The pride of Russia: Russian scientists in painting. Who was Leonardo da Vinci? Multifaceted personality

Final test. Art. 8th grade

Tests:

1. What is art?

A) part of the spiritual culture of humanity

B) historical style

IN) folk art

2. What type of art is music?

A) to plastic B) to temporary

B) to spatial

3. What is an artistic image?

B) the artist’s fantasy

4. What is style in art?

A) artistic attitude artist

B) a generalized idea of ​​reality

C) handwriting, techniques, features

5. What is language in art?

A) ways of conveying an artistic image

B) verbal expression of the image

C) an insignificant phenomenon for art

6. Did art exist in Ancient Greece at odds with science?

A) yes B) no

7. What are the purposes of art and science?

A) different B) common

8. How many Muses did God Zeus have?

A) 3 B) 12 C) 9

9. In what era are all types artistic creativity united in art?

A) Classicism B) Baroque C) Renaissance

10. Who was Leonardo da Vinci? Multifaceted personality -...

A) artist, sculptor, architect, scientist, engineer, writer, anatomist

B) artist, architect, engineer, musician, doctor, anatomist, lawyer, scientist

11. Which drawing by Leonardo da Vinci symbolizes internal symmetry, divine proportion human body?

A) Mona Lisa B) Vitruvian Man C) Mona Lisa

12. What did A.S. Pushkin call art?

A) “magic nugget”

B) " magic crystal»

B) “fantastic stone”

13. Who owns the words from the poem “... Here it is not enough to hear, here you need to listen, so that the consonances of the soul will flow together... »

A) N. Rylenkov B) A. S. Pushkin B) M.Yu. Lermontov

14. What is the merit of Russian artists XIX century A. Savrasov, I. Levitan, I. Shishkin?

A) were impressionist artists

B) portrait artists

C) discovered the beauty of Russian nature

15. What is impressionism in art?

A) transmission of fleeting impressions

B) disclosure seascape

C) fantasy in painting

A) P.I.Tchaikovsky B) W.A.Mozart C) A.Vivaldi

17. What is the main task of a portrait artist?

A) exact copying external features person

B) pictorial re-creation of a person’s image

18. In which type of portrait is the main purpose of demonstration? social status hero?

A) chamber B) group C) ceremonial

“...Her eyes are like two fogs, half-smile, half-crying.

Her eyes are like two deceptions, covered with the mist of failure...” (N. Zabolotsky)

A) V.L. Borovikovsky B) F.S. Rokotov V) K.P. Bryullov

20. Who is the creator of the gallery fine arts in Moscow?

A) F. Rokotov B) P. Tretyakov C) M. Vrubel

21. Is it possible in music to resemble a specific person?

A) yes B) no

22. Is it possible to apply the expression “a person is hidden in intonation”?

A) yes B) no

23.What perfection does art achieve in a person?

A) sports B) emotional C) mental

24. What is the mission of artists different eras(painters, musicians, poets, architects)?

A) “Send” your messages to descendants

B) Celebrate your creativity

B) Development of professionalism

25. What famous museums of fine arts are located in St. Petersburg?

A) Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin, Tretyakov Gallery

B) National Art Gallery

B) Russian Museum, Hermitage

26. Which festival is a theater festival?

A) " New Opera"B)" Golden mask"B) "The Nutcracker"

27. What did A.S. Pushkin call translators of prose and poetry?

A) “The first swallows of art”

B) “Postal Horses of Enlightenment”

B) “Good News of Literature”

28. What is the code in works of art for communicating with people?

A) music B) paintings C) the language of art

29. What is a symbol in art?

A) external sign B) familiar

B) in an artistic way

30. What do artists strive to convey in vanitas still lifes?

A) the frailty of earthly vanity

B) joy Everyday life

31. How many sources does art have?

A) 1 B) 2 C) 3

32. Myth is...

A) symbolic action

B) the action of a priest, a minister of the church

IN) oral traditions

33. What is main meaning Andrei Rublev's icon "Trinity"?

A) Praise to the teacher Sergius of Radonezh

B) The unification of Rus' for the sake of freedom

34. What symbolic images are central in any culture?

A) family, sun, road

B) road, moon, sun

B) sun, tree, road

35. To which direction of art does the work of V.V. Kandinsky belong?

A) realism B) classicism

B) abstract art

36. What are the three properties of paints that, according to V.V. Kandinsky, play important role?

A) color, tone, intensity

B) tone, color, palette

C) palette, color, mood

37. What is it based on human culture?

A) truth, goodness, beauty

B) history, culture, morality

C) mutual respect, aesthetics, compassion

38. What are the laws of beauty?

A) harmony, form, melody, texture

B) harmony, symmetry, measure, proportion

B) harmony, rhythm, style, polyphony

39. What does art strive for in different eras?

A) create an image wonderful person

B) convey the reality of the world

B) educate humanity

40. What is the role of creativity in human life?

A) is the meaning of life

B) helps spiritual growth

B) makes life richer

41. What is the power of art?

A) in visuality B) in emotionality C) in depth

42. What are the benefits of beauty?

A) reveals the value of nature and life phenomena

B) reveals ideals

B) reveals historical values

43. What do they have in common? popular culture and art?

A) influence views and tastes
B) affect the psyche and health
C) affect education and morality

1. What is art? A) part of the spiritual
human culture
B) historical style
.
B) folk art

2. What type of art is music?

3. What is an artistic image?

4. What is style in art?

5. What is language in art?

6. Did art exist in Ancient Greece in a break with science?

7. What are the purposes of art and science?

8. How many Muses did God Zeus have?

9. In what era did all types of artistic creativity come together to form art?

10. Who was Leonardo da Vinci? Multifaceted personality

11. Which drawing by Leonardo da Vinci symbolizes internal symmetry, the divine proportion of the human body?

12. What did A.S. Pushkin call art?

13. What is the merit of Russian artists of the 19th century A. Savrasov, I. Levitan, I. Shishkin?

14. What is impressionism in art?

15. Who is the author of the piano cycle “The Seasons”?

16. What is the main task of a portrait artist?

17. Who is the author of the painting “Portrait of A. Struyskaya”?

18. Who is the creator of the fine arts gallery in Moscow?

19. Is it possible in music to resemble a specific person?

20. Is it possible to apply the expression “there is a person hidden in intonation”?

21. What is the mission of artists of different eras (painters, musicians, poets, architects)?

35 great Russian painters

Russia is famous for its artists. They made a huge contribution to world art, and their paintings break records at world auctions. Let's remember the best of the best. You yourself can influence how the seats are distributed.

Theophanes the Greek (about 1340 - about 1410)

Theophanes the Greek arrived in Novgorod as an already accomplished icon painter. He was born in Byzantium and painted the temples of Constantinople, Chalcedon, Genoese Galata and Kafa. Feofan painted the Church of the Transfiguration in Novgorod, where his frescoes and churches in the Moscow Kremlin are still preserved. In the Annunciation Cathedral, Theophanes the Greek created the first iconostasis in Russia, where the saints were depicted in full height. In addition to painting icons and painting temples, Theophanes the Greek also created miniatures for books and designed the Gospels.

Andrei Rublev (1360-1430)

Despite the fact that Andrei Rublev is the most famous Russian icon painter, we don’t know much about him. He received the name Andrei as a monk; his secular name is unknown. An unsurpassed masterpiece Rublev is traditionally considered to be an icon of the Holy Trinity, painted in the first quarter of the 15th century. Rublev was also one of the masters who painted the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, the Assumption Cathedral in Zvenigorod and the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Dionysius (c. 1440-1502)

The name of Dionysius personifies, perhaps, the best and greatest achievements of Moscow icon painting of the 15th-16th centuries. Continuing the tradition of Andrei Rublev, Dionysius painted many temples, but a true understanding of Dionysius’s style of writing can be obtained from the superbly preserved frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery on Beloozero. They have never been copied or undergone serious restoration.

Simon Ushakov (1626-1686)

A favorite of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Simon Ushakov was the first Russian icon painter to sign his icons. The period of “secularization” of icon painting (“Ushakov period”) is associated with his work. Ushakov was the author of more than 50 icons, and also taught his art to others. His student was Guriy Nikitin.

Gury Nikitin (1620-1691)

Nikitin is not a surname, it is a patronymic. Full name icon painter - Gury Nikitin (Nikitovich) Kineshemtsev. He painted the Archangel Cathedral in Moscow, painted icons for the Moscow Church of St. Gregory of Neocessary and led a group of icon painters who painted the Yaroslavl Church of Elijah the Prophet and the Kostroma Ipatiev Monastery.

Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)

Admiring contemporaries called Bryullov “the great, divine Charles” and “the second Raphael.” Belinsky dubbed Bryullov “the first artist of Europe.” The painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” has been recognized as a perfect masterpiece of the 19th century. Walter Scott sat for an hour watching it, after which he admitted: “This is not a painting, this is a whole poem.” Bryullov also depicted himself on the canvas - to the left of the center, with a box of paints and brushes.

Alexander Ivanov (1806-1858)

The most famous picture Alexander Ivanova - “The Appearance of Christ to the People.” The artist worked on it for more than 20 years. This is one of the most mysterious paintings in the history of Russian painting. It is interesting that in the mirror copy of the painting the Messiah does not go towards people, but leaves (removes) or passes by.
Ivanov also made watercolor sketches for the “Temple of Humanity” murals. These drawings became known only after the artist's death. This cycle entered the history of art under the name “ bible sketches" They were published more than 100 years ago in Berlin and have not been reprinted since then.

Ivan Kramskoy (1837-1887)

The Itinerant artist Ivan Kramskoy, the author of the painting “Christ in the Desert,” created one of the most mysterious paintings - “The Unknown Woman,” which is also often called “The Stranger.” With whomever they compared her. And with Anna Karenina, and with Nastalya Fillipovna, and with the artist’s daughter Sofia, and with the peasant woman Matryona Savvishna, who became the wife of the nobleman Bestuzhev, and with Princess Varvara Turkestanishvili, the maid of honor of Empress Maria Feodorovna, the favorite of Alexander I, to whom she gave birth to a daughter, and after committed suicide. There are a lot of versions, but “The Stranger” is still a stranger.

Alexey Savrasov (1830-1897)

Alexey Savrasov is a great Russian landscape painter, Itinerant artist and teacher of Levitan, Korovin and Nesterov, but he is often called “an artist of one picture.” We are, of course, talking about the painting “The Rooks Have Arrived”. Isaac Levitan wrote about his teacher: “With Savrasov, lyricism in landscape painting and boundless love for one’s life appeared. native land <…>and this undoubted merit of his will never be forgotten in the field of Russian art.”

Ivan Shishkin (1832-1898)

The most famous Russian landscape painter, Ivan Shishkin, was called the “forest hero-artist”, “king of the forest”, “old forest man”. One of the iconic paintings of Shishkin’s paintings was the painting “Morning in pine forest" To be fair, it should be said that the bears in the painting were painted by the artist Savitsky, but Pavel Tretyakov erased his signature, so Shishkin is often indicated as the author of the painting.
IN Soviet time this picture began to be called “Three Bears” (although there are four of them in the picture), because of the brand of chocolate of the same name from the Red October factory.

Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900)

Ivan Aivazovsky is an unsurpassed marine painter and one of the most dear artists. In 2012, at the British auction Sotheby's, his painting “View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus” was sold for 3 million 230 thousand pounds sterling, which translated into rubles is more than 153 million.

Isaac Levitan (1860-1900)

Isaac Levitan is a master of “mood landscape” and the most meditative paintings in Russian art. Levitan's masterpiece "Above Eternal Peace" is called "the most Russian painting." The artist painted it to the sounds of the funeral march from Beethoven’s “Eroic Symphony”. One of Levitan’s friends called this painting “a requiem for himself.”

Arkhip Kuindzhi (1842-1910)

Some called Kuindzhi the “Russian Monet” for his masterly exploration of the possibilities of paint. Others accused the artist of striving for cheap effects and using secret techniques, such as hidden illumination of the canvases. In the end, at the peak of the noise around his name, Arkhip Ivanovich simply went into voluntary exile for 30 years.

Vasily Surikov (1848-1916)

For his masterful mastery of composition techniques, artist friends in St. Petersburg called the hereditary Cossack Vasily Surikov a “composer,” but in academic circles Surikov for a long time they criticized him precisely for the crowdedness of his compositions, for the “mess” of characters’ faces, and contemptuously called his canvases “brocade carpets.” History has put everything in its place - Surikov is still considered consummate master painting, and his historical paintings are among the most realistic.

Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910)

One of the most tragic Russian artists, Vrubel was called the creator of art close in nature to night dreams. About the artist’s passion for the image of the Demon Alexander Benois said: “It is believed that the Prince of Peace posed for him... His madness was the logical conclusion of his demonism.”

Vrubel had an amazing psychological property - eidetism. This special kind visual figurative memory, when a person does not remember, does not imagine an object or image in his mind, but sees it, as in a photograph or on a screen.

Valentin Serov (1865-1911)

Friends called Valentin Serov “Antosha” - that was his home nickname. Famous artist became after the publication of his masterpieces - “Girls with Peaches” and “Girl Illuminated by the Sun”. The first picture depicted Savva Mamontov’s daughter Vera, the second picture cousin Serov himself Mashenka Simonovich.

Konstantin Makovsky (1839-1915)

Some called Konstantin Makovsky a harbinger of Russian impressionism, others believed that he was betraying the ideals of the Wanderers, but, despite critical assessments, Makovsky was one of the most sought after and highly paid artists of its time. At the 1889 World Exhibition in Paris, he received a Grand Gold Medal for his paintings “The Death of Ivan the Terrible,” “The Judgment of Paris,” and “The Demon and Tamara.”

Leon Bakst (1866-1924)

Leon Bakst is one of the brightest representatives Russian Art Nouveau, artist, set designer, master of easel painting and theatrical graphics. The European success of the famous “Russian Seasons” is the merit of Bakst to the same extent as the merit of Sergei Diaghilev. Bakst was Marc Chagall's teacher and a trendsetter in Parisian fashion.

Viktor Vasnetsov (1842-1926)

Viktor Vasnetsov is a great Russian artist, painter and architect, master of historical and folklore painting. He was called “the true hero of Russian painting.” For most, Vasnetsov is the creator of the world of Russian fairy tales and epics, but he was also seriously involved in architecture (facade Tretyakov Gallery) and created postage stamps.

Boris Kustodiev (1878-1927)

Alexander Benois was convinced that “the real Kustodiev is a Russian fair, “big-eyed” calicoes, a barbaric “fight of colors”, a Russian suburb and a Russian village, with their accordions, gingerbread cookies, dressed-up girls and dashing guys.” One cannot help but recall the “Kustodiev women” - the type of Russian beauties created by Boris Mikhailovich. In 1912, Kustodiev began work on a gallery of unsurpassed female images. In 1915, “The Merchant’s Wife” and “The Beauty” were released - unique images Russian beauty.

Ilya Repin (1844-1930)

Ilya Repin is a brilliant portrait painter, master of everyday sketches and creator of scandalous historical paintings. Newspaper workers enthusiastically wrote about the work of the still young Repin “Barge Haulers on the Volga”. Some spectators scolded her, others admired her. The painting aroused keen interest among Dostoevsky and Perov, and yet some called it “the greatest profanation of art.”

Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935)

Kazimir Malevich is the “father of Suprematism” and the creator of the “Black Square”, which became a symbol of the avant-garde. Despite experiments in almost all genres of painting, the artist himself considered “Black Square” his main picture Therefore, during Malevich’s funeral, the image of the square was everywhere - on the coffin, in the hall of the civil funeral service, and even on the train carriage carrying the artist’s body to Moscow. This is what the artist himself bequeathed.

Petrov-Vodkin (1878-1939)

Petrov-Vodkin “made his mark” in a variety of genres - from icon painting to theatrical graphics and modernism. One of the artist’s masterpieces is the painting “Bathing the Red Horse,” painted by him in 1912. From the very beginning, it caused numerous disputes, in which it was invariably mentioned that such horses do not exist. However, the artist claimed that he adopted this color from ancient Russian icon painters.
In 1928, in Venice, the painting “The Death of a Commissar” by Petrov-Vodkin made an indelible impression on Benedetto Mussolini, who visited the Soviet pavilion.

Konstantin Korovin (1861-1939)

Chief Representative Russian impressionism, Konstantin Korovin worked as a camouflage consultant at the headquarters of the Russian army during the First World War. At the same time, despite harsh reality, Korovin manages to paint pictures about the “beautiful era”. It is not for nothing that Korovin is called a painter of joy and happiness.

Pavel Filonov (1883-1941)

Khlebnikov's friend, Pavel Filonov - one of the most original and impressive artists of the Soviet avant-garde, founder of the theory analytical art. He likened a painting to a living organism and believed that it should develop and be updated as it is created. Filonov never sold his paintings, although there was a demand for them. During the siege of Leningrad, he was personally on duty in the icy attic of his house, protecting his paintings from incendiary bombs. This is what destroyed him. In the first year of the blockade, he caught a cold in the cold and a few days later, on December 3, 1941, he died of pneumonia.

El Lissitzky (1890-1941)

Lazar Markovich Lisitsky - Soviet artist and architect. Known for his Suprematist works and projects of “paper” architecture. Lissitzky developed compositions that he called “prouns.” They were Suprematist three-dimensional figures. Subsequently, prouns became the basis for furniture design, theater layout projects, and decorative spatial installations.

Mikhail Nesterov (1862-1942)

Mikhail Nesterov is an outstanding Russian painter. He "avoided portraying strong passions", giving preference to a quiet landscape and a person "living inner life" His first painting from the cycle about the life of Sergius of Radonezh, “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew,” in which easel painting includes elements of icon painting, raised a lot of questions among critics. The golden glow around the schema-monk’s head gave rise to controversy not only among spectators who saw the painting at the next exhibition of the Wanderers, but also among fellow artists, some of whom called the painting “harmful.”

Aristarkh Lentulov (1882-1943)

A tireless experimenter, Aristarkh Lentulov worked in almost all genres and styles. In the spirit of expressionism he wrote “Three male figures" In the style of Cezanne - “Landscape with trees and a red tower.” Was one of the organizers of the new creative group - « Jack of Diamonds" Lentulov was called one of the fathers of the Russian avant-garde, and critics joked: for Lentulov, any object is a ready-made still life. Once, for example, he was so inspired by progress that he dedicated a painting... to the water supply system.

Wassily Kandinsky (1855-1944)

The founder of abstract art, founder of the Blue Rider group, Wassily Kandinsky, emigrated from Russia in 1921. In Berlin, he taught painting, became a prominent theoretician of the Bauhaus school, and soon received global recognition as one of the leaders abstract art. In 1939, Kandinsky received French citizenship. Since 2007, the Kandinsky Prize has been awarded annually in Russia. The artist’s painting “Sketch for Improvisation No. 8” was sold at Christie’s auction for a record amount for Russian art - $23 million.

Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947)

Ironically, the apologist Ancient Rus' and the creator of historical paintings, Nicholas Roerich, became the discoverer of the East for Russia. His Himalayan cycle, created during the Central Asian expedition, brought Roerich world recognition and became the basis for his religious and philosophical teaching “Living Ethics”.

Natalia Goncharova (1881-1962)

Natalya Sergeevna Goncharova is the great-grandniece of Pushkin’s wife, a Russian avant-garde artist who made a significant contribution to the development of avant-garde art in Russia. As of 2009, her paintings are worth more than the work of any other artist in history. Gonarova more than once encountered misunderstanding and strict censorship, to which she reacted philosophically: “If I have clashes with society, it is only because of misunderstanding latest basics art in general, and not because of my individual characteristics, which no one is obliged to understand.”

Mikhail Larionov (1881-1964)

Mikhail Larionov is one of the founders of the Russian avant-garde, companion and husband of Natalia Goncharova. In 1912, Larionov created a new artistic concept - rayism, one of the first examples of abstract art in the category of so-called “non-objective creativity”, where forms were formed as a result of the intersection of rays reflected from various objects.

Alexander Deineka (1899-1969)

Alexander Deineka is one of the most famous Soviet artists, the creator of monumental paintings with no less monumental heroes - ordinary Soviet people, athletes, soldiers, sailors. This year, Alexander Deineka’s painting “Behind the Curtain” was sold at MacDougall’s London auction for 2 million 248 thousand pounds.

Ilya Glazunov (born 1930)

Ilya Glazunov - founder and rector Russian Academy painting, sculpture and architecture, Full Cavalier Order "For Merit to the Fatherland". Glazunov is not only an artist and illustrator (illustrations for Dostoevsky’s novels, Blok’s works), but also a globalist artist. He created the interior of the Soviet embassy in Madrid, participated in the restoration and reconstruction of the Moscow Kremlin buildings, including the Grand Kremlin Palace.

Ilya Kabakov (born 1933)

Conceptualist Ilya Kabakov, an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts, is the most expensive Russian painter. His painting "Beetle" was sold at the Phillips de Pury auction in London for $5.8 million. Kabakov has been an illustrator for a long time. Since 1956, he collaborated with the publishing house "Detgiz" and such magazines as "Murzilka", "Malysh", "Funny Pictures".

It is not without reason that they say that true poetry is the sister of philosophy; there is even philosophy in the images, and this is fully applicable to the paintings of V.M. Vasnetsova...

John Solovyov, theologian

Victor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1848-1926)one of the most famous Russians artists of the XIX century. They called him“a true hero of Russian painting.”He was the first among painters to turn to epic fairy-tale subjects. Since childhood, we have been familiar with his paintings “Alyonushka”, “Bogatyrs”, “Ivan Tsarevich on Gray wolf"etc. For contemporaries“Vasnetsov’s main merit was that -according to Alexandre Benois, -he destroyed the terrible prejudices that fettered the opinion of our society and in particular our artists.”

Vasnetsov was one of the first masters of Russian painting, for whom the frames of an easel painting became cramped and who "turned to decoration of life», took up the most diverse areas of art - theatrical scenery, architecture, applied art and illustration, which was inexplicable for many at that time and was perceived as "exchange of talent." Meanwhile, turning to new subjects in easel painting and non-easel* creativity, Vasnetsov came to the solution of fundamentally new problems, the central one of which was the task of creating a single, encompassing different types art, style based on national traditions.

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was born on May 15, 1848 in the Vyatka village of Lopyal into a large patriarchal family of a village priest. Soon the family moved to the village of Ryabovo, where the artist spent his childhood. He began to draw early, but according to tradition, sons were supposed to inherit their father’s profession, and in 1858 the boy was sent to religious school, and soon transferred to the Vyatka Theological Seminary.

The Vyatka province was then famous for its local artists. What masters and craftswomen did not do: embroidery, wood carving, painted spoons and furniture, painted clay toys, famous Vyatka gingerbread cookies - all this could be seen by an inquisitive and inquisitive boy.

The nature of the region with hilly copses and taiga dense forests, winding rivers and wide plains concealed a special charm and charm. It was impossible not to love her, not to become attached to her with your heart. From childhood, Vasnetsov heard epics and fairy tales about Russian heroes, lingering sad songs that women sang at gatherings in the light of splinters. This could not but influence the formation of the future artist’s worldview and the development of his talent. It was in Vyatka that his passionate attachment to art, to folk epic.

Using every free minute at the seminary, Vasnetsov drew with enthusiasm, and this passion soon became for him not only joy and relaxation, but also the main goal in life. Vasnetsov did not become a priest, as his father dreamed. On last year Seminary, the young man decided that he would leave Vyatka for St. Petersburg and enter the Academy of Arts.

Having performed two genre pictures - "Thrush" And "Reaper"(1867) - and having played them in the lottery, Vasnetsov used the proceeds to go to St. Petersburg and begin studying at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, and in 1868 he became a student at the Academy. Forced to earn money for a living, Vasnetsov gives private lessons and illustrates various publications.

The artist’s friendship with Repin, Antokolsky, Kramskoy, and Stasov began at the Academy. Of the academic teachers, Vasnetsov forever remembered P.P. Chistyakov, who immediately sensed the young man’s remarkable talent and worked with him, encouraging him during failures and rejoicing in his victories. “Conversations with Pavel brought a lot of warmth and light into my life Petrovich Chistyakov», – the artist recalled.

In 1870, the father of the Vasnetsov brothers died. Twenty-two-year-old Victor and his brother Nikolai became the eldest in the family and now had to take care of their younger brothers. Arriving in his native village of Ryabovo for the funeral, Victor saw drawings of one of younger brothers, Apollinaria. They decided that Apollinaris also needed to study art, and after some time Victor took him with him to St. Petersburg. Thanks to the influence and help of Viktor Mikhailovich, Apollinary Vasnetsov became a wonderful artist.

Viktor Mikhailovich spent seven years within the walls of the academy, from 1868 to 1875. During this time, he acquired the skill of an artist, mastered the technique of painting and honed his talent.

His first paintings - "Beggars", "Tea Party", "Worker with a Wheelbarrow", “The old woman feeds the chickens”, “Children ruin the nests”– were shown in 1872–1874 at exhibitions of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. These works revealed the qualities characteristic of Vasnetsov: observation and enormous interest in the life of the people. The next two works are « Bookstore» (1876, Tretyakov Gallery), "From apartment to apartment"(1876, Tretyakov Gallery) - secured his position as a genre artist, knowledgeable about life who knows how to reproduce it expressively and vividly.

The film was a particular success "From apartment to apartment" on which the artist had been working since 1875. The fate of the poor, lonely old people, thrown out onto the street on a cold frosty day, looking for shelter, worried the artist. Deep sadness emanates from the picture, which tells about homeless old age, about the tragedy that no one knows the right people. "I think,– wrote Stasov, – Each of us has met such people. What poor people, what sad human nature!.. A wonderful picture!”

In 1876, Vasnetsov, on the urgent advice of friends, went abroad. Having settled in the vicinity of Paris, he works a lot on location, he is attracted by people's lives"simple classes"– workers, peasants; He constantly sketches them in his album. The result of these observations was the picture"Booths in the vicinity of Paris"(1877, Russian Museum).

In 1878, after returning to his homeland, Vasnetsov and his family moved to Moscow. “When I arrived in Moscow,- he wrote, - then I felt that I had arrived home and had nowhere else to go, “The Kremlin, St. Basil’s made me almost cry, to such an extent all this breathed on my soul like family, unforgettable.” Here he turns to new topics: Russian folk epic, fairy tale, native history. This transition from genre painting to history was not unexpected in the artist’s work. While still at the Academy of Arts, Vasnetsov performed a number of sketches on the themes of Russian epics, made a sketch "Princely icon-painting workshop."

"The opposition of genre and history, - he wrote, - in my soul there was never, and therefore no turning point or any transitional struggle occurred in me... I was always convinced that in genre and historical paintings... in a fairy tale, song, epic, drama, the whole the whole appearance of a people, internal and external, with past and present, and maybe also future... The bad people are those who do not remember, do not appreciate and do not love their history.”

First historical picture “After the massacre of Igor Svyatoslavich with the Polovtsians”(1880, Tretyakov Gallery) was exhibited at the Eighth Traveling Exhibition. The poetic legend “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” attracted Vasnetsov with its mighty epic force. Having decided to resurrect the pages of the immortal poem, the artist studies history, visits the Armory, makes many preparatory sketches, and searches for the most successful solution to the theme.

Victor Vasnetsov “After the massacre of Igor Svyatoslavich with the Polovtsians” (1880, Tretyakov Gallery)

Gradually, from sketches that show the fury of the battle, the tension of the fight, Vasnetsov moves on to creating a majestic and solemn tragedy of the battle. Trying to convey deep meaning poem, its heroic sound, the artist depicts fallen warriors as if sleeping among the endless southern steppe, illuminated by the reflections of the rising moon.

The artist’s creative style has changed noticeably. From small, carefully painted paintings, he turned to large monumental canvases, to broad free painting. Instead of dark gray-brown tones early paintings sonorous, but at the same time restrained, yellow, blue, red and gray-green colors appear. The picture did not meet with universal approval. Some, like P.P. Chistyakov, were delighted, considering her “an unusually wonderful, new and deep poetic thing”, others reacted to it more than indifferently, not understanding Vasnetsov’s innovation.

In Moscow, the artist becomes close to the family of a famous philanthropist, wealthy industrialist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov, who has grouped around himself the color of the Russian intelligentsia. In the summer, many artists moved to Abramtsevo, Mamontov’s estate near Moscow, where performances were staged, scenery was painted, and churches were erected. Here the artists worked a lot and fruitfully. In 1881, in Abramtsevo, Vasnetsov wrote one of his best works - "Alyonushka"(Tretyakov Gallery) - based on the plot of a Russian fairy tale.

The touching tenderness and deep poetry of the tale excited the sensitive, responsive heart of the artist. Not a literal reproduction fairy tale plot, and deep penetration into his emotional structure distinguishes Vasnetsov’s painting. The girl’s frozen pose, bowed head, brown hair scattered over her shoulders, a look full of sadness - everything speaks of Alyonushka’s melancholy and grief. Nature is in tune with her mood, it’s as if she is grieving along with the girl. Slender birches and young fir trees surrounding Alyonushka seem to protect her from evil world. The painting “Alyonushka” is one of the first in Russian art, where the poetry of folk tales is inextricably fused with the poetry and sincerity of native Russian nature.

In Abramtsevo, Vasnetsov took part in the creation scenery for the fairy tale play “The Snow Maiden”, which it was decided to stage in 1881 on the Mamontov amateur stage. The performance was to be performed by members of the Mammoth circle. Vasnetsov got the role of Father Frost.Viktor Mikhailovich composed humorous poems about his performance:

Yes, I wrote poetry

Those were poems, not prose!

Ah, my sins, my sins -

Vasnetsov’s elegant decorations brought to the viewer the charm of a poetic fairy tale. "Never before has a fantasy– Stasov wrote about the scenery of “Berendey’s Chamber”, – didn't go that far or that deep in recreating architectural forms and ornaments of Ancient Rus', fabulous, legendary, epic.” Stasov ensured that the scenery was transferred to a large, professional stage of Mamontov’s private opera. In Abramtsevo, Vasnetsov also acted as an architect: according to his designs, a small church-tomb, “a hut on chicken legs,” was built. In the early 1900s, the facade of the Tretyakov Gallery building and a number of private houses were made according to the artist’s drawings.

One of his significant works is extremely interesting - Frieze "Stone Age", created by Vasnetsov for Moscow Historical Museum. Proposal from historian A.S. Vasnetsov initially categorically rejected Uvarov to complete a painting dedicated to the people of the Stone Age. But he soon agreed to fulfill the order and immediately got to work: he studied historical materials, talked with archaeologists, trying to imagine the life of his distant ancestors.The artist’s son recalled that work on the painting did not stop at home:“Many interesting things appeared in the house - a piece of mammoth tusk, an elk horn, a Stone Age ax and other things needed for a Stone Age painting.”

The frieze is divided into three scenes: the labor of people, the hunt for a mammoth and the feast after the victory over the mammoth. In the labor scene, Vasnetsov shows primitive people at their daily occupations: they carve stone tools, sculpt pottery, carve a boat from a tree trunk. The powerful figure of the leader with a stern and strong-willed face rises above the entire scene.

But here we have another scene: people have caught a huge mammoth in a hole dug in the ground and are trying to kill it by throwing stones, shooting spears and arrows. A huge beast roars, trying to defend itself, sharp, heavy tusks fly into the air, people with faces distorted from tension attack the monster. The hunt ended in victory - and now the meat is roasting on the fire, people are singing some wild songs, dancing around the fire to the sound of screams and the rhythmic knocking sound made by hitting bone against bone.For about two years, both in Moscow and Abramtsevo, work continued on the twenty-five-meter frieze, and only on April 10, 1885, the artist completed it.

“The impression made on contemporaries” Stone Age», – wrote I. Grabar, - Perhaps, it can only be compared with the impression once made by K. Bryullov’s “Pompeii.”

Vasnetsov's gift as a monumentalist, manifested in these friezes, is so obvious that in the same year (1885) he was invited to Kyiv to participate in decorative works for newly built Vladimir Cathedral. The paintings, according to Vasnetsov’s plan, were to become a monument to ancient Rus', so the main place in them was given to images of princes - Vladimir, Andrei Bogolyubsky, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, etc. Vasnetsov covered the walls of the cathedral with ornamental decorations in which fantastic flowers and strange animals were intertwined in fancy colorful patterns. It was difficult to carry out the work: the church fathers demanded an official and traditional solution for paintings, and the artist could not abandon his perception of the world, his living, realistic vision. From the walls of the Vladimir Cathedral, it was not the conventional faces of saints that looked down, but the truly and naturally brave, powerful Russian people, champions of freedom and justice.

The intense work in the cathedral did not prevent Vasnetsov from implementing other creative ideas. In 1889 he painted"Ivan Tsarevich on the Gray Wolf"(Tretyakov Gallery) and presented it on a mobile art exhibition, made illustrations for"Song about the merchant Kalashnikov" (1891).

In 1891, Vasnetsov and his family returned from Kyiv to Moscow and settled near Abramtsevo. With the help of P.M. Tretyakov, who bought the artist’s paintings and sketches, and S.I. Mamontova Vasnetsov is fulfilling a long-time dream - he is building a workshop according to his design. Here he gets to work on the painting "Bogatyrs" a sketch for which was made many years ago. His painting appears at the Tenth Traveling Exhibition in 1897 "Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible"(TG).

On my first personal exhibition in 1898 Vasnetsov showed “Bogatyrs”, work on which lasted about twenty years. The painting, designed in a monumental and decorative way, recreates the images of three people’s favorite heroes epic epic: Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. Each of them has individual characteristics.

Striving for a monumental solution, Vasnetsov slightly raises the horizon line, and the viewer looks, as if from below, at the horsemen, whose clear silhouettes stand out against the background of light clouds. Bright and sonorous colors – green, brown, red, white, blue – are subtly and nobly combined, giving a special decorative quality to the canvas. The landscape, with its vast expanse, gentle hills, meadows overgrown with wild grass, is united by smooth and calm rhythms with the figures of heroes.

“I believe that Vasnetsov’s “Bogatyrs” occupy one of the first places in the history of Russian painting,” – expressed the general opinion of V.V. Stasov. Comparing Repin’s “Burlakov” with “Bogatyrs”, Stasov wrote: “And here and there – all the strength and mighty might of the Russian people. Only this force there is oppressed and still trampled... and here is a triumphant force, calm and important, not afraid of anyone and doing itself, of its own free will, what it likes, what it seems to be necessary for everyone, for the people.”

One of the most famous architectural projects of V.M. Vasnetsov became new facade of the Tretyakov Gallery, created in 1901, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov spent his whole life collecting his collection of Russian art in order to donate it to the city of Moscow. During the life of the collector, it was in his house on Lavrushinsky Lane. After the death of Pavel Mikhailovich and his wife, the gallery’s Board of Trustees decided to partially rebuild the house so that the premises would better serve museum purposes. It was also decided to add a new façade.

Who could take on this work if not Viktor Vasnetsov, long years friends with the Tretyakov family? Who could better express the Russian national idea, which inspired Pavel Mikhailovich in his activities as a collector and philanthropist? Vasnetsov decided to do this work for free, out of respect for the memory of Tretyakov and thereby making his contribution to the noble cause of creation public museum Russian art.

This is how the well-known façade arose, looking like a fairy-tale tower with three entrance portals. Above the main entrance in the center of the facade there is a bas-relief depicting the coat of arms of Moscow - St. George the Victorious slaying a dragon with a spear. At the top of the facade there is an inscription telling about the gift of the brothers S.M. and P.M. Tretyakov. Above it is a patterned majolica frieze, made according to Vasnetsov’s drawings in Abramtsev’s ceramic workshop.

Victor Vasnetsov. Sketch of the facade of the Tretyakov Gallery (1901)

In the early 1900s, Vasnetsov performed numerous compositions on religious themes, works on several paintings simultaneously – "Accordion"(1910, State Russian Museum), "The Sleeping Princess", "The Frog Princess" (1918),

The artist’s creative imagination seemed inexhaustible. He had many plans, which, unfortunately, were not destined to come true. July 23, 1926 in Moscow, in his studio, working on a portrait of the artist M.V. Nesterov, Vasnetsov died.

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov lived a long life - seventy-eight years. He has come a long way: from the poor son of a priest from a remote Vyatka village to a great Russian artist. He achieved this through faith in his high calling, tireless daily work and the development of his talent. During his life, he decorated the Russian land with wonderful creations, and the images he created are imprinted in the heart of every Russian person.

Bakhrevsky, V. A. Viktor Vasnetsov [Sound recording]: life and creativity / V. A. Bakhrevsky. – M.: Logosvos, 1991. – 5 mfk., (16 hours 26 min.): 2.38 cm/s, 4 extra. – From the ed.: M.: Young Guard, 1989.

Bakhrevsky, V. A. Viktor Vasnetsov: biography [Text] / V. A. Bakhrevsky. – M.: Young Guard, 1989. – 364 p.

Dmitrenko A.F. 50 short biographies of masters of Russian art [Text] / A.F. Dmitrenko, E.V. Kuznetsova, O.F. Petrova, N.A. Fedorov. – Leningrad, 1971 – pp. 163-169.

Paston, E.V. Viktor Vasnetsov [Text] / E.V. Paston. – M.: Slovo, 1996. – 96 p.– (Art Gallery).

Russian painting: great masters. Part 1 P. Fedotov, V. Vasnetsov [Video recording]. – M.: Rise media, 1997. – 1st century. (90 min.).

Man from the Moon: diaries, letters, articles of Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay [Sound recording] / read by V. Sushkov. Kosygin / V. I. Andriyanov; read by Yu. Zaborovsky. Viktor Vasnetsov / V. A. Bakhrevsky; read by S. Repin. Yuri Gagarin / L. Danilkin; read by S. Kirsanov. – M.: Logosvos, 2012. – 1 fk., (73 hours 40 min.).

Theophanes the Greek (about 1340 - about 1410)

Theophanes the Greek arrived in Novgorod as an already accomplished icon painter. He was born in Byzantium and painted the temples of Constantinople, Chalcedon, Genoese Galata and Kafa. Feofan painted the Church of the Transfiguration in Novgorod, where his frescoes and churches in the Moscow Kremlin are still preserved. In the Annunciation Cathedral, Theophanes the Greek created the first iconostasis in Russia, where the saints were depicted in full height. In addition to painting icons and painting temples, Theophanes the Greek also created miniatures for books and designed the Gospels.

Andrei Rublev (1360-1430)


Despite the fact that Andrei Rublev is the most famous Russian icon painter, we don’t know much about him. He received the name Andrei as a monk; his secular name is unknown. The icon of the Holy Trinity, painted in the first quarter of the 15th century, is traditionally considered to be Rublev's unsurpassed masterpiece. Rublev was also one of the masters who painted the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, the Assumption Cathedral in Zvenigorod and the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Dionysius (c. 1440-1502)


The name of Dionysius personifies, perhaps, the best and greatest achievements of Moscow icon painting of the 15th-16th centuries. Continuing the tradition of Andrei Rublev, Dionysius painted many temples, but a true understanding of Dionysius’s style of writing can be obtained from the superbly preserved frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery on Beloozero. They have never been copied or undergone serious restoration.

Simon Ushakov (1626-1686)


A favorite of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Simon Ushakov was the first Russian icon painter to sign his icons. The period of “secularization” of icon painting (“Ushakov period”) is associated with his work. Ushakov was the author of more than 50 icons, and also taught his art to others. His student was Guriy Nikitin.

Gury Nikitin (1620-1691)


Nikitin is not a surname, it is a patronymic. The full name of the icon painter is Gury Nikitin (Nikitovich) Kineshemtsev. He painted the Archangel Cathedral in Moscow, painted icons for the Moscow Church of St. Gregory of Neocessary and led a group of icon painters who painted the Yaroslavl Church of Elijah the Prophet and the Kostroma Ipatiev Monastery.

Karl Bryullov (1799-1852)


Admiring contemporaries called Bryullov “the great, divine Charles” and “the second Raphael.” Belinsky dubbed Bryullov “the first artist of Europe.” The painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” has been recognized as a perfect masterpiece of the 19th century. Walter Scott sat for an hour watching it, after which he admitted: “This is not a painting, this is a whole poem.” Bryullov also depicted himself on the canvas - to the left of the center, with a box of paints and brushes.

Alexander Ivanov (1806-1858)


The most famous painting by Alexander Ivanov is “The Appearance of Christ to the People.” The artist worked on it for more than 20 years. This is one of the most mysterious paintings in the history of Russian painting. It is interesting that in the mirror copy of the painting the Messiah does not go towards people, but leaves (removes) or passes by.

Ivanov also made watercolor sketches for the “Temple of Humanity” murals. These drawings became known only after the artist's death. This cycle entered the history of art under the name “biblical sketches”. They were published more than 100 years ago in Berlin and have not been reprinted since then.

Ivan Kramskoy (1837-1887)


The Itinerant artist Ivan Kramskoy, the author of the painting “Christ in the Desert,” created one of the most mysterious paintings - “The Unknown Woman,” which is also often called “The Stranger.” With whomever they compared her. And with Anna Karenina, and with Nastalya Fillipovna, and with the artist’s daughter Sofia, and with the peasant woman Matryona Savvishna, who became the wife of the nobleman Bestuzhev, and with Princess Varvara Turkestanishvili, the maid of honor of Empress Maria Feodorovna, the favorite of Alexander I, to whom she gave birth to a daughter, and after committed suicide. There are a lot of versions, but “The Stranger” is still a stranger.

Alexey Savrasov (1830-1897)


Alexey Savrasov is a great Russian landscape painter, Itinerant artist and teacher of Levitan, Korovin and Nesterov, but he is often called “an artist of one picture.” We are, of course, talking about the painting “The Rooks Have Arrived”. Isaac Levitan wrote about his teacher: “With Savrasov, lyricism in landscape painting and boundless love for his native land appeared<…>and this undoubted merit of his will never be forgotten in the field of Russian art.”

Ivan Shishkin (1832-1898)


The most famous Russian landscape painter, Ivan Shishkin, was called the “forest hero-artist”, “king of the forest”, “old forest man”. One of the iconic paintings of Shishkin’s paintings was the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest.” To be fair, it should be said that the bears in the painting were painted by the artist Savitsky, but Pavel Tretyakov erased his signature, so Shishkin is often indicated as the author of the painting.

In Soviet times, this picture began to be called “Three Bears” (although there are four of them in the picture), because of the brand of chocolate of the same name from the Red October factory.

Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900)


Ivan Aivazovsky is an unsurpassed marine painter and one of the most expensive artists. In 2012, at the British auction Sotheby's, his painting “View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus” was sold for 3 million 230 thousand pounds sterling, which translated into rubles is more than 153 million.

Isaac Levitan (1860-1900)


Isaac Levitan is a master of “mood landscapes” and the most meditative paintings in Russian art. Levitan's masterpiece "Above Eternal Peace" is called "the most Russian painting." The artist painted it to the sounds of the funeral march from Beethoven’s “Eroic Symphony”. One of Levitan’s friends called this painting “a requiem for himself.”

Arkhip Kuindzhi (1842-1910)


Some called Kuindzhi the “Russian Monet” for his masterly exploration of the possibilities of paint. Others accused the artist of striving for cheap effects and using secret techniques, such as hidden illumination of the canvases. In the end, at the peak of the noise around his name, Arkhip Ivanovich simply went into voluntary exile for 30 years.

Vasily Surikov (1848-1916)


For his masterful mastery of composition techniques, artist friends in St. Petersburg called the hereditary Cossack Vasily Surikov a “composer,” but in academic circles Surikov was criticized for a long time precisely for the crowded compositions, for the “mess” of characters’ faces, and his canvases were contemptuously called “brocade carpets.” History has put everything in its place - Surikov is still considered an unsurpassed master of painting, and his historical paintings are among the most realistic.

Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910)


One of the most tragic Russian artists, Vrubel was called the creator of art close in nature to night dreams. Alexander Benois said about the artist’s passion for the image of the Demon: “It is believed that the Prince of Peace posed for him... His madness was the logical conclusion of his demonism.”

Vrubel had an amazing psychological property - eidetism. This is a special type of visual figurative memory, when a person does not remember, does not imagine an object or image in his mind, but sees it, as in a photograph or on a screen.

Valentin Serov (1865-1911)


Friends called Valentin Serov “Antosha” - that was his home nickname. The artist became famous after the publication of his masterpieces - “Girls with Peaches” and “Girl Illuminated by the Sun.” The first picture depicted Savva Mamontov’s daughter Vera, the second picture showed Serov’s cousin Mashenka Simonovich.

Konstantin Makovsky (1839-1915)


Some called Konstantin Makovsky a harbinger of Russian impressionism, others believed that he was betraying the ideals of the Peredvizhniki movement, but, despite critical assessments, Makovsky was one of the most sought-after and highly paid artists of his time. At the 1889 World Exhibition in Paris, he received a Grand Gold Medal for his paintings “The Death of Ivan the Terrible,” “The Judgment of Paris,” and “The Demon and Tamara.”

Leon Bakst (1866-1924)

Leon Bakst is one of the brightest representatives of Russian Art Nouveau, artist, set designer, master of easel painting and theatrical graphics. The European success of the famous “Russian Seasons” is the merit of Bakst to the same extent as the merit of Sergei Diaghilev. Bakst was Marc Chagall's teacher and a trendsetter in Parisian fashion.

Viktor Vasnetsov (1842-1926)


Viktor Vasnetsov is a great Russian artist, painter and architect, master of historical and folklore painting. He was called “the true hero of Russian painting.” For most, Vasnetsov is the creator of the world of Russian fairy tales and epics, but he was also seriously involved in architecture (the facade of the Tretyakov Gallery) and created postage stamps.

Boris Kustodiev (1878-1927)


Alexander Benois was convinced that “the real Kustodiev is a Russian fair, “big-eyed” calicoes, a barbaric “fight of colors”, a Russian settlement and a Russian village, with their accordions, gingerbread cookies, dressed-up girls and dashing guys.” One cannot help but recall the “Kustodiev women” - the type of Russian beauties created by Boris Mikhailovich. In 1912, Kustodiev began work on a gallery of unsurpassed female images. In 1915, the world saw the release of “The Merchant’s Wife” and “The Beauty” - unique images of Russian beauty.

Ilya Repin (1844-1930)


Ilya Repin is a brilliant portrait painter, a master of everyday sketches and the creator of scandalous historical paintings. Newspaper workers enthusiastically wrote about the work of the still young Repin “Barge Haulers on the Volga”. Some spectators scolded her, others admired her. The painting aroused keen interest among Dostoevsky and Perov, and yet some called it “the greatest profanation of art.”

Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935)


Kazimir Malevich is the “father of Suprematism” and the creator of the “Black Square”, which became a symbol of the avant-garde. Despite experiments in almost all genres of painting, the artist himself considered “Black Square” to be his main painting, so during Malevich’s funeral the image of the square was everywhere - on the coffin, in the hall of the civil funeral service, and even on the train carriage carrying the artist’s body to Moscow. This is what the artist himself bequeathed.

Petrov-Vodkin (1878-1939)


Petrov-Vodkin “made his mark” in a variety of genres - from icon painting to theatrical graphics and modernism. One of the artist’s masterpieces is the painting “Bathing the Red Horse,” painted by him in 1912. From the very beginning, it caused numerous disputes, in which it was invariably mentioned that such horses do not exist. However, the artist claimed that he adopted this color from ancient Russian icon painters.

In 1928, in Venice, the painting “The Death of a Commissar” by Petrov-Vodkin made an indelible impression on Benedetto Mussolini, who visited the Soviet pavilion.

Konstantin Korovin (1861-1939)


The main representative of Russian impressionism, Konstantin Korovin, worked as a camouflage consultant at the headquarters of the Russian army during the First World War. At the same time, despite the harsh reality, Korovin manages to paint pictures about the “beautiful era”. It is not for nothing that Korovin is called a painter of joy and happiness.

Pavel Filonov (1883-1941)


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El Lissitzky (1890-1941)


Lazar Markovich Lisitsky - Soviet artist and architect. Known for his Suprematist works and projects of “paper” architecture. Lissitzky developed compositions that he called “prouns.” They were Suprematist three-dimensional figures. Subsequently, prouns became the basis for furniture design, theater layout projects, and decorative spatial installations.

Mikhail Nesterov (1862-1942)


Mikhail Nesterov is an outstanding Russian painter. He “avoided depicting strong passions,” preferring a quiet landscape and a person “living an inner life.” His first painting from the cycle about the life of Sergius of Radonezh, “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew,” in which easel painting includes elements of icon painting, raised a lot of questions among critics. The golden glow around the schema-monk’s head gave rise to controversy not only among spectators who saw the painting at the next exhibition of the Wanderers, but also among fellow artists, some of whom called the painting “harmful.”

Aristarkh Lentulov (1882-1943)


A tireless experimenter, Aristarkh Lentulov worked in almost all genres and styles. In the spirit of expressionism he wrote “Three Male Figures”. In the style of Cezanne - “Landscape with trees and a red tower.” He was one of the organizers of a new creative group - “Jack of Diamonds”. Lentulov was called one of the fathers of the Russian avant-garde, and critics joked: for Lentulov, any object is a ready-made still life. Once, for example, he was so inspired by progress that he dedicated a painting... to the water supply system.

Wassily Kandinsky (1855-1944)


The founder of abstract art, founder of the Blue Rider group, Wassily Kandinsky, emigrated from Russia in 1921. In Berlin, he taught painting, became a prominent theoretician of the Bauhaus school, and soon received worldwide recognition as one of the leaders of abstract art. In 1939, Kandinsky received French citizenship. Since 2007, the Kandinsky Prize has been awarded annually in Russia. The artist’s painting “Sketch for Improvisation No. 8” was sold at Christie’s auction for a record amount for Russian art - $23 million.

Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947)


Ironically, the apologist of Ancient Rus' and creator of historical paintings, Nicholas Roerich, became the discoverer of the East for Russia. His Himalayan cycle, created during the Central Asian expedition, brought Roerich world recognition and became the basis for his religious and philosophical teaching “Living Ethics”.

Natalia Goncharova (1881-1962)


Natalya Sergeevna Goncharova is the great-grandniece of Pushkin’s wife, a Russian avant-garde artist who made a significant contribution to the development of avant-garde art in Russia. As of 2009, her paintings are worth more than the work of any other artist in history. Gonarova more than once encountered misunderstanding and strict censorship, to which she reacted philosophically: “If I have clashes with society, it is only because of the latter’s lack of understanding of the fundamentals of art in general, and not because of my individual characteristics, which no one understands.” must".

Mikhail Larionov (1881-1964)


Mikhail Larionov is one of the founders of the Russian avant-garde, companion and husband of Natalia Goncharova. In 1912, Larionov created a new artistic concept - rayism, one of the first examples of abstract art in the category of so-called “non-objective creativity”, where forms were formed as a result of the intersection of rays reflected from various objects.

Alexander Deineka (1899-1969)


Alexander Deineka is one of the most famous Soviet artists, the creator of monumental paintings with no less monumental heroes - ordinary Soviet people, athletes, soldiers, sailors. This year, Alexander Deineka’s painting “Behind the Curtain” was sold at MacDougall’s London auction for 2 million 248 thousand pounds.

Ilya Glazunov (born 1930)


Ilya Glazunov is the founder and rector of the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Full Recipient of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland. Glazunov is not only an artist and illustrator (illustrations for Dostoevsky’s novels, Blok’s works), but also a globalist artist. He created the interior of the Soviet embassy in Madrid, participated in the restoration and reconstruction of the Moscow Kremlin buildings, including the Grand Kremlin Palace.

Ilya Kabakov (born 1933)

Conceptualist Ilya Kabakov, an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts, is the most expensive Russian painter. His painting "Beetle" was sold at the Phillips de Pury auction in London for $5.8 million. Kabakov has been an illustrator for a long time. Since 1956, he collaborated with the publishing house "Detgiz" and such magazines as "Murzilka", "Malysh", "Funny Pictures".