Portrait of a Sailor was painted while the artist was a graduate student at the Academy of Arts. These years are considered the most trouble-free in Osolodkov''''s life, as during this time he had a studio, canvases and paint, and always was fed and could fully give himself to painting. Portrait of a Sailor is from a series of portraits of workers, sailors and freight handlers, painted large, larger than life, but also simply and without frills. The laconism and monumentalism create an image that is both typical and heroic.

Osolodkov Pyotr

Osolodkov, Pyotr Alexeevich
1898, Rybinsk - 1942, Leningrad
Painter, graphic artist. Studied at the art studio of the 5th Army and the Mikhail Vrubel Art Industrial College (Omsk, 1920–1924), Higher Art and Tech¬nical Studios/ Higher Art and Technical Institute (Leningrad, 1924–1929); postgraduate student at the Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architec¬ture of the All-Russian Academy of Arts (1931‒1934) under Alexander Savinov, attended exten¬sion courses at the Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture of the All-Russian Academy of Arts (1934–1936). Contributed to exhibitions (from 1927). Member and exhibitor of the Circle of Artists (1926–1932). Taught at Leningrad art studios.