Two lead one

The artist donated the painting to the museum. But first, before writing it, he went to the museum library for a long time and spent hours poring over books. The theme to which the museum is dedicated hooked him and held him, requiring him to saturate his mind with facts and his imagination with emotions and experiences.

The artist's name is Sergei Muratov. The museum and library belong to the Moscow Sakharov Center, the title of the painting is “Two Leading One.”

“At first I wanted to paint a series of paintings,” said the artist. “Because from century to century in Russian history the same thing was repeated - violence, executions... And then I thought... And I painted only one. This one.”

It's easy to imagine that unrealized cycle. Two guardsmen are dragging a boyar who has not pleased the sovereign to the executioner’s block. Two Peter's guards are twisting a rebellious Old Believer. Two soldiers on the sides of Emelyan Pugachev’s cage. Two executioners are attaching a noose to the gallows for a Narodnaya Volya member... And so until our days - the power of power and the death of those who dared to go against it. Costumes, hairstyles, weapons change; the mise-en-scene is stable.

Easy, understandable, predictable.

Boring, primitive.

But art does not follow clear and predictable paths.

And from reading, from the artist’s thoughts, from the seed of an idea that had lain in the depths of his soul, something was born that was completely different from the original idea. Not an illustration of what I read, but an emblem.

...Night, winter, an open field, a black forest in the distance - a simple, unassuming landscape. Not picturesque. No. Simple as a bare stage box. This place has no identification marks, this could have happened anywhere, but it still happened in Russia. We recognize the Red Army uniform. Two lead one. Two in Budenovkas, long overcoats, good felt boots, rifles on their shoulders. Much more historically specific...

Where do two lead one? Where can the three of us go like this at night, in winter, across an open field? What is there at the end of this walk? Where does the feeling come from that we know that the walk is the last, that at the end of it will be the end of life? Two lead one to kill. This can be seen by how the doomed man involuntarily slows down his pace, how he lags behind the front guard, almost bumping into the rear one.

The twin guards walk measuredly and indifferently. But who is it between them? Black clothes are as simple as a spacesuit. Hands, legs, a cucumber - it turned out to be a little man... Hands behind his back, a hat on his head... Or a scarf. Or a helmet? Man, woman, teenager? How old is he, what is his nationality, profession? Between two armed Red Army soldiers walks a creature devoid of all, absolutely all social, gender, and historical characteristics.

Two lead to kill a Man.

But Man has no fear, he does not think about death. He sees the Star. So he raised his head and looked straight at her - the only one in the dark night sky, bright, shining. The star illuminates his face, causing all three of them to cast slanting shadows on the snow. The star shines, but only one of the three sees it - a fragile creature in black. The guards look ahead; they have no need to look at the sky. They have an overcoat, a rifle, a Budenovka and felt boots, but no Star. It's not their profession. Their job is to lead those who see the Star on their final journey; their fate is never to see the Star.