“Elim-ai”. Lamentation of the People. Triptych “The Years of Great Calamity”. Central Panel

Description

Author: Kasteyev, Dauren. 1979
This historical-epic composition is dedicated to the tragic exodus of a people in a time of calamity. From right to left, a mournful procession of people, horses, and camels moves through the mist and wind. In the foreground to the left, the stooped figures of a woman carrying a child on her back, alongside an old man and a young girl with bowed heads, embody the hardships of the journey. At the center, exhausted travelers bearing their loads trudge both inside and alongside a horse-drawn arba cart, while a laden camel occupies the background and horsemen with women and children appear on the right. The color palette is built on a cool blue-lilac and gray-white range, punctuated by the warm ochre-red accents of the clothing. The expressive, generalized painting style, combined with the blurring of the background planes and the heavy rhythm of movement, creates a dramatic and symbolically charged structure characteristic of historical paintings depicting the fate of a nation.