Sergey Andriyaka / "New Year's Eve" / 1984 / Location unknown
The artist about this painting:
"On St. Nicholas Day, I was riding a bus from my father's grave, located at the Khovanskoye Cemetery. One elderly passenger told me that she had buried her only daughter and was left completely alone. Since then, she spends New Year's Eve among the graves every year, completely alone. I was simply amazed by this story. That same day, when I came to church, I heard a sermon from a priest who said that against the general background of the holiday and joy, many people experience various experiences, losses, loneliness. There are two themes in the picture. The first is the theme of the holiday: the main attribute of the New Year is clearly visible - a small Christmas tree, which is carefully decorated and placed by a loving mother on her daughter's grave. In the background, Moscow is ablaze with bright lights, celebrating the New Year. On the one hand, you feel a little sorry for the grandmother, but on the other hand, it becomes clear that she wants to be right here, in the cold cemetery, next to her only daughter. And the second theme. In the foreground are gravestones, and in the distance are the boxes of residential buildings. There are no trees, only emptiness and cold. Residential buildings turning into gravestones, and the slabs turning into houses…"
