Arkhip Kuindzhi. After the rain.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Sea. Crimea.
Brought this amazing picture Arkhip Ivanovich pafter a trip to Ukraine and exhibited one painting at a solo exhibition. People entered a darkened room where only the picture was lit. The moon was shining over the river! The audience could not understand where
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Dnieper in the morning.
The tranquility of the azure waters of the painting "Lake Ladoga" was transmitted to the viewer, leaving an indelible impression.
The picture "The Forgotten Village", despite the aching feeling of contemplating the Russian hopeless reality, still left a feeling of hope and faith that all this is temporary, and will soon change for the better.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Rainbow.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Night.
Registration number 0222764 issued for the work:
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Portrait by I.E. Repin.
Arkhip Kuindzhi was born in Mariupol into a poor Greek family.shoemaker. Having a craving for drawing, he went to Feodosia and triedto become a student of Ivan Aivazovsky, but only for two months he rubbed his paints.Having changed several professions, Arkhip Kuindzhi arrived in St. Petersburg and after three failed attempts he was admitted to the Imperial Academy of Arts as a volunteer. But he was not a diligent student at the academy, often skipping classes. Having painted several interesting paintings, he was noticed by the WanderersIvan Repin, Ivan Kramskoy and invited to the partnership traveling exhibitions. Arkhip Kuindzhi left the academy. A paradox of fate: at first they did not want to be admitted to the academy, but after many years the academy invited Arkhip Kuindzhi to the ranks of its teachers.Arkhip Kuindzhi was well with the Wanderers for almost 10 years, his paintings were sold at very high prices, but then he had a conflict with Mikhail Klodt and left the artel.Arkhip Kuindzhi was a man of not the best manners. He had a somewhat ferocious look. He was squat, with a head like that of Olympian Zeus with an aquiline nose. He came, sat down and unceremoniously, without asking, took other people's cigarettes, because he never had his own, although by that time he was a professor at the Academy of Arts.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. After the rain.
His paintings sold well, and he was not a poor man. Was with Arkhip Ivanovichbusiness acumen. Once he bought a house for twenty thousand rubles, brought it to an exemplary state and resold it immediately for sixty thousand rubles.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Ukrainian night.
But on his food with his wife, he spends an insignificant amount of fifty kopecks a day. Part of the money is spent in a meager amount on paints, brushes and a workshop. But it wasn't stingy. Arkhip Kuindzhi spent all his huge money on talented students, sending them to study abroad. Sick, he paid for trips to medical resorts. He helped free of charge anyone who got into trouble. Arkhip Ivanovich was a holy man, a bright soul and a noble heart.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Sea. Crimea.
Having accumulated one hundred thousand rubles, Arkhip Ivanovich contributes them to the Academy so that the interest from this money will be used as a bonus for the most talented students.After one of his trips to the island of Valaam, Kuindzhi painted a wonderful pictureabout the magnificent nature of the north. The painting was purchased by Tretyakov for his gallery.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. On the island of Valaam.
The world around us is perceived and created by Kuindzhi as a grandiose creation of nature,giving, when contemplated, sublime, colorful associations of the pleasures of perfectionand harmony. The pinnacle of Kuindzhi's creativity was amazing picture: "Moonlit night on the Dnieper".
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Moonlit night on the Dnieper.
After a trip to Ukraine, Arkhip Ivanovich brought striking picture- "Moonlit night on the Dnieper". It was a solo exhibition of one painting. People entered a darkened room where only the picture was lit. The moon was shining over the river! The audience could not understand wherethe moon on the canvas may have a glow. Some looked behind the picture in the hope of seeing a backlight there. Lined up a huge queue of people wishing to look at the glowing moonin the picture. Even the artists were amazed by the picture. No one could understand how Kuindzhi painted the moon and its reflection in the water. It seemed to everyone that it was a small but real moon, shining with its light, hanging above the canvas.
Another of his Ukrainian painting"Dnepr in the morning" pacified the audience at the next exhibition of the Wanderers with its spaciousness, breadth, vast hazy distances.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Dnieper in the morning.
The next picture shows the Chumatsky tract, along which Arkhip got to Feodosia. On the sodden road, watered by rain, carts of Chumaks moved under the dreary howl of dogs.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Chumatsky tract.
The calmness and tranquility of the painting "Lake Ladoga" were transmitted to the viewer, leaving an indelible impression.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Ladoga lake.
In the painting "Autumn Thaw" Arkhip Kuindzhi managed to show realistic picture the main Russian trouble is the road. Cover the whole vast Russia good roads- is practically unrealistic. It is especially difficult to move in rainy weather, when carts often get bogged down in impassable mud up to the hubs, when pedestrians pull their feet out of the muddy mud with a champ, when such a road has already taken all their strength and it seems that this road has no end, and only forces you to move along it. cruel necessity.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Autumn thaw.
The impending twilight in the painting "The Steppe in the Evening" shaded the just sultry steppelandscape, a few houses and a calm, pacifying expanse of the river, quietly carrying its waters. A little more and the darkness of the night will give coolness and sleep to this secluded, godforsaken land.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Steppe in the evening.
Arkhip Kuindzhi with a friend, working forCaucasus, witnessed a raremountain phenomenon - Broken ghosts,
enthralled them. Rainbowthe image of the artists appeared on the cloud.The low sun cast light from behind
artists on a foggy cloud, distinctlyhighlighting two lonely figures on itartists, as if favorably encouraging
and inspiring them to create a masterpiece. And a masterpiecetook place! There was only one pity: thisthe mystical miracle of nature melted away before,than they managed to transfer it to the canvas.
Brocken ghosts. (modern reconstruction).
The painting "Elbrus in the evening" delighted the audience, fascinated by the grandeur and beauty of the Caucasus.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Elbrus in the evening.
The picture "The Forgotten Village", despite the aching feeling from contemplating the Russian hopeless reality, still left a feeling of hope and faith that all this is temporary, and will soon change for the better.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Forgotten village.
The paintings of Arkhip Kuindzhi were sold out, most often, even before the exhibition. For some canvases, collectors paid big money. "Birch Grove" millionaire from Kyiv bought for 7thousand rubles, while the portraits of Ivan Kramskoy cost 800 - 900 hundred rubles, and the works of other artists cost even less.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Birch Grove.
noble heart Arkhip Ivanovich could not stand rudeness and injustice. When the academy refused Isaak Brodsky a trip abroad as a Jew, Arkhip Ivanovich banged his fist on the table and left the meeting in protest. At his own expense, he sent Brodsky to Italy, and with him 16 more of his best students.
Kuindzhi wrote a lot beautiful pictures, but he was primarily a poet of the night landscape.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Darial Gorge.
Arkhip Ivanovich was friends with Dmitri Mendeleev. Great chemist he adored painting, artists and once presented his device for measuring the sensitivity of the eye to the subtle nuances of color shades.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Evening in Little Russia.
Arkhip Kuindzhi broke all test records to perfect accuracy.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Rainbow.
Arkhip Ivanovich loved not only people, but also birds. This was the weakness of the artist, which was mocked by negligent cartoonists. High noon, by the sound of an artillery gunPeter and Paul Fortress, Arkhip Ivanovich went to the roof of his house and fed the birds from his hands. Thousands of birds flew in from all around in advance, they stuck around their breadwinner from head to toe. It was impressive: a gray-haired man, beaming with happiness, shared his daily bread with the chirping and croaking feathered brethren, which he got with hard, overwork. Arkhip Ivanovich fed the birds, he took some of them in his hands, and they were not at all afraid of him, loving their benefactor and trusting him. From one hand of this noble man both huge crows and small birds pecked at the food, and no one offended anyone. Quite a lot was spent daily on feeding the birds. white bread, cereals and meat for crows. Is this not an example of a divine attitude towards each other? He picked up sick and frozen crows, jackdaws and sparrows, dragged them into the house, warmed them up and, having cured them, set them free. Once I flew into Kuindzhi's workshopa urticaria butterfly with a torn wing, so Arkhip Ivanovich glued the wing of the butterfly and released it into the wild.
Arkhip Kuindzhi had a special love for nature. He was afraid to trample the grass, avoided accidentally crushing a beetle, a caterpillar, or even a barely noticeable ant. It was touching to see how oldthe man, groaning, cleared the source, diligently transplanted a bunch of grass to another place.Arkhip Ivanovich was also kind to people, giving away money to all those in need. And he loved to do his good deeds in such a way that the recipient did not even know where the help came from. The generosity of his soul knew no bounds. Acquired by overwork and personal deprivationArkhip Ivanovich bequeathed a millionth fortune to the independent Society of Artists, created by him in last years life.
Arkhip Kuindzhi. Night.
But having reached the pinnacle of his fame, Kuindzhi suddenly stops exhibiting, saying that he can no longer create anything significant. And he did not show anything to anyone for twenty years, although, as he said, he works and looks for new approaches in painting, not wanting to repeat himself. And one day, friends, having drunk the great master, persuaded him to show his work of the last twenty years. And in vain they got drunk - it was a complete disappointment. Auto RU " moonlit night on the Dnieper” really had nothing more to show. The impression was that he was naked crucified on the cross. And this was also the great merit of Arkhip Kuindzhi: if there are no worthy new paintings, then one must have the courage and not exhibit. Not everyone is capable of such a feat ...
The moonlit night on the Dnieper Kuindzhi made a splash and almost immediately gained mystical fame. Many did not believe that in this way the light of the moon can only be transmitted artistic means.
In the summer and autumn of 1880, Arkhip Kuindzhi worked on new painting. By that time, he had already severed his relations with the Association of the Wanderers, considering it too commercialized. Rumors that the artist creates something enchanting spread throughout Russian capital instantly. On Sundays, he opened the workshop for two hours and those who wished could get acquainted with the work even before it was completed. So the picture has gained a truly legendary glory. Writer Ivan Turgenev, artists Yakov Polonsky, Ilya Kramskoy and Pavel Chistyakov, scientist Dmitry Mendelev came to the studio of Arkhip Ivanovich. I was eyeing the picture famous publisher and collector Kozma Soldatenkov. However, ahead of everyone Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. He bought "Moonlight Night on the Dnieper" even before its presentation to the general public for five thousand rubles.
The canvas was shown in St. Petersburg, and it was the first exhibition of one painting in Russia. Arkhip Kuindzhi has always been very attentive to exhibiting his works. He placed them so that each was well lit and did not interfere with neighboring canvases. In a separate room of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, Moonlit Night on the Dnieper hung alone on the wall. At the same time, the room was not illuminated, but a bright electric beam fell on the picture. The image from this "deepened" even more, and the moonlight became simply dazzling.
Visitors entered the semi-dark hall and stopped in front of a cold glow moonlight. A wide, far-reaching space opened up before the audience. The plain, crossed by a greenish ribbon of a quiet river, almost merges at the horizon with a dark sky covered with rows of light clouds. The silvery-greenish disk of the moon flooded the earth with a mysterious light. There are no people on the canvas, and the main thing in the image is not the river and not the moon in itself, although it was better than Kuindzhi for any of the painters. The main thing is the light that gives peace and hope. This phosphorescent light was so strong that some of the viewers tried to look behind the picture to find a lantern or lamp there. Curious expected strong disappointment- there was no lamp there, of course.
So only Gogol sang about the Dnieper
This majestic spectacle still immerses viewers in thoughts about eternity and the enduring beauty of the world. So only the great Gogol sang about the Dnieper before Kuindzhi. The number of sincere admirers of the artist's talent grew. There were no indifferent among the audience, and some even considered the picture to be witchcraft.
Decades later, witnesses of that triumph continued to recall the shock experienced by the audience, who "got" to the picture. The word is the best suited to the description of the exhibition. According to contemporaries, Bolshaya Morskaya, where the exhibition was held, was so densely packed with carriages that one had to wait for hours to see this extraordinary work. To avoid a crush, the audience was allowed into the hall in groups.
Nicholas Roerich still found the servant Maxim alive, who received a ruble each (at that time the amount was simply huge, - author) from those who tried to get to the picture out of turn. The performance of the artist with a solo exhibition, and even consisting of only one small picture, was an unusual event. The success exceeded all expectations and turned into a real sensation.
There were rumors that Kuindzhi paints with "magic moon" paints from Japan. Envious people contemptuously argued that it was not necessary to draw them with great intelligence. The superstitious did accuse the master of being in cahoots with evil spirit.
The secret of the "artist of light" lay in his fantastic ability to play on contrasts and long experiments on color reproduction. In the process of creating a picture, he mixed not only paints, but also added to them chemical elements. In this Kuindzhi helped him close friend Dmitriy Mendeleev. Unfortunately, due to the careless mixing of chemically incompatible paints, the canvas darkened greatly.
The decisive role in creating the impression of the use of phosphorus was played by the unusual coloristic construction of the canvas. Applying in the picture additional colors reinforcing each other, the artist managed to achieve an incredible effect of the moon color illusion. For example, he contrasted the warm reddish tone of the earth with cold silvery shades and thereby deepened the space. Small dark strokes in the illuminated areas created a feeling of vibrating light.
People left with tears in their eyes.
People, according to Ilya Repin, in "prayerful silence" stood in front of Kuindzhi's canvas and left the hall with tears in their eyes. “This is how the poetic charms of the artist acted on the chosen believers, and they lived at such moments with the best feelings of the soul and enjoyed the heavenly bliss of the art of painting,” the great artist wrote.
Newspapers and magazines responded to the exhibition with enthusiastic articles. Reproductions of "Moonlight Night on the Dnieper" were distributed in thousands of copies throughout Russia. The poet Yakov Polonsky wrote: “I positively do not remember that people stagnated for so long in front of any picture ... What is it? Picture or reality? In a golden frame or through an open window, did we see this month, these clouds, this dark distance, these “trembling lights of sad villages” and these play of light, this silvery reflection of the month in the jets of the Dnieper, bending around the distance, this poetic, quiet, majestic night? » And the poet Konstantin Fofanov, impressed by the picture, wrote the poem "Night on the Dnieper", which was then set to music.
Ilya Kramskoy foresaw the fate of the canvas: “Perhaps Kuindzhi put together such colors that are in natural antagonism with each other and after a certain time they will either go out, or change and decompose to the point that the descendants will shrug their shoulders in bewilderment: from what they came to delight good-natured spectators? Here's how to avoid this unfair treatment in the future, I would not mind drawing up, so to speak, a protocol that his “Night on the Dnieper” is all filled with real light and air, and the sky is real, bottomless, deep.
Unfortunately, our contemporaries cannot fully appreciate the initial effect of the picture. It has reached our times in a distorted form. And it's all to blame - special treatment to the canvas of its owner, Grand Duke Konstantin, who, due to Great love did not want to part with her and drove everywhere with him. The painting even went around the world, which could not but have a negative impact on its safety.
It is worth saying that due to the huge popularity of the picture, Kuindzhi created two copies of Moonlit Night on the Dnieper. One of them is kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the other - in the Livadia Palace in Yalta. The original is in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
"Moonlight Night on the Dnieper" (1880) - one of the most famous paintings Arkhip Kuindzhi. This work made a splash and gained mystical fame. Many did not believe that the light of the moon could be conveyed in this way only by artistic means, and looked behind the canvas, looking for a lamp there. Many silently stood for hours in front of the picture, and then left in tears. Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich bought the "Moonlight Night" for his personal collection and took it everywhere with him, which had sad consequences.
Which? This is what we now find out...
In the summer and autumn of 1880, during a break with the Wanderers, A.I. Kuindzhi worked on a new painting. Rumors about the enchanting beauty of the "Moonlight Night on the Dnieper" spread throughout the Russian capital. For two hours on Sundays, the artist opened the doors of his studio to those who wished, and the St. Petersburg public began to besiege her long before the completion of the work. This painting gained truly legendary fame. I.S. Turgenev and Y. Polonsky, I. Kramskoy and P. Chistyakov, D. I. Mendelev came to the workshop of A. I. Kuindzhi, the well-known publisher and collector K. T. Soldatenkov asked the price of the painting. Directly from the workshop, even before the exhibition, “Moonlight Night on the Dnieper” was bought for huge money by the Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. And then the picture was exhibited in St. Petersburg. It was the first exhibition of one painting in Russia.
The house in St. Petersburg, in which Kuindzhi's apartment is located, is often called the "House of Artists", since here in different time many Russian painters lived: A. Beggrov, E. Volkov, M. Klodt, I. Kramskoy, the Chernetsov brothers.
The work was exhibited in a separate hall of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists on Bolshaya Morskaya. At the same time, the hall was not illuminated, only a bright electric beam fell on the picture. The image from this "deepened" even more, and the moonlight became simply dazzling. And decades later, the witnesses of this triumph continued to recall the shock experienced by the audience, who “got it” to the picture. It was the “worthy ones” - during the exhibition days, Bolshaya Morskaya was densely packed with carriages, and a long queue lined up at the doors to the building and people waited for hours to see this extraordinary work. To avoid a crush, the audience was allowed into the hall in groups.
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich
Roerich still found the servant Maxim alive, who received rubles (!) from those who tried to get to the picture out of turn. The performance of the artist with a solo exhibition, and even consisting of just one small painting, was an unusual event. Moreover, this picture interpreted not some unusual historical plot, but a very modest landscape. But AI Kuindzhi knew how to win. The success exceeded all expectations and turned into a real sensation.
A.I. Kuindzhi was always very attentive to the exposure of his paintings, placed them so that they were well lit, so that neighboring canvases did not interfere with them. This time, "Moonlight Night on the Dnieper" hung on the wall alone. Knowing that the effect of moonlight would be fully manifested under artificial lighting, the artist ordered the windows in the hall to be draped and the picture to be illuminated with a beam of electric light focused on it. Visitors entered the semi-dark hall and, spellbound, stopped in front of the cold glow of moonlight. Before the audience a wide space stretching into the distance opened up; plain, crossed by a greenish ribbon of a quiet river, almost merges at the horizon with dark skies covered with rows of light clouds. Above, they parted a little, and the moon peered through the resulting window, illuminating the Dnieper, the huts and the web of paths on the near bank.
And everything in nature fell silent, enchanted by the wonderful radiance of the sky and the Dnieper waters. The sparkling silvery-greenish disk of the moon flooded the earth immersed in night peace with its mysterious phosphorescent light. He was so strong that some of the spectators tried to look behind the picture to find a lantern or lamp there. But there was no lamp, and the moon continued to radiate its bewitching, mysterious light. The waters of the Dnieper reflect this light like a smooth mirror, the walls of Ukrainian huts turn white from the velvety blue of the night. This majestic spectacle still immerses viewers in thoughts about eternity and the enduring beauty of the world. So before A.I. Kuindzhi, only the great N.V. Gogol sang about nature. The number of sincere admirers of the talent of A.I. Kuindzhi grew, rare person could remain indifferent before this picture, which seemed like witchcraft.
AI Kuindzhi depicts the celestial sphere majestic and eternal, striking the audience with the power of the Universe, its immensity and solemnity. Numerous attributes of the landscape - huts creeping along the slope, bushy trees, gnarled stalks of the tartar - are absorbed by darkness, their color is dissolved in a brown tone. The bright silvery light of the moon is shaded by depth of blue color. With his phosphorescence, he turns the traditional motif with the moon into such a rare, meaningful, attractive and mysterious that it transforms into poetic and excited delight. There have even been speculations about unusual colors and even strange artistic techniques that the artist allegedly used. Rumors of a secret artistic method A.I. Kuindzhi, the secret of his colors was talked about even during the life of the artist, some tried to convict him of tricks, even in connection with evil spirits. Maybe this happened because A.I. Kuindzhi concentrated his efforts on the illusory transfer of the real the effect of lighting, on the search for such a composition of the picture, which would allow the most convincing expression of the feeling of wide spatiality.
Famous artist Arkhip Kuindzhi, 1907
And with these tasks he coped brilliantly. In addition, the artist defeated everyone in distinguishing the slightest changes in color and light ratios (for example, even during experiments with a special device, which were carried out by D.I. Mendeleev and others). Some have claimed the use chemical compositions based on phosphorus. However, this is not entirely true. A decisive role in creating an impression is played by the unusual color structure of the canvas. Using complementary colors in the picture that reinforce each other, the artist achieves an incredible effect of the illusion of moonlight. True, it is known that the experiments still took place. Kuindzhi intensively used bituminous paints, but did not use phosphorus. Unfortunately, due to the careless mixing of chemically incompatible paints, the canvas darkened greatly.
Creating this canvas, A.I. Kuindzhi applied a complex scenic reception. For example, he contrasted the warm reddish tone of the earth with cold silvery shades and thereby deepened the space, and small dark strokes in the illuminated places created a feeling of vibrating light. All newspapers and magazines responded to the exhibition with enthusiastic articles, reproductions of Moonlight Night on the Dnieper were distributed in thousands of copies throughout Russia. The poet Y. Polonsky, a friend of A. I. Kuindzhi, wrote then: “I positively do not remember that people stagnated in front of any picture for so long ... What is it? Picture or reality? In a golden frame or through an open window, did we see this month, these clouds, this dark distance, these “trembling lights of sad villages” and these play of light, this silvery reflection of the month in the jets of the Dnieper, bending around the distance, this poetic, quiet, majestic night? » The poet K. Fofanov wrote the poem "Night on the Dnieper", which was later set to music.
I. Kramskoy foresaw the fate of the canvas: “Perhaps Kuindzhi put together such colors that are in natural antagonism with each other and after a certain time they will either go out, or change and decompose to the point that the descendants will shrug their shoulders in bewilderment: from what they came to the delight of the good-natured spectators? Here, in order to avoid such an unfair attitude in the future, I would not mind drawing up, so to speak, a protocol that his “Night on the Dnieper” is all filled with real light and air, and the sky is real, bottomless, deep.
Unfortunately, our contemporaries cannot fully appreciate the initial effect of the picture, since it has reached our times in a distorted form. And the reason for everything is the special attitude to the canvas of its owner, Grand Duke Konstantin.
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, who bought the painting, did not want to part with the canvas, even going to trip around the world. I.S. Turgenev, who was in Paris at that time (in January 1881), was horrified by this thought, about which he wrote indignantly to the writer D.V. Grigorovich: “There is no doubt that the picture ... will return completely ruined , thanks to the salty vapors of the air, etc.” He even visited the Grand Duke in Paris, while his frigate was in the port of Cherbourg, and persuaded him to send a picture to a short time in Paris.
I.S. Turgenev hoped that he would be able to persuade him to leave the painting at the exhibition in the Zedelmeyer Gallery, but he failed to persuade the prince. Humid, salt-soaked sea air, of course, had a negative effect on the composition of paints, and the landscape began to darken. But the lunar ripples on the river and the radiance of the moon itself are conveyed by the brilliant A.I. Kuindzhi with such force that, looking at the picture even now, the audience immediately falls under the power of the eternal and Divine.
A. Kuindzhi. Moonlight night on the Dnieper, 1880.
Photo: art-assorty.ru
"Moonlight Night on the Dnieper" (1880) is one of the most famous paintings by Arkhip Kuindzhi. This work made a splash and gained mystical fame. Many did not believe that the light of the moon could be conveyed in this way only by artistic means, and looked behind the canvas, looking for a lamp there. Many silently stood for hours in front of the picture, and then left in tears. Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich bought the "Moonlight Night" for his personal collection and took it everywhere with him, which had sad consequences.
Famous artist Arkhip Kuindzhi.
Photo: pravkonkurs.ru and abmortitua.xyz
The artist worked on this painting in the summer and autumn of 1880. Even before the exhibition began, rumors spread that Kuindzhi was preparing something completely incredible. There were so many curious people that on Sundays the painter opened the doors of his workshop and let everyone in there. Even before the start of the exhibition, the painting was bought by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich.
V. Vasnetsov. Portrait of A. I. Kuindzhi, 1869. Fragment.
Photo: artcontext.info
Kuindzhi has always been very zealous about exhibiting his paintings, but this time he surpassed himself. It was personal exhibition, and only one work was shown on it - “Moonlight Night on the Dnieper”. The artist ordered to drape all the windows and illuminate the canvas with a beam of electric light directed at it - in daylight Moonlight didn't look as impressive. Visitors entered the dark hall and, as if under hypnosis, froze in front of this magical picture.
I. Kramskoy. Portraits of A. I. Kuindzhi, 1872 and the late 1870s.
Photo: artcontext.info and tanais.info
In front of the hall of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists in St. Petersburg, where the exhibition was held, there was a queue for days on end. The public had to be allowed into the premises in groups to avoid a crush. ABOUT incredible effect the paintings were legendary. The glow of the moonlight was so fantastic that the artist was suspected of using some unusual mother-of-pearl paints brought from Japan or China, and even accused of having links with evil spirits. And skeptical viewers tried to find with reverse side linen hidden lamps.
I. Repin. Portrait of the artist AI Kuindzhi, 1877. Fragment |
Photo: artscroll.ru
Of course, the whole secret lay in the extraordinary artistic skill Kuindzhi, in the skillful construction of the composition and in such a combination of colors that created the effect of radiance and caused the illusion of flickering light. The warm reddish tone of the earth contrasted with the cold silvery hues, thereby deepening the space. However, even professionals could not explain the magical impression that the picture made on the audience by skill alone - many left the exhibition in tears.
Famous artist Arkhip Kuindzhi, 1907.
Photo: newconcepts.club
I. Repin said that the audience froze in front of the picture “in prayerful silence”: “This is how the poetic spell of the artist acted on the chosen believers, and they lived at such moments with the best feelings of the soul and enjoyed the heavenly bliss of the art of painting.” The poet Y. Polonsky was surprised: “I positively do not remember that people stagnated for so long in front of any picture ... What is it? Picture or reality? And the poet K. Fofanov, impressed by this canvas, wrote the poem "Night on the Dnieper", which was later set to music.
The colors have darkened over time.
Photo: www.rubooks.org
I. Kramskoy foresaw the fate of the canvas: “Perhaps Kuindzhi put together such colors that are in natural antagonism with each other and after a certain time they will either go out, or change and decompose to the point that the descendants will shrug their shoulders in bewilderment: from what they came to the delight of the good-natured spectators? Here, in order to avoid such an unfair attitude in the future, I would not mind drawing up, so to speak, a protocol that his “Night on the Dnieper” is all filled with real light and air, and the sky is real, bottomless, deep.
The colors have darkened over time.
Photo: art-assorty.ru
Unfortunately, our contemporaries cannot fully appreciate the initial effect of the picture, since it has reached our times in a distorted form. And the reason for everything is the special attitude to the canvas of its owner, Grand Duke Konstantin. He was so attached to this picture that he took it with him on a trip around the world. Upon learning of this, I. Turgenev was horrified: "There is no doubt that the picture will return completely ruined, thanks to the salty vapors of the air." He even tried to persuade the prince to leave the painting for a while in Paris, but he was adamant.
Kuindzhi's painting also inspires contemporary photographers.
Photo: flickr.com
Unfortunately, the writer turned out to be right: the salt-soaked sea air and high humidity had a detrimental effect on the composition of the paints, and they began to darken. Therefore, now “Moonlight Night on the Dnieper” looks completely different. Although the moonlight still acts magically on the audience today, the landscape philosophy of the famous artist is of constant interest.
Information about the childhood of Arkhip Kuindzhi is very fragmentary and incomplete. Even the date of his birth is unknown. A few documents have been preserved, on the basis of which the researchers of Kuindzhi's biography call his birthday January 15, 1841. This event took place in a suburb of Mariupol called Karasu.
Talent and poverty (1841-1854)
It is believed that the artist's ancestors were Greeks who lived in the Crimea in close proximity to the Tatars. There was a gradual interpenetration of cultures, the language barrier was erased, mixed marriages arose. Therefore, the presence of Tatar blood in the Kuindzhi family is quite possible, although the artist himself always said that he considers himself Russian.
The surname "Kuindzhi" (in the original transcription Kuyumdzhi) in the Tatar language means the name of the craft: "goldsmith". It is known that the artist's grandfather was indeed a jeweler. Arkhip's brother translated the surname into Russian and became Zolotarev.
The birth of a talented child in poor family does not promise him any privileges. Kuindzhi's father, Ivan Khristoforovich, was a shoemaker and could not provide his children with prosperity. When Arkhip was three years old, his father died suddenly. The mother did not live very long after that. The little orphans were left in the care of Father Kuindzhi's brother and sister, who took turns taking care of them as best they could.
Thanks to the support of his relatives, the boy learned to read and write with a familiar Greek teacher, and later briefly attended the local city school. He did not like studying there and was given with great difficulty. It was during this period that his ability to draw was first clearly manifested. Carried away, the kid drew not only on random scraps of paper, but also on furniture or a fence. This occupation brought him genuine joy.
Poverty forced him to earn extra money either as a shepherd, or as an assistant to a grain merchant, or as an accountant of bricks at the construction of a church. But drawing was still his main passion. This continued until 1855, when one of the adults, noticing the boy's talent, advised him to go to study drawing with Aivazovsky, in Feodosia. Arkhip Kuindzhi made this long journey on foot, since there was nothing to pay for the fare.
New turn (1855-1859)
Crimean landscapes struck the imagination of an impressionable teenager. Aivazovsky was absent at that time, so his copyist, Adolf Fessler, out of the kindness of his heart, took part in the fate of the young Arkhip. He gave him his first real drawing lessons. For the poor and shy Arkhip, this meant that he had a hope of becoming an artist.
He stayed in Feodosia for several months. Aivazovsky's daughter in her memoirs described him as a short, very curly boy in a straw hat, very quiet and shy.
Aivazovsky himself, upon returning to Feodosia, failed to consider Kuindzhi's talent and did not begin to study with him. True, he entrusted him with mixing paints and painting his fence. Disappointed and depressed by this turn of events, the young man returns home.
Luck on the third try (1860-1868)
IN hometown Kuindzhi worked as a retoucher for a photographer for several months, and later went in search of work, first to Odessa, and from there to Taganrog. This city met him more affably. Arkhip is employed in the photo studio of S. S. Isakovich, again as a retoucher. And he continues to draw.
Finally realizing that he would not be able to realize his dream in such conditions, Kuindzhi gave up everything and moved to St. Petersburg, where he was trying to enter the Academy of Arts. However, fate made him a new grimace - a failure in the exams. The second attempt was also unsuccessful.
But talent and love for painting demanded a way out and pushed to overcome obstacles. Kuindzhi stubbornly engaged in drawing and in 1868 exhibited his first painting under the title "Tatar saklya in the Crimea." This work gives him access to the Academy of Arts, where he is enrolled as a volunteer.
During this fertile period, Kuindzhi creates incredibly poignant paintings "Autumn thaw", "Forgotten village" and "Chumatsky tract in Mariupol".
They are written in an innovative manner. Carefully selected shades very accurately convey the gloom and gloom of bleak landscapes. Unusual colors and a special play of shadows impressed the audience very much, but received mixed assessment among artists.
"Northern" period (1869-1873)
Kuindzhi was very attracted to work on landscapes. He developed his own special technique for applying paints, which made it possible to create such unusual visual illusions that his friends behind his back called him a hoaxer.
Inspired by the views of northern nature, the artist behind short period created such masterpieces as "Lake Ladoga", "Snow", "On the Island of Valaam", "St. Isaac's Cathedral by Moonlight".
Again turn and rapid rise (1874-1881)
In 1874, the life of Arkhip Kuindzhi receives a new content: the artist marries Vera Leontievna Ketcherdzhi. He has been in love with her since youthful years. Previously, this marriage was impossible due to the extreme poverty of Kuindzhi and the rich origin of the bride.
Now the sale of paintings has made the artist a wealthy person. He was able to visit England, France, Austria, Switzerland and other countries to get acquainted with various schools of painting.
A new, more joyful period of life has come. And the artist's paintings have acquired a different tone. The “Birch Grove”, “Dnepr in the Morning”, “Moonlight Night on the Dnieper”, “Ukrainian Night” written at that time made an incredible impression on the public.
A bright, almost decorative play of colors made the paintings simply luminous. Some even strove to look behind the canvas to make sure there was no artificial illumination of the moon. A contemporary of Kuindzhi, the poet Y. Polonsky, looking at the paintings, wondered in bewilderment: is this a painting or a window frame, behind which a landscape of incomprehensible beauty opens?
The Silence of a Genius (1882-1910)
After such a resounding success, Kuindzhi's friends reasonably expected new paintings and plots. But the artist has his own logic - he stopped exhibitions for 20 years. At this time, he continued to write, study literature, studied with students, built a dacha in the Crimea.
Despite his active and touchy character, Arkhip Kuindzhi was reputed to be very kind person. He constantly and gratuitously supported his students with money and established awards for the best young artists. His kindness also extended to animals and birds.
From the written memoirs of the artist's contemporaries it is known that every day around noon he went out into the yard to feed the birds. Already accustomed to such a ritual, sparrows, crows, doves and other winged brethren flocked to him. The birds were not afraid of him at all, they sat on their hands, which only pleased the owner.
In 1901, Kuindzhi broke his “silence” by presenting new masterpieces to the discerning public: “Evening in Ukraine”, the theological plot “Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane” and new version"Birch Grove". They still excite and fascinate the viewer, riveting the eye for a long time.
He never exhibited again, and many of his paintings became famous only after his death. Died brilliant artist July 11, 1910. The cause of death was a heart condition.
