Описание

Alexey Amelyushkin
Das Brot, 2025

acrylic on canvas
30 × 24 cm

Artist’s Quote:

The painting presents an ironic yet tragic image that references classical painting while being filled with contemporary context. On the canvas we see a figure in a business suit and hat, traditionally symbolizing power, respectability, and officialdom. However, the character’s face is replaced by a loaf of bread. This solution emphasizes a paradox: behind the outwardly solid image of negotiations and diplomacy lie not values, not human destinies, not the pursuit of peace, but material interests, greed, and the desire for personal enrichment. Bread — a symbol of basic human need, survival, and simple peaceful existence — becomes distorted, hidden behind the facade of «suits and ties.»

The painting expresses a critique of the hypocrisy of high political figures in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Behind loud words about «peace» and «negotiations» lies the direct opposite: indifference to ordinary people who, as a result of war, lack the most essential thing—bread. This is felt particularly acutely in Ukrainian reality, where war destroys the familiar flow of life and deprives citizens of basic vital resources.