, Soifertis, Glazunov