- this is one of the main types of fine art; represents artistic image objective world colored paints on the surface. Painting is divided into: easel, monumental and decorative.

- mainly represented by works performed oil paints on canvas (cardboard, wooden boards or bare). It is the most popular form of painting. It is this form that is usually applied to the term " painting".

is a technique of drawing on walls in the design of buildings and architectural elements in buildings. Especially common in Europe fresco - monumental painting on wet plaster with water-soluble paints. This drawing technique has been well known since antiquity. Later, this technique was used in the design of many Christian religious temples and their vaults.

decorative painting - (from the Latin word from decoro - to decorate) is a way of drawing and drawing images on objects and interior details, walls, furniture and others decorative items. Refers to arts and crafts.

Possibilities pictorial art easel painting reveals itself especially vividly from the 15th century, from the moment of the mass use of oil paints. It is in it that a special variety of content and deep elaboration of form is available. At the heart of pictorial artistic means are colors (the possibilities of colors), in inseparable unity with chiaroscuro, and line; color and chiaroscuro are developed and developed by painting techniques with a fullness and brightness inaccessible to other art forms. This is the reason for the perfection of volumetric and spatial modeling inherent in realistic painting, the lively and accurate transmission of reality, the possibility of realizing the plots conceived by the artist (and methods of constructing compositions), and other pictorial virtues.

Another difference in the differences in the types of painting is the technique of execution according to the types of paints. Not always enough common features for determining. The boundary between painting and graphics in each individual case: for example, works made in watercolor or pastel can belong to both areas, depending on the approach of the artist and the tasks assigned to him. Although drawings on paper are classified as graphics, the application various techniques drawing with paints sometimes blurs the distinction between painting and graphics.

It should be taken into account that the semantic term "painting" itself is a word of the Russian language. It was taken for use as a term during the formation of fine arts in Russia during the Baroque era. The use of the word "painting" at that time applied only to a certain kind of realistic depiction with paints. But originally it comes from the church icon painting technique, which uses the word "write" (referring to writing) because this word is a translation of the meaning in Greek texts (here are such "translation difficulties"). The development in Russia of its own art school and the inheritance of European academic knowledge in the field of art, developed the scope of the Russian word "painting", inscribing it into educational terminology and literary language. But in the Russian language, a feature of the meaning of the verb "write" was formed in relation to writing and drawing pictures.

Genres of painting

In the course of the development of fine arts, several classical genres of paintings were formed, which acquired their own characteristics and rules.

Portrait- This is a realistic image of a person in which the artist tries to achieve resemblance to the original. One of the most popular genres of painting. Most of the customers used the talent of artists to perpetuate their own image or, wanting to get an image of a loved one, relative, etc. Customers sought to obtain a portrait resemblance (or even embellish it) leaving a visual embodiment in history. Portraits of various styles are the most massive part of the exposition of most art museums and private collections. This genre includes such a kind of portrait as self-portrait - an image of the artist himself, written by himself.

Scenery- one of the popular pictorial genres in which the artist seeks to display nature, its beauty or peculiarity. Various types of nature (the mood of the season and weather) have a vivid emotional impact on any viewer - this psychological feature person. The desire to get an emotional impression from landscapes has made this genre one of the most popular in artistic creation.

- this genre is in many ways similar to the landscape, but has a key feature: the paintings depict landscapes with the participation of architectural objects, buildings or cities. A special direction is street views of cities that convey the atmosphere of the place. Another direction of this genre is the image of the beauty of the architecture of a particular building - its appearance or the image of its interiors.

- a genre in which the main plot of the paintings is a historical event or its interpretation by the artist. Interestingly, this genre includes a huge number of paintings on biblical theme. Since in the Middle Ages, biblical scenes were considered "historical" events and the church was the main customer for these paintings. "Historical" biblical scenes are present in the work of most artists. The rebirth of historical painting occurs during neoclassicism, when artists turn to famous historical subjects, events from antiquity or national legends.

- reflects scenes of wars and battles. A feature is not only the desire to reflect a historical event, but also to convey to the viewer the emotional exaltation of feat and heroism. Subsequently, this genre also becomes political, allowing the artist to convey to the viewer his view (his attitude) on what is happening. We can see a similar effect of a political accent and the strength of the artist's talent in the work of V. Vereshchagin.

is a genre of painting with compositions from inanimate objects, using flowers, products, dishes. This genre is one of the latest and was formed in the Dutch school of painting. Perhaps its appearance is due to the peculiarity of the Dutch school. The economic heyday of the 17th century in Holland led to a desire for affordable luxury (paintings) in a significant number of the population. This situation attracted a large number of artists to Holland, causing intense competition among them. Models and workshops (people in appropriate clothes) were not available to poor artists. Drawing paintings for sale, they used improvised means (objects) to compose paintings. This situation in the history of the Dutch school is the reason for the development of genre painting.

Genre painting - the plot of the paintings are everyday scenes of everyday life or holidays, usually with the participation of ordinary people. As well as still life, it became widespread among the artists of Holland in the 17th century. During the period of romanticism and neoclassicism, this genre takes on a new birth, the paintings tend not so much to reflect everyday life, but to romanticize it, to bring it into the plot. certain meaning or morality.

Marina- a type of landscape that depicts sea views, coastal landscapes overlooking the sea, sunrises and sunsets on the sea, ships or even naval battles. Although there is a separate battle genre, but naval battles still belong to the marina genre. The development and popularization of this genre can also be attributed to the Dutch school of the 17th century. He was popular in Russia thanks to the work of Aivazovsky.

- a feature of this genre is the creation of realistic paintings depicting the beauty of animals and birds. One of the interesting features of this genre is the presence of paintings depicting non-existent or mythical animals. Artists who specialize in images of animals are called animalists.

History of painting

Need in realistic image existed since ancient times, but had a number of shortcomings due to the lack of technology, a systematized school and education. In antiquity, one can often find examples of applied and monumental painting with the technique of painting on plaster. In antiquity, more importance was attached to the talent of the performer, artists were limited in the technology of making paints and the opportunity to receive a systematic education. But already in antiquity, specialized knowledge and works (Vitruvius) were formed, which will be the basis of a new flowering of European art in the Renaissance. Decorative painting received significant development during Greek and Roman antiquity (the school was lost in the Middle Ages), the level of which was reached only after the 15th century.

Painting of a Roman fresco (Pompeii, 1st century BC), an example of the state of the art of ancient painting:

The "Dark Ages" of the Middle Ages, militant Christianity and the Inquisition lead to bans on the study of the artistic heritage of antiquity. The vast experience of ancient masters, knowledge in the field of proportions, composition, architecture and sculpture are banned, and many artistic treasures are destroyed due to their dedication to ancient deities. The return to the values ​​of art and science in Europe occurs only during the Renaissance (revival).

Artists early renaissance(revival) have to catch up and revive the achievements and level of ancient artists. What we admire in the work of early Renaissance artists was the level of the masters of Rome. A clear example of the loss of several centuries of development of European art (and civilization) in the period " dark ages"Middle Ages, militant Christianity and the Inquisition - the difference between these paintings of the 14th century!

The emergence and spread of the technology of making oil paints and the technique of drawing them in the 15th century gives rise to the development of easel painting and special kind artists' products - colored oil paintings on primed canvas or wood.

Painting received a huge leap in the qualitative development in the Renaissance, largely due to the work of Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472). He first laid out the foundations of perspective in painting (the treatise "On Painting" in 1436). To him (his work on the systematization of scientific knowledge) the European art school owes the appearance (revival) of a realistic perspective and natural proportions in the paintings of artists. The famous and familiar drawing by Leonardo da Vinci "Vitruvian Man"(human proportions) of 1493, dedicated to the systematization of Vitruvius's ancient knowledge of proportions and composition, was created by Leonardo half a century later than Alberti's treatise "On Painting". And the work of Leonardo is a continuation of the development of the European (Italian) art school of the Renaissance.

But bright and mass development painting began in the 16th and 17th centuries, when the technique of oil painting became widespread, various technologies for making paints appeared, and schools of painting were formed. It is the system of knowledge and art education (drawing technique), combined with the demand for works of art from the aristocracy and monarchs, that leads to the rapid flowering of fine arts in Europe (Baroque period).

The unlimited financial possibilities of European monarchies, aristocracy and entrepreneurs became excellent ground for the further development of painting in the 17th-19th centuries. And the weakening of the influence of the church and the secular way of life (multiplied by the development of Protestantism) allowed the birth of many subjects, styles and trends in painting (baroque and rococo).

In the course of the development of fine arts, artists have formed many styles and techniques that lead to the highest level realism in works. By the end of the 19th century (with the advent of modernist trends), interesting transformations began in painting. The availability of art education, massive competition and high demands on the skill of artists from the public (and buyers) give rise to new directions in the ways of expression. Fine art is no longer limited only by the level of performance technique, artists strive to bring special meanings, ways of "look" and philosophy into works. What often goes to the detriment of the level of performance, becomes speculation or a way of outrageous. The variety of emerging styles, lively discussions and even scandals give rise to the development of interest in new forms of painting.

Modern computer (digital) drawing technologies are related to graphics and cannot be called painting, although many computer programs and equipment allow you to completely repeat any painting technique with paints.

The brilliant flowering of Russian culture in the second half of the 19th century was also clearly manifested in the fine arts, realistic art, truly folk, deeply national. It was humanistic art, permeated with the ideas of the revolutionary liberation movement, reflecting the struggle of the sixties and populists against serfdom and autocracy, which had a great public resonance in the democratic circles of the Russian intelligentsia. Dedicated to the people, it spoke to them in a truthful, simple and clear language. Never before have Russian artists had such a huge and grateful audience.

Fine art was imbued with the ideas of the liberation struggle of the people, responded to the demands of life and actively invaded life. Realism was finally established in the visual arts - a truthful and comprehensive reflection of the life of the people, the desire to rebuild this life on the basis of equality and justice. The second half of the 19th century was milestone in the development of Russian fine arts. It has become truly great, actively invading life and reflecting it, or solving the problems posed by time.

In Russian painting, there were two main trends, which are usually called "academic", expressing noble-bourgeois views, and "wandering", i.e. democratic.

The personification of routine was seen in the Academy of Arts, dependent on court circles, which turned out to be aloof from the rise of public consciousness. The Academy stood guard over obsolete traditions, "high" style and "high" themes - from ancient mythology, religious, pseudo-historical. She was afraid of the close contact of art with modern life.

In paintings from Russian reality, which have been appearing in increasing numbers since the late 1950s and early 1960s, accusatory features are intensifying; there is a growing critical realism, a desire to interfere in life and to influence it in the interests of the people.

The second half of the 19th century is the time of the formation of a realistic, national, democratic direction in the visual arts, this is the time of the life and work of outstanding Russian artists who have made a huge contribution to the development of Russian fine arts.

Typical for the painting of the 60s was the figure of V. G. Perov (1833-1882). He is the brightest representative of the accusatory trend in painting. His role in the development of national realistic art was very significant both before and especially after the 1960s. Perov's name has become popular since the last pre-reform years, when his canvases began to appear one after another, dedicated to various aspects of Russian life, depicting various social types, sharply denouncing the bureaucracy, the clergy ("Arrival of the officer for investigation", 1857; "First rank", 1860; in 1861-1862 - "Rural procession for Easter”, “Sermon in the village”, “Tea drinking in Mytishchi”). In 1865-1868. Perov’s paintings “Seeing the Dead”, “Troika”, “Arrival of the Governess in merchant's house”, “The Drowned Woman”, “The Last Tavern at the Outpost”, where the artist’s attention is drawn to the heavy share of the peasantry, to the victims of social injustice. The sympathy of the artist is undoubtedly on the side of the peasant, whose image is clearly idealized. Later, Perov moved to neutral in the public sense genre themes(“Bird-catcher”, “Hunters at rest”), he also proved to be an excellent portrait painter (portraits of A. N. Ostrovsky, V. I. Dal, M. P. Pogodin, I. S. Turgenev, the famous portrait of F. M. Dostoevsky - one of the pinnacles of portraiture). The work of V. G. Perov is distinguished by incorruptible truthfulness, deep feeling, the gift of psychological penetration.

The ideological and social atmosphere of the era affected the memorable events of 1863, which led to a break with the Academy of Arts of a group of gifted young artists.

The group of artists consisted of thirteen painters (I. N. Kramskoy, A. I. Korzukhin, A. I. Morozov, F. S. Zhuravlev, K. E. Makovsky and others) and one sculptor (V. P. Kreytan) . I. N. Kramskoy (1837-1887) was its inspirer and leader.

The "rebellion" of the fourteen, their decision to organize themselves into a free artistic artel, alerted the government. By the "highest command", the "actions of these young people" and "the direction of the society composed by them" were monitored. The artel of St. Petersburg artists was a professional association that carried out all kinds of orders, and at the same time a household commune and, most importantly, an ideological and artistic center; here, as it were, the public opinion of the artistic environment was formed at that stage. Artel arranged exhibitions of paintings, which were very popular with the public.

The work of the artel turned out to be difficult and complex: economic motives for some of its members eventually became predominant, while the principled side receded into the background. Friction began to arise within the artel. In 1870, Kramskoy left the artel; it lasted a few more years, but no longer had its former significance. It is noteworthy that in the mid-60s in St. Petersburg for some time there was a second artistic artel, which arose following the example of the initiative of Kramskoy and his comrades. V. M. Maksimov, A. A. Kiselev (future Wanderers), N. A. Koshelev and others belonged to it.

Members of both artels, the first in particular, largely determined the nature of the painting of the 60s, turned to Russian reality, imbued with heartfelt attention to the life and experiences of ordinary people. But they do not exhaust the circle of artists of the sixties of the new realistic school. The 60s are best paintings N. V. Nevrev (1830-1904), akin in spirit to Perov’s work, such as “Torg” (the sale of a young peasant woman by a landowner) and a series of paintings. In the same period, the work of the satirist artist, the everyday writer of the urban poor L. I. Solomatkin (1837-1883) unfolded. V. G. Schwartz (1838-1869) blazed new trails in historical painting, introducing into it the features of realism, psychologism, and, to a certain extent, accusation; he owns the outstanding painting "Spring train of the queen on a pilgrimage under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich" (1868), a number of works about the time of Ivan IV. Another historical painter K.D. Flavitsky (1830-1866), who remained within the framework of the academic direction, nevertheless, in the sensational painting “Princess Tarakanova” (1864), was influenced by the democratic school of painting.

The art movement of the 1960s paved the way for the formation of a fellowship of traveling art exhibitions.

The initiative to create this association, which played a huge role in Russian culture, belonged to G. G. Myasoedov (1834 or 1835-1911). In November 1870, the charter of the Association was approved, a year later its first exhibition opened in St. Petersburg. The scope of the Association's activities gradually expanded. The number of cities visited by the exhibition of the Wanderers increased several times by the 80s. The idea, important in itself, of moving exhibitions, bringing art closer to more or less broad sections of the population, and not only Russian, but also Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Latvian, etc., far from exhausted the tasks of a new, still unprecedented in nature, association, which , not distinguished by the complete internal unity of all participants, nevertheless it was drawn up and acted in fact on the basis of some essential general principles and aspirations. The Association has consistently upheld the principles critical realism and nationalities.

The people were the protagonist of many Wanderers paintings. Some Wanderers paid great attention to the life of the city. Since the mid-1970s, works devoted to the labor of workers and working types have appeared in Wanderer art. Advanced public circles with exceptional interest and sympathy met the formation of the Association of the Wanderers. Reactionary circles, on the contrary, showed an unfriendly attitude towards the Wanderers. The most successful exhibitions turned into major not only artistic, but also social events. During the first quarter of a century of their existence, traveling exhibitions were visited by more than a million people.

In the field of genre, such Wanderers as Myasoedov (mainly at the first stage of their work), Maksimov, Savitsky and others worked, and the most prominent place in genre paintings belonged to the peasant theme.

Unlike Maksimov or Myasoedov, V. E. Makovsky (1846-1920) devoted himself mainly to the urban genre. The name of the artist N. A. Yaroshenko (1846-1898) is also associated with the development of the urban genre. He was one of the ideological leaders of the Association. He belonged to those artists who most closely connected their work with the socio-political movement of the era.

Portraiture, it must be emphasized, occupied a significant, in some cases, the main place in the work of a number of Wanderers. The outstanding master of the portrait was I.N. Kramskoy. The work on the portrait opened before him, like other Wanderers, the possibility of showing a positive figure of our time - prominent representatives of culture in the first place.

In the early 1970s, he presented his first major works great artist I. E. Repin (1844-1930). A brilliant master of drawing and composition, constantly striving for improvement, an artist of great temperament, Repin especially emphasized the role of ideas and content in art.

A number of Repin's genres are imbued with sincere sympathy for the feat of revolutionary fighters ("Under guard", 1876; "The arrest of a propagandist", 1878-1892; "Refusal of confession", 1879-1885; "They did not wait", 1883 and 1884-1888, etc. .). The great psychological gift of Repin was reflected in the huge and diverse gallery of portraits he created. Repin-portrait painter with inimitable depth, strength, accuracy captured the appearance prominent representatives literature and the public, music, painting and theatre. ruling elite tsarist Russia at the turn of the two centuries, Repin depicted with merciless truthfulness in the group portrait “The Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council” and in sketches for it. Repin belongs to the remarkable Russian historical painters.

By the beginning of the 90s it was completed (in the most well-known variant) the painting “Cossacks composing a letter Turkish sultan”(the second painting on the same topic was completed by the artist in 1896). The idea of ​​​​the artist when creating the picture was to glorify the love of freedom of the people, the uplift of spirit and energy experienced by them in the struggle for independence and liberty.

The history of Russian painting knows many highly talented artists. But there was not a single one in whose paintings the depth of thoughts and feelings would be combined with such pictorial skill as Repin's. Repin is the most profound, the most exciting among all the masters of Russian painting of the recent past, and in the history of our art he has taken a very special place. Stasov described him as follows: “He has his own, special look and feeling, and only then is he strong and significant when he expresses this feeling. And this feeling consists in comprehending and transmitting the masses of people.

Historical painting was given mainly to the work of another great artist, V. I. Surikov (1848-1916). The highest flowering of his creative forces belongs to the 80-90s. 19th century ladies Surikov was an artist of the masses. The mass, the crowd of Surikov was never faceless, he endowed each of the participants with deeply individual features.

Long before the appearance of battle-historical paintings by Surikov, V. V. Vereshchagin (1842-1904) won worldwide fame in battle painting. Vereshchagin personally participated in the operations of Russian troops in Central Asia in the 60s, in the Balkans in the late 70s. He created cycles of paintings dedicated to military operations in Turkestan and the Russian-Turkish war. The work of Vereshchagin marked a new stage in Russian and world battle painting. Stasov described him as follows: "... a painter of such a warehouse that no one had seen or heard of him before either here or in Europe." He set himself the goal of exposing war as an instrument of violence, a terrible disaster for mankind.

The new thing that Vereshchagin introduced, of course, also consisted in the fact that he was primarily interested not in the army tops, but in the rank and file. Vereshchagin made the people the hero of his paintings. His work denouncing the war had a serious impact on the minds. Of considerable interest is the series of paintings created by Vereshchagin in the 90s about the Patriotic War of 1812. Previously painted by Vereshchagin paintings and sketches of the Indian cycle.

Own special word in Russian painting, in particular historical painting, said V. M. Vasnetsov (1848-1926). He entered the history of painting as an artist of Russian folk epic, epics, fairy tales. Based on The Tale of Igor's Campaign, the painting "After the Battle of Igor Svyatoslavich with the Polovtsy" (1878-1880) was painted, followed by "The Battle of the Russians with the Scythians" (1879-1881), "The Knight at the Crossroads" (1878-1882). The famous “Alyonushka”, one of the most sincere creations of painting, appeared at a traveling exhibition in 1881. For about two decades, Vasnetsov worked on the painting “Bogatyrs” (completed in 1898), which gave a particularly complete personification of the beauty, power, meaning of our native images , our Russian nature and man, the expression of which the artist recognized as the task of art. By 1882-1885. Vasnetsov's outstanding work in the field of monumental and decorative painting belongs to the painting of the Stone Age hall in the Historical Museum in Moscow. For a number of years (1885-1896) Vasnetsov was busy painting the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv. And in this discount, the high skill of the artist was manifested.

A rich section of the fine arts of the era was landscape painting. Outstanding values ​​in the field of landscape were created by many artists who were not "specialists" in landscape painting, for whom the landscape usually played the role of the background of the picture. Sometimes the landscape turned out to be the most generally recognized side in the artist's work. At the same time, the landscape was an independent branch of art, to which many figures gave their all or their strength.

A place of honor in the development of landscape painting was taken by the realistic landscape of the Wanderers. They are characterized by an appeal to their native nature. Instead of exotic, “ceremonial” landscapes (Italian, Swiss, etc.), to which academic artists gravitated, the Wanderers established a national theme in the landscape, they revealed beauty in the simple and natural that surrounded them everyday. In the landscapes of the Wanderers, a kind of social subtext was often felt and perceived. The viewer, following the artist, saw and felt those people, that mass of people who lived surrounded by nature painted on canvas.

One of the founders of the itinerant landscape was I. I. Shishkin (1832-1898). The main representative of the epic line in landscape painting, Shishkin with exceptional knowledge and skill, with rare love he painted mainly the forest of the middle and northern strip of Russia, revealed the wealth, breadth, power of the nature of the Motherland. " Pinery"(1872), "Rye", (1878), "Among the flat valleys" (1883), "Pines illuminated by the sun" (1886), "Morning in pine forest"(1889)," Ship Grove "(1898) belong to the most popular paintings Shishkin, they saw a folk artist in catarrhs.

Another of the founders of landscape painting, the Wanderers, A. K. Savrasov (1830-1897). Savrasov opened the lyrical line of the Russian landscape. His painting “The Rooks Have Arrived!”, shown at the 1st traveling exhibition, was perceived as a revelation due to its unprecedented sincerity, poetry, modest and natural beauty. The paintings "Country Road" (1873), "Rainbow" (1875) supported the fame of the artist-poet, at the same time a talented teacher who played a big role in educating a whole galaxy of painters.

I. I. Levitan (1860-1900) belongs to more young generation artists. Levitan enthusiastically loved native nature, deeply felt "the infinite beauty of the surroundings." With all-conquering power, he conveyed the feelings and moods aroused by nature in man. The most complex range of experiences is expressed in his canvases. Levitan understood the feelings advanced people his era, their pain for the suffering of the motherland. The civic theme found a particularly vivid, although peculiar in nature of landscape painting, reflection in the famous painting “Vladimirka” (1892), inspired by the fate of thousands of exiles. Levitan's favorite works by the people also include "Evening on the Volga" (1888), "At the pool" (1892), "Above eternal rest" (1894), " Golden autumn"(1895), "Summer Evening" (1899), "Lake. Rus'" (1899-1900).

During the second half of the XIX century. continued activities that began in the 1930s famous marine painter I. K. Aivazovsky. Under his influence, the talent of another artist of the sea developed, at the same time the artist-historiographer of the Russian fleet A.P. Bogolyubov (1824-1896).

The achievements of landscape painting delighted art lovers. But, on the other hand, the constant increase towards the end of the century in the proportion of the landscape inspired some anxiety. Anxiety was expressed in the press, especially in connection with the more or less noticeable impoverishment of the social genre. In the impoverishment of the genre, in the fact that on traveling exhibitions sharp, exciting pictures from modern life now appeared less often, a certain lowering of the ideological and social level of the activity of the Association of the Wanderers had an effect. In turn, the latter circumstance depended on the entire socio-political situation. The Association of the Wanderers showed hesitation, a passion for "neutral" topics. If some of the old Wanderers were confused to one degree or another, then among the young Wanderers generation there appeared artists who were sensitive to new social phenomena. They did not limit themselves to what their predecessors had achieved and sought to expand and renew the range of themes and images.

S. A. Korovin (1858-1908), an artist of a peasant and partly a soldier theme, in the famous painting “On the World” and numerous sketches and sketches for it (1883-1893) artistically and convincingly reflected social stratification in a reformed village. The peasant theme dominated the work of one of the greatest masters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A. E. Arkhipov (1862-1930), genre and landscape painter. In the younger generation of artists associated with certain period with the Association of Wanderers, the figure of V.A. Serov (1865-1911) stood out very early. Valentin Serov, already at the age of 22-23, created such masterpieces as “Girl with Peaches” (portrait of Vera Mamontova, 1887), “Girl, Illuminated by the Sun”, authentic poems about bright youth. Serov - master of genius who worked in various fields of art.

The era of the "Wanderers" was late compared to the beginning artistic realism in literature; but it ends at about the same time, in the 80s and 90s, and before the same pressure of the new generation. New break traditions and youth rebellion of the 90s. repeats the rebellion of the Wanderers themselves against the generation of academicians that preceded them. But that uprising took as its slogan the creation of a Russian national school. Youth uprising in the 90s becomes under the banner of cosmopolitanism. It must be said that the Wanderers themselves greatly facilitated the protest against themselves, which was brewing in the new generation. In the mid-70s, they were no longer those provocative Protestants and fighters, which were the organizers of the "Artel" of the 60s. Their ardor subsided along with their success.

However, the sympathies of the advanced Russian society were invariably on the side of the Wanderers, because in their work the Russian intelligentsia and the common people saw spokesmen for their interests. The achievements and conquests of Russian painting in the second half of the 19th century, in which Russian artists showed themselves, are of great importance and unique value in Russian fine art. Picturesque works created by Russian artists have enriched Russian culture forever.

Russian painting as a reflection of the worldview of the Russian people and its centuries-old history

The conscious, creative existence of the Russian people on this Earth, in this Universe, in this world has been going on for more than a thousand years. During this time, our people have created a great state - it is great not only in vast spaces, but also in the greatness of the spirit of the Russian people and its creative achievements. In the history of world civilization there are such concepts: great Russian science, great Russian literature, great Russian painting.

Painting occupies a special place in the creation of the image of the people. She is visible. It is understandable to everyone. It is directly perceived by the soul of a person and becomes a visible continuation of his soul, the soul of the whole people.

Not every Russian person thinks that it was thanks to the works of the great Russian scientist I.P. Pavlov that mankind came close to unraveling the mystery of thinking, that it was the Russian scientist V.I. Vernadsky who discovered the principle of the existence of mind in the Universe, and the famous D.I. Mendeleev not only determined the strength of vodka, but also explained the structure of matter as such. And even remembering the names of the creators of Russian literature, not everyone has read the novels of F. M. Dostoevsky and L. N. Tolstoy and will hardly remember the forgotten school bench quatrain of the genius of all times A. S. Pushkin.

But there was probably no such village in Russia where it would be impossible to find reproductions of Vasnetsov's Three Heroes, sometimes reproduced by a not very skillful hand. Or "Morning in a Pine Forest" by Shishkin. Or his own "Pine in the Rye". Or "Hunters at rest" by Perov. Or "Merchant" Kustodiev.

Russian painting - from chronicle miniatures and popular prints to dramatic paintings by Repin and Surikov - was an all-encompassing phenomenon. “Children running from a thunderstorm” by Makovsky, “Cossacks writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan” by Repin, “Boyar Morozova” and “Suvorov’s Crossing the Alps” by Surikov, “Golden Autumn” by Levitan and landscapes by Shishkin, “Russian Beauty” by Kustodiev, “Horsewoman” Bryullov, Aivazovsky's "The Ninth Wave", Venetsianov's peasant women, Perov's "Tea Party in Mytishchi", fairy-tale and epic heroes of Vasnetsov, Bilibin, Vrubel's "Demon", Nesterov's "Holy Russia", " Unequal marriage» Pukirev, “Mowers” ​​by Myasoedov, “Major’s Matchmaking” by Fedotov, portraits of A. S. Pushkin by Kiprensky and Tropinin, portraits of V. I. Dahl and F. M. Dostoevsky created by Perov, portraits of Russian tsars and images of the crowns of the artist-restorer Solntseva - all this is not just a picture. This is the soul of the Russian people captured by the painter's brush, the face of Russia.

The book "Great Artists of Russia" is not an art study, not just an album of reproductions of paintings famous artists, not a collection short biographies Russian painters with examples of their work.

This book recreates the image of Russia in all its diversity. This book should be in every family, it should be considered together with children, at least once a year, in order to visibly remind ourselves: who we are, what we are and where we come from. How to re-read “War and Peace” by Tolstoy, “The Brothers Karamazov” by Dostoyevsky every few years, “ Dead Souls Gogol, "Eugene Onegin" by Pushkin. This must be done in order to preserve one's national essence, in order to remain a man of the Russian spirit, Russian culture. The book "Great Russian Artists" is intended for this purpose. Only unlike the above, it was written not with pen and ink, but with a brush and paints. But it contains no less meaning, thoughts and spirit.

In the 21st century, our country, our material and spiritual homeland, is not the first time in its history that it is on the verge of death. The long Mongol-Tatar yoke left a special imprint on our history, but could not stop the development of Russia. The short Time of Troubles, which threatened the country with the loss of statehood, was also overcome. Almost seventy years of the Soviet yoke in the most difficult, destructive way affected the spiritual, moral, moral image of the Russian people, who survived in the era of the extermination of the foundations of national self-consciousness. Twenty years of post-Soviet existence have pushed the country even closer to the brink of material and spiritual death. No one knows whether Russia will be able to overcome this spiritual and moral degeneration and decay and be reborn in its creative being, or will it disappear from the face of this planet, from this Universe, as it once disappeared Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. But what was created by the hand and spirit of man remains. And no matter how the further fate of Russia develops, its history and culture will remain one of the most significant results human existence in this world. Significant and visible, thanks, among other things, to the genius and work of Russian artists, great painters and ordinary creators, who recreated in their canvases the centuries-old history of the Russian people and their creative soul, striving to understand the mystery of human existence in this world, in this Universe, on this Earth .

V. P. Butromeev

Livadia for kings and people The sights of Livadia begin from the top of Mogabi (804 meters), the picturesque slopes of which descend into the valley of the "waterfall" river Uchan-Su. The narrow edge of the coast from Yalta to Cape Aitodor is endowed with the rarest rocky landscape and beautiful