The paintings of Serge Marshennikov (born in Ufa, Russia, in 1971) is a contemporary Russian painter whose work occupies a fascinating position between academic realism, romanticism and erotic art, all that with a touch of dreaminess. Marshennikov trained at the Ufa Art College before continuing his studies at the Repin Academy of Fine Art in St Petersburg. The principal subject of his art is the female nude or half-nude, painted in a realist, hyperrealist or contemporary academic manner. Mostly these women are shown sleeping, relaxing, daydreaming or really dreaming, but either way absorbed in their private moments, unaware of our gaze or presence. Still, the technical precision of his paintings is only a part of their significance. What distinguishes Marshennikov’s artworks is the way he combines an intensely observed female body with an atmosphere of silence, vulnerability and dreamlike withdrawal. The silence, the lightness, the sleep; these elements make Marshennikov’s paintings instantly recognisable.
Fig.1 Serge Marshennikov, Innocent Dreams, 2013
Fig.2 Serge Marshennikov, A reclining nude, 2015
Fig.3 Serge Marshennikov, Innocent, 2014
A Sleeping Woman
Paintings presented here, in particular let us focus on a few, such as those seen in Fig.1. or Fig.2., reveal many of the defining characteristics of Marshennikov’s art. The titles of many of these paintings alone such as ‘Innocent Dreams’ in Fig.1., ‘Slumber’ as seen in Fig.5. ‘Sweet Dreams’ in Fig.4., ‘Sweet Dreams’ in Fig.6. reveal to us the artist’s fascination with the motif of a sleeping woman. A modern sleeping beauty, we might say. Words such as dreams, innocent and sweet place the paintings within an emotional vocabulary of sleep and tenderness rather than overt sexuality. And this is precisely where Marshennikov's eroticism begins. His women are frequently naked or partially clothed, but they are rarely represented as actively sexual. Instead, they are asleep, resting or turned away from the spectator. Their apparent unawareness creates an unusual tension between erotic exposure and psychological distance.
Fig.4 Serge Marshennikov, Sweet Dreams, 2014
Fig.5 Serge Marshennikov, Slumber
Fig.6 Serge Marshennikov, Sweet Dreams, 2005
A Reclining Nude
In Fig.2., in the painting titled ‘A Reclining Nude’, the body is extending horizontally across almost the entire composition and it is a horizontally elongated canvas to begin with. The long back, hips and legs create a sweeping visual rhythm, while the cascading hair descends towards the bottom of the canvas and becomes almost indistinguishable from the surrounding textiles. The figure is therefore not simply placed upon the bed: she is visually integrated with it and the space in the canvas is arranged to fit her, not the other way around. The composition brings to mind Ingres’ famous ‘Odalisque’ who is not in the state of slumber but is nevertheless cold and untouchable. Still, Marshennikov makes the human body and the interior environment participate in the same sensual system of curves, folds and textures. The wallpaper behind the woman is equally important. Its floral pattern introduces a decorative, almost nineteenth-century atmosphere, while the loose white garment and dark bedding create a contrast between exposure and concealment.
Fig.7 Serge Marshennikov, A Woodland Nymph, 2005
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