“Life Goes On,” by Nikolai Yaroshenko

By  DARLA MCCAMMON
Lakeland Art Association

Siberia is well known as a vast, cold and lonely place in Russia. In some circles, it is believed it was once connected to Alaska via a land bridge. Siberia is one of the most sparsely populated and rugged regions on earth and yet it takes up almost 10 percent of the earth’s land surface. I was privileged to hear Rev. Dr. Kent Eilers of Huntington University speak this past Sunday and I learned about a very interesting artist who lived in Russia and created a painting that told a story about Siberia.

Nikolai Yaroshenko was born in 1846 in Ukraine. He was known as an extremely ethical artist who worked in the military but also created very realistic paintings. His work is very detailed. Yaroshenko was about 25 years old when Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin were born. Prior to this Russia was under the control of Tsar Nicholas II. Most of Russia at the time of the Tsar belonged to the Orthodox Christian Church.

During the time of the Tsar, the Trans-Siberian Railway took convicts to prison in Siberia. Leniency was granted because of the Christian beliefs in the country and thus prisoners were allowed — if they and their family wished — to take their family with them to the prison in Siberia.

The painting Yaroshenko produced shows us a train pulling up to a station. The title of the painting, “Life Goes On,” could easily have been, “Train To Siberia,” because this is a depiction of a mixed group of convicts being transported there. We see the wife and child have chosen to go with the father, who looks on as the child feeds the pigeons. Local residents at the train stops would also frequently meet the trains as they passed through their village and would offer the jailed occupants food and water. Almost everyone, except for one solitary soul looking out the opposite window, is engrossed with the child and the activities at the station platform.

You can find more about Yaroshenko on the internet. He loved his Russia but was not blind to the faults and he used his creativity to make his voice heard. Interestingly, both Vladimir Lenin and his successor, Joseph Stalin, spent time in Siberian prison camps. Stalin escaped six times but went on to create the Gulag system in Siberia as a brutal leader from 1929 to 1953.

Upcoming And Current Events:

• The John Streeter exhibit of his pastels is open at Warsaw’s city hall. Visit this gallery on the main floor, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.
• The Honeywell photography competition in Wabash closes Tuesday, Nov. 10, with a reception
• Wednesday, Nov. 4, fall member show entries, drop off between 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Contact LAA for information.

Lakeland Art Association is located at 107 N. First St. Pierceton, and on Facebook. Contact author/artist Darla McCammon at [email protected].