Deep Sleep

The artist Lukian Popov grew up in a poor family and grew up alongside the peasant class in his youth. Being the son of a plowman, he was witness to labourers, artisans, farmers, and other members of the working class. As a result, he was fond of depicting the people of the Russian countryside and had several genre paintings and portraits that portrayed them in all sorts of seasons and settings. The painting "Deep Sleep" depicts two men asleep on a grassy field. The entire painting is soft and blurry, almost as if the viewer is half-asleep while observing the men in quiet repose. They look like working class men passed out from a day of hard labour as artisans and labourers, or travellers who are exhausted from a long journey. Their body language conveys two people extremely comfortable sleeping in the grass, using their coats as pillows, with the gray evening sky as their ceiling. The warm muted tones and grays show how the landscape turns into a place of comfort as the day comes to an end. Popov's familiarity and fondness for his people, the serfs, is very apparent in this painting. It is seen in the soft brushstrokes that make up the cozy atmosphere of the painting, as well as the drama and romanticism entwined into the men's posture and expressions amidst their sleep, and the location of their slumber. Their deep sleep has been immortalized in this moment of comfort and peace for many later generations to marvel and relate to, by Lukian Popov.