Aesthetics

Since Soviet Realist painting was considered part of the national agenda, it was provided with substantive funding. The cultural ministry and the art union officials were responsible for ensuring that Soviet art was politically congruent with government socialist policies. The Soviet Realist style concentrated heavily on glorifying the Socialist message, the common people, and the Russian landscape.

Though Socialist Realist artists relied on commissions and support from the government, they were typically only required to complete a handful of commissions each year with predetermined subjects. This left substantial time for pursuit of their own work and exploratin of individualistic stylistic innovations.

In America, the press, galleries, and museums exerted considerable influence in shaping the artistic aesthetic. Common society automatically invested creditability in the judgement of these institutions. Although their authority is being questioned today, they still exert a strong influence in shaping artistic tastes.

It is interesting to compare and contrast examples of paintings popular in American and Russian culture during the twentieth century. A plethora of styles predominated in America, indicative of the wide array of experimentation that was taking place. Mainstream Soviet art was fairly consistent in style after the avant-garde in the early part of the twentieth century. If the socio-cultural conditions had been different in the Soviet Union, the Soviet Realism school, perhaps the best Realist school of this century, might not have evolved.