In ancient times, there was such a legend - you can’t draw or play the devil on stage, otherwise the one who disobeyed will be severely punished. “Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?"

Initially, the direction of symbolism was inherent in literature. But at the endIn the 19th century, this trend was born in France in the fine arts, and in the 20th century it gained popularity among Russian artists.

Symbolism in Russia is associated with a number of well-known names: N. Roerich, V. Serov, M. Vrubel. A characteristic feature of their painting is the concentration on the mystery and mystery of the object. Russian painters of the Silver Age are interested in the mental anguish of the characters, as well as scenes of mythological themes. This style closely associated with romanticism.

Despite his great gift, Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel was never understood during his lifetime. Like all symbolists, his painting was filled with mystery. A rare gift that bordered on insanity. The artist paid a considerable price for his talent. In the work of M.A. Vrubel traces the problem of "demonism". In other words, an appeal to the destruction of established values.

The study of creativity M.A. Vrubel was studied by many famous figures, including art historians, artists, and writers. Opinions about the work of the artist were divided. Some considered him mediocrity and a charlatan, others a genius.

The great Russian writer Maxim Gorky was critical of the work of M. Vrubel, and the Russian music and art critic V. Stasov called demons "terrifying examples of impermissible and repulsive decadence."

Tamara and Demon. 1890-1891. Illustration for M.Yu. Lermontov's poem "The Demon"

Vrubel received laudatory reviews from F.A. Usoltsev, a well-known Russian psychiatrist, the founder of a private hospital in which the artist was treated:

“Often I heard that Vrubel's work is a sick work. I studied Vrubel for a long time and carefully, and I believe that his work is not only quite normal, but also powerful and durable, that even a terrible illness could not destroy it. He was a real creator-artist, he knew nature, understood its colors and knew how to convey them, but he was not her slave, but rather a rival.

An unbiased and detailed assessment of M. Vrubel's painting was given by the world-famous Russian artist and art historian Alexander Nikolaevich Benois. In his book The History of Russian Painting in the 19th Century, he analyzed Vrubel's work:

“Of the artists who advanced to the very Lately, Vrubel caused the greatest talk. Vrubel for most people, even very closely following Russian painting, is still a mystery. In part, however, this depends on the fact that, until recently, he rarely and far from fully appeared at exhibitions, but, on the other hand, even the little that the public managed to see from the artist’s works rather confused than pleased her.

M.A. Vrubel was born on March 5, 1856 in a military family. The mother of the future artist died when he was barely three years old. Vrubel grew up as an inquisitive child, from childhood he was interested in music, theater, fine arts, he studied Latin in depth and read the works of ancient Roman poets in the original. At the insistence of his father, art was relegated to the background, and in 1874 M.A. Vrubel entered the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University in order to get a working profession. But in 1880 he was still enrolled in the Academy of Arts.

While studying at the Academy, M.A. Vrubel spends a lot of time independent work. He believes that inspiration is nothing more than a state of mind and one should work hard and hard in order to achieve it. The sphere of his interests throughout the entire creative path will be the personality. Together with their like-minded Russian painter, they will introduce into lexicology visual arts such a concept as "the cult of deep nature."

The year 1884 was decisive in the life of the artist. Vrubel decided to leave the Academy of Arts and move to Kyiv at the invitation of A.V. Prakhov, Russian art historian, archaeologist and art critic, for the restoration of frescoes and paintings in St. Cyril's Church.

The priests of the church have been looking for an artist for decades who will restore the ancient frescoes, which are about 700 years old. No one dared to take on this work, since the St. Cyril's Church had a bad reputation - on the territory of the church there was previously mental hospital. But in 1884, an unknown, modest student of the St. Petersburg Academy M.A. Vrubel agrees to restore the mysterious murals. This period of creativity in the artist's life is called Kyiv.

A.V. Prakhov wrote about Vrubel:“The one who, not knowing what prompted the artist to develop this deeply untouched by anyone before, is very mistaken. literary theme, attributes "demonism" to Vrubel's nature and connects his mental illness with the persistent search for the Demon.

Vrubel approached the work in the ancient church in detail, he studied the mosaics and frescoes of the ancient Russian masters of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, and also went to Venice to get acquainted with the painting of the cathedrals by Italian masters.

The first weeks of M.A. Vrubel did not leave the church, he scrupulously wrote out the facial features and every fold of the saints' clothes. Immersed in continuous work, he did not pay attention to the visitors to the St. Cyril's Church, until one day a woman entered there, who would soon become fatal in his fate. Her name was Emilia, she was the wife of that same art critic A.V. Prakhov, who invited the artist to Kyiv. The woman struck Vrubel with her appearance and manners. The Prakhov family led a secular lifestyle, regularly held dinner parties, among their acquaintances there were many artists and famous people of art of that time.

M.A. Vrubel is fascinated by Emilia, he uses any means to attract attention married woman. Completely exhausted from attempts, Vrubel offers to depict Emilia in the image of the Virgin and she agrees.

Recognizing his wife in the image of the Virgin Mary, A.V. Ashes, becomes furious and terminates subsequent contracts with the artist. In a short time M.A. Vrubel is left without orders and livelihood. And this is only the beginning of the troubles that he will have to endure because of his fatal love. The woman he loves no longer wants to see him and he decides to take revenge on her in a peculiar way.

In ancient times, there was such a legend - you can’t draw or play the devil on stage, otherwise the one who disobeyed will be severely punished.

By violating the ban, Vrubel deprived his life of peace. It is the image of the Demon that will go with him through his entire life and creative way. In 1885 he began his work on The Demon. A year later, he described his work to his father as follows:“The Spirit is not only evil, but suffering and mournful, but for all that, the Spirit is powerful and majestic.”

Today, researchers, artists and admirers of M.A. Vrubel know that the Demon had a prototype. Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin, a Russian painter, wrote in his memoirs about the painting by M. Vrubel:“I immediately recognized the face of a familiar lady, completely unsuitable for the Demon.” The very lady of the artist's heart, Emilia Prakhova.

The "Demon" turned out to be so terrifying that Vrubel decided to destroy it. But it was too late and from that time his life went downhill.

The mystical theme occupied a leading place in the work of M.A. Vrubel. In 1890, he painted the second Demon (sitting) - one of the most famous paintings of the late 19th century. After this picture saw the light, Vrubel received worldwide fame. On the one hand, the picture shows power, and on the other hand, the unbearable longing and loneliness of its hero. Large strokes convey the whole tragedy of the character's inner experiences. The picture became an illustration for the anniversary edition and the poem of the same name.

From the end of the 1890s, a bright period of his work began. He is in love with a young theater actress N.I. Zabela, who would soon become his wife. During this period, such works as: a portrait of the wife of N.I. Zabela-Vrubel (1898), The Swan Princess (1900), Lilac (1900) and others.

There are works of art that seem to hit the viewer on the head, dumbfounded and amazing. Others drag you into reflection and in search of semantic layers, secret symbolism. Some of the paintings are shrouded in mystery and mystical riddles, while others surprise with exorbitant prices.

We carefully reviewed all the major achievements in world painting and chose two dozen of the most strange pictures. Salvador Dali, whose works completely fall under the format of this material and are the first to come to mind, were not included in this collection intentionally.

It is clear that “strangeness” is a rather subjective concept, and for everyone there are amazing paintings that stand out from a number of other works of art. We will be glad if you share them in the comments and tell us a little about them.

"Scream"

Edvard Munch. 1893, cardboard, oil, tempera, pastel.
National Gallery, Oslo.

The Scream is considered a landmark expressionist event and one of the most famous paintings in the world.

There are two interpretations of what is depicted: it is the hero himself who is seized with horror and silently screams, pressing his hands to his ears; or the hero closes his ears from the cry of the world and nature sounding around him. Munch wrote four versions of The Scream, and there is a version that this picture is the fruit of a manic-depressive psychosis from which the artist suffered. After a course of treatment at the clinic, Munch did not return to work on the canvas.

“I was walking along the path with two friends. The sun was setting - suddenly the sky turned blood red, I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned against the fence - I looked at the blood and flames over the bluish-black fjord and the city. My friends went on, and I stood, trembling with excitement, feeling the endless cry that pierces nature,” Edvard Munch said about the history of the painting.

“Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?"

Paul Gauguin. 1897-1898, oil on canvas.
Museum fine arts, Boston.

At the direction of Gauguin himself, the picture should be read from right to left - the three main groups of figures illustrate the questions posed in the title.

Three women with a child represent the beginning of life; middle group symbolizes the daily existence of maturity; in the final group, as conceived by the artist, " old woman, approaching death, seems reconciled and given over to her reflections", at her feet "a strange white bird ... represents the futility of words."

Deep philosophical picture post-impressionist Paul Gauguin was written by him in Tahiti, where he fled from Paris. At the end of the work, he even wanted to commit suicide: "I believe that this canvas is superior to all my previous ones and that I will never create something better or even similar." He lived another five years, and so it happened.

"Guernica"

Pablo Picasso. 1937, oil on canvas.
Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid.

Guernica presents scenes of death, violence, atrocities, suffering and helplessness, without specifying their immediate causes, but they are obvious. It is said that in 1940 Pablo Picasso was summoned to the Gestapo in Paris. The conversation immediately turned to the picture. "Did you do that?" - "No, you did it."

The huge fresco "Guernica", painted by Picasso in 1937, tells about the raid of the Luftwaffe volunteer unit on the city of Guernica, as a result of which the six thousandth city was completely destroyed. The picture was painted in just a month - the first days of work on the picture, Picasso worked for 10-12 hours, and already in the first sketches one could see the main idea. This is one of the best illustrations of the nightmare of fascism, as well as human cruelty and grief.

"Portrait of the Arnolfinis"

Jan van Eyck. 1434, oil on wood.
London National Gallery, London.

The famous painting is completely filled with symbols, allegories and various references - up to the signature "Jan van Eyck was here", which turned the painting not just into a work of art, but into a historical document confirming the reality of the event, which was attended by the artist.

The portrait, presumably of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, is one of the most complex works of the Western school of painting of the Northern Renaissance.

In Russia, in the past few years, the painting has gained great popularity due to Arnolfini's portrait resemblance to Vladimir Putin.

"Demon Seated"

Mikhail Vrubel. 1890, oil on canvas.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

"Hands Resist Him"

Bill Stoneham. 1972.

This work, of course, cannot be ranked among the masterpieces of world art, but the fact that it is strange is a fact.

Around the picture with a boy, a doll and palms pressed against the glass, there are legends. From "because of this picture they die" to "the children in it are alive." The picture looks really creepy, which gives rise to a lot of fears and conjectures in people with a weak psyche.

The artist assured that the picture depicts himself at the age of five, that the door is a representation of the dividing line between the real world and the world of dreams, and the doll is a guide that can lead the boy through this world. The hands represent alternative lives or possibilities.

The painting gained notoriety in February 2000 when it was listed for sale on eBay with a backstory that said the painting was "haunted". "Hands Resist Him" ​​was bought for $1,025 by Kim Smith, who was then inundated with letters from creepy stories and demands to burn the painting.

Painting by M.Yu. Lermontov

Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov (1814-1841)

Self-portrait. 1837

In the history of culture, there are many poets and writers who at the same time clearly showed themselves in the field of fine arts. Lermontov, according to his relative A.P. Shan-Girey, began to draw almost before writing poetry. He painted all his short life, and his artistic heritage contains works of various genres: landscapes and travel sketches, battle scenes, portrait miniatures. Of course, the visual art of Lermontov is inferior to the literary one. Nevertheless, the giftedness of the writer affected here as well.

Tiflis. Oil 1837

The traditions of noble education assumed, along with lessons in fencing, music, foreign languages ​​with young years painting and drawing lessons. The heyday of landscape culture is associated with the ubiquitous ability to draw, and the best landscape drawings of that time are distinguished by confident mastery of the line, the ability to create an image in an instant sketch, accuracy in detail, compositional flair. However, out of many competently drawing professionals, only a few became professionals: for the class to which Lermontov belonged, the type of amateur artist who was not bound by academic training and the need to sell works is more characteristic. Recording his impressions and mental states on paper, the amateur artist constantly kept a kind of lyrical diary, since the romantic world-sensation required the mandatory transformation of everyday feelings from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

In Lermontov's early experiments, attention was drawn to the works forming the "Spanish cycle". The appeal to Spain, traditional for the art of that time, is connected with the dramatic history of the Spanish Revolution, but there are also personal motives in Lermontov's passion: there was a legend in the family about the origin of the family from the Spanish Duke of Lerma. The desire for freedom - the main romantic ideal - the young poet expresses on Spanish material. In 1830, the tragedy "The Spaniards" was created. The watercolors and drawings "The Spaniard with a Dagger", "The Spaniard", "The Spaniard with a Lantern and a Catholic Monk", "The Spaniard in a White Lace Collar", a portrait miniature of Emilia - the heroine of "The Spaniards" are visual paraphrases of the tragedy. The most significant in this cycle is "Portrait of Duke Lerma" (1832-1833), the first known painting by Lermontov. The artist gave self-portrait features to his legendary ancestor. A sharp side light emphasizes the intense grief in dark eyes, in the fold of a tightly closed mouth. “Spanish passion”, in accordance with the romantic canon, is hidden, restrained by an effort of will, just as the body is hidden under a deaf cover of clothing.

The conventionally romantic vision of nature, history and people prevails in early works Lermontov, whether it is landscape watercolors “White Birch” and “Sail” (the latter precedes the famous poem) or “The Ancient Army”, where the army is Russian, and the mountains are Caucasian. More lively and direct are the drawings from the so-called "junker teFradi", created during the poet's stay at the cadet school (1832-1834). Most portrait sketches and genre scenes are made from nature; romantic intonation does not suppress, but, on the contrary, enhances the highly individual expressiveness of the drawing. The same expression - in the spirit of Orlovsky - is present in the Caucasian views and images of Circassian horsemen, in illustrations for A. Marlinsky's story "Amalat-bek". It is characteristic that at this time - after graduating from the cadet school - Lermontov takes painting lessons from the artist P.E. Zabolotsky.

The Georgian military road near Mtskheta. Oil

The turning point in Lermontov's biography was 1837 - the death of Pushkin. The famous poem "The Death of a Poet" was followed by a reference to the Caucasus - before the romantic perception of the Caucasus was tested and supplemented by the facts of one's own fate. In the Caucasus, the most fully revealed creative potential Lermontov - both a poet and an artist. The most interesting landscapes made in oils are “View of Pyatigorsk”, “Caucasian view with a sakley” (“Georgian military road near Mtskheta”), “View of Mount Cross”, “View of Tiflis”, “Neighborhood of the village of Karagach” (“ Caucasian view with camels") and others (all 1837-1838). These landscapes are panoramic: the horizon is underestimated, the space is built rhythmically by perspective plans unfolding in depth; they are all structurally ordered, and light acts as a creative and organizing principle. To the air environment, immaterial and changeable, light imparts a richness of tones, shades and color nuances.

A. A. Stolypin (Mongó) dressed as a Kurd. Watercolor. 1841.

Any Caucasian panorama of Lermontov is like a small fragment of the universe, nevertheless expressing the entire infinity of the universe. Ruins, monasteries, temples, molded on the slopes of the mountains, appear to the viewer as natural inclusions in the natural landscape. The figurines of people inscribed in each landscape - horsemen, drivers and camels, Georgian women collecting water in the Kura - are subordinate to the initially set rhythm; their small scale emphasizes the cosmic immensity of the whole. But despite the romantic intonation, Lermontov's panoramas, as the researcher of his work Irakli Andronikov showed, largely coincide with the real topography of the depicted places.

In the last years of his life, Lermontov devoted a lot of time to the portrait, depicting friends and acquaintances. Preserved pictorial portrait A.N. Muravieva, watercolor portraits A. A. Kikina and A. A. Stolypin (Mongo) in the form of a Kurd, two beautiful portraits of unknown people (concerning one of them there is a hypothesis that the Decembrist poet A. I. Odoevsky is depicted here). Of great importance for Lermontov's iconography is the romantic self-portrait of 1837, where the artist portrayed himself against the backdrop of the Caucasus mountains in the guise of a poet and a warrior. Lermontov, a military officer, showed personal courage by participating in a military campaign against the highlanders in 1840-1841. He captured one of the battles of this campaign in the wonderful drawing “Episode from the Battle of Valerik”, later painted by his friend, the artist G.G. Gagarin. The tragic dynamics of the battle is made up of personal dramas experienced during the course of the battle by its participants. The theme of the “disasters of war” is continued by the watercolor, contrasting with its exquisite coloring with the mourning ceremony that it depicts – “At Valerik. Burial of the dead. In general, Lermontov's drawings and watercolors to the greatest extent express the romantic essence of his art. If in the paintings romanticism manifested itself in the plot system, in oriental motifs, then the graphics captured the very pace and intensity of the romantic worldview, the romantic experience of nature. Fluent sketches are full of dynamics: the line doubles and breaks into a stroke, in a hurry to fix what they see - riders (pencil, 1832-1834), a Circassian shooting at a gallop (pencil, 1832-1834), a cavalry fight (sepia, 1830-1832 ).

Lermontov, like Byron, embodied the ideal of a romantic personality - tragic and brilliant. It is difficult to say in what direction the poet's artistic creativity would have developed if his life had not been cut short on July 15, 1841 by a duel shot at the foot of Mount Mashuk. Of course, in comparison with literary works, Lermontov's pictorial experiments are more in line with the usual romantic canon. However, in later works, traces of his rebellious genius appear more and more often. Perhaps here Lermontov was on the verge of remarkable discoveries.

Original entry and comments on

At the mention of the name of Lermontov, few people immediately pop up his pictures in their heads. This is due to the fact that Mikhail Yuryevich is associated primarily with poetry, since this facet is best known.

In addition to the fact that Lermontov was an artist of the word, he was also a poet of the canvas. This means that he could masterfully convey the state lyrical hero not only on the sheet, but also in the pictures. His images look alive, convey emotions and experiences. Let's get acquainted with Mikhail Yuryevich, as an artist, and display the connection between his two incarnations - a painter and a poet. And also consider how Lermontov himself is displayed in the music and painting of others.

Lermontov as an artist

In many memoirs of friends, little Misha is described as constantly drawing something. Even in a child's portrait by an unknown artist, he is depicted with a chalk in his hand.

It has not been reliably established whether Lermontov studied drawing in childhood, but it is known that already during his stay at the Moscow University noble boarding school, he takes lessons from A. Solonitsky. Then M. Yu. Lermontov came to the opinion, which his teacher insisted, that everything should be natural and as close to reality as possible. Such was subsequently not only Lermontov's painting and graphics, but also poetry.

After graduating from the boarding school, the future classic does not give up drawing. In St. Petersburg, he continues to study under the guidance of Peter Zabolotsky.

Not only those around him, but also teachers noted that Lermontov's painting deserves attention. If he had not written poetry, he would have become famous as an artist, and it is quite possible that life would have turned out completely differently.

Scope of artistic heritage

Lermontov's painting has come down to us in relatively small quantities. But this is quite enough to form a general opinion about this role of the poet. Among the heritage are oil paintings, watercolors, individual drawings, sketches and even caricatures.

You can guess that this is not all the work that Lermontov had. If only because this is not enough to achieve the kind of skill that Mikhail Yuryevich had. Many of his works were given away or lost.

Literature about Lermontov the artist is limited to a few superficial notes-notes. A general idea of ​​his person in painting is given by B. Mosolova and N. Wrangel. But these essays have nothing in common with scientific, professional analysis that would draw a parallel with poetic works.

It is worth noting albums with sketches and manuscripts of works, where we find Lermontov's graphics. The picture is either a commentary on the entry, or the entry itself serves to explain the image, thereby giving rise to an inextricable link between the two types of art, the so-called syncretism.

Given the non-standard approach to creativity, it seems rather strange that Lermontov's artistic activity is forgotten. It is possible that this was done on purpose. Mikhail Yuryevich never had a special love for tyrants, and if this could be veiled in poetry, then sharp caricatures and caricatures cast a shadow on the authority of the then nobility and nobility.

Paintings by Lermontov

Lermontov's painting has an extraordinary naturalism. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, Lermontov belonged to an era in which there had already been a departure from the monumentality of the image, but modernism, calling for transformation, had not yet gained momentum.

Secondly, the first teacher A. Solonitsky accustomed to reality in the image of Lermontov, since he found reliability only in an accurate representation. That is, it is impossible to depict the landscape as the author sees it in comparison. It is necessary to present it as it is, and everyone will choose feelings and associations for himself.

Thirdly, Lermontov's contemporaries claim that he had an amazing, almost photographic memory, which made it possible to depict trifles, without nature, having only sketches and sketches.

But with all the desire for an accurate display, this did not prevent Lermontov from developing his own style in painting.

Watercolors by Lermontov

Since Lermontov's first teacher was a watercolorist, it is not surprising that the writer himself became addicted to watercolor drawing.

His, like those made in oil, are a graphic display of what is happening in his works. So, while in the North Caucasus, he wrote more than one poem under the impression of the landscapes and life of the Caucasian peoples. But it is difficult to establish, if you do not look at the date, what was written first, a poem or a picture. It is also difficult to say unequivocally which of these turned out more successfully.

Lermontov's painting is distinguished by the purity of the application of paints, without impurities. Extremely precise lines and skillful use of form make the image realistic and accurate. Although connoisseurs notice many errors, they are leveled due to the liveliness and emotional richness of the paintings.

The Caucasus in Lermontov's painting

The legendary poem, which brought fame and popularity to the poet, is dedicated to tragic death Pushkin. It played a fatal role. On the one hand, he had to leave native home and serve his sentence in the Caucasus. On the other hand, painting in the work of Lermontov acquired a new, inspired direction.

A new motive appeared in the works - the North Caucasus and its melodies. By tunes one should mean the themes and customs of the natives.

In addition to poems, Lermontov's painting tells about the period of the poet's stay there. The Caucasus appears for the first time as a romantic land. Rocks no longer inspire fear - they amaze with their grandeur, nature generously shares its beauties. Lermontov was the first to discover its romanticism in the Caucasus.

Poetic masterpieces of that time are like a poetic description of the paintings.

Oil Paintings

M. Yu. Lermontov's painting with images of the Caucasus is not limited to watercolors. One of the most famous paintings is Cross Pass, painted in 1837-1838.

Lermontov himself called this region a "wonderful world", and compared people with free eagles. It is no wonder that the images of the inhabitants of the region itself are pathetic. But most of the paintings were painted from memory, as it was amazing for the poet. But this does not detract from the painting of Lermontov. The paintings are extremely realistic.

"Cross Pass" is the fruit of Lermontov's already more mature work. This is evidenced by competent construction, respect for perspective both in the dimensional sphere and in the transfer of colors.

Drawings on autographs

Also interesting are the poet's drawings on manuscripts, near dedicatory inscriptions, in the albums of different families. This does not represent Lermontov's painting in the light in which it is presented in large canvases. It is not only made in haste, but also made in one color. Such a drawing conveys Lermontov's attitude to what or whom he painted. That is, he conveyed exactly those features that were most memorable, conspicuous.

There are many such drawings, since they were created in the course of work on the next poetic work.

The earliest graphic sketches that we know of today are sketches on the Psalter. It's actually more of a fun fact than a work of art. They have neither sharpness of the pen, nor special themes.

Lost Drawings

Lost forever were the children's drawings of Lermontov. We learn about their existence only from biographical records and letters of contemporaries.

There is also information about the drawings. He did not just draw, but made volumetric paintings from molten wax. Mention of them is found in several letters, but the search for paintings was unsuccessful.

Also lost are drawings from the album of Vereshchagina, with whom Lermontov corresponded closely.

Imaginary drawings by Lermontov

One of the drawings that are attributed to Lermontov's brush, but in fact do not belong to him, is the "Head of a Warrior in a Helmet". The main argument in favor of the false author is the handwriting, not the same as the rest of Lermontov's painting.

The second such picture is "Storm at Sea". If the previous work was done with greater skill than the poet had at that time, then The Tempest, on the contrary, was drawn with an uncertain, sluggish hand. Whereas Lermontov during this period had already found his own style and drew much better.

“Two adjutants” is a picture painted by a close friend of M. Yu. Lermontov - Gagarin. This is evidenced characteristics construction, selection and application of paints.

In addition to these paintings, stylistic features that painting did not have in Lermontov’s work are inherent in the following: “Tombstone with an urn”, “Shooting Cossack on a horse”, “Head of a peasant”, “Caucasian view” and some others.

Poems in Lermontov's painting or painting in poems?

It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer, as they are displayed in painting. It can be said for sure that these two types of art successfully complement each other. Depending on the picture and the poem, they served as illustrations for each other - depending on what came out first. So, the poem "Caucasus" was undoubtedly inspired by the romantic and enchanting landscapes of the area. And then poetry was displayed in painting.

The poem "Caucasus" is permeated with the experiences of the lyrical hero that at dawn conscious life he is forced to serve in the Caucasus, far from his homeland. But he loves this land, which gives him so much pleasure from contemplating its beauties. To depict such experiences on canvas, you see, is difficult. But here the add-on function works.

The works of Lermontov in painting are illustrative and explanatory. Most of all it concerns portraits and landscapes. Wishing to convey the character, mood and features of the lyrical hero, the author, as it were, insists on his own version of the perception of the character.

painting painting

A type of fine art whose works are created using paints applied to a hard surface. IN works of art created by painting, color and drawing, chiaroscuro, expressiveness of strokes, textures and compositions are used, which makes it possible to reproduce on the plane the colorful richness of the world, the volume of objects, their qualitative, material originality, spatial depth and light-air environment. Painting can convey a state of static and a sense of temporary development, peace and emotional and spiritual richness, the transient instantaneousness of a situation, the effect of movement, etc.; in painting, a detailed narrative and a complex plot are possible. This allows painting not only to visually embody the visible phenomena of the real world, to show a broad picture of people's lives, but also to strive to reveal the essence of historical processes, the inner world of a person, to express abstract ideas. Due to its vast ideological and artistic possibilities, painting is an important means of artistic reflection and interpretation of reality, has significant social content and various ideological functions.

The breadth and completeness of the coverage of reality are reflected in the abundance of genres inherent in painting (historical genre, household genre, battle genre, portrait, landscape, still life). There are paintings: monumental-decorative (wall paintings, plafonds, panels), designed to decorate architecture and play an important role in the ideological and figurative interpretation of an architectural building; easel (paintings), usually not associated with any particular place in the artistic ensemble; scenery (sketches of theatrical and film scenery and costumes); iconography; miniature. Diorama and panorama also belong to the varieties of painting. According to the nature of the substances that bind the pigment (dye), according to the technological methods of fixing the pigment on the surface, oil painting differs. Painting with paints on water on plaster - wet (fresco) and dry (a secco), tempera, glue painting, wax painting, enamels, painting with ceramic and silicate paints, etc. that monumental painting is an artistic task. Watercolor, gouache, pastel, and ink are also used to perform paintings.

Color is the most specific means of expression for painting. Its expression, the ability to evoke various sensual associations, enhances the emotionality of the image, determines the pictorial, expressive and decorative possibilities of painting. In works of painting, color forms an integral system (colour). Usually a series of interrelated colors and their shades is used (gamut colorful), although there is also painting with shades of the same color (monochrome). The color composition provides a certain coloristic unity of the work, affects the course of its perception by the viewer, being an essential part of it. artistic structure. Another expressive means of painting is drawing (line and chiaroscuro), together with color, rhythmically and compositionally organizes the image; the line delimits volumes from each other, is often the constructive basis of the pictorial form, allows generalized or detailed reproduction of the outlines of objects and their smallest elements. Chiaroscuro allows not only to create the illusion of three-dimensional images, to convey the degree of illumination or darkness of objects, but also creates the impression of the movement of air, light and shadow. An important role in painting is also played by a colorful spot or stroke of the artist, which is his main technique and allows him to convey many aspects. The brushstroke contributes to the plastic, voluminous molding of the form, the transfer of its material character and texture, in combination with color, recreates the coloristic richness of the real world. The nature of the stroke (smooth, continuous or pasty, separate, nervous, etc.) also contributes to the creation of the emotional atmosphere of the work, the transfer of the artist's immediate feelings and mood, his attitude to the depicted.

Conventionally, there are two types picturesque image: linear-planar and volumetric-spatial, but there are no clear boundaries between them. Linear-planar painting is characterized by flat spots of local color, outlined by expressive contours, clear and rhythmic lines; in ancient and partly in modern painting, there are conditional methods of spatial construction and reproduction of objects that reveal to the viewer the semantic logic of the image, the placement of objects in space, but almost do not violate the two-dimensionality of the picturesque plane. The desire to reproduce the real world as a person sees it, which arose in ancient art, caused the appearance of volumetric-spatial images in painting. In painting of this type, spatial relationships can be reproduced by color, the illusion of deep three-dimensional space can be created, the pictorial plane can be visually destroyed with the help of tonal gradations, airy and linear perspective, by distributing warm and cold colors; volumetric forms are modeled by color and chiaroscuro. In volume-spatial and linear-planar images, the expressiveness of line and color is used, and the effect of volume, even sculpture, is achieved by gradation of light and dark tones distributed in a clearly limited color spot; at the same time, the coloring is often colorful, figures and objects do not merge with the surrounding space into a single whole. Tonal painting ( cm. Hue) shows subtle changes in both color and its tone depending on the lighting ( cm. Valer), as well as from the interaction of nearby colors ( cm. Reflex); the general tone unites objects with the surrounding light and air environment and space. In the painting of China, Japan, Korea, a special type of spatial image has developed, in which there is a feeling of an infinite space seen from above, with parallel lines going into the distance and not converging in depth; figures and objects are almost devoid of volume; their position in space is shown mainly by the ratio of tones.

A painting consists of a base (canvas, wood, paper, cardboard, stone, glass, metal, etc.), usually covered with a primer, and a paint layer, sometimes protected by a protective film of varnish. The pictorial and expressive possibilities of painting, the peculiarities of the technique of writing, largely depend on the properties of paints, which are determined by the degree of grinding of pigments and the nature of the binders, from the tool the artist works with, from the thinners he uses; the smooth or rough surface of the base and ground affects the methods of applying paints, the texture of paintings, and the translucent color of the base or ground affects color; sometimes paint-free parts of the base or ground can play a role in the color construction. The surface of the paint layer of a painting, that is, its texture, is glossy and matte, continuous or intermittent, smooth or uneven. The required color, shade is achieved both by mixing colors on the palette, and by glazing. The process of creating a picture or wall painting can be divided into several stages, especially clear and consistent in medieval tempera and classical oil painting (drawing on the ground, underpainting, glazing). There is painting of a more impulsive nature, which allows the artist to directly and dynamically embody his life impressions through the simultaneous work on drawing, composition, modeling of forms and color ( cm. Allah prima).

Painting arose in the era of the late Paleolithic (40-8 thousand years ago). Rock paintings have been preserved (in southern France, northern Spain, etc.), painted with earthen paints (ocher), black soot, and charcoal using split sticks, pieces of fur, and fingers (images of individual animals, and then hunting scenes). In Paleolithic painting, there are both linear-silhouette images and simple modeling of volumes, but the compositional principle in it is still poorly expressed. More developed, abstractly generalized ideas about the world were reflected in Neolithic painting, in which images are linked into narrative cycles, the image of a person appears ( cm. primitive art).

The painting of the slave-owning society had an already developed figurative system, rich technical means. In ancient Egypt, as well as in ancient America, there was monumental painting, which acted in synthesis with architecture ( cm. Synthesis of the Arts; painting of tombs, less often buildings). Associated mainly with the funeral cult, it had a detailed narrative character; the main place in it was occupied by a generalized and often schematic representation of a person. The strict canonization of images, manifested in the features of the composition, the ratio of figures and reflecting the rigid hierarchy that prevailed in society, was combined with bold and well-aimed observations of life and an abundance of details drawn from the surrounding world (landscape, household utensils, images of animals and birds). ancient painting the main artistic and expressive means of which were the contour line and the color spot, had decorative qualities, its flatness emphasized the surface of the wall.

In ancient times, painting, which acted in artistic unity with architecture and sculpture and adorned temples, dwellings, tombs, and other structures ( cm. Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum, Kazanlak tomb), served not only religious, but also secular purposes. New, specific possibilities of painting were revealed, giving a reflection of reality that is broad in terms of subject matter. In antiquity, the principles of chiaroscuro, peculiar variants of linear and aerial perspective were born. Along with the mythological, everyday and historical scenes, landscapes, portraits, still lifes were created. An antique fresco (on multi-layer plaster with an admixture of marble dust in the upper layers) had a shiny, glossy surface. In ancient Greece, there arose almost no preserved easel painting (on boards, less often on canvas), mainly in the encaustic technique ( cm. wax painting); Faiyum portraits give some idea of ​​ancient easel painting.

In the Middle Ages in Western Europe, Byzantium, in Russia, the Caucasus and the Balkans, painting developed, religious in content: fresco (both on dry and wet plaster, applied to stone or brickwork), icon painting (on primed boards, mainly in egg tempera). ), as well as book miniatures (on primed parchment or paper; executed in tempera, watercolor, gouache, glue and other paints), which sometimes included historical plots. Icons, wall paintings (subject to architectural divisions and the plane of the wall), as well as mosaics, stained-glass windows, together with architecture, formed a single ensemble in church interiors. Medieval painting is characterized by the expression of a sonorous, predominantly local color and rhythmic line, the expressiveness of contours; the forms are usually planar, stylized, the background is abstract, often golden; there are also conditional methods of modeling volumes, as if protruding on a pictorial plane devoid of depth. The symbolism of composition and color played a significant role. In the 1st millennium A.D. e. monumental painting experienced a high rise (with adhesive paints on white gypsum or lime primer on clay-straw soil) in the countries of Western and Central Asia, in India, China, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). In the feudal era in Mesopotamia, Iran, India, Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the art of miniature developed, which is characterized by subtle brilliance, elegance of ornamental rhythm, and brightness of life observations. Far Eastern painting with ink, watercolor and gouache on scrolls of silk and paper - in China, Korea, Japan - was distinguished by poetry, amazing vigilance of the vision of people and nature, conciseness of the pictorial manner, the finest tonal transmission of aerial perspective.

In Western Europe, during the Renaissance, the principles of a new art based on humanistic worldview discovering and cognizing the real world. The role of painting, which developed a system of means for a realistic depiction of reality, increased. Individual achievements of Renaissance painting were anticipated in the 14th century. Italian painter Giotto. The scientific study of perspective, optics and anatomy, the use of the oil painting technique improved by J. van Eyck (Netherlands) contributed to the disclosure of the possibilities inherent in the nature of painting: a convincing reproduction volumetric forms in unity with the transfer of spatial depth and light environment, the disclosure of the color richness of the world. new bloom survived the fresco; easel painting also gained importance, preserving its decorative unity with the surroundings. subject environment. The feeling of the harmony of the universe, the anthropocentrism of painting and the spiritual activity of its images are characteristic of compositions on religious and mythological themes, portraits, household and historical scenes, nude images. Tempera was gradually supplanted by a combined technique (glazing and elaboration of details with oil on tempera underpainting), and then technically perfect multi-layer oil-lacquer painting without tempera. Along with smooth, detailed painting on boards with white ground (characteristic of the artists of the Dutch school and a number of schools of Italian Early Renaissance) Venetian school painting developed in the XVI century. techniques of free, impasto painting on canvases with colored grounds. Simultaneously with painting in local, often bright colors, with a clear pattern, tonal painting also developed. The largest painters of the Renaissance - Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, A. Mantegna, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto in Italy, J. van Eyck, P. Brueghel the Elder in the Netherlands, A. Dürer, H. Holbein the Younger, M. Niethardt (Grunewald) in Germany, etc.

In the XVII-XVIII centuries. the process of development of European painting became more complicated. National schools were formed in France (J. de Latour, F. Champagne, N. Poussin, A. Watteau, J. B. S. Chardin, J. O. Fragonard, J. L. David), Italy (M. Caravaggio, D. Fetti, J. B. Tiepolo, J. M. Crespi, F. Guardi), Spain (El Greco, D. Velazquez, F. Zurbaran, B. E. Murillo, F. Goya), Flanders (P. P. . Rubens, J. Jordaens, A. van Dyck, F. Snyders), Holland (F. Hals, Rembrandt, J. Vermeer, J. van Ruisdael, G. Terborch, K. Fabricius), Great Britain (J. Reynolds, T Gainsborough, W. Hogarth), Russia (F. S. Rokotov, D. G. Levitsky, V. L. Borovikovsky). Painting proclaimed new social and civil ideals, turned to a more detailed and accurate depiction of real life in its movement and diversity, especially the everyday environment of a person (landscape, interior, household items); deepened psychological problems, embodied the feeling of a conflicting relationship between the individual and the surrounding world. In the 17th century the system of genres expanded and clearly took shape. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. Along with monumental and decorative painting (especially in the Baroque style), which was flourishing, existed in close unity with sculpture and architecture and created an emotional environment that actively affected people, easel painting played an important role. Various painting systems were formed, as having a commonality of stylistic features (dynamic baroque painting with its characteristic open, spiral composition; classicism painting with a clear, strict and clear pattern; rococo painting with a play of exquisite nuances of color, light and faded tones), and not within a certain style framework. In an effort to reproduce the brilliance of the world, the light and air environment, many artists improved the system of tonal painting. This caused the individualization of the techniques of multilayer oil painting. The growth of easel art, the growing need for works designed for intimate contemplation, led to the development of chamber, thin and light, painting techniques - pastels, watercolors, ink, various types of portrait miniatures.

In the 19th century new national schools of the realistic were emerging. painting in Europe and America. The connections of painting in Europe and other parts of the world were expanding, where the experience of European realistic painting received an original interpretation, often on the basis of local ancient traditions (in India, China, Japan, and other countries); European painting was influenced by the art of the Far Eastern countries (mainly Japan and China), which affected the renewal of the methods of decorative and rhythmic organization of the pictorial plane. In the 19th century painting solved complex and urgent worldview problems, played an active role in public life; sharp criticism of social reality acquired great importance in painting. Throughout the 19th century the canons of academism, the abstract idealization of images, were also cultivated in painting; naturalistic tendencies emerged. In the fight against distraction late classicism and salon academism, the painting of romanticism developed with its active interest in dramatic events history and modernity, the energy of the pictorial language, the contrast of light and shadow, the saturation of color (T. Gericault, E. Delacroix in France; F. O. Runge and K. D. Friedrich in Germany; in many ways O. A. Kiprensky, Sylvester Shchedrin , K. P. Bryullov, A. A. Ivanov in Russia). Realistic painting, based on direct observation of the characteristic phenomena of reality, comes to a more complete, concretely reliable, visually convincing depiction of life (J. Constable in Great Britain; C. Corot, master of the Barbizon school, O. Daumier in France; A. G. Venetsianov, P. A. Fedotov in Russia). During the period of the rise of the revolutionary and national liberation movement in Europe, the painting of democratic realism (G. Courbet, J. F. Millet in France; M. Munkachi in Hungary, N. Grigorescu and I. Andreescu in Romania, A. Menzel, V. Leibl in Germany, etc.) showed the life and work of the people, their struggle for their rights, turned to the most important events in national history, created vivid images of ordinary people and leading public figures; Schools of national realistic landscape emerged in many countries. Closely connected with the aesthetics of Russians, the socio-critical severity was distinguished by revolutionary democrats painting of the Wanderers and artists close to them - V. G. Perov, I. N. Kramskoy, I. E. Repin, V. I. Surikov, V. V. Vereshchagin, I. I. Levitan.

The artistic embodiment of the surrounding world in its naturalness and constant variability comes in the early 1870s. impressionist painting (E. Manet, C. Monet, O. Renoir, C. Pissarro, A. Sisley, E. Degas in France), which updated the technique and methods of organizing the pictorial surface, revealing the beauty of pure color and texture effects. In the 19th century in Europe, oil painting dominated, its technique in many cases acquired an individual, free character, gradually losing its inherent strict systematicity (which was facilitated by the spread of new factory-made paints); the palette expanded (new pigments and binders were created); instead of dark colored primers at the beginning of the 19th century. white soils were again introduced. Monumental and decorative painting, which used in the XIX century. almost exclusively glue or oil paints, fell into disrepair. At the end of XIX - beginning of XX centuries. attempts are being made to revive monumental painting and to merge different types of painting with works of arts and crafts and architecture into a single ensemble (mainly in "modern" art); the technical means of monumental and decorative painting are being updated, the technique of silicate painting is being developed.

At the end of XIX - XX centuries. the development of painting becomes especially complex and contradictory; various realist and modernist currents coexist and fight. inspired by ideals October revolution 1917, armed with the method socialist realism, painting is intensively developing in the USSR and other socialist countries. New schools of painting are emerging in Asia, Africa, Australia, and Latin America.

Realistic painting of the late XIX - XX centuries. is distinguished by the desire to know and show the world in all its contradictions, to reveal the essence of the deep processes taking place in social reality, which sometimes do not have a sufficiently visual appearance; the reflection and interpretation of many phenomena of reality often acquired a subjective, symbolic character. Painting of the 20th century along with the visual-visible volumetric-spatial method of depiction, he widely uses new (as well as dating back to antiquity), conditional principles for interpreting the visible world. Already in the painting of post-impressionism (P. Cezanne, V. van Gogh, P. Gauguin, A. Toulouse-Lautrec) and partly in the painting of "modern" features were emerging that determined the features of some trends of the 20th century. (an active expression of the artist's personal relationship to the world, the emotionality and associativity of color, which has little to do with natural color relationships, exaggerated forms, decorativeness). The world was comprehended in a new way in the art of Russian painters of the late XIX - early XX centuries - in the paintings of V. A. Serov, M. A. Vrubel, K. A. Korovin.

In the XX century. reality is contradictory, and often deeply subjective, realized and translated into painting by the greatest artists of the capitalist countries: P. Picasso, A. Matisse, F. Léger, A. Marquet, A. Derain in France; D. Rivera, J. C. Orozco, D. Siqueiros in Mexico; R. Guttuso in Italy; J. Bellows, R. Kent in the USA. In paintings, wall paintings, picturesque panels, a truthful understanding of the tragic contradictions of reality has found expression, often turning into a denunciation of the deformities of the capitalist system. The aesthetic understanding of the new, “technical” era is associated with the reflection of the pathos of the industrialization of life, the penetration into painting of geometric, “machine” forms, to which organic forms are often reduced, the search for new forms that meet the worldview of modern man, which can be used in decorative arts, architecture and industry. Widespread in painting, mainly capitalist countries, since the beginning of the 20th century. received various modernist trends, reflecting the general crisis of the culture of bourgeois society; however, the "sick" problems of our time are also indirectly reflected in modernist painting. In the painting of many modernist movements (fauvism, cubism, futurism, dadaism, and later surrealism), individual more or less easily recognizable elements of the visible world are fragmented or geometrized, appear in unexpected, sometimes illogical combinations that give rise to many associations, merge with purely abstract forms. The further evolution of many of these trends led to a complete rejection of figurativeness, to the emergence of abstract painting ( cm. Abstract art), which marked the collapse of painting as a means of reflecting and cognizing reality. Since the mid 60s. in countries Western Europe and America, painting sometimes becomes one of the elements of pop art.

In the XX century. the role of monumental-decorative painting, both pictorial (for example, revolutionary-democratic monumental painting in Mexico) and non-pictorial, usually planar, in harmony with the geometrized forms of modern architecture, is growing.

In the XX century. there is a growing interest in research in the field of painting techniques (including wax and tempera; new paints are invented for monumental painting - silicone, on organosilicon resins, etc.), but oil painting still prevails.

Multinational Soviet painting is closely connected with the communist ideology, with the principles of party spirit and nationality of art, it represents qualitatively new stage development of painting, which is determined by the triumph of the method of socialist realism. In the USSR, painting is developing in all the Union and Autonomous Republics, and new national schools of painting are emerging. Soviet painting is characterized by a keen sense of reality, the materiality of the world, and the spiritual richness of images. The desire to embrace socialist reality in all its complexity and completeness led to the use of many genre forms, which are filled with new content. Already since the 20s. the historical and revolutionary theme acquires special significance (the canvases of M. B. Grekov, A. A. Deineka, K. S. Petrov-Vodkin, B. V. Ioganson, I. I. Brodsky, A. M. Gerasimov). Then patriotic canvases appear, telling about the heroic past of Russia, showing historical drama Great Patriotic War 1941-45, the spiritual fortitude of the Soviet people.

A large role in the development of Soviet painting is played by the portrait: collective images of people from the people, participants in the revolutionary reorganization of life (A. E. Arkhipov, G. G. Rizhsky and others); psychological portraits showing the inner world, the spiritual warehouse of the Soviet person (M. V. Nesterov, S. V. Malyutin, P. D. Korin, etc.).

Typical way of life Soviet people is reflected in genre painting, which gives a poetically vivid image of new people and a new way of life. Soviet painting is characterized by large canvases imbued with the pathos of socialist construction (S. V. Gerasimov, A. A. Plastov, Yu. I. Pimenov, T. N. Yablonskaya, and others). The aesthetic affirmation of the peculiar forms of life of the Union and Autonomous Republics underlies the national schools that have developed in Soviet painting (M. S. Saryan, L. Gudiashvili, S. A. Chuikov, U. Tansykbaev, T. Salakhov, E. Iltner, M. A Savitsky, A. Gudaitis, A. A. Shovkunenko, G. Aitiev and others), representing the constituent parts of a single artistic culture Soviet socialist society.

In landscape painting, as in other genres, national artistic traditions combined with the search for something new, with a modern sense of nature. The lyrical line of Russian landscape painting (V. N. Baksheev, N. P. Krymov, N. M. Romadin, etc.) is supplemented by the development industrial landscape with its rapid rhythms, with the motives of a transformed nature (B. N. Yakovlev, G. G. Nissky). High level reached still life painting(I. I. Mashkov, P. P. Konchalovsky, M. S. Saryan).

The evolution of the social functions of painting is accompanied common development picturesque culture. Within the boundaries of a single realistic method, Soviet painting strives for a variety of artistic forms, techniques, individual styles. The wide scope of construction, the creation of large public buildings and memorial ensembles contributed to the development of monumental and decorative painting (works by V. A. Favorsky, E. E. Lansere, P. D. Korin), the revival of the technique of tempera painting, frescoes and mosaics. In the 60s - early 80s. the mutual influence of monumental and easel painting has increased, the desire to maximize the use and enrich the expressive means of painting has increased ( cm. See also the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and articles on the Soviet union republics).

"Vladimir Mother of God". 1st floor 12th c. Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow.

Raphael. Fresco "Parnassus" in the Stanza della Senyatura in the Vatican. 1509 -1511

I. Vermeer. "Glass of wine". Around 1660. Art Gallery. Berlin-Dahlem.

P. V. Kuznetsov. "Still life with crystal". 1928. Russian Museum. Leningrad.
Literature: VII, vol. 1-6, M., 1956-66; IRI, vol. 1-13, M., 1953-69; K. Yuon, On painting, (M.-L.), 1937; D. I. Kiplik, Painting technique, (6th ed.), M.-L., 1950; A. Kamensky, To the viewer about painting, M., 1959; B. Slansky, Painting technique, trans. from Czech., M., 1962; G. A. Nedoshivin, Conversations about painting, (2nd ed.), M., 1964; B. R. Vipper, Articles about art, M., 1970; Ward J., History and methods of ancient and modern painting, v. 1-4, L., 1913-21; Fosca F., La peinture, qu "est-ce que c" est, Porrentruy-Brux.-P., 1947; Venturi L., Painting and painters, Cleveland, 1963; R. Cogniat, Histoire de la peinture, t. 1-2, P., 1964; Barron J. N., The language of painting, Cleveland, (1967); Nicolaus K., DuMont's Handbuch der Gemaldekunde, Koln, 1979.

Source: Popular art encyclopedia." Ed. Field V.M.; M.: Publishing house "Soviet Encyclopedia", 1986.)

One of the types visual arts. A painting is created using paints applied to the surface of a wall, board, canvas, metal, etc. The very name “painting” suggests that the artist “paints life” in all its richness, diversity and colorful brilliance. This is its difference from black and white charts. Like no other form of art, painting is able to embody the whole gamut of feelings, experiences, relationships between people; accurate observations of nature and flights of fancy, great ideas and instant impressions, the thrill of life, air and light.

The statue is voluminous, it can be bypassed from all sides; painting is the art of colors on a plane; The viewer sees the picture from only one point of view. One of the tasks of painting, which each era solves in its own way, is to create the illusion of the depth of space, the three-dimensionality of volumes on a plane. This is the convention of the pictorial language. In addition, the colors available to the artist are not identical to real colors, his palette is much poorer than natural.

The painter selects in the surrounding world what meets his artistic task, modifies, emphasizes, generalizes many things in one, seeks to convey the inner qualities of people and the laws of nature that are inaccessible to direct vision, his experiences, his attitude towards them. The main expressive means of painting: coloring(colorful gamma, which has an emotional impact on the viewer); composition(the ratio of parts of the picture); perspective(linear, reverse, parallel, etc.); chiaroscuro (distribution of light and shadow), lines and colorful spots; rhythm, texture(the nature of the picturesque surface - smooth or embossed). In the manner of writing, in the movement of the brush, in the peculiarities of applying paint to a canvas or other surface, one can always feel the individuality of the artist, his unique creative “handwriting”.

According to the purpose and nature of the execution, monumental, easel, decorative and theatrical-decorative painting are distinguished. TO monumental painting include wall paintings ( frescoes) And mosaics, stained-glass windows, plafonds, panels, inextricably linked with architecture, with the wall (ceiling, floor) of the building for which they were created; partly icons and large folding altar compositions (“Ghent Altar” by J. van Eika, 1432). Monumental works cannot be transferred to another interior. Icons, folding altars intended for temples, can technically be placed in another space (now many of them are exhibited in museums), however, devoid of a natural environment, torn from the ensemble, they lose a significant part of their impact on the viewer. The artistic language of monumental painting is distinguished by rigor and grandeur, laconism of generalized forms, and large spots of color. monumental painting has existed since ancient times - even primitive people created rock paintings ( Altamira in Spain, 15-10th millennium BC e.).

Rembrandt. "Portrait of Hendrikje Stoffels at the window". OK. 1659

Artworks easel painting- paintings - are created using an easel and are not intended for a specific room. The first easel works appeared in the era Renaissance(15th–16th centuries). The base (board, canvas stretched on a stretcher, etc.) was covered with a white primer of gypsum (chalk) mixed with glue or oil. The primer leveled the surface and "highlighted" the paint layer from the inside. Along with the whites, many craftsmen (P.P. Rubens and others) used colored (golden-brown, red) primers, which gave unity to the color of the picture. Paints were applied over the ground in one or several layers; Sometimes finished work varnished. Framed paintings are like a window into the world created by the artist's imagination. As a rule, they observe the unity of place, time and action.

Decorative painting (both plot and ornamental) is designed not only to decorate the surface of the wall, but also to accentuate its structural elements ( columns, pillars, arches etc.); it is performed in the technique of fresco, etc. A variety of decorative painting is grisaille, widely used to decorate palace interiors, where it imitated sculptural reliefs (Sheremetev Palace in Kuskovo, 18th century). Ceramic products are also decorated with decorative paintings. The painting of ceramic dishes is called vase painting.

Theatrical and decorative painting is scenery and costume designs for theatrical performances and films; sketches of individual mise-en-scenes.
Basic painting techniques: oil painting, tempera, glue painting, encaustic and etc. Watercolor, gouache, pastel occupy an intermediate position between painting and graphic techniques. Colorful pigments were originally mined from minerals (yellow-brown ocher from clay, red from hematite, white from lime, black from coal or burnt bone, blue and green from lapis lazuli and malachite, etc.). Later, paints made by chemical means appeared. In all painting techniques, the same pigments are used, but different binders are liquid and sticky substances that do not allow paint powders to crumble. Glue paints mixed with casein were used by ancient Egyptian masters; these paints did not spread, which made it possible to convey many small details. Pictures of legendary ancient Greek masters and tombstones that have not come down to us Fayum portraits were painted using the encaustic technique: paints were fused into hot melted wax. Thick wax paints made it possible to create an expressive relief texture. In the Middle Ages, tempera came into use - paints mixed with egg yolk or protein with various additives. Tempera images are distinguished by a muffled color scheme. Tempera is strong and durable, does not crack over time, unlike oil painting.

Oil painting appeared during the Renaissance; its invention is attributed to the Dutchman J. van Eyck. Pigments were diluted with linen, walnut, etc. vegetable oils; thanks to this, the paints dried quickly, they could be applied in thin, transparent layers, which gave the painting a special luminosity and brilliance. The disadvantage of oil paints is that they lose their elasticity over time, darken and become covered with cracks (craquelure). Work with oil paints allows a huge variety of techniques - from fine, careful finishing to wide and temperamental painting "alla prima"; with their help, you can create a smooth enamel surface and a plastic, embossed texture. It is in this technique that the artist can most fully express his creative individuality and convey all the textured diversity of the world - transparent glass, fluffy fur, the warmth of human skin.
A true pleasure for connoisseurs of painting is the contemplation of the miracle of the transformation of strokes into living forms, the flesh of colors into the flesh of things. Renaissance Masters, small Dutch", in the 17th century. sought to create a sense of "not made by hands" of the depicted objects; they painted with the finest brushes, applying small, imperceptible strokes. In con. 19th century artists strive to “uncover” the creative process, to reveal the beauty of not only the depicted object, but also the texture of the pictorial masonry itself (clots of paint, its streaks and flows, the “mosaic” of strokes, etc.). Masters of the 20th century use all the variety of techniques and methods of painting.