278. A. Rizzoni. Genre scene Game with cats.

Alexander Rizzoni. Genre scene Playing with cats. For all the seeming mercy of the plot, the poor boy playing with cats, the picture contains a layer of social criticism, without which Russian realism cannot do. The simple amusements of poor adolescence are the main theme of the work. Of the available entertainment, only playing with cats in the dust of an empty basement of a greengrocer`s shop remained. An Italian youth hides a bunch of turnips behind his back, with which he teases a cat sitting on a settled barrel. A meager light seeps in through the cobwebs of the window. But the unsophisticated cheerfulness, the positive temperament of youth, the unaccountable joy of life - take their toll. They illuminate the surrounding hardships, give meaning to life and value to being, the detached contemplation of which the artist offers. It has pity for a person who deserves better, and everyday wisdom of accepting circumstances. Life is everywhere, work affirms.

Author`s signature in the lower right corner. Canvas, oil, 41x33 cm.