“Recollection of the Past” by Leonid Afremov
“Recollection of the Past” is an oil painting done by Leonid Afremov. It is a very vibrant and colorful painting of a pathway through trees and street lights while it is raining. It can be inferred that it is raining because there is also a person walking through the path with an umbrella. Furthermore, the paved walkway is very glossy and shiny, possibly because it is wet from the rain. The street lights in this painting are very bright and are obviously lit. Their luminous reflection is shown in the glistening walkway. Additionally, the leaves on the trees are extremely colorful and vivid. Afremov created this entire painting using only a palette knife which shows how he achieved a different texture throughout the painting. It is painted on a 36” x 20” canvas. In the far left corner of the painting, the colors are mostly blues and are cooler tones. The ground beneath the tree on the left is a dark blue and the artist’s signature is at its base. Furthermore, as it gets closer to the top of the tree, the colors get lighter and there are more pastel blues and purples. However, at the very top there are reds, oranges, and bright whites. The center of the painting introduces the warmer tones of the painting. It is where the street lights are illuminating the rest of the scene, so it is much more bright and full of shades of yellow, orange, red, green, and some blue and purple. The right half of the painting is very multi-colored and bold. However, the entire painting together is very vibrant and interesting.
The artist of the painting “Recollection of the Past”, Leonid Afremov, has visited and lived in several places around the world during his life. In fact, he was born in Russia and lived there until 2002. He then decided to immigrate to the United States. Later in 2010, he retired in Playa del Carmen in Mexico. Throughout his life, Afremov was always painting and gathering inspiration from the places he had been to, and from his personal experiences. Therefore, the majority of his paintings reflect a memory of his, or a photograph from his travels. His paintings are intended to provoke certain emotions in their viewers. His paintings are almost never political and instead, capture
happy and peaceful moments in life. The majority of his paintings are created in the same style as “Recollection of the Past”. They are made with only a palette knife and are multi-colored oil paintings that express positive moments in life. His artwork would appeal to most people given that they are very bliss paintings. Afremov’s use of vibrant colors is meant to provoke positivity in his viewers, and the scenes generally express personal reactions in people that are optimistic. “Recollection of the Past” is a politically neutral painting that simply reflects a memory from Afremov’s life. It reflects a personal moment in his life that he found peaceful and harmonious. It was created with the intention to make its viewers feel the same way Afremov did in that moment. It is a peaceful, happy, and balanced painting created to provoke those positive emotions in its viewers.
I think that “Recollection of the Past” by Leonid Afremov is a beautiful painting. For myself, it engages emotions of happiness and peacefulness. It makes me feel very content, and the serene image and title of the work makes me think about the places where I have felt peacefulness and blissness in my past. It reminds me of personal experiences in my own life that may not have been incredibly impactful; However, they were simply times that brought me comfort and happiness. Moreover, I love that this painting’s purpose is to bring a person positivity. I am a person who really admires things that make people happy, and like to see people happy. This painting does not bring up any controversy and it is non-political which I actually enjoy because sometimes people need to remember the good times in life. I really appreciate the artwork by Afremov because the colorfulness and the harmonious scenes of his work bring people joy. Furthermore, the painting itself is visually pleasing and very interesting. The style of the work is very different from ones I have seen before which really draws me into it. I also love the use of colors that Afremov used to create this painting. He uses such bright and vibrant colors which I find to be very interesting. I also think that the way he creates light and luminousness is very appealing. “Recollection of the Past” is a painting which I think is beautiful because it is not only pleasing to look at, but it also makes people recall moments of peacefulness and happiness in their own lives. It is nice to see something which brings about such positive emotions.