Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1848 - 1926) - Russian artist, famous for his depictions of historical, folk scenes.
Biography of Viktor Vasnetsov
Vasnetsov was born on May 3, 1848 in a small village in the Vyatka province in the family of a priest. Education in the biography of Vasnetsov was received at the Vyatka Theological Seminary. But the artistic style of Vasnetsov improved while studying at the school of arts in St. Petersburg. The final moment of education was the end of the Academy of Arts in 1873.
After graduating from the Academy, he went abroad. He began to exhibit his works in 1869, first participating in the expositions of the Academy, then in the exhibitions of the Wanderers.
Member of the mammoth circle in Abramtsevo.
In 1893 Vasnetsov became a full member of the Academy of Arts. After 1905, he was close to the Union of the Russian People, although he was not a member, participated in the financing and design of monarchist publications, including the Book of Russian Sorrow.
In 1912, he was granted "the dignity of the nobility of the Russian Empire with all descendants."
In 1915 he participated in the establishment of the Society for the Revival of Artistic Rus', along with many other artists of his time.
Viktor Vasnetsov died on July 23, 1926 in Moscow, was buried at the Lazarevsky cemetery, after the destruction of which the ashes were transferred to the Vvedenskoye cemetery.
Creativity Vasnetsov
Vasnetsov's work vividly represents various genres that have become stages of a very interesting evolution: from everyday writing to a fairy tale, from easel painting to monumental painting, from the mundaneness of the Wanderers to the prototype of the Art Nouveau style.
At an early stage, everyday subjects dominated Vasnetsov's work, for example, in the paintings From Apartment to Apartment (1876), Military Telegram (1878), Bookshop (1876), Booths in Paris (1877).
Later, the epic-historical became the main direction - “The Knight at the Crossroads” (1882), “After the Battle of Igor Svyatoslavich with the Polovtsians” (1880), “Alyonushka” (1881), “Ivan Tsarevich on the Gray Wolf” (1889), “Heroes "(1881-1898)," Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible "(1897).
In the late 1890s, an increasingly prominent place in his work was occupied by a religious theme (works in the Vladimir Cathedral in Kiev and in the Church of the Resurrection (Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood) in St. Petersburg, watercolor drawings and, in general, preparatory originals of wall paintings for the cathedral St. Vladimir, frescoes in the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist on Presnya.
Vasnetsov worked in a team of artists who designed the interior of the memorial church of Alexander Nevsky in Sofia.
After 1917, Vasnetsov continued to work on folk fairy tale themes, creating canvases “The Battle of Dobrynya Nikitich with the Seven-Headed Serpent Gorynych” (1918); "Koschey the Immortal" (1917-1926).
One fact from the biography of V.M. testifies to what a cruel joke self-doubt can play with a person. Vasnetsov.
Arriving from distant Siberia to enter the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, the young man was very worried. At the exam, he drew everything that was asked, and began to look around. To his horror, he noticed that an applicant standing behind a nearby easel was skeptically examining his drawing and even frankly smiling, almost laughing.
"Everything - failed!" - Vasnetsov decided and fell into such despair that he did not even begin to find out the results of the exam. After spending several days in a foreign city, the future artist entered the Drawing School of I.N. Kramskoy, hoping to learn more and try his luck next year.
What was his amazement when, having again come to apply to the Academy of Arts, he found out that he had entered for the first time and had been in his first year for a year already!
Bibliography
- Kulzhenko S.V. Cathedral of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir in Kyiv. - Kyiv: S.V. Kulzhenko Publishing House, 1898.
- Bakhrevsky V.A. Viktor Vasnetsov. - M .: Young Guard, 1989. - (Life of wonderful people). - ISBN 5-235-00367-5.
- Butina N. Yu. Vasnetsov Viktor Mikhailovich: Afterword // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. - 1994 . - No. 7/8. - S. 124-125.
- Iovleva L. I. Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. - L.: Artist of the RSFSR, 1964. - 56 p. - (People's Art Library). - 20,000 copies.
- Kudryavtseva L. Vasnetsov. - M.: White City, 1999. - ISBN 5-7793-0163-8.
Born in the village of Lopyal, Vyatka province. The son of the village priest Mikhail Vasilyevich Vasnetsov and Apollinaria Ivanovna. In total, the family had six children, including Apollinary Vasnetsov, an artist known for his picturesque reconstructions of the old, pre-Petrine Moscow.
He received his primary education at the Vyatka Theological Seminary. In 1868-1875 he studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In 1876 he was in Paris, then in Italy. Since 1874, he constantly participated in exhibitions of the Wanderers. In 1892 he received the title of academician. Like many Russian artists of that time, he sought to go beyond the boundaries of the canons of academic art.
Since 1878, Vasnetsov settled in Moscow, where he painted the most famous paintings and developed an illustrative and folklore orientation of creativity. Contemporaries were amazed by the huge canvases on historical themes and themes of Russian fairy tales and epics - “After the Battle”, “Bogatyrs”, etc.
Vasnetsov's art gave rise to heated discussions. Many saw in him the beginning of a new, truly national trend in Russian painting. But the majority considered his painting uninteresting, and attempts to revive the Byzantine and Old Russian styles were fruitless. Particular controversy arose after the publication of the first issue of the magazine "World of Art" in 1898, where Vasnetsov's work was also presented. “I could not in any way approve the fact that in the very first issue, which, after all, had the meaning of the well-known credo of our ideals and aspirations, half of the illustrations were devoted to the artist to whom I developed a certain negative attitude, namely to Viktor Vasnetsov” - A.N. was indignant Benoit. A little later, Mikhail Nesterov wrote: "Dozens of outstanding Russian artists originate from a national source - the talent of Viktor Vasnetsov."
However, the work of V.M. Vasnetsov influenced the artists of the modern period and, especially, the artists of the Abramtsevo circle S.I. Mamontov, one of the organizers of which and an active participant he was in the 1880s. Vasnetsov performed costumes and scenery for productions at the Mamontov Theater, in 1881, together with V. Polenov, he built a church in the "Russian style" in Abramtsevo. Subsequently, he designed and implemented many buildings: his own house and workshop in 3rd Troitsky Lane (now Vasnetsova), the Tsvetkov Gallery on Prechistenskaya Embankment, the facade of the main building of the Tretyakov Gallery in Lavrushinsky Lane, etc.
In 1885-1896 he took part in the work on the murals of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv. He continued to turn to the religious theme in mosaics for the Church of the Ascension in St. Petersburg, murals and mosaics in the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist on Presnya, etc.
He was married to Alexandra Vladimirovna Ryazantseva. Had sons: Boris, Alexei, Mikhail, Vladimir and daughter Tatyana.
He died in Moscow in his studio while working on a portrait. He was buried at the Lazarevsky cemetery. Later, his ashes were transferred to the Vvedenskoye cemetery in Moscow.
The artist Vasnetsov Viktor Mikhailovich is in his own way close to every cultured person, because we all come from childhood, and a happy start to life is impossible without a fairy tale.
Magical images created by the famous Russian artist surround us all the time. Who is not familiar with the paintings of Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov "Bogatyrs", "Alyonushka", "Ivan Tsarevich on the Gray Wolf", "Three princesses of the underworld" ?! They watch over us from the pages of textbooks, volumes of fairy tales, and sometimes even from candy wrappers.
Vasnetsov proved himself not only as a master of everyday and genre painting. The artist painted Orthodox shrines, created illustrations for books and sketches of architectural structures. This article will focus on the biography of Viktor Vasnetsov and his creative heritage.
The beginning of the way
The artist Vasnetsov was born on May 15, 1848 in the village of Lopyal, Vyatka province. His father was a priest, and it was assumed that the son would follow in the footsteps of his father. The parent was not completely fixated only on serving God, he was a literate, erudite person, he spent a lot of time with his children. He taught to draw, subscribed to scientific journals for them. The development of fine artistic taste was influenced by the harsh but picturesque nature of the region where the boy grew up. People here sacredly honored ancient beliefs, so the epics and legends in the head of little Victor seemed to be a reality. He made his first experiments in painting in early childhood, depicting the life of peasants and the beauty of nature in his drawings.
Vyatka Theological School and Seminary
As a child from a family of priests, Vasnetsov was sent to study at the appropriate educational institutions, which was very good. The children of the clergy received education there free of charge, and they taught excellently there. In the Vyatka Seminary, in addition to theology, students studied ancient Russian literature, chronographs, chronicles.
Vasnetsov devoted most of his free time from teaching to his favorite pastime. Already in the seminary, his successes did not go unnoticed. The guy was invited to help in the painting of the Vyatka Cathedral. Vasnetsov also enjoyed drawing illustrations for Russian folk proverbs and sayings. Naturally, the artist was also engaged in easel painting.
In the seminary, Viktor Mikhailovich was lucky to meet Elviro Andriolli, an exiled Pole and a talented master of painting. It was he who, having seen the canvases of the young Vasnetsov, said that he had a great future and that he should develop his talent further.
With his light hand, an auction was organized, at which Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov's paintings "The Milkmaid" and "The Reaper" were sold for decent money. With the proceeds, he went to St. Petersburg to conquer the Imperial Academy of Arts. An illustrative story is connected with this period in his life, which characterizes the artist Vasnetsov as a very modest person.
Talented and shy
From early childhood, the son of a priest was instilled with the idea that modesty is the main virtue. When the boy grew up, it grew into self-doubt. A modest guy, having successfully passed the exams at the Imperial Academy of Arts, did not come to find out the results. He simply could not even imagine that he would be enrolled there the first time! He learned about his success a year later, when he went to apply again. Imagine his surprise when he was told that he had long been among the students.
However, this year he did not waste time, but studied at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts. He was lucky to sit in the same audience with Ilya Repin, and Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy taught them. He infected the young artist with a love for portraits. This genre of painting would later become something special for the artist Vasnetsov - an outlet. Viktor Mikhailovich did not paint a single portrait to order. All of them were created on the inspiration of the soul, and only the closest ones are depicted on them: relatives and children of friends.
One love for life
To a slight regret, but to great happiness, the talented guy did not graduate from the academy. In the spring of 1871, he began to get very sick with colds. Unaccustomed St. Petersburg fogs and huge loads affected. He decided to improve his health in his own home. I planned to start further studies in the fall, but it did not work out. In the Vitebsk Museum, he met Sasha Ryazantseva, from whom he could not leave.
Later, in 1876, on his return from Paris, he proposed to his beloved, they got married and had five children. Next, let's talk about how the artist got abroad.
Movement and trip to Paris
At the end of the 19th century, thanks to the rebellious spirit of young talented artists, a partnership of traveling art exhibitions was born. It all started with the fact that 14 graduates sent a letter to the Academy Council with a request to change the admission rules. They wanted to achieve the right for talented young people to choose the topic of competition tasks themselves. The guys were rejected, but did not give up. So a new trend of the Wanderers arose. Young artists believed that art should not rise above the people, but should illustrate their life.
The partnership included the whole color of the most talented painters of that time:
- Kramskoy;
- Repin;
- Savrasov,
- Surikov;
- Shishkin;
- Perov;
- Serov;
- Polenov;
- Myasoedov.
Viktor Mikhailovich, having first come to the exhibition of the Wanderers, immediately decided that he was on the same path with them. He created several paintings for this. The most famous among them:
- "From apartment to apartment";
- "Beggars Singers";
- "Book store".
Soon, the collector Tretyakov drew attention to the work of Viktor Vasnetsov.
With the Wanderers, Vasnetsov ends up in Paris, where he lives with Kramskoy. Here he continues to depict the life of the French poor on canvases. Outstanding paintings of that period: "Tea drinking in a tavern", "Acrobats".
Vasnetsov's friends at that time were passionate about modern art and French chic in painting. All this did not impress Viktor Mikhailovich. He gravitated toward the classics and spent all his free time wandering around museums. The artist did not have a relationship with Paris. His pathos did not appeal to the artist. He missed Russia, and the idea of creating a national style took possession of him. It is surprising that it is here, in the workshop of Polenov, that the artist will create a sketch of the Bogatyrs. From France, he brought the canvas "Balagany in the vicinity of Paris", watercolors and sketches.
Children of Viktor Vasnetsov
Viktor Mikhailovich had a large family. Five children grew up in it: Mikhail, Tatiana, Boris, Alexei, Vladimir. The family was very friendly, but it was not easy for her father to adequately support her. Patrons helped: Tretyakov and Savva Mamontov. They tried to buy his paintings immediately from the exhibition, sometimes ahead of the royal family in this.
Painting of the Vladimir Cathedral
Viktor Vasnetsov considered the painting of the Vladimir Cathedral to be the main work in his biography. He received this offer from Adrian Prakhov in 1885. The contract was concluded for three years, but in the end the work stretched for 11 years. Before starting painting, Vasnetsov studied frescoes in Italy. At the end, real glory came to the painter. It was talked about all over the world.
Michael - the prototype of the baby in the arms of the Virgin
When Viktor Mikhailovich received an order to paint the Vladimir Cathedral, he lost his peace for several days. He could not form in his head the image of the Mother of God with the baby. On a sunny spring day, my wife carried Mikhail into the yard - very tiny then. He looked fascinated at the clouds flying across the sky and threw up his hands in joy to them. And so the artist captured the childish immediacy and sincere joy on the wall painting.
Descendant of Vasnetsov today
The only descendant of the Vasnetsov family, Mikhail Viktorovich, lives in Kyiv. A great-grandfather can be proud of his grandson, because he is a professor and doctor of physical and mathematical sciences. Outwardly, the scientist is very similar to his famous relative. Unfortunately, apart from the stories of relatives and his own childhood memories, Mikhail Viktorovich had almost nothing left. In the house of a descendant, only a small author's lithograph speaks of the famous great-grandfather.
(1848-1926)
Kuznetsova E.V.
Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was born on May 15, 1848 in the distant Vyatka village of Lopyal into a large patriarchal family of a village priest. Soon the family moved to the village of Ryabov, where the artist spent his childhood. He began to draw early, but according to tradition, the sons were supposed to inherit their father's profession, and in 1858 the boy was sent to a religious school, and soon transferred to the Vyatka Theological Seminary.
Vyatka province was then famous for its local artists. Whatever craftsmen and craftswomen did: embroidery, woodcarving, starting with arcs and rolls and ending with the platbands of village huts, painted spoons and furniture, painted clay toys, famous Vyatka gingerbread - all this could be seen by an inquisitive and inquisitive boy.
The nature of the region with hilly copses and dense taiga forests, winding rivers and wide plains harbored a special charm and charm. It was impossible not to love her, not to be attached to her heart. From childhood, Vasnetsov heard epics and tales about Russian heroes, drawn-out sad songs that women sang at gatherings in the light of torches. This could not but have an impact on the formation of the outlook of the future artist on the development of his talent. It was in Vyatka that his passionate attachment to art, to the folk epic, was born.
Using every free minute in the seminary, Vasnetsov painted with enthusiasm, and this passion soon became for him not only joy and relaxation, but the main goal in life Vasnetsov did not become a priest, as his father had dreamed. In the last year of the seminary, the young man decided that he would leave Vyatka for St. Petersburg and enter the Academy of Arts.
Having performed two genre pictures - "The Milkmaid" and "The Reaper" (1867) - and playing them in the lottery, Vasnetsov travels to St. Petersburg with the proceeds and begins to study at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, and in 1868 becomes a student of the Academy. Forced to earn money for a living, Vasnetsov gives private lessons, illustrates various publications.
At the Academy, the artist's friendship with Repin, Antokolsky, Kramskoy, Stasov began. Of the academic teachers, Vasnetsov forever remembered P. P. Chistyakov, who immediately felt the young man’s remarkable talent and worked with him, encouraging him in case of failures and rejoicing in his victories. “Conversations with Pavel Petrovich Chistyakov brought a lot of warmth and light into my life,” the artist recalled. Vasnetsov stayed at the Academy from 1868 to 1875.
His first paintings - "Beggars", "Tea Party", "Worker with a wheelbarrow", "An old woman feeds chickens", "Children destroy nests" - were shown in 1872-1874 at exhibitions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts. In these works, the qualities characteristic of Vasnetsov were manifested: observation and great interest in the life of the people. The next two works - "Bookshop" (1876, State Tretyakov Gallery), "From Apartment to Apartment" (1876, State Tretyakov Gallery) - secured his position as a genre painter who knows life, who can reproduce it expressively and vividly.
Stasov rightly wrote that Vasnetsov loved the people "not in a populist way, in a lordly way, from the height of some artificial love of the people, but simply as his friends and buddies." Particular success fell to the share of the painting "From apartment to apartment", on which the artist worked since 1875. The fate of poor, lonely old people, thrown out into the street on a cold frosty day, looking for shelter, excited the artist. Deep sadness emanates from the picture, which tells about homeless old age, about the tragedy of useless people. “I think,” Stasov wrote, “each of us has met such people. What poor people, what sad human nature!.. What a wonderful picture!”
In 1876, Vasnetsov, on the urgent advice of his friends, went abroad. Having settled in the vicinity of Paris, he works a lot in nature, he is attracted by the life of people of "simple classes" - workers, peasants; he constantly sketches them in his album. The result of these observations was the painting "Balagany in the vicinity of Paris" (1877, Russian Museum).
In 1878, after returning to his homeland, Vasnetsov and his family moved to Moscow. “When I arrived in Moscow,” he wrote, “I felt that I had come home and there was nowhere else to go, “the Kremlin, St. Basil the Blessed made me almost cry, to such an extent all this breathed into the soul of my relatives, unforgettable.” Here he turns to new topics: Russian folk epic, fairy tale, native history. This transition from genre to historical painting was not unexpected in the artist's work. Even at the Academy of Arts, Vasnetsov performed a number of sketches on the themes of Russian epics, made a sketch of the “Princely Icon-Painting Workshop”.
“The opposition of genre and history,” he wrote, “has never been in my soul, and therefore there has never been a turning point or any kind of transitional struggle in me ... I have always been convinced that in genre and historical paintings ... in a fairy tale, a song , epic, drama, the whole whole appearance of the people, internal and external, with the past and present, and maybe the future, is affected ... The people who do not remember, do not appreciate and do not love their history are bad.
The first historical painting "After the Battle of Igor Svyatoslavich with the Polovtsians" (1880, State Tretyakov Gallery) was exhibited at the Eighth Traveling Exhibition. The poetic legend "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" attracted Vasnetsov with powerful epic power. Having decided to resurrect the pages of an immortal poem, the artist studies history, visits the Armory, makes many preparatory sketches, and looks for the most successful solution to the theme. Gradually, from sketches that show the fury of the battle, the intensity of the fight, Vasnetsov moves on to creating a majestic and solemn tragedy of the battle. In an effort to convey the deep meaning of the poem, its heroic sound, the artist depicts the fallen warriors, as if sleeping in the endless southern steppe, illuminated by the reflections of the rising moon. The creative style of the artist has noticeably changed. From small, carefully painted pictures, he turned to large monumental canvases, to broad, free painting. Instead of the dark gray-brown range of early paintings, sonorous, but at the same time restrained, yellow, blue, red and gray-green colors appear. The picture did not meet with universal approval. Some, like P. P. Chistyakov, admired it, considering it “an extraordinarily wonderful, new and profound poetic thing,” others treated it more than indifferently, not understanding Vasnetsov’s innovations.
In Moscow, the artist becomes close to the family of a well-known philanthropist, a wealthy industrialist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov, who has grouped around him the color of the Russian intelligentsia. In the summer, many artists moved to Abramtsevo - Mamontov's estate near Moscow, where performances were staged, scenery was painted, churches were built. Here the artists worked hard and fruitfully. In 1881, in Abramtsevo, Vasnetsov wrote one of his best works - Alyonushka (TG) - based on the plot of a Russian fairy tale. The touching tenderness and deep poetry of the tale excited the sensitive, sympathetic heart of the artist. Not a literal reproduction of a fairy tale plot, but a deep penetration into its emotional structure distinguishes Vasnetsov's painting. The frozen pose of the girl, the bowed head, the brown hair scattered over her shoulders, the look full of sadness - everything speaks of Alyonushka's longing and grief. Nature is in tune with her mood, she seems to mourn with the girl.
Slender birch trees, young Christmas trees surrounding Alyonushka seem to protect her from the evil world. The painting "Alyonushka" is one of the first in Russian art, where the poetry of folk tales is inextricably merged with the poetry and sincerity of native Russian nature.
In Abramtsevo, Vasnetsov took part in creating the scenery for the fairy tale play The Snow Maiden, which was decided to be staged in 1881 on the amateur stage of Mamontov. The performance was to be performed by members of the mammoth circle. Vasnetsov got the role of Santa Claus. Vasnetsov's elegant scenery conveyed to the viewer the charm of a poetic fairy tale. “Never has fantasy,” wrote Stasov about the scenery of the Berendey Chamber, “went so far and so deep in recreating the architectural forms and ornamentation of Ancient Rus', fabulous, legendary, epic.” Stasov ensured that the scenery was transferred to the large, professional stage of Mamontov's private opera. In Abramtsevo, Vasnetsov also acted as an architect: according to his designs, a small church-tomb, "a hut on chicken legs" was built. In the early 1900s, according to the artist's drawing, the facade of the building of the Tretyakov Gallery and a number of private houses were made.
Extremely interesting is one of his significant works - the Stone Age frieze, created by Vasnetsov for the Moscow Historical Museum. The proposal of the historian A.S. Uvarov to make a painting dedicated to the people of the Stone Age, Vasnetsov at first categorically rejected. But soon he agreed to fulfill the order and immediately set to work: he studied historical materials, talked with archaeologists, trying to imagine the life of distant ancestors. For about two years - both in Moscow and Abramtsevo - work continued on the twenty-five-meter frieze, and only on April 10, 1885 did the artist finish it.
“The impression made on contemporaries by the Stone Age,” wrote I. Grabar, “perhaps can only be compared with the impression once made by K. Bryullov’s Pompeii.”
The gift of Vasnetsov as a monumentalist, manifested in these friezes, is so obvious that in the same year (1885) he was invited to Kiev to participate in decorative work for the newly built Vladimir Cathedral. The murals, according to Vasnetsov's plan, were to become a monument of ancient Rus', so the main place in them was given to images of princes - Vladimir, Andrey Bogolyubsky, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy and others. Vasnetsov covered the walls of the cathedral with ornamental decorations in which fantastic flowers and outlandish animals were intertwined in whimsical colorful patterns. It was difficult to do the work: the church fathers demanded an official-traditional solution for murals, and the artist could not give up his perception of the world, from a living, realistic vision. From the walls of the Vladimir Cathedral, not the conventional faces of the saints looked, but depicted truthfully and naturally brave, mighty Russian people, champions of freedom and justice.
The hard work in the cathedral did not prevent Vasnetsov from realizing other creative ideas. In 1889, he painted the painting "Ivan Tsarevich on the Gray Wolf" (TG) and presented it at a traveling art exhibition, made illustrations for "The Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov" (1891).
In 1891, Vasnetsov and his family returned from Kyiv to Moscow, settled near Abramtsevo. With the help of P. M. Tretyakov, who bought the artist’s paintings and sketches, and S. I. Mamontov, Vasnetsov realizes his old dream - he builds a workshop according to his project. Here he sets to work on the painting "Bogatyrs", a sketch for which was made many years ago.
At the Tenth traveling exhibition in 1897, his painting "Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible" (TG) appears. At his first solo exhibition in 1898, Vasnetsov showed "Bogatyrs", work on which lasted about twenty years.
Solved in a monumental and decorative way, the picture recreates the images of the three most beloved heroes of the epic epic: Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. Each of them has individual characteristics.
Striving for a monumental solution, Vasnetsov slightly raises the horizon line, and the viewer, as it were, looks down on the riders, whose clear silhouettes stand out against the background of light clouds. Bright and sonorous colors are subtly and noblely combined - green, brown, red, white, blue, giving a special decorative effect to the canvas. The landscape, with its boundless expanse, gently sloping hills, meadows overgrown with wild grass, is united by smooth and calm rhythms with the figures of heroes.
Here, Vasnetsov's ability to create an epic canvas, consonant with folk poetic ideas, was manifested. In 1898, "Bogatyrs" took pride of place in the Tretyakov Gallery.
“I believe that Vasnetsov's Bogatyrs occupy one of the first places in the history of Russian painting,” V. V. Stasov expressed the general opinion. Comparing Repin's Barge Haulers with Bogatyrs, Stasov wrote: “Here and there is all the strength and mighty power of the Russian people. Only this force is there - oppressed and still trampled ... and here - the force is triumphant, calm and important, fearing no one and doing by itself, of its own free will, what it likes, what it seems to be necessary for everyone, for the people.
Maxim Gorky enthusiastically wrote about the artist: “More and more I love and respect this great poet ... And how many lively, beautiful, powerful plots he still has for paintings! I wish him immortality."
In the early 1900s, Vasnetsov performed numerous compositions on religious themes, worked simultaneously on several paintings - "Bayan" (1910, Russian Museum), "The Sleeping Princess", "The Frog Princess" (1918), "Kashchei the Immortal" (1917- -1926), "Princess Nesmeyana" (1914 - 1926) - and a number of other large compositions (all in the House-Museum of V. M. Vasnetsov in Moscow).
The creative imagination of the artist seemed inexhaustible. He had many plans, which, unfortunately, were not destined to come true. July 23, 1926 in Moscow, in his studio, while working on a portrait of the artist M. V. Nesterov, Vasnetsov died.
Kramskoy Ivan Nikolaevich Portrait of Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, 1874.
Brief biography of Viktor Vasnetsov
The homeland of Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov is the Vyatka province (modern Kirov region). The village of Lopyal, in which he was born on May 15 (according to the new style), 1848, has been known since 1740. In the old days, the village had two names: Lopial - according to the county record and Epiphany - after the village church of the Epiphany of the Lord. The life of Viktor Vasnetsov turned out to be closely connected with Orthodoxy.
His father, Mikhail Vasilyevich, was a priest, like many of his ancestors. So, back in 1678 there is information about the psalmist Tryphon, the son of Vasnetsov. “The whole family was spiritual,” Mikhail, the third son of Viktor Vasnetsov, would later write.
The parents of the future artist had six children, and all sons. Victor was the second oldest. Mother's name was Apollinaria Ivanovna. In 1850, the head of the family was transferred to the village of Ryabovo, whose inhabitants at that time were only priests. The family has lived in the village for 20 years. Vasnetsov's childhood passed here and his parents are buried here. Now in Ryabovo there is a branch of the Vasnetsov Brothers Museum. In these Vyatka places, the love of the future painter for Russian antiquity, for centuries-old folk traditions, grew up. “I have always lived only in Russia,” is the recognition of the artist.
Vasnetsov drew sketches of his house-workshop (now a museum), the interiors of which are designed in the Russian style.
Personal life and family of Viktor Vasnetsov
Viktor Mikhailovich lived for 49 years with his wife, the daughter of the merchant Ryazantsev, Alexandra Vladimirovna. He and his wife had one daughter and four sons: Tatyana (1879–1961), Boris (1880–1919), Alexei (1882–1949), Mikhail (1884–1972), Vladimir (1889–1953).
The younger brother of Viktor Mikhailovich, Apollinary Mikhailovich, under the guidance of Viktor also became a painter. Andrei Vladimirovich Vasnetsov, the grandson, continued the artistic dynasty.
It is interesting that the son Michael, who was named after his grandfather, the parish priest, also became a minister of the church. True, it was not in Russia, but in Czechoslovakia.
Viktor Vasnetsov died in his workshop on July 23, 1926. First, he was buried at the Moscow Lazarevsky cemetery in Maryina Roshcha, but after its liquidation in 1937, the ashes of the artist had to be transferred to Vvedenskoye.
Paintings by Viktor Vasnetsov
