Talk:Cyclist (painting)

State control and suppression
> Furthermore, art historian Paul Smethurst interprets the finger as a suggestion of "Soviet state control and suppression" against the freedom of mobility. A painting truly ahead of its time?
 * Yeah I was confused about this as well. It's probably not an issue with the source, since Smethurst is a professor in art history, so it is definitely my linking it incorrectly to the Soviet Union. Now that I look at it again, it's likely referring to the pre-Revolution Soviet (council), so I'll change the link to that. GeneralPoxter (talk • contribs) 15:58, 12 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Art history professors, well-educated though they may be, are not above making (admittedly embarrassing) errors. If you follow the link to the source, it is quite clear from the original text that Smethurst is simply confused about the timeline of Russian history; not only were the pre-Revolution soviets not nearly powerful enough to enact "control and suppression", but they were also disbanded in 1905, eight years before the painting's completion, and brought back in February of 1917. Thus it is only reasonable to remove that tidbit from the text before it propagates further. Vadim Galimov (talk) 16:18, 12 July 2021 (UTC)
 * All right, agreed. GeneralPoxter (talk • contribs) 16:26, 12 July 2021 (UTC)