Dogs – painting of an anxious time

Do you know why contemporary paintings by artists working in Russia often lack international success and recognition? Generally, they try to say EVERYTHING in one painting! If it's a church, then everyone must be praying. If there's a tragedy, there are old women begging, and in the background, a fire is raging! And every detail is painted down to individual eyelashes. I'm speaking figuratively, of course. But why? There's a thousand times more drama in Van Gogh's "Shoes" than in "The Morning of the Streltsy Execution".

– Anatoli Gostev (1946–2022)

Impression of the Painting

The painting "Dogs" is executed in a restrained color palette as a symbol of anxious times. Its theme emerged from a reflection on the state of society. Nighttime, rabid dogs see a burning symbol of some belief at the end of the street. The street’s abruptness, the irregular composition of the houses, a symbolic axe, and the disunity of the dogs — all reflect the spirit of the second decade of the 21st century. Anxiety and chaos in the darkness.

YouTube video - Dogs Art Painting

Creation of the Painting

The concept of the painting originated in 2006, but the artist continued working on it until 2020 — somewhat reluctantly. Anatoli Gostev was not a fan of complex plots or of conveying intricate messages through painting. In his works, he preferred to communicate a sense of nature, pleasant moments from people’s lives, and the beauty of everyday things.

The artist’s main credo was that a painting should evoke only positive emotions, as it would live with a person. "Dogs", however, is a difficult, somber, and narrative painting — albeit with simplified technique. To Gostev, the creative process for this work was an attempt to express a mood of anxiety, absurdity, and apprehension. That’s why he never particularly liked "Dogs". He was primarily interested in achieving a sense of speed and motion in the composition.

Fate of the Painting

The painting was never completed in the artist’s view. At 1:11 in the video filmed in the artist’s studio, you can see the painting’s state in 2015. "Dogs" was never exhibited and remained in the artist’s studio until his passing in 2022.

Authenticity – Certified via Blockchain (BTC)

The painting is unsigned, as it was still in progress — several photographs document this process:

2006

2015

2021

The legacy of Anatoli Gostev is securely protected by copyright — "Dogs" is certified in the blockchain. Through timestamp technology, the unique digital signature of the painting’s root certificate is permanently recorded on the blockchain, ensuring immutable data on its provenance, authorship, and current ownership.

The COA certificate contains root certificate data extracted from the proof file (.ots). The painting’s root certificate, registered in a Bitcoin blockchain block, can be transferred to a new owner only by signing a formal ownership transfer agreement — ensuring transparency and trust in any future sale or handover of the artwork. This makes the authenticity of "Dogs" verifiable and relevant for the entire duration of its existence.