Art: The Comrade Is Decadent

"Now," said Pablo Picasso, announcing his conversion to Communism, "I have found my true country!" That was three years ago. Last week, Moscow's Pravda went out of its way to shout that in his true country Picasso is a prophet without honor—and, in art, a formalist to boot. Said Pravda: "The great October Socialist Revolution saved Russian art from a fate which has overtaken painting and sculpture together with other kinds of art in capitalist countries. There, debasing and formalist art represents man as a monster deprived of feeling and thought . . . and serves the selfish interests of the...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!