Apples of 1945

This painting, created in 1988, is dedicated to the Shahamudovs, a couple in Tashkent who adopted fourteen orphaned children of different nationalities during the Second World War. It is most likely the subject matter that made this painting the most famous of all the works by the Uzbek artist Shavkat Gafurov. However, it is not necessary to be aware of the story behind the painting, as the art itself is so complex and mesmerizing. The audience’s gaze is arrested by the hauntingly pale doll-like figure of a blond girl, the deceptively calming mountainous landscape painted in the tradition of medieval iconography, the translucent yellow of the apples, the abandoned kite in the air, the patchwork quilt covering the fragments of a childhood, the celestial light surrounding the white-bearded old man cleansing the symbols of sinful adult omniscience with a snowy cloth.

Apples of 1945 appeals aggressively to the emotions, to the point where their essence becomes difficult to comprehend. A peaceful childhood dream and fresh apples for a snack, lovingly wiped clean by a caring hand. Little lives—crumpled, torn, distorted—finding refuge in foreign lands but still witnessing the horrors of the recent past in their dreams. Golden apples of bitter victory. An old man trying to compensate for the stolen childhood with golden fruits.

The dark-skinned boy is the artist's father. The girl, Marusya, Marusya-apa, became a renowned obstetrician in Uzbekistan, and by a remarkable coincidence, she helped save the artist's mother by assisting in her difficult childbirth.