Painting Bad grade again by Fyodor Pavlovich Reshetnikov – a plot familiar to every schoolchild

“Bad grade again” is the beloved masterpiece of the Russian and Soviet artist Fedor Pavlovich Reshetnikov. An emotional, kind picture touches the heart. The situation in which the protagonist finds himself is understood at first glance by both the young spectator and the adult. A family was gathered in the room. In the foreground is the most unfortunate of people – a disheveled boy who returned from school with a “couple” in his diary.

Skates protrude treacherously from a battered briefcase. It is a shame to the fined student. The mother looks at her son reproachfully, although it is easy to see sympathy on her face, the younger brother smiles maliciously. A neat pioneer sister is laying out textbooks at the table. She, like a stern judge, sternly glances at the dejected prankster, not understanding how one can sink to such a shame. Only the dog is sincerely happy with the owner. The tense atmosphere is conveyed to the viewer, who involuntarily feels pity for the boy rejected by everyone except the dog. I would like to believe that the fidget will definitely correct the ill-fated deuce.

Author: Fedor Pavlovich Reshetnikov (1906-1988).
Year of writing: 1952
Size: 101 x 93 cm. Style: Realism.
Genre: Household.
Technique: Oil.
Material: Canvas.
Location: State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Fyodor Pavlovich Reshetnikov is a prominent representative of the socialist realism style. Nevertheless, the children”s theme became his true vocation. The painter”s works dedicated to the life of children are imbued with incredible warmth. The author treats children tenderly, reverently and sympathetically.

The audience was especially fond of the master”s “discipleship” cycle. The triptych opens with the painting Arrived for Vacation (1948). It hangs to the left of the doorway in the room where the hero of the work “Deuce Again” is tormented by remorse. A reproduction of the painting “Deuce Again”, in turn, appears in “Re-examination” (1954), which became a logical continuation of the story of a careless schoolboy (the same boy posed for her).

At first, Fyodor Reshetnikov decided to write an exemplary excellent student who earned the duty five. To collect material, he came to the lesson at school. The teacher summoned the best student to answer, but he was confused in the presence of the guest and could not cope with a simple task. The range of feelings on his face amazed the artist, he made many sketches.

Initially, the action was supposed to take place in the classroom, but then Fedor Pavlovich decided to transfer it to the family. The reaction of relatives for the child is more important than the ridicule of classmates, and, therefore, the impact on the viewer will be stronger.

But here”s the bad luck – the same excellent student Seryozha, who was embarrassed at the blackboard, flatly refused to pose. As a result, the role of the poor student was brilliantly played by the son of Reshetnikov”s former neighbor, the avant-garde artist Gustav Gustavovich Klutsis, who was shot in 1938. A shabby briefcase (by the way, the master was very proud of his “portrait resemblance” to the original) was borrowed from the goalkeeper of the courtyard football team.

The edifying pathos is diluted with the image of a faithful dog. To keep the dog on its hind legs, its owner had to stand with a piece of sausage in his teeth, pressing the animal”s paws with his hands.

In the school curriculum of the USSR, “Bad grade again” was used as a standard of everyday painting, and to this day, fifth-graders write essays about it. Based on a familiar plot, one of the episodes of the humorous newsreel “Yeralash” (124th episode) was filmed.