In the 19th century, the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts remained the center of the country's creative life. It was a fairly conservative institution "... with the pedagogical teaching system that prevailed here, outdated norms of aesthetics that had lost touch with the advanced Russian artistic culture ...".
In 1863, there was a scandal: 14 graduates of the Academy - Kramskoy, Korzukhin, Makovsky K., Lemokh, Grigoriev, Zhuravlev, Morozov and others, refused to participate in the competition for a large gold medal and defiantly left it.
In the same year, they created the Artel of Free Artists, which for a number of years was a kind of artistic center in St. Petersburg.
Moscow artists Myasoedov G. G., Perov V. G., Makovsky V. E., Pryanishnikov I. M., Savrasov A. K. at the end of 1869 suggested that the St. Petersburg Artel unite all together and form a new society. In 1870 "Association of Wanderers", already approved by the government, began its activities. The main thing that the Wanderers managed to achieve first of all was the organization of independent exhibitions and their movement around the cities of Russia.
With the advent of the partnership of the Wanderers, the new art develops in a single channel with advanced Russian literature, music, theater, social thought, forming a powerful stream of Russian democratic culture, inspired by the advanced social ideas of its time.
The composition of the society of artists of the Wanderers at different times included Repin I. E., Surikov V. I., Makovsky V. E., Pryanishnikov I. M., Savrasov A. K., Shishkin I. I., Maksimov V. M. , Savitsky K. A., Vasnetsov A. M. Vasnetsov V. M. , Kuindzhi A. I., Polenov V. D., Yaroshenko N. A., Levitan I. I., Serov V. A. and others. Antokolsky M. M., Vereshchagin V. V., Korovin K. A., Korovin S. A., Ryabushkin A. P., et al.
16. Visual arts of the 20th century
The 20th century is the century of sharp contradictions, deep social conflicts and disappointments, and at the same time the hopes of mankind, the century of persistent search for new, more perfect ways for the development of society. It brought with it profound changes in all spheres of human activity, including ideology, culture, and art.
Never before have painting, sculpture and graphics been so closely and directly connected with real life, never before has a critical orientation, a denial of everything and everything, manifested itself in them so clearly. The rapidly developing art lost its former stylistic integrity, its development became more and more uneven, spasmodic, the creative interaction of individual types of art was disrupted, and individualistic tendencies increased. Both in former times and in the 20th century artistic styles are closely connected with the meanings of the era, with its mythology. It is obvious that the place of the myth in contemporary art occupies scientific and technological progress, which forced artists to abandon the usual view of the world.
Science has revised most of the "enduring truths" of the New Age, and also changed the attitude towards the humanistic values of the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Everyone began to look for their own way out: some in the continuation of the cultural tradition of the past, the second, the third - in gaining lost ties with nature, in the scientific and technological revolution, in nihilistic self-affirmation.
The search for new ways, experimentation and revolutionary transformation, the diversity, diversity and contrast of creative quests are the distinctive features of the art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Visual arts of the early 20th century more and more insistently departs from the principle of life-like form. The first to go in this direction cubists, deforming nature, decomposing it into simple geometric shapes. They were replaced futurists celebrating the dynamism of life and the beauty of speed; orphists looking for harmony in color combinations; purists promoting machine aesthetics.
But the main trend of the first half of the 20th century is abstractionism, completely departed from the transfer of the real world, objective reliability, denying the objective existence of the world and affirming the artist's spontaneous-impulsive self-expression. Abstract art- this is art without recognizable images, a combination of pure colors and lines. It appeared in Europe around 1910 and destroyed the idea of classical beauty in art. His trend continued Dadaism, who cultivated the idea of pictorial ugliness.
Art is becoming more and more a kind of sign, it is no longer reduced to decorativeness. One of the features of the 20th century is hypertrophied individualism. Psychoanalytic delving into the depths of the individual most clearly manifested in surrealism, which dominated the world's artistic life for more than half a century. His concept asserted the mystery and unknowability of the world, in which time and history disappear, and a person lives in the subconscious and is helpless in the face of difficulties.
Since the second half of the 20th century, especially in the 1960s-1970s, completely new directions in terms of content have entered the artistic arena: conceptual and kinetic art, op art and pop art.
Having made a round in the abstract avant-garde direction, the art of the 1970-1980s. tried to return to classical traditions in aesthetics postmodernism, the main feature of which was eclecticism, a mixture of styles from different eras and national subcultures, free possession or in a picturesque space. This trend remains fundamental to this day. The art of the 20th century, having revealed the absence of the Grand style of previous eras, presented a set of author's styles, pronounced individualities in line with various international trends.
a term denoting a group of artists who defended the traditions of realism, nationality and democratic ideals in art, united in the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (1870 - 1923). Ideological leaders: I. N. Kramskoy and V. V. Stasov. The main representatives are I. E. Repin, V. I. Surikov, V. G. Perov, V. M. Vasnetsov, I. I. Levitan, I. I. Shishkin and others.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
Wanderers
Russian realist artists who were part of the democratic exhibition association - the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (TPKhV) and opposed their creative principles to academicism. The purpose of the association, organized in 1870 on the initiative of G. G. Myasoedov, V. G. Perov, I. N. Kramskoy, N. N. Ge and others, was “to free art from bureaucratic routine”, to develop accusatory tendencies in painting 1860s, to awaken the "public conscience" and at the same time show a positive image of a contemporary, give moral guidelines for society. In November 1870, the Charter of the Partnership was approved, proclaiming realism, nationality (expression of the interests of the largest part of society), and the identification of the spiritual foundations of Russian culture as the main principles of the artists' work. The first exhibition took place in 1871 in St. Petersburg, from where the paintings were sent for display in other cities. For the first time, the TPHV began to arrange "traveling" exhibitions, presenting their works to the public not only in St. Petersburg and Moscow, but also in Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa, Kazan and other cities. The association existed until 1923, when the last, 48th exhibition was arranged, but the heyday of the art of the Wanderers came in the 1870s and 80s.
The fee for visiting the exposition was divided among the members of the association, part of the proceeds were kept in the general fund. This made it possible to support financially needy members of the TPES, helping them to focus entirely on creativity. In addition, each artist could count on the sale of his works at traveling exhibitions. The commercial success of the TPHV was the key to the creative independence of its members. The Association did not restrict access to its ranks, which would be contrary to its democratic platform. However, the openness of the association to new members led to the fact that to the con. 1880s there were many weak artists in its ranks, and the lack of fresh ideas led to some stagnation, “shredding” of plots, and the repetition of former motives. In the 1890s many prominent members of the Association (I. E. Repin, V. E. Makovsky, I. I. Shishkin and others) became members of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts.
The creative method of the Wanderers was critical realism, the desire to embody the “truth of life”. Any fiction, idealization, embellishment were considered a manifestation of the academic "lie". Thanks to the work of the Wanderers, art becomes a public platform in Russia; artists turn to acute social and ethical problems, solve educational problems. The Wanderers thought of their art as a high mission of public service. Their paintings are addressed to an indifferent, reflective and empathetic viewer.
A staunch propagandist of the work of the Wanderers was the critic V. V. Stasov, who proclaimed the importance of creating a “choral” picture, where the main character is the people, captured in all its variety of types (“The procession in the Kursk province” by I. E. Repin, 1880–83). An important role in the development of the Wanderers was played by the collecting activity of the merchant and philanthropist P. M. Tretyakov, the founder of the gallery of Russian art, who managed to become not only a buyer of paintings by participants in the Society for Contemporary Art Exhibition, but also a true friend and inspirer of many artists.
Along with the dominant in the 1860s. portrait and landscape are developing as an everyday genre in the work of the Wanderers. The main object of artistic comprehension is the peasantry and people from the bottom, who appear not only as victims of social injustice, but also as the embodiment of beauty and strength. Artists paint everyday scenes from village life (V. M. Maksimov. “The arrival of a sorcerer at a peasant wedding”, 1875; G. G. Myasoedov. “A Passionate Time”, 1887; I. M. Pryanishnikov. “Parozhnyaki”, 1872); portraits of peasants, recreating bright and solid folk types (V. G. Perov. "Wanderer", 1870; I. N. Kramskoy. "Woodsman", 1874, "Mina Moiseev", 1883; I. E. Repin. timid", 1878); landscapes imbued with love for the discreet beauty of Russian nature (A. K. Savrasov, F. A. Vasiliev, I. I. Shishkin, A. I. Kuindzhi, etc.). The landscapes of the Wanderers are characterized by narrative (“Pine Forest” by I. I. Shishkin, 1872), love for depicting transitional states in nature (the first signs of the coming spring in A. K. Savrasov’s painting “The Rooks Have Arrived”, 1871; the earth washed by a thunderstorm, in "Wet Meadow" by F. A. Vasiliev, 1872). In many landscapes there is a note of aching sadness, the pain of artists who feel the discord between the beauty of their native land and the grief that fills it. In historical paintings, the Wanderers sought to convincingly recreate the ancient way of life, costumes, architecture, to make the depicted event “tangible” for the viewer, to immerse it in the atmosphere of a bygone era (N. N. Ge. “Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof”, 1871). In the monumental canvases of V. I. Surikov (“Morning of the Streltsy Execution”, 1881; “Boyar Morozova”, 1887) the turning points of Russian history are presented, when the most essential features of the national character are revealed in the confrontation of various forces.
A prominent place in the traveling exhibitions was occupied by portraits of figures of Russian culture, who were perceived by society as "rulers of thoughts", self-sacrificing prophets, preachers of high truths, appealing to souls and hearts. The gallery of “persons dear to the nation” was created largely thanks to the purposeful activity of P. M. Tretyakov, who ordered portraits from artists V. G. Perov (portraits of A. N. Ostrovsky, 1871; F. M. Dostoevsky, V. I. Dahl; I. S. Turgenev; all - 1872), I. N. Kramskoy (portraits of T. G. Shevchenko, M. M. Antokolsky, F. A. Vasiliev; all - 1871; L. N. Tolstoy, 1873; I. A. Goncharova, 1874; N. A. Nekrasova, 1877; M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, 1879), I. E. Repin (portraits of I. S. Turgenev, 1876; I. E. Zabelin, 1877) and others N. A. Yaroshenko created portraits-types (“Student”, 1881; “Cursist”, 1883).
An important place in the work of many Wanderers was occupied by gospel stories, experienced with confessional frankness and depth. Kramskoy (“Christ in the Wilderness”, 1872), Ge (“What is Truth?”, 1890) and other artists sought not to create illustrations for the Holy Scriptures, but to approach the resolution of topical moral and philosophical issues. V. M. Vasnetsov turned in his work to the images of Russian folklore. In the 1880s–90s. the color palette in the canvases of many Wanderers becomes brighter and lighter, the manner of writing is freer, compositional techniques are more diverse (I. E. Repin, V. I. Surikov, M. V. Nesterov, I. I. Levitan, V. A. Serov and etc.).
The Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions is a key milestone in the development of Russian art. The Wanderers became, in a way, a symbol of Russian art of the 19th century. Emerged as a reaction to the dead lifeless art of the Academy of Arts, the Association of the Wanderers became the most massive and influential art association in the history of Russia. Never before or since has the art of Russian artists been so close and understandable to the masses.
Undoubtedly, the emergence of the TPES society occurred at the very time when it was especially necessary for Russia - both from the point of view of pure art and from the point of view of its social coloring. By the end of the 60s, the leading artists of Moscow and St. Petersburg came wiser with some experience in social activities. By this time, they have a firm conviction that the time has come to find a form of association that could ensure the personal independence of the artist from official, government-protected institutions and patrons, to make closer and more direct links between art and the viewer, with the people. The idea of creating the Association of Traveling Exhibitions promised a lot. The opportunity to acquire an immense popular audience became real. The dream of several generations of artists came true with their own eyes. But for none of the previous generations it was not so infinitely attractive as for the generation shaped by the general democratic upsurge of the late 50s and early 60s.
Creativity of the Wanderers
Russian Wanderers sought to show in their works the ideological side of fine art, which was valued much higher than aesthetic, setting themselves the task of broadly promoting fine art, the purpose of which was the social and aesthetic education of the masses, bringing them closer to the life of democratic art. To reveal in his paintings the true living life of the oppressed peasantry, suffering from the power of the landowners and the rich - this was the main task. Many of the works of the Wanderers were painted from nature in the style of genre painting, while other works were painted under the imagination from real life. Russian Wanderers demonstrated with great persuasiveness the existence of a new creative movement at the first exhibition that opened, gradually emerging from the 60s. At this exhibition, the painting of the Wanderers was demonstrated - paintings by many famous artists of all popular genres: portrait, landscape and historical genre. In total, 47 exhibits were exhibited that turned academic ideas about painting upside down, this was the first step in the success of the Wanderers who showed their paintings in a different dimension. By this time, the academy had undergone some changes. as the old settings gradually receded into the past.
Famous Wandering Artists
Kramskoy Ivan Nikolaevich (1837 - 1887)
A well-known painter, one of the main reformers in art, known for his anti-academic activities, advocating for the free development of young artists. Kramskoy is the main founder and founder of the TPHV. Without Kramskoy, it is impossible to imagine all those undertakings of artistic culture with its latest transformations, which revealed to the masses the whole truth of life in art. Ivan Kramskoy is a wonderful master of the portrait genre. His famous painting "Christ in the Wilderness" caused a storm of emotions and controversy that did not subside for a long time. In this picture, Kramskoy wanted to show the dramatic situation of a moral choice, in which there is no deviation from the chosen path.
Vasily Grigorievich Perov (1834-1882)
Perov's paintings are imbued with genuine tragedy: "Old parents at the grave of their son", "Troika". His famous paintings "Tea drinking in Mytishchi", "Arrival of the police officer for the investigation", "The last tavern at the outpost". Many of the master's early works are imbued with a critical, accusatory perception, representing pictorial caricatures, in which the clergy are also involved. Perov, like no one else, revealed in his works the spirit of ideology and freedom of creative choice.
Alexei Kondratievich Savrasov (1830-1897)
Master of the lyrical Russian landscape. His famous painting "The Rooks Have Arrived", in which he managed to reveal all the subtle beauty of the Russian landscape, inspired by extraordinary lyricism. This turned any ideas of contemporaries about native Russian nature upside down. His other paintings are no less popular - "Forest Road", "At the Gates of the Monastery", "Spring Day".
Ge Nikolai Nikolaevich (1831-1894)
One of the leaders and organizers of the Association of the Wanderers, who broke his work with the monopoly of academicism. Ge is an adherent of national history, his painting “Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof” brought him tangible success and popularity of his contemporaries. Some of his works were not so successful: "Catherine II at the coffin of Elizabeth", "A. Pushkin in the village of Mikhailovsky." Ge was often dissatisfied with many works, he did not complete all of them to the end. He simply destroyed the picture "Mercy", hardly experiencing his failures. The painting “Exit from the Last Supper” brought him fame, which became one of the best works, exciting with its expressiveness. Such paintings as "What is Truth?", "Christ and Pilate" were criticized by the clergy, for which they were removed from the exhibition.
Vasnetsov Viktor Mikhailovich (1848-1926)
The master is a painter, portrait and landscape painter, theater artist. Member of the Wanderers since 1878. The artist's work was drawn to Russian folklore, he created many canvases on the theme of Russian history, folk tales and epics. For some time, Vasnetsov also worked for the theater, creating various scenery and costumes for plays and fairy tales, which had a huge impact on the development of theatrical and decorative art in Russia. In his famous works, he sought to convey the epic character of Rus', inspired by sincere poetry. His famous works in this genre: “After the battle of Igor Svyatoslavich with the Polovtsy”, “Alyonushka and Ivan Tsarevich on a gray wolf”, “Bogatyrs”, “Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible” and many others.
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (1832-1898)
A famous artist, a unique master of forest landscapes. His paintings are known to a very wide public. Shishkin, like no one else, loved the nature of the forest with its colorful shades of tree trunks, bright glades, lit by the sun and airiness. Famous paintings by Shishkin: "Morning in a Pine Forest", "Rye", "Stream in the Forest". Many of his paintings have gained immense popularity, these paintings are known today. Before Shishkin, no one with such stunning frankness told the viewer about his love for his native Russian nature.
Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi (1841-1910)
These are canvases with a picturesque coloring of flowers and light. Rays of light breaking through the fog, playing in puddles on muddy roads - they noticeably emphasize the skill of the artist. The famous painting "Night" attracts with the calm grandeur of nature. The painting “Dnepr in the morning” describes the plot of an early steppe morning. "Birch Grove" - in this picture, the artist showed Russian nature in a hitherto unseen method of writing. He reveals the sublime image of the landscape, sparkling with unusual color and contrast of pure colors. Kuindzhi found his own unique, independent path in the art of landscape.
Isaac Ilyich Levitan (1860-1900)
A magnificent master of quiet and calm landscapes. Levitan was very fond of his native nature, he often retired with her, finding an understanding of her beauty, which was reflected in his landscapes. Singing the nature of the Upper Volga, he showed the world wonderful masterpieces: “Gloomy Day”, “After the Rain”, “Above Eternal Peace”, masterfully painted evening landscapes: “Golden Autumn”, “Evening on the Volga”, “Golden Reach”, “Evening ”, “Quiet abode”, “Evening bells”. Levitan's paintings require attentiveness and thoughtfulness, they cannot be quickly examined.
Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930)
The paintings by the famous artist Ilya Repin are distinguished by their versatility. Repin painted a number of monumental genre paintings that gained immense popularity among his contemporaries, which made a strong impression on the public. Traveling along the Volga, he painted many sketches, which he later used to paint his famous painting “Barge haulers on the Volga”. After this work, stunning fame came to Repin. Also, the painting “The Religious Procession in the Kursk Province”, based on the common people, church priests, and the police, made no small impression. Repin also wrote a number of works on a historical theme: "Letter of the Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan", "Ivan the Terrible kills his son", "They did not wait" and others. He worked very fruitfully on portraits. The most significant of them are portraits of writers L. N. Tolstoy, A. F. Pisemsky, Turgenev, Garshin, scientists Sechenov and Pirogov, military engineer A. I. Delvig, composers Mussorgsky and Glinka, artists Surikov and Kramskoy and others. Ilya Repin left a significant mark on the history of Russian painting.
Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (1865-1911)
A very fashionable artist of his time, his portraits brought him fame, although he also painted landscapes and paintings based on historical subjects. Sometimes, he worked as a theater artist. Serov, like no one else, knew what a portrait was and how to draw a portrait. Serov masterfully drew with a pencil from life, famous patrons, artists and writers posed for him a lot. Most of all, his portraits were noticeable: “Girl with Peaches”, “Girl Illuminated by the Sun”, a portrait of M. N. Akimova and many others.
The 19th century is the golden age of Russian fine arts, which gave birth to a large number of famous Russian artists who left a rich legacy to their descendants. Its value is simply immeasurable. Thanks to the Wanderers, the most famous artists of that time, the paintings of Russian art help all mankind to comprehend the ideas about the life of those years.
Material prepared with: tphv, art-portrets
Photo: feldgrau
On November 9, 1863, an event took place at the Imperial Academy of Arts - a riot, a scandal - that gave life to the world-famous "Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions". On this day, 14 best graduates of the Academy refused to participate in the competition dedicated to its centenary for a large gold medal. According to the assignment, each of the 14 winners of the small gold medal "For Success in Drawing" was supposed to present a picture on the theme "Feast in Valhalla", however, young rebels, led by Ivan Kramskoy, considered the German-Scandinavian plot to be arch-modern and out of touch with reality. One by one, they left the academic auditorium, disrupting the anniversary competition and leaving papers with petitions to the vice-president of the Academy, Prince Gagarin, to issue each a diploma "corresponding to the medals that I was awarded."
Standing up for realism and the acutely social orientation of painting, which broke off relations with the Academy, Kramskoy's supporters created the first independent creative organization in the history of Russian art called the Artel of Artists. After some time, it was reborn as the "Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions" or the movement of the Wanderers.
The meaning of the "Rebellion of the Fourteen": realism, replacing academicism.
The photo shows the participants of the "Riot of the Fourteen", 1860s.
Throughout the 19th century, the Imperial Academy of Arts had a kind of monopoly on any artistic activity, however, many students and graduates of the Academy did not share the convictions of its rectors and teachers - plots on biblical and mythological topics seemed out of date; the dominant role of form over content was also questioned. However, before the "Riot of the Fourteen" few people said this openly.
In fact, it was the "Riot of the Fourteen" - the disruption of the anniversary competition of the Academy of Arts - that became the first prerequisite for the emergence of the Wanderers movement.
Art for the people. Purposes and articles of association.
Nikolai Ge - "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof", 1871, the first exhibition of the Wanderers
Not a single period in the history of Russian painting was marked by such a fierce rejection of academicism and the concept of "art for art's sake" as the period that began in the 60s of the 19th century. Inspired by the ideas of democracy and dreams of universal freedom and prosperity, the Wanderers dreamed of art in the name of serving the people, their education and upbringing. These aspirations were expressed in the charter of the partnership:
Ҥ 1. The purpose of the partnership is to organize, with proper permission, in all cities of the Empire, traveling art exhibitions, in the form (for):
a) providing residents of the provinces with the opportunity to get acquainted with Russian art and follow its progress;
b) development of love for art in society;
c) making it easier for artists to market their works.
§ 2. For this purpose, the Partnership may organize exhibitions, sell both works of art and artistic products, as well as photographs ... ”
In addition to all this, the charter of the partnership stipulated the rules for managing its affairs and cash desk, as well as the conditions for admitting newcomers to its ranks.
First exhibition
Illarion Pryanishnikov - "Employed", 1871, the first exhibition of the Wanderers.
“This year was marked by a very remarkable phenomenon for Russian art: some Moscow and St. Petersburg artists formed a partnership with the aim of organizing traveling art exhibitions in all cities of Russia. Therefore, from now on, works of Russian art, hitherto closed in one St. Petersburg, within the walls of the Academy of Arts, or buried in galleries and museums of private individuals, will become available to all the inhabitants of the Russian Empire in general ... ", Mikhail wrote in the journal Fatherland Notes. Saltykov-Shchedrin.
The first exhibition of the Wanderers, which traveled around Russia for almost two months, opened on November 29, 1871 in St. Petersburg and also managed to visit Moscow, Kyiv and Kharkov. Among its participants were Mikhail Klodt, Grigory Myasoedov, Vasily Perov, Ivan Shishkin, Ge, Pryanishnikov, Kramskoy and Savrasov. The exhibition caused a wide public outcry, and the total income from it amounted to about 4,400 rubles. The money received was divided among all participants in the partnership in accordance with its charter; not a single artist was left without a well-deserved income - and this situation could also be considered an absolute breakthrough. The fact is that the annual (!) income from all exhibitions of the Academy of Arts never exceeded 5000 rubles, and the masters participating in them did not receive a penny - all the money was deducted to the treasury of the Ministry of the Imperial Court.
The economic policy of the Wanderers.
Mikhail Klodt - "Volga near Simbirsk", 1881.
The participants of the partnership demanded from each other to strictly follow the charter they adopted, and especially that part of it that dealt with financial issues - 5% of the cost of each painting sold, as well as all the money received for tickets to one or another traveling exhibition, were sent to the cash desk of the partnership , the rest went "to the division between the exhibitors, in accordance with the evaluation of their works made by the board."
Perfect discipline in everything related to money and organizational issues served the Wanderers in good stead - their business flourished. By the mid-70s of the XIX century, most of the artists who exhibited their paintings at exhibitions of the Wanderers moving from place to place, gained all-Russian fame, and with it the long-awaited financial stability.
Confrontation with the Academy of Arts. Pavel Tretyakov.
Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Gagarin - Vice-President of the Academy of Arts from 1859 to 1872.
Soon after the fantastic success of the first exhibition of the Wanderers, the teachers of the Academy of Arts, headed by its vice-president Grigory Gagarin, sounded the alarm. Former mentors decided that the newborn partnership under the leadership of Kramskoy and Myasoedov was undermining the authority of the Academy and depriving its exhibition of an interested public.
Thus began a long-term confrontation between the partnership and the Academy, which Pavel Tretyakov, the famous philanthropist and collector of Russian art, repeatedly tried to stop. “Only time will show who is really right,” he said. people, diligence and complete freedom and independence - this is grace!
Tretyakov played a crucial role in the life of the Wanderers, providing both material and moral support. Many paintings of the Wanderers were painted by his order.
Decline of travel
Nikolay Yaroshenko - "Held", 1891.
The decline of the Wanderers turned out to be as swift as its rise. By the end of its existence, the partnership became one of the most influential departments of the Academy of Arts and adopted a number of monopolistic features characteristic of the Academy. For example, young Wanderers were forbidden to exhibit anywhere except for exhibitions of the partnership; joining its ranks also turned into a fairly formal procedure.
Here is how the painter Leonid Pasternak recalled this moment in the history of the Wanderers: “The older members of the Association were in sharp opposition to the younger ones. We, young artists, were contemptuously called "exhibitors", because we did not have the rights of members of the society and therefore we were subjected to the strictest jury, while the members of the society exhibited their paintings without a jury; we were generally treated in the most severe manner. It even got to the point (in our days it seems incredible!) that Yaroshenko, this pillar of the itinerant movement, sent out to the “exhibitors” an official “circular” with the most naive, to say the least, enumeration of plots that could be written to be sent to a traveling exhibition, with indicating especially “desirable”, with the definition of even the manner and technique of performance ... The main thing in the picture was the plot. I just can’t believe that this directive paper, which determined “how and how not to paint pictures,” is a true story, and not a fairy tale-fiction. This is a historical document of the late stage of the Wanderers.”
7 most important paintings of the Wanderers, stored in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Illarion Pryanishnikov - "Fire victims", 1871.
1. Vasily Perov - "Hunters at rest", 1871.
2. Ilya Repin - "The procession in the Kursk province", 1883.
3. Valentin Serov - "Girl with peaches", 1887.
4. Vasily Surikov - Boyar Morozova, 1887.
5. Nikolai Ge - “What is truth?”, 1890.
6. Mikhail Nesterov - "Vision to the youth Bartholomew", 1890.
7. Isaac Levitan - "Quiet Convent", 1891.
The Wanderers are called the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions.
This is a creative association of Russian artists, which clearly manifested itself in the last third of the 19th century.
Members of the Association (Wanderers) opposed their work to representatives of official academism. By organizing traveling exhibitions in various cities, they conducted educational activities.
Foundation of the society
The founding of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions was the result of the socio-political situation in the country. This was the era of the Great Reforms of Alexander II.
During his reign, reforms were carried out in many areas of life, including in the field of education - the Imperial Academy of Arts was reformed. The new charter of the Academy in 1859 introduced a number of changes in its work. But these changes did not immediately eradicate the conservative views and approaches to creativity that operated at the Academy. As a result, on November 9, 1863, 14 of the most outstanding students of the Imperial Academy of Arts, who were admitted to the competition for the first gold medal, turned to the Academy Council with a request to replace the competition task (painting a painting based on a given plot from Scandinavian mythology, “The Feast of the God Odin in Valhalla”) with free task - painting a picture on a theme chosen by the artist himself. The Council of the Academy refused them this, and then all 14 artists left the Academy. This event was called the "Riot of the Fourteen". Here are the names of these "rebels": Bogdan Venig, Alexander Grigoriev, Nikolai Dmitriev, Firs Zhuravlev, Pyotr Zabolotsky, Ivan Kramskoy, Alexei Korzukhin, Karl Lemokh, Alexander Litovchenko, Konstantin Makovsky, Alexander Morozov, Mikhail Peskov, Nikolai Petrov and Nikolai Shustov.
Ivan Kramskoy (photo from 1860s)
When the competition began, Ivan Kramskoy made a statement: “... We ask permission to say a few words before the Council ... We filed a petition twice, but since the Council did not find it possible to fulfill our request, we, not considering ourselves entitled to insist more and not daring to think about changing academic regulations, we humbly ask the Council to release us from participation in the competition and issue us diplomas for the title of artists. One of the contestants, Pyotr Zabolotsky, did not leave the hall with everyone, deciding to participate in the competition anyway. But the competition with one applicant could not take place. Instead of Zabolotsky, the sculptor Vasily Kreitan, who also had a small gold medal of the Academy, filed a petition to leave the Academy. Thus, 13 painters and 1 sculptor withdrew from the competition and left the Academy.
It was these students of the Academy who organized the "St. Petersburg Artel of Artists" - this was the first attempt to form an independent creative association of artists in Russia. In 1870, it was transformed into the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions, but the experience of the Artel was taken into account when creating the Association.
Ideology of the Wanderers
The activities of the Wanderers were based on the ideas of populism. What were these ideas?
The ideology of populism appeared in the Russian Empire in the 1860s and positioned itself as a “rapprochement” between the intelligentsia and the people. Populism was not homogeneous: there are conservative populism, reformist, liberal-revolutionary, social-revolutionary, anarchist.
The emergence of populism was facilitated by the contradictory processes of modernization and transition of Russian society in the mid-19th century. from feudal to bourgeois relations. Populism (its ideas existed in the Russian Empire in all forms of art of that time) set as its task the study of various aspects of folk life and the rapprochement of the intelligentsia with the people, mainly with the peasantry. They believed that it was in the mass of the people that social and ethical ideals lived.
The draft Charter of the Wanderers proclaimed, among other things, the following: “The purpose of the partnership is to organize ... in all cities of the empire traveling art exhibitions in the form of: a) providing residents of the provinces with the opportunity to get acquainted with Russian art ... b) developing a love for art in society ; c) making it easier for artists to market their works.”
Composition of the Association of Wanderers
The composition of the Wanderers at different times included artists I.E. Repin, V.I. Surikov, N.N. Dubrovskaya, V.E. Makovsky, I.M. Pryanishnikov, A.K. Savrasov, I.I. Shishkin, V.M. Maksimov, K.A. Savitsky, A.M. Vasnetsov, V.M. Vasnetsov, A.I. Kuindzhi, V.D. Polenov, N.A. Yaroshenko, I.I. Levitan, V.A. Serov, A.M. Korin, A.E. Arkhipov, V.K. Byalynitsky-Birulya, I.N. Kramskoy, V.G. Perov and others.
Group of members of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (1886)
It should be emphasized that the composition of the Association was not constant: some left it and others came. For example, I.I. Levitan became a member of the Association in 1891, when the activity of the Wanderers had already ended its heyday, which fell on 1870-1880. And the artists V. Serov, S. Ivanov, M. Nesterov, S. Vinogradov, A. Arkhipov, A. Vasnetsov left the Association at different times. The Partnership ceased its activity in 1923 already in the USSR.
In addition to the members of the Association, the participants of the traveling exhibitions were exhibiting artists: M.M. Antokolsky, V.V. Vereshchagin, A.P. Ryabushkin and others. Exhibitor- an artist who was not a member of the partnership, but participated in the exhibition with a certain work of his. The work of the exhibitor was accepted for the exhibition by voting at the general meeting. The number of exhibitors at exhibitions has always been significant.
First exhibition
The first exhibition of the Wanderers was opened in St. Petersburg on November 29, 1871 in the building of the Academy of Arts. Works of 16 artists were shown. After St. Petersburg, the exhibition was exhibited in Moscow, Kyiv, Kharkov and other cities (12 cities in total). It has become a real event in the cultural life of Russia. The paintings of A. Savrasov “The Rooks Have Arrived”, N. N. Ge “Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof”, the sculpture of M. M. Antokolsky “Ivan the Terrible” enjoyed particular success. Let's say a few words about these works and pay attention to the fact that they are all based on the plots of Russian history or Russian nature.
A. Savrasov "The Rooks Have Arrived"
Journalist and literary critic I.M. Gronsky said this about the artist’s work: “There are few Savrasovs in Russian painting ... Savrasov is good in some kind of intimate, only his characteristic perception of nature.”
The painting "The Rooks Have Arrived" became a cult and, unfortunately, overshadowed the rest of the work of this outstanding artist. But if we are talking about the first exhibition of the Wanderers, then we should inevitably talk about it. Again and again, because perhaps everything has already been said about her.
A. Savrasov "The Rooks Have Arrived" (1871). Host, oil. 62 x 48.5 cm State Tretyakov Gallery
The painting depicts the Church of the Resurrection in the village of Kostroma province (now it is the village of Susanino). The church has survived to this day (now it houses the Ivan Susanin Museum). The Russian landscape of early spring is shown as unattractive, but it captures the heart of every Russian person - this is the peculiarity of this picture. The picture became a discovery in painting. It was immediately bought by P. Tretyakov, a connoisseur and connoisseur of art, a philanthropist and founder of a well-known gallery. Savrasov later made several copies of the painting.
N. N. Ge "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof" (1871)
Canvas, oil. 135.7 x 173 cm State Tretyakov Gallery
The plot of the picture is a historical event. The son of Peter I from his first marriage opposed his father's reforms. This happened under the influence of hostile boyars. The plot, in which the prince was involved, was discovered, and the prince fled to Vienna, and then to the Neapolitan castle of St. Elmo in Italy, but was returned from there by order of the emperor. In Russia, the Senate, with the consent of his father, sentenced the prince to death. But he died in 1718 in the Peter and Paul Fortress before the sentence was carried out.
The artist N. Ge studied documents and old portraits of Peter I and the prince, costumes from the early 18th century, and also accurately reproduced the emperor's office in the Peterhof Monplaisir Palace.
Peter I sits at the table and looks intently at his son. He seems to be waiting for an answer to the question asked to the prince. Tsarevich Alexei stands in confusion, his eyes downcast. The poses of the characters, the expressions on their faces - everything suggests that the prince does not deny his guilt, and Peter believes in what he, as a father, does not want to believe. There is a tense silence in the room and no more words are needed - everything is said. But the internal dialogue between them seems to continue: the father has not yet lost hope for the repentance of his son. But the son is firm, although he seems outwardly fragile.
The picture made a strong impression on contemporaries and was immediately bought by P. Tretyakov for his collection.
MM. Antokolsky "Ivan the Terrible" (1870)
The sculpture "Ivan the Terrible" was the first major work of M. Antokolsky. For her, he received the title of academician. The statue also made a huge impression on Emperor Alexander II, he purchased it for the Hermitage.
Features of the work of the Wanderers and their significance
A realistic depiction of life is their main principle. Strictly speaking, the reason for the "revolt 14" was the desire to bring creativity closer to modern life and depict it in his works. Alien to the Russian spirit, mythological images no longer attracted young people who wanted to find their own ideals. The Wanderers were characterized by psychologism, attention to detail, social and class orientation, mastery of typification. The leading styles in the work of the Wanderers were realism and impressionism.
The art of the Wanderers turned out to be in demand in Russian society, it was in tune with its time.
The collector and philanthropist P. M. Tretyakov provided great assistance to the Wanderers. He constantly updated his gallery with the works of the Wanderers, he knew how to understand the talent and see the future of a painting that was not yet known. He acquired works of the Wanderers for his gallery, thus providing them with material and moral support. Many of the works of the Wanderers were commissioned by Tretyakov, mostly portraits of great contemporaries - writers, composers, and other prominent people. For example, the famous portrait of L.N. Tolstoy was written by I. Kramskoy by order of P.M. Tretyakov.
I. Kramskoy "Portrait of Leo Tolstoy"
The Association of Wanderers has existed for more than 50 years. During this time, 47 traveling exhibitions were held, the geography of which was very extensive.
And now the work of the Wanderers is in demand and not forgotten, this is our national wealth.
