A traditional genre for honing their craft and experimenting with form still lives in the artists. After all, it's a model, you don't have to chase and make her sit still long enough. There is, however, one existential issue: Khvostov's still lifes are not just an image but food as such – a statement of wealth and "high life". In his most popular "Still life with parrot" the table is overflowing with exotic foods and symbolizes meticulous study of material wealth (read: gluttonous revelry), rather than pious reflections (like in Dutch masters' paintings). — Dmitry Pilikin