The Intriguing Paintings Of Peter Panov

By Christa Jarvis


The 1920s were a time when artists gathered in Paris cafes and talked about the revolution that was happening in the world of art and other spheres of life. Artist, Peter Panov, was fascinated by this epoch and it shows in his paintings. This artist was born in Izevsk and graduated from an academy in Moscow where he learned fine art.

The characters in his paintings are recognizable and familiar to us and yet at the same time they also convey individual memories and history. Men wearing suits and hats, women drinking wine at sidewalk cafes, men reading newspapers and troubadours playing their instruments are depicted. He paints jazz musicians, starts of the silver screen and city scenes.

The artist paints mainly with acrylics but also creates some mixed media works. He uses cubism in his work and this is perhaps what gives it a modern feel. Some of his paintings are almost collage-like. He favors using newsprint and newspapers appear in many of his works. His flat figures and panes of color are typical of cubism. However, his sophisticated use of colors creates depth and interest.

There is a great deal of absorbing detail in his paintings that make one want to look at a piece again and again. He also juxtaposes his figures and backgrounds in unexpected ways. Many of his musicians are much larger than any other objects in the paintings, including the buildings. Some of them are seated above the city, playing their instruments in the sky. Others are as tall as buildings and stand alongside them.

He uses a brush and a palette knife to create texture. The use of color is sophisticated with clever combinations. The routine of life is taken and captured in a series of moments that become special. A man stands in a telephone booth, a woman applies lipstick at her table in the cafe whilst another drinks wine. Men read newspapers and drive in cars. Women walk in a windy street with newsprint blowing everywhere.

He has created a number of paintings of Josephine Baker. This American-born French dancer, singer, and actress sashayed onto a Paris stage during the 1920s and took Europe by storm. Famous for her dance routines and barely-there dresses, she became an icon of the times. He has also painted Mary Pickford, considered to be one of the greatest stars of the silver screen.

The artist enjoys painting crowd scenes. In many of his crowd scenes, men face away from the viewer. They all wear suits and hats and some are shown reading newspapers. These men in the crowd all appear the same yet on closer examination they are all subtly different. The artist manages to depict our commonality and individuality in this way.

These paintings are available from online galleries. This artist gives us special moments amidst the routine of daily life. He manages to convey a story, a sense of individual history and a collective identity at the same time by using commonplace events. His paintings are contemporary and yet timeless too.




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