Korzhev's art from different decades offers a prime example of a philosophical view of history. Like no other post-war painter, Korzhev showed the crucial turning-points of 20th century Russian life. The war appears here in all its tragic complexity, as do its traces and legacy, still present in the everyday lives of Russians and in the fate of the entire country. "Clouds of 1945" (1980-1985, Tretyakov Gallery) is one such philosophical painting. It shows a man who has lost a leg in the war, with an elderly woman dressed in dark mourning clothes. Both are pensive, caught up in memories from the past. Behind the figures lies a panoramic landscape - a large meadow beneath a vast, tranquil sky. This backdrop brings the narrative back to the present day. "The war is over, he is missing a leg but he is still happy. He looks at the clouds, smells the grass: life has won," Korzhev explained. Time, in this painting, is historically specific: inevitably, it flows onwards. Yet the past rises up again, in the memory of future generations. The artistic metaphor for time that Korzhev creates in this work, allowing past, present and future to intermingle in their complex ways, shows just how deeply the artist felt the very spirit of history. (http://www.tretyakovgallerymagazine.com/articles/3-2016-52/gely-korzhev-i-have-right)