"Holiday" (1962–1965) by Alexey Glebovich Smirnov reimagines traditional Christian iconography through the lens of the Soviet second avant-garde. Created during the Khrushchev Thaw—a period of cautious artistic experimentation—the painting explores the tension between spiritual themes and state-enforced atheism, presenting religious iconography in a deliberately destabilising manner.

Smirnov's stylistic approach is a bold departure from conventional religious representation. The composition divides into two distinct spatial zones, each articulating different aspects of ritual observance. On the left, three figures present offerings - a fish and a golden chalice - in poses that recall traditional Orthodox iconography, yet their elongated forms and mask-like faces subvert expected religious representation. While the flattened poses and rigid forms echo Byzantine iconography, Smirnov's distortions demonstrate the influence of German Expressionism. The right section features two seated figures cradling a child, evoking traditional Madonna and Child imagery while simultaneously destabilising it through grotesque distortion. Smirnov's decisive brushwork creates flowing, rhythmic forms and combined with a sophisticated colour scheme dominated by deep reds and celestial blues, traditional colours of Orthodox icons, but renders them with modernist intensity.

This work's conceptual power lies in its exploration of faith's resilience under ideological pressure. The figures' grotesque, elongated faces and hollow, spectral expressions create a haunting presence, while crowns of thorns blooming into delicate flowers atop their heads embody the paradox of suffering and renewal. The painting reveals the paradoxical vitality of religious expression in Soviet society - though officially suppressed, it emerged in new, transformative forms. The deliberate tension between traditional iconographic elements and their modernist distortion emphasises this cultural dialogue, suggesting how sacred traditions adapted rather than disappeared. Through this sophisticated visual language, Smirnov creates a powerful meditation on the persistence of spiritual expression within an officially atheist state.

Alexey Glebovich Smirnov (1937–2009) came from a family of established Russian artists but carved out his own distinct path. His education at the Moscow State Academic Art Institute laid the groundwork for his later experimentation, which often challenged the boundaries of Soviet artistic conventions. Smirnov participated in numerous exhibitions both in the Soviet Union and internationally, including the 1959 and 1961 Moscow exhibitions of young artists, as well as notable shows in Florence, Zurich, and Barcelona. His work is held in the collections of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, and the Ludwig Museum in Cologne.