About war without war: space and color in the paintings of Boris Nemensky

The theme of war in the works of Boris Nemensky occupies a special, especially major place. An artist-soldier, an excellent painter and a remarkable teacher, Nemensky devoted much effort to solving the problems of artistic and aesthetic education, but first – to thinking about a man at war. And if the subjects of his works are covered in literature quite fully, then this study examines narrower – spatial and coloristic – principles of the master’s works dedicated to war. Nemensky presents his artwork without the rigor of artistic means, his compositional and coloristic constructions invariably meet the goals and objectives set in the work, linked to the concept. The article examines examples of Nemensky’s various approaches to creating paintings on a military theme, the core of the artist’s work, changes in his creative approach and the flexibility of the method. Both his earliest front-line works from the "Berlin Etudes" and key post-war works, among which several versions of "Nameless Heights" occupy a special place, are offered as examples for consideration. This makes it possible to take a closer look at the general concept of his works and trace the visual evolution of his reflections on man at war.