Image of the 'ideal space' in the work of the famous naive artist P.P. Leonov (1920-2011)

This article explores the image of «ideal space» as an object of cultural research, innovatively realized in Soviet naïve art from the 1950s to the 1980s. Drawing on the work of Russian scholars on this topic, the author examines the paintings of naïve artist P.P. Leonov. It is noted that the axiological foundations for the emergence of the image of «ideal space» in its specific forms (Heavenly Jerusalem, the City of Kitezh, etc.) are rooted in the characteristics of traditional Russian culture. Naïve art, asserting its affinity with folk art through its resemblance to popular prints, facilitates the intergenerational transmission and actualization of socially significant experience in Russian culture. This reconstruction of the image of «ideal space» provides insight into the particular characteristics of its perception, entrenched in traditional culture, that are visually embodied in Soviet naïve art from the 1950s to the 1980s.