Mikołaj Sobczak

This work is a portrait of the legendary Ukrainian dancer and choreographer Serge Lifar. A star of impresario Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Lifar is portrayed as the character of Daphnis in the ballet 'Daphnis et Chloé' by Maurice Ravel. Lifar’s likeness is depicted on a discovered painting portraying a Soviet Workers’ Congress, signed by Yuri Petrovich Tsyganov and dated 1958. By superimposing the image of Serge Lifar onto the background of a scene characteristic of Socialist Realism, Sobczak creates a striking juxtaposition of two distinct periods in Russian history. Essentially, he presents two different Russias side by side, indicating the seismic shift in collective history brought about by the Russian Revolution and the subsequent establishment of the Soviet Union. This era saw the replacement of progressive elements in art and culture with state-imposed standards of artistic expression, leading those at the forefront of the avant-garde to emigrate abroad to avoid persecution.