Igor Melnikov is particularly sensitive to the problems of human existence. He is an artist with a strong tragic bent. His canvases are the works of a man who sees life within definite limits, but sees it all the same with surprising shrewdness and depth of insight. For him, the tragic is always coexistent with happiness, which he describes as the intensive quest for self-realization, and as a permanent emotional strain. According to the artist, the possibility of happiness necessarily presupposes one’s readiness for suffering. He does not reduce happiness to pleasure, as the pleasure does not require man’s courage. Therefore, the tragic is regarded as the property of the spirit and of the consciousness in which a man does not appear as a weak and pitiful creature. For Igor, every man is initially endowed with dignity, which is an important aspect of man’s freedom.