Artist Vasily Polenov paintings. From European romanticism to Russian lyrics

The artist Vasily Polenov is one of the brightest representatives in Russian painting of the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. His landscapes are full of romance, beauty of perception and spirituality. Author of the famous paintings "Moscow Yard", "Christ and the Sinner" and of course the painting "Grandmother's Garden"

Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov Biography. The artist was born in 1844 on June 1 into a noble large family of nobles living in the capital in St. Petersburg. The head of the Polenov family, Dmitry Vasilievich, was very educated person, his knowledge was closely related to archeology, along the way he was fond of describing books, various literature reviews, notes in magazines, etc.

Polenov’s mother M.A. was creatively savvy, was fond of painting, history, and was also noticed as children's writer. In the family, she carefully taught children drawing and painting; the pictures drawn by the children were discussed at family council, best works were rewarded. Additionally, artists from the Academy of Arts taught the children the basics of pictorial literacy; all this greatly contributed to the development young artist and entry into adulthood.

In terms of development in drawing, his younger sister Elena also did not lag behind Vasily, in the future he and she will become professional artists. Since 1856, Vasily and his sister have been studying under the supervision of the young artist P. P. Chistyakov, who has been studying with them for five years. At the same time, Polenov studied at the gymnasium and graduated from this institution in 1863 and entered the university studying the fundamentals of physics and mathematics.

Creative potential The young artist was versatile: in the evenings, as a volunteer, he attends classes at the academy, is actively involved in music, and even tries to write his own musical works, visits concert halls, theaters, participates in various student amateur performances, sings on stage and subsequently regularly attends the Academy of Arts, studying in a full-scale class.

Uncertain of his true purpose for some time, he left his studies at the university, completely devoting himself to pictorial knowledge at the academy and completed his courses in 1867 with silver medals. He goes abroad to the world exhibition in France, where at that time samples of various modern folk crafts were presented; later for Polenov this will be the topic for defending his dissertation at the university.

In 1868, he again entered the university and studied at this stage the basics of jurisprudence.

In 1869, he was actively engaged in painting in the hope of receiving gold medals, and in the end he achieved his goal; for the painting “Job and His Friends” he was awarded a small gold medal, which gave him the next right in the competition of artists to receive the long-awaited large gold medal in academic The task is to paint the picture “The Resurrection of Jairus’s Daughter.” Of course, the task was not easy, especially since Ilya Repin took part in the competition with him.

In 1871, both artists coped with the task perfectly, with some differences in their work from each other, the paintings received positive reviews and the artists were awarded large gold medals with the right to travel to Europe.

After graduating from the university with a thesis defense in 1872, he and Repin visited foreign countries. Polenov travels to Germany, then to Italy, he is impressed by life abroad with its way of life, he visits museums and galleries, exhibitions, absorbing everything necessary in knowledge European painting and various crafts. Subsequently, he visited France, enchanted by the beauty of this city, he lived and worked for some time. In Paris, where, under the impression, he painted the painting “The Arrest of the Countess d’Etremont”, in fact, for this work, upon returning to his homeland, he was awarded the honorary title of academician in 1876. In the same year, as a court artist, he went to the zone of Russian-Turkish military operations.

Being an academician, Polenov teaches at the School of Painting in Moscow, under his leadership Kostantin Korovin, Isaac Levitan, Abram Arkhipov and many others became real artists.

Living in Moscow, Vasily Polenov falls in love with the Moscow streets, finding in them truly picturesque places, decorated with beautiful church churches with gilded domes, and in 1878 he creates a simply unique masterpiece of his work, a painting with the affectionate title “Moscow Courtyard”, the plot of which, the artist noticed in one of the Arbat back streets. This work brought the artist impressive success and popularity, and his writing style began to be perceived by his contemporaries as a new style, marked by an intimate landscape.

In 1879, Polenov joined the ranks of the Peredvizhniki artists and often exhibits his works at exhibitions, among which the painting “Grandma’s Garden” and “Overgrown Pond” received many good reviews, Stasov designated this work as the best colorful painting work among landscape painters at that time.

In 1881, Polenov, together with Prakhov A.V. and Abamelek-Lazarev S.S. visit the Middle East, having visited Egypt, Syria and Palestine. During his trip to the Middle East, the Artist performed various sketches from life and landscapes “The Nile at the Theban Range”, “The Nile, the Pyramids in the Distance”.

In 1882, the artist returned to Russia; the works he brought after the trip were exhibited in 1885 at traveling exhibition, where Pavel Tretyakov saw them, enchanted by the works, he acquired them.

In 1882, Vasily Polenov got married, and Yakunchikova N.B., a relative of Mamontova E.G., became his chosen one. In 1883, he again went abroad, this time with his wife, and visited Italy, settling in the capital of Italy in Rome, where he hatched a plan for painting on a theme from the life of Christ. In 1887, the artist painted the painting “Christ and the Sinner.” The most interesting thing is that Polenov depicted Christ not quite traditionally, like common man with a wise mind and pure soul. The painting was exhibited in the same year at a traveling exhibition and was purchased by Emperor Alexander 3rd.

In 1890, the artist left the capital for Tula region, where he purchased a house on the banks of the Oka River and later, according to his plan, a house was built for him along with workshops in which he gathers artists and teaches painting and drawing to local rural children. This estate was named Borok. Having had his fill of rural views, Polenov works a lot and creates a number of paintings with the beauty of the surroundings of the Oka River “Early Snow”, “Summer on the Oka”, “Autumn on the Oka near Tarusa”, “ Golden autumn"

Working a lot with the landscape theme, Polenov was haunted by the theme from the Gospel, so he created many works according to his plan, and in 1909 many of them were demonstrated in different cities of Russia in St. Petersburg, Tver and Moscow.

Vasily Polenov devotes a lot of time to working in the theater, performing various decorative works; this contributed to his friendship with Sava Mamontov.

According to the artist's plans, a theater building with various workshops for staging scenes was built in 1915. He himself takes part in developing scripts and directing productions.

After October revolution In 1917, he moved to his Bork estate, where he participated in the organization of peasants. theater clubs. He works a lot with young people, Polenov teaches painting basics to children.

He continues to be creative, paints a picture, paints a picture in 1919, “Spill on the Oka River.” In 1924, he turned 80, as a sign of this event, his personal exhibition in the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery in 1926 for various services Soviet state

awards him the title of People's Artist of Russia.

In the summer of 1827, on July 18, Polenov died; he was buried on the banks of the Oka River in the vicinity of the village of Bekhovo. In the second half of the 19th century, the rise of Russian landscape painting

, one of the brightest representatives of this direction of painting is the outstanding artist Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov. His brushes include such works as “Moscow Courtyard”, “Golden Autumn”, “Grandma’s Garden”, etc. This article is devoted to a description of the biography and work of the famous artist.

Biography of the artist: early childhood Russian artist Vasily Polenov was born in St. Petersburg on May twentieth, 1844, into a wealthy family hereditary nobles . The father of the future artist, Dmitry Polenov, was famous as an archaeologist and biographer, and his mother, Maria Alekseevna, was engaged in painting and writing children's stories. Little Vasily spent his childhood in the capital, but his family summer time often went to the hereditary estate of her grandmother Maria Alekseevna, which was located in the Tambov province. Virgin nature, stories and legends of the grandmother had an impact strong influence for the future painter, in addition, she often arranged art competitions , in which Vasily and his sister Elena most often won victories. Also, Vasily Polenov’s mother, who was engaged in drawing with her son, also introduced a love of painting to Vasily Polenov, and she later hired him a tutor. He became famous artist

and teacher Pavel Chistyakov, who at that time was still studying at the art academy. From the very beginning, Chistyakov introduced Vasily to a close study of nature.

V. D. Polenov during his student years In 1861, Vasily Polenov entered the men's gymnasium, which was located in Petrozavodsk. After graduating from high school in 1863 he entered St. Petersburg University at the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. But Polenov did not abandon his passion for painting, and after finishing his studies at the faculty, he attended the art academy. In addition to drawing, the young man was interested in singing; he often visited the opera house and sang in the student choir. Soon, combining university studies and painting classes became quite difficult, and Vasily decides to take a sabbatical and devote his time entirely to drawing. In 1867, Vasily Polenov graduated from the Art Academy with a silver medal. After this, the young man returns to the university, but is transferred to another faculty - law.

Adult years

In 1867, Vasily Polenov made his first trip abroad, and there he visited the Paris World Exhibition. The artist was most impressed by the section of the exhibition, which was dedicated to the folk arts and crafts of the most different countries. After her visit, the artist set his sights on getting gold medal from the art academy. The first step in receiving the award was the painting by Vasily Polenov of biblical story. Soon, in 1869, the artist presented the work “Job and His Friends,” which was awarded a small award. This meant that the artist could continue to participate in the competition. A new stage of the competition was the painting of a picture on the theme “The Resurrection of the Daughter of Iar.” Two artists reached the finals of the competition - Vasily Polenov and Ivan Repin. Both presented wonderful paintings. The competition jury unexpectedly did not choose one winner and awarded gold medals to both Polenov and Repin. Subsequently, the artists became close, and in 1872 they decided to go on a trip abroad together.

Together with Ilya Efimovich Repin, they visited Venice, Florence and Paris, which impressed Polenov so much that he decided to stay and live here. In Paris, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov painted the painting “The Arrest of Countess Daitremont”, for which he later received the position of academician in Russian Academy Sci. In 1874, the painter, at the invitation of I. E. Repin, came to Normandy, where he worked on the painting “The Normandy Coast”. In 1876 he returned to Russia and became a court artist of the imperial family. Soon he, along with the heir to the throne Alexander, goes to war with Turkey.

After the end of the war, Vasily Polenov returned to Moscow and became a teacher at the School of Painting and Architecture. Many later successful artists passed through his hands: Levitan, Golovin, Korovin and many others. At this time, the artist continued to write, and in 1877 he presented his painting “Moscow Courtyard”, which was very warmly received, and he himself became the founder of a new genre in painting - intimate landscape. During this period, the artist joined the circle of Peredvizhniki artists, among whom he had many acquaintances at that time. In 1882, Vasily Dmitrievich married the daughter of a merchant, Natalya Yakunchikova, from this marriage the couple had 6 children.

At the end of the 19th century, Vasily Dmitrievich, being very famous and popular artist, decides to leave noisy Moscow and move to the Russian outback, to Tula. Here, on the banks of the Oka, the artist built a house, and workshops were attached to it, where Polenov later taught drawing to local children. The estate founded by Polenov was named Borok.

During the revolutions, Vasily Polenov was on his Borok estate and was actively involved in teaching local children, organizing theater clubs with them and teaching them drawing. At this time, he wrote one of his best works, “Spill on the Oka River,” which was highly noted by critics. In general, the Soviet government had a positive attitude towards Polenov’s personality and did not oppress him. Moreover, in 1924 an exhibition of his paintings took place in Tretyakov Gallery, and in 1926 V.D. Polenov was awarded the title People's Artist. This attitude of power towards the individual is largely explained by the fact that the artist did not criticize, at least publicly, new government and what he was bright philanthropist and sought to improve public education in the country. Vasily Polenov died on July 18, 1927 in his estate, and he was buried here on the banks of the Oka.

Polenovsky house

In addition to his activities in painting, V. D. Polenov was also an active philanthropist and philanthropist. So, in 1915, together with S.I. Mamontov, he opened the first institution in Russia and the world, which was supposed to help village and factory theaters. The new institution later received the name Polenovsky House. At the end of 1916, according to Polenov’s design and with his own funds, the mansion in which the auditorium, designed for 300 people, library, rehearsal rooms and workshops. During the years of revolution, the activities of this institution were actually suspended. In the early 20s, the Polenovsky House was subordinated to the People's Commissariat of Education and renamed. Soon the building was given a new name, and it became known as the House of Theater Education named after. V. D. Polenova. During this period, the institution organized the work of literary, musical, artistic, technical and school theaters, in addition, the publication of its own magazine "People's Theater" began. But the main direction of the house’s activities is the development of theaters and other forms of amateur performances in rural areas. In 1930, the institution was renamed again and received the name TsDISK im. N.K. Krupskaya. This name remained until 1991, when it was renamed the Russian House folk art. In 2016, the building was again named after the artist V. D. Polenov.

Review of the artist's work. Painting by Vasily Polenov "Moscow courtyard"

After Polenov returned in 1877 from abroad, where the artist got acquainted with the paintings outstanding artists world, he stops in Moscow and rents an apartment not far from the Church of the Savior on the Sands. It was the view from this window that gave the artist the idea for painting. In 1878, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov presented “Moscow Courtyard” at the exhibition of the Itinerants. This was his debut work in this society, and he himself called it a test. But to his great surprise, the painting was a resounding success, and made him one of the most recognizable artists of his time. After the end of the exhibition, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov’s painting “Moscow Courtyard” was purchased by Tretyakov for his gallery.

Description of the picture

The picture shows an ordinary Moscow courtyard of the second half of the 19th century, with its neighboring mansions and simpler houses, the domes of churches sparkling in the sun and overgrown with grass. In the background, a peasant girl, carrying buckets, walks along the path to the well, and chickens graze busily next to her. Not far from her, basking in the rays of the sun, stands a harnessed horse, she is waiting for her owner and is ready to hit the road at any moment. In the middle ground you can see three small children, two of them are looking at something in the grass, and the third is separate from them and crying, but no one pays attention to him. At the forefront is a girl slightly older than the three, looking at a plucked flower with great enthusiasm. In general, on the canvas the artist depicted the bustle of everyday life, which is beautiful in its everydayness and serenity.

Vasily Polenov: "Grandma's Garden"

A distinctive feature of Vasily Dmitrievich’s work is the fact that the artist knew how to convey the mood of the characters in his paintings. “Grandma’s Garden” is clear proof of this. The canvas was created by Polenov at the same time and in the same place as “Moscow Courtyard”. This painting combines a landscape with a genre scene.

Description of the picture

In the foreground, the artist depicted two people, a granddaughter and her elderly grandmother, they are walking together along a path that runs through a garden that has not been well-kept for a long time. The grandmother is dressed in an old dark-colored outfit, and the granddaughter is dressed in the fashion of that time, in a pale white dress. The figures of the grandmother and granddaughter are a contrast between old and new times. This is also emphasized by the old mansion in the background, which was once stately and well-groomed, but now the house has become very dilapidated and has lost its former grandeur. But still, viewing the picture does not cause a feeling of sadness, but rather evokes a feeling of nostalgia for a bygone time and inspires hope for a bright future.

Painting by Vasily Polenov "Golden Autumn"

This painting was painted by V. D. Polenov in 1893 at his Borok estate, located on the banks of the Oka River. Vasily Dmitrievich became addicted to landscape themes during a trip abroad with Ilya Repin, and she began to occupy important place in his work. Distinctive features Polenov's landscapes are purity of color, clarity of drawing, scrupulously verified composition. Vasily Dmitrievich’s painting “Golden Autumn” is a prominent representative of this artist’s style.

Description of the picture

In the background of the painting is a bend of the Oka River, around which the entire composition of the work is built. Thus, the yellowed autumn foliage of birches organically harmonizes with the blue surface of the river and the same endless sky with its scanty clouds. Also striking is the majestic oak tree, whose foliage is still green. Generally this picture is the personification of the new artistic genre- intimate landscape.

Thus, Vasily Polenov is one of the most talented artists 19th century, who painted their works in the landscape genre. Polenov’s work was popular both during the artist’s life and after his death, and his paintings were exhibited in the most famous art galleries.

Artist Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov is a Russian painter, an internationally recognized master of landscape, genre and historical painting, teacher, People's Artist of the RSFSR.

V. D. Polenov. Portrait by Ilya Repin

Biography and creativity of the artist Vasily Polenov

The artist Vasily Polenov was born in June 1844 in St. Petersburg, in a large noble family. His father, Dmitry Vasilyevich Polenov, was a well-known archaeologist and bibliographer in the capital, secretary of the Russian Archaeological Society, who was fond of art and studied chronicles and history.

The artist’s mother, Maria Alexandrovna (née Voeykova), was a children’s writer and studied painting.

As a child, the future artist spent a lot of time on the estate of his grandmother V.N. Voeikova, daughter of the famous architect Nikolai Lvov. Vera Nikolaevna, after early death parents, was brought up in the house of Gavrila Derzhavin, was well versed in Russian history, knew folk poetry, fairy tales and Russian epics. The grandmother devoted a lot of time to her grandchildren, encouraged their passion for painting, and arranged for children creative competitions, in which the winner, as in the Academy, was awarded a medal.

For the most gifted children (the elder Vasily and the younger Elena), painting teachers were hired from among the students of the Academy of Arts. This is how P.P. appeared in the Polenovs’ house. Chistyakov, a meeting with whom was truly fateful for Vasily Polenov.

From 1861 to 1863, Polenov studied at the Olonets provincial male gymnasium, which was located in the city of Petrozavodsk. After graduating from high school, Vasily, together with his brother Alexei, entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University. And after the lectures, as a free student, he attended lectures at the Academy of Arts. He also studied anatomy, attended classes in the art of construction, studied descriptive geometry and history. fine arts, sang in a student choir and even composed musical works.

Soon Vasily Polenov left the university and became a permanent student in the full-scale class of the Academy of Arts. In 1867, the young artist graduated from a course at the Academy of Arts with silver medals for drawings and sketches, and took part in a competition for a gold medal in the class of historical painting.

In January 1868, Polenov returned to the university, but already to the Faculty of Law, and defended, in 1871, a dissertation on the topic “On the meaning of art in its application to crafts.”

In 1869, the painting “Job and His Friends” was awarded a small gold medal.

In 1871, for the competition work “Christ Raises the Daughter of Jairus,” Vasily Polenov was awarded a large gold medal and in 1872, as a pensioner of the academy, he went on a six-year trip abroad to European countries.

The artist visited Munich and Vienna, Florence, Naples and Venice, lived and worked for some time in Paris, where, among other things, he painted the painting “The Arrest of the Countess d'Etremont” - for this work in 1876 Polenov would be awarded the title of academician.

The painting “The Right of the Master,” painted in Germany, will be sold to Pavel Tretyakov for a lot of money - the patron of the arts was so amazed by the canvas that he bought it without haggling.

In 1874, Vasily Dmitrievich, at the invitation of I.E. Repin, comes to the resort town of Veul (Normandy), where he writes famous paintings“Normandy Coast” and “Fishing Boat. Etretat. Normandy".

Italy seems to me to be different from how it is usually portrayed. I somehow don’t see many yellow-red tones, except at sunset, but to me they seem more like silver-olive, that is, gray.

The artist showed this impression of Italy in the painting “Italian Landscape with a Peasant.”

Two years before the end of his trip abroad, Polenov began to work for an early return to his homeland.

She [ trip abroad] brought me in many ways, the main thing is that everything that I have done so far is not right, I need to give it all up and start again - great. Here I tried and tried all kinds of painting: historical, genre, landscape, marina, portrait of a head, images of animals, nature morte, etc. and came to the conclusion that my talent is closest to landscape, everyday genre which is what I'll do.

In 1876, the artist returned to Russia and soon found himself in the Russian-Turkish war as an official artist at the main apartment of the heir to the crown prince (future All-Russian Emperor Alexandra III). Vasily Dmitrievich creates a whole series of illustrations about the life of the army during the war for the magazine “Pchela”. But he didn’t paint battle paintings.

In his letter to the Russian singer Marya Klimentova-Muromtseva, the artist explains his state of mind:

The plots of human disfigurement and death are too strong in nature to be conveyed on canvas, at least, I still feel some kind of shortcoming in myself, it doesn’t work out for me what is in reality, there it is so terrible and so simple.

Returning from the war, Polenov enthusiastically worked in the field of theatrical and decorative painting, and since 1882 he became a teacher at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where his students were I.I. Levitan, I.S. Ostroukhov, K.A. Korovin, A.E. Arkhipov, A.Ya. Golovin, E.M. Tatevosyan and more whole line who later became famous artists.

In 1878, at the VI Traveling Exhibition, Polenov presented his painting “Moscow Courtyard,” which was painted from life in one of the Arbat alleys. The success of the painting was deafening and completely unexpected for the author, who from that moment was called the founder of a new genre in painting - intimate landscape.

Polenov himself did not like “Moscow Courtyard” and in a letter accompanying the picture he wrote:

Unfortunately , I didn’t have time to do a more significant thing, but I wanted to go to a traveling exhibition with something decent, I hope in the future to earn time lost for art.

In 1879, the artist became a member of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions.

After “Moscow Courtyard,” the artist gained fame as a master of epic landscapes, and this fame only grew after the works that were painted as a result of traveling along the Oka River and the Middle East, to places associated with the cradle of Christianity.

From a trip to holy places, Polenov brings back the painting “Christ and the Sinner,” as well as other paintings that were painted in a completely new manner for the painter.

In 1888, the artist presented to the public the painting “On Lake Tiberias (Genisareret).”

In 1890, with the money raised from the sale of the painting “Christ and the Sinner,” Polenov acquired a small estate on the banks of the Oka River in the Tula province, built a house with an art workshop according to his own design, and named his estate “Borok.” The artist works a lot on this estate, giving lessons to children from surrounding villages. And also builds folk theater and a church in the nearby village of Bekhov.

In 1899, Vasily Dmitrievich set off on a new journey to the Middle East with the goal of collecting material for the grandiose series “From the Life of Christ” conceived by the artist. In 1909, the paintings created as a result of this trip were presented to the public and the exhibition was a great success.

After the October Revolution, Vasily Polenov continues educational activities: works with peasant youth, creates theater clubs, teaches children the basics of painting. At the same time, he also finds time for creativity - in 1919, the painting “Spill on the Oka” was completed, which would later be named the best in late creativity Polenova.

In 1924, the Tretyakov Gallery organized a personal exhibition of Polenov in honor of the painter’s 80th birthday, and in 1926, Vasily Dmitrievich was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the RSFSR.

In July 1927, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov died in his Borok estate and was buried at rural cemetery in the village of Bekhovo on the steep bank of the Oka.

Since the late 1870s. the art and personality of V. D. Polenov were surrounded not just by fame, but by downright enthusiastic worship of artistic youth. The colors of his paintings seemed sparkling and enchanting to his contemporaries and were perceived as a pictorial revelation. Now it’s difficult to fully share these delights, but that’s how it was...

Polenov was born into an intelligent and noble noble family. My father is a major official and at the same time a historian-archaeologist. My mother was an amateur painter. The son inherited both talents - scientific and artistic. In his parental estate Imochentsy on the banks of the Oyat River in the Olonets province, young Polenov met the beautiful Russian nature. And in 1858 he first saw “The Appearance of Christ to the People” by A. A. Ivanov. As it turns out later, these two meetings would turn out to be the most important in the fate of Polenov the artist.

Polenov was a multi-talented and widely educated person. He studied at the same time at St. Petersburg University and the Academy of Arts. In 1871, he received a law degree and, at the same time as I. E. Repin, a large gold medal for the competition painting “The Resurrection of Jairus’s Daughter.”

"Resurrection of Jairus' Daughter"
1871
Canvas, oil. 173 x 280 cm
Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts

However, several more years passed before Polenov really found himself as an artist
He travels to Germany, Italy, France (as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts), writes historical and genre paintings, portraits. But he is increasingly attracted to landscapes, painting outdoors- plein air, pure paints. He studies the works of remarkable French landscape painters, primarily the Barbizons. Learns directly, not through academic schemes to see and understand nature, to comprehend its great harmony.

In 1876 Polenov returned to Russia. In 1878, the now famous “Moscow Courtyard” appeared at the XII exhibition of the TPHV. In this sun-filled painting, the artist managed to combine the spontaneity and freshness of plein air perception with a holistic and at the same time intimately warm feeling of the world, so characteristic of the Russian landscape tradition. "Moscow courtyard" - indeed the whole world, in which every detail looks infinitely significant and dear; in which the manor’s estate and the dwellings of the poor “converge”; which begins with the figure of a child in the foreground and seems to grow into the bottomless sky with the domes of the church sparkling in the sun. Human world here is part of the vastly harmonious world of nature.

"Moscow courtyard"
1877
Oil on canvas on cardboard 48.8 x 38.5

Moscow

"Moscow courtyard"
1878
Canvas, oil. 64.5 x 80.1 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery

Polenov's subsequent works - "Grandma's Garden" (1878), "Overgrown Pond" (1879), sketches of 1881-82, completed during a trip to Greece and the Middle East - strengthened his reputation as one of the best Russian landscape painters. In the minds of his contemporaries, he was the first to introduce “European influence” (A.M. Vasnetsov) into Russian painting to such an extent, that is, the principles of plein air painting: pure and more open colors, colored shadows, free brush strokes.

"Grandma's Garden"
1878
Oil on canvas 54.7 x 65
State Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow

"Overgrown Pond"
1879
Oil on canvas 77 x 121.8
State Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow

In 1882-94. Polenov teaches a landscape class at MUZHVZ. His students were I. I. Levitan, K. A. Korovin, A. E. Arkhipov, A. Ya. Golovin and other subsequently famous masters. In many of the artist's later landscapes, the motif of a river slowly flowing into the distance among the endless space of the Russian plain is persistently repeated ("Early Snow", 1891; "Golden Autumn", 1893, etc.). This is the Motherland. This is how Polenov remembered her from childhood. Landscapes are the best of his legacy.

"Early Snow"
1891
Canvas, oil. 48 x 85 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery

"Gold autumn"
1893
Oil on canvas 77 x 124
State Historical, Artistic and Natural Museum-Reserve V.D. Polenova
Tarusa

“Pond in the park. Olshanka"
1877
Wood, oil 24 x 33.6
State Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow

"Old Mill"
1880
Oil on canvas 88 x 135
Serpukhov historical- Art Museum
Serpukhov

"On the boat. Abramtsevo"
1880
Canvas, oil. 58 x 106.5 cm
Kyiv state museum Russian art


“The Klyazma River. Zhukovka"
1888
Oil on canvas 38 x 46.7
Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum
Nizhny Novgorod

"Russian Village (Northern Village)"
1889
Oil on canvas 89 x 142

Saratov

"Chapel on the banks of the Oka"
1893
Canvas, oil. 24 x 43 cm
State Museum-Reserve "Rostov Kremlin"

"Privolzhsky village"
1897
Canvas, oil. 32 x 54 cm
Penza regional Art Gallery them. K.A. Savitsky

But the artist himself dreams of going further. He cherishes a grandiose plan - “...to create a Christ who is not only coming, but who has already come into the world and making his way among the people.” Polenov visited Palestine twice. He studies landscape, architecture, human types.

Seated Christ. 1880s

Palestinian monk. 1886

Head of Christ. Around 1887

In 1888, the artist completed his largest painting, “Christ and the Sinner.” Following it appeared “On Lake Genisaret (Tiberias)” (1888), “Dreams (On the Mountain)” (1890-1900s) and dozens more works in the series “From the Life of Christ” (1899-1909).


"Christ and the Sinner (Who is Without Sin?)"
1888
Oil on canvas 325 x 611
State Russian Museum
Saint Petersburg

Polenov sought to show Christ as a humanist opposing the savage dogmatism of fanatics (according to the law, wives found guilty of adultery were stoned). He was also inspired by the noble idea of ​​protecting the dignity and equality of women. The depiction of Christ in historical real clothing and settings was innovative. Contemporaries were also surprised by the brightness of the colors. But Polenov used new pictorial principles of a composition that was generally academic in nature and therefore failed to achieve the necessary persuasiveness.

The background of the picture resembles theatrical scenery. And this is no coincidence. Polenov worked a lot in the theater and was one of the founders of the reform of theatrical and decorative art, which gave such brilliant results at the beginning of the 20th century.
In Moscow, the House of Theater Education was built at his expense (1915).

“On Lake Tiberias (Gensaret)”
1888

"Lake Tiberias (Genisaret)"
1881
Oil on canvas 31 x 63
State Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan
Kazan

“Lake Tiberias (Genisaret) Palestine"
1880s
Oil on canvas 72 x 127.9
Yaroslavl Art Museum
Yaroslavl

"Dreams"
Painting from the series “From the Life of Christ”.
1894
Oil on canvas 180 x 165
State Art Museum named after A. N. Radishchev
Saratov

In his interest in the personality of Christ, Polenov is not alone among Russian artists late XIX c., but perhaps the most consistent. He strives to portray Jesus as morally perfect and in this sense ideal, but at the same time simply a man in a specific historical setting among a real landscape. In addition to the Gospel, the artist was inspired by the famous book “The Life of Jesus” by E. Renan. Polenov tried to free the image of the Gospel tradition from the cliches that have developed over centuries and imagine: what was it really like? Here Polenov the scientist spoke in him.

The second half of the 19th century was the heyday of Russian painting. One of the representatives of the galaxy of outstanding artists of this period is Vasily Polenov, whose paintings amaze with realism and the desire to “give happiness and joy.” Last words belong to the painter himself and are the motto of his work and life, as evidenced by the artist’s biography.

Parents

The future famous artist was born into a cultured and fairly wealthy noble family in 1844. His father, Dmitry Polenov, was known as a keen archaeologist and bibliographer. Mother, Maria Alekseevna, nee Voeykova, was engaged in painting and wrote books for children. She was the daughter of Vera Nikolaevna Lvova, who, after the early death of her parents and before her marriage, was raised in the family of G. Derzhavin.

Childhood

Dmitrievich spent his childhood in St. Petersburg, but his family often went for the summer to the Olonetsky region and to the Olshanka estate in the Tambov province, which belonged to the artist’s grandmother. she adored her grandchildren and loved to entertain them by telling epics, legends and fairy tales. She was also well acquainted with Russian and European poetry, so she played big role in the formation of little Vasya’s artistic taste. As for the origin of his love for painting, his mother was involved in drawing with the children. She insisted that her husband hire tutors for Vasily and his youngest daughter Elena. P. Chistyakov, who at that time himself was studying at the Academy of Arts, was invited as a teacher. At the same time, the boy attended the gymnasium and showed great zeal for his studies.

Student years

In 1863, Vasily Polenov graduated from high school and, together with younger brother Alexey entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University. However, his love for painting was stronger than his passion for science, and in the evenings the young man attended the Academy of Arts. In addition, young Polenov was fond of music and was a frequent visitor opera house and even sang in the student choir of the Academy.

Soon the young man took up and devoted all his time to painting. In 1867, Vasily Polenov graduated from the Academy of Arts. At the same time he received silver medals for the sketch and drawings.

Immediately after this, the young man returned to the university, but changed departments and began studying to become a lawyer.

Meeting with Repin

In 1869, Vasily Polenov became eager to receive the gold medal of the Academy of Arts. For this purpose, he painted the painting “Job and His Friends.” She received a small award and gave him the right to continue participating in the competition. The new task was to create the canvas “The Resurrection of Jairus’ Daughter,” and Ivan Repin became the young artist’s rival.

The result of the competition was unexpected: both masters of the brush presented excellent works, so the jury awarded them large gold medals and a trip to Europe.

In 1872, Dmitrievich and Repin went first to Germany, and then to Italy and Paris. The capital of France charmed the artist so much that he decided to stay there. In Paris, Polenov painted the canvas “The Arrest of the Countess d’Etremont”, for which, after returning to Russia, he was awarded the title of academician. The painter's talent was also appreciated by representatives of the imperial family. In 1876, he took the position of court artist and went to the Russian-Turkish War, where he was at the headquarters of Tsarevich Alexander.

Moscow period

Returning from the theater of military operations, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov settled in Moscow and began teaching at the capital’s school of painting, sculpture and architecture. There his students were I. Levitan, K. Korovin, I. Ostroukhov, A. Arkhipov, E. Tatevosyan and A. Golovin.

At the same time, the artist himself wrote a lot, and in 1877 he presented his work “Moscow Courtyard” at the 6th traveling exhibition. The picture was a resounding success, and Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was recognized as the founder of a new genre, called by critics “intimate landscape”.

Another significant event in the Moscow period of the artist’s life was his decision to join the Itinerants, among whom by that time he had many friends.

Biblical theme

Old Testament and Christian subjects were present in Polenov’s work from the very beginning. In search of inspiration, in 1881-1882 the artist went on a trip to biblical places, to the Middle East. He visited Constantinople, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. From his trip, the artist Vasily Polenov brought sketches for the painting “Christ and the Sinner” and other works written under the impression of what he saw. Some of them delighted Pavel Tretyakov, who purchased the paintings for his collection.

Image of Christ

In 1883, the painter and his wife went to Italy. There he continued to work on the painting “Christ and the Sinner,” which he presented to the public at the 15th exhibition of the Wanderers. The canvas created a sensation, and Emperor Alexander III, who had favored the artist since the Russian-Turkish War, declared his desire to see it in his museum.

In 1888, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov wrote another one on biblical theme- “On Lake Tiberias (Genesaret).” On the new canvas, he again depicted Christ - a man with an oriental type of face and with the look of a sage, but not a sufferer. Moreover, important “ actor The painting was a landscape painted from sketches made by the artist from life during a trip to the Middle East.

Life in Behovo

In the 1890s, Vasily Polenov, whose biography is a long list of successes, decided to leave the capital and move to the Tula region. There, on the banks of the Oka, he built a house. Somewhat later, workshops were added to the main building, in which Polenov taught drawing to rural children. The painter gave the name Borok to the established estate and began to make efforts to ensure that it eventually turned into a people's museum.

Vasily Polenov: “Golden Autumn”

The views of the surrounding area of ​​Boroka won the artist's heart. It was they who became the theme of the works that Vasily Polenov wrote in the early 1890s. “Golden Autumn” occupies a special place among them. The canvas depicts the banks of the Oka, bordered by birch trees in bright decoration. The painting is exhibited in the Polenovo estate museum ( former estate"Borok") and is strikingly different from early landscapes, which were written by Vasily Polenov (“Overgrown Pond”, “Old Mill”, etc.).

After 1917

After the October Revolution, Polenov took an active part in organizing theater club in the Borok estate and worked a lot with peasant youth.

At the same time, he painted the painting “Spill on the Oka River,” which became one of the most best works artist of a mature period.

last years of life

In 1924, in honor of the artist’s 80th birthday, a personal exhibition of Vasily Dmitrievich’s works was organized at the Tretyakov Gallery. At all Soviet authority was favorable to the artist. In particular, in 1926 the painter was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR. Most likely this was due to charitable activities Polenov and his desire to contribute with all his might to public education even at a time when only rare representatives of the Russian intelligentsia were engaged in this.

On July 18, 1927, the painter died. The artist was buried on the banks of the Oka, in the vicinity of the Borok estate he founded.

"Polenovo"

In 1931 soviet government decided to create a museum in the Borok estate. It was renamed Polenovo, and the interiors that were there during the artist’s lifetime were preserved. Interesting events are regularly held there cultural events and paintings by the famous painter are exhibited.

Now you know the main events of the biography of V. Polenov and the history of the creation of some of his most significant works, which are among the masterpieces of Russian visual arts 19th century.