Series conceived and compiled by Isaak Kushnir
Essays by Larisa Skobkina and Anatoly Basin

Osip Sidlin (1909-1972) studied under Malevich, Petrov-Vodkin and Alexander Osmyorkin, but he was never a follower of any of them in the true sense of the word. There were no exhibitions of his work; he concluded no contracts, produced no works on commission, and he earned his bread working in amateur studios. He left behind almost no paintings. Yet the place he occupies in the Leningrad school is quite dear and defined, for he made himself head of a serious school and even, to some extent leader of a new style.

The artist's persona! magnetism was colossal. The secret behind his attraction was as simple as it was magnificent, and not immediately tangible, for it lay in an absolute freedom and lack of fear in a world where none was free and all were afraid.

Sidlin's works and those of his pupils are evidence of the existence not so much of an artistic system as of a powerful and uncompromising school which sought painterly and formal perfection of a European standard.

A closer look at the very different works produced some of Sidlin's pupils (many of whom are now celebrated artists in their own right) reveals the existence of a common basis, a unifying factor which makes visible and tangible the concept of "The School of Sidlin".

This album presents works by Sidlin himself and by his pupils of different generations, accompanied by analytical studies by leading art historians, the memoirs and writings of artists.