The State Russian Museum, Mikhailovsky Palace, St. Petersburg
"Peeling Beets" is one of the first paintings to bring critical acclaim to Alexey Venetsianov. He is considered as the father of Russian genre painting for his depictions of peasantry as idyllic, romantic and morally upright. He was praised for documenting the people of the peasant class in his art as they were not part of the conventional beauty standards. His paintings were soft, realism style pieces combined with a romantic tone;many times idealized with the traditional values of neo-classicism.
This painting depicts a family of people of the peasant class, peeling their harvested beets together. The pastels make the faces of the children look soft and innocent, adding to their youthfulness. The colour palettes are a mixture of soft pastel shades and vivid blues and greens that help the figures in the painting stand out. Tsar Alexander I was very impressed by this work and this gave him great standing. Venetsianov's pupil remarked at their image being able to make the viewer imagine the smell of their huts, a backhanded compliment of the level of realistic detail his master had added in depicting them. However, they seem content and happy. The children are working together, a younger child leaning on the older girl while the girl in the centre seems to be lost in thought. A myriad of expressions are seen on each of the characters and each of them form a piece in the narrative story of the beet peelers that the artist wished to tell.
Although Alexey Venetsianov's Peeling Beets portrays humble rural work, it is also a subtle glorification of peasants and the dignity within their lives. We are not just viewers looking in on nameless workers as they perform a day's labor, we have characters that each have their own identity and presence. Venetsianov's subtle pastel touch and earthy color pallet have made everyday fall chore seemingly private, and a personal ritual. The Tretyakov Gallery names the artwork a 'genre scene depicting peasants, women's costumes, labor and autumn,' confirming its place in genre paintings of Russian country life.
I find it amazing how drama- free the work is; there is no act of heroism within its picture but that is a major part of what I find so beautiful about it. To me the work reveals how dignity isn't found in title or grandeur, but found as the art piece places an uncommon emphasis on women, mundane household chores and thereby the routines essential to sustaining life in a village.
