The artist Mikhail Mikhailovich Shemyakin was born in Moscow in 1908. He grew up in a unique family with a cultural heritage. His father was Mikhail Fyodorovich Shemyakin, a famous artist and teacher who studied under Valentin Serov. His grandfather was Ivan Grzhimali, a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, and his great-grandfather was Alexei Abrikosov, an entrepreneur and manufacturer. From early childhood, Mikhail was surrounded by the most prominent painters and musicians of the early 20th century. His hospitable family often welcomed guests, including Ilya Repin, Feodor Chaliapin, Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Goedicke, and Sergey Taneyev.

While Mikhail Shemyakin studied at the Moscow Institute of Fine Arts, he learned even more from his father who taught him painting at home. It was his style that inspired Mikhail Shemyakin’s bold and wide brushstrokes. Later, Mikhail also studied at the Polygraphic Institute under Pavel Yakovlevich Pavlinov, Mikhail Semyonovich Rodionov, and Konstantin Nikolayevich Istomin. For his graduation work, Mikhail Shemyakin created a series of portraits of music competition winners.

The main themes of Mikhail Shemyakin’s art — the artistic depiction of workers and admiration for the beauty of nature — were determined by the Soviet reality. Shemyakin’s works in the style of Socialist Realism radiate contagious optimism. In his works, verisimilitude is wrapped in lyricism and imbued with sincere zest of life. He managed to romanticize the Soviet way of life without embellishing it. His works arouse admiration for the artist’s skill and quality of painting.

“Driving to Work” from the collection of the Khimki Art Gallery is a hymn to labor. Joyful, bright, and clear, this painting resembles a song. Its rhythm is created by cumulus clouds and the women in the truck and supported by the rails of the truck and the fence. The fresh green leaves and meadows, clear morning air, blue spring sky, and cheerful girls riding in the back of the truck create a sense of abundance and joy of living. Their headscarves and braids are blowing in the wind, they are smiling and blushing, and the folds of their beautiful dresses are fluttering.

Mikhail Shemyakin created a painting that radiates the vigor and power of youth — a true hymn to life as it is.