The beginning of time and everything that exists on the planet, the creation of the world and man, the fall in paradise, the first murder of brother by brother, the global flood - reflection on these global philosophical topics described in the Bible has invariably provided food for artistic comprehension of the Old Testament events in Russian painting. Masters of different schools and trends turned to these key subjects for the human worldview, they all wanted to convey to the audience their own vision of the images generated by their imagination and transferred to the canvas. The selection contains paintings by Russian artists on biblical scenes from the creation of the world to the end of the Flood.
world creation
"And there was evening, and there was morning, one day."
On the second day, God created the “firmament”, which he called the sky, that is, the firmament itself, “and separated the water that is under the firmament from the water that is above the firmament.” This is how the waters of the earth and the waters of heaven appeared, pouring down on the earth in the form of precipitation.
On the third day, God said, "Let the waters that are under the sky be gathered into one place, and let dry land appear." He called the dry land the earth, and the "collection of waters" - the seas. "And God saw that it was good."
Then He said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind and likeness, and fruitful tree yielding fruit after its kind, wherein is its seed, upon the earth."
On the fourth day, God created the sun, moon, and stars "to lighten the earth, and to separate the day from the night, and for signs, and times, and days, and years."
On the fifth day birds, fishes, reptiles and animals were created. God blessed them and commanded them to "be fruitful and multiply."
Chaos. World creation.
Ivan Aivazovsky. 1841. Oil on paper. 106x75 (108x73).
Museum of the Armenian Congregation of Mkhitarists.
St. Lazarus Island, Venice
After graduating with a gold medal of the first degree, Aivazovsky received the right to travel abroad as a pensioner of the academy. And in 1840 he left for Italy.
The artist worked in Italy with great enthusiasm and created about fifty large paintings here. Exhibited in Naples and Rome, they caused a real stir and glorified the young painter. Critics wrote that no one had ever portrayed light, air and water so vividly and authentically.
Belonging by religion to the Armenian Apostolic Church, Aivazovsky created a number of paintings on biblical subjects. Painting «Chaos. The Creation of the World" by Aivazovsky was honored to enter the permanent exhibition of the Vatican Museum. Pope Gregory XVI awarded the artist a gold medal. On this occasion, Gogol jokingly told the artist: "Your" Chaos "raised chaos in the Vatican." Rodon
World creation.
Ivan Aivazovsky. 1864 Oil on canvas. 196x233.
Navy of the USSR and Russia
World creation. Chaos.
I. K. Aivazovsky. 1889 Oil on canvas, 54x76.
Feodosia Art Gallery. I. K. Aivazovsky
Aivazovsky, as a rule, painted his paintings without preliminary sketches and sketches. But there were also exceptions. The sketch for the painting "Chaos" focuses on infinite space. From an unimaginable distance comes light that breaks into the foreground. According to Christian philosophy, God is light. Many of Aivazovsky's works are imbued with this idea. In this case, the author masterfully coped with the task of reproducing light. Back in 1841, Aivazovsky presented a picture of this content to the Pope, after Gregory XVI decided to buy it for his collection. N. V. Gogol (1809-1852), who highly appreciated the work of an unknown young scholarship holder, wrote: "The image of Chaos, by all accounts, is distinguished by a new idea and is recognized as a miracle of art. " Another, playful statement by Gogol is also known: " You came, little man, from the banks of the Neva to Rome and immediately raised "Chaos" in the Vatican. Crimean Art Gallery
First day of creation. Light.
A. A. Ivanov
Illustration for the Book of Genesis. From the cycle "Days of Creation".
A. A. Ivanov
Creation of the luminaries of the night.
K.F. Yuon. From the series "Creation of the World". 1908-1919. Ink, graphite, paper. 51x66.9.
"Let there be light."
Yuon Konstantin Fedorovich. From the cycle "Creation of the World". 1910 Engraving on zinc, 23.6x32.9.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
"Let there be light."
Yuon Konstantin Fedorovich. From the cycle "Creation of the World". 1910 Zinc engraving.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Vegetation kingdom.
Yuon Konstantin Fedorovich. 1908 Paper, ink, pen. 51x68.
http://artcyclopedia.ru/1908_carstvo_rastitelnosti_b_tush_pero_51h68_gtg-yuon_konstantin_fedorovich.htm
Animal Kingdom.
Yuon Konstantin Fedorovich. 1908 Paper, ink, pen. 48x65.
State Tretyakov Gallery
http://artcyclopedia.ru/1908_carstvo_zhivotnyh_b_tush_pero_48h65_gtg-yuon_konstantin_fedorovich.htm
Water kingdom.
Yuon Konstantin Fedorovich. 1910 Zinc engraving. 23.6x32.9.
Location State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Creation of plants.
Creator.
Stained glass "Prophets".
Marc Chagall. Fragment.
Fraumunster, Zurich
Rose "The Creation of the World".
Marc Chagall.
Fraumunster, Zurich
World creation.
Marc Chagall. Paris, 1960. Lithograph.
The Creation of Man (La Création de l'homme).
Marc Chagall.
Chagall Museum, Nice
Creation of man.
Marc Chagall. 1956 Etching with drypoint and sandpaper, colored by hand.
josefglimergallery.com
Fifth day of creation.
Vladimir Cathedral, Kyiv
God is the Creator, days of creation.
Kotarbinsky Wilhelm Alexandrovich (1849-1922). Fresco.
Vladimir Cathedral, Kyiv
The painting is located on the ceiling of the service room, at the end of the left nave
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God finished His works which He did, and rested on the seventh day from all His works which He did.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, for on it he rested from all his works, which God created and created.
Genesis (2:1-3)
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve are the "ancestors", the first people on earth.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image [and] after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, [and over the beasts] and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing, reptiles on the ground. And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it…” (Genesis 1:26-28).
Another version is given in the second chapter of Genesis:
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into him the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a paradise in Eden in the east, and placed there the man whom he had created. And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil... And the Lord God took the man [whom he had made] and put him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You shall eat from every tree in the garden, but you shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day that you eat from it you will die the death” (2:7-9, 15-17).
Then God created a woman, Eve, from Adam's rib, so that Adam would have a helper. Adam and Eve lived happily in Eden (Garden of Eden), but then they sinned: succumbing to the persuasion of the devil in the form of a snake, they ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge, and became able to do both good and bad deeds. For this, God expelled them from paradise, saying to Adam: “...in the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground from which you were taken, for dust you are and to dust you will return” (3:19). God said to Eve: “I will increase your sorrow in your pregnancy; in sickness you will bear children; and your desire is for your husband, and he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16). “Let the woman study in silence, with all humility; but I do not allow a woman to teach, nor to rule over her husband, but to be in silence. For Adam was created first, and then Eve; nor is Adam deceived; but the wife, deceived, fell into a crime; However, he will be saved through childbearing, if he continues in faith and love and holiness with chastity” (1 Tim 11-15).
According to Christian ideas, initially man was destined for immortality. This is evidenced by the biblical sages: Solomon and Jesus, the son of Sirach: “God created man for incorruption and made him the image of his eternal existence; but death entered the world through the envy of the devil, and those who belong to his inheritance are testing it” (Wisdom Thess. 2:23-24).
Adam who sinned no longer seems to God worthy of the great gift of immortality. “And the Lord God said, Behold, Adam has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, no matter how he stretched out his hand, and also took from the tree of life, and ate, and began to live forever. And the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. And he drove out Adam, and set up in the east by the garden of Eden a cherub and a flaming sword that turns to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:22-24).
In the New Testament, Adam (lit. "earth, red soil") personifies a person in his carnal, weak, sinful incarnation, a perishable person, that is, a mortal. It will remain that way until Jesus Christ triumphs. The “old Adam” will be replaced by the “new Adam”. The holy apostle Paul wrote about this in his First Epistle to the Corinthians: “For as death is through a man, so is the resurrection of the dead through a man. As in Adam everyone dies, so in Christ everyone will come to life… The first man Adam became a living soul; and the last Adam is a life-giving spirit... The first man is from the earth, dusty; the second man is the Lord from heaven… And just as we bore the image of the earthly, we will also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Cor 15:21-22, 45, 47, 49).
Eve (“life”) “became famous” over the centuries for her irrepressible curiosity, because of which she succumbed to the persuasion of the serpent (devil) and ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and even incited her husband to fall into sin. This frivolous act, on the one hand, doomed the first people and all mankind to all sorts of disasters, and on the other hand, led to an attempt by a person to become the master of his own destiny.
Adam and Eve had sons: Abel, Cain and Seth, who was born when Adam was one hundred and thirty years old. After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, "and he begat sons and daughters" (Genesis 5:4). Bible Guide
Adam.
Detail drawing of Michelangelo's fresco "The Creation of Adam"
A. A. Ivanov
Covenant with Adam.
Kotarbinsky Wilhelm Alexandrovich (1849-1922). Fresco.
Vladimir Cathedral, Kyiv
God brings Eve to Adam.
A. A. Ivanov
“And the Lord God formed from the rib taken from the man a wife, and brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:22).
Bliss of Paradise.
V. M. Vasnetsov. 1885–1896
Russian religious painting
Eve with pomegranate.
Koehler-Viliandi Ivan (Johan) Petrovich (1826-1899). 1881 Oil on canvas.
Ulyanovsk Art Museum
Adam and Eve.
Mikhail Vasilievich Nesterov. 1898 Watercolor, gouache, paper, 30.5x33.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Photos-Yandex
Adam and Eve.
Nesterov Mikhail Vasilyevich (1862-1942). 1898 Paper on cardboard, gouache, watercolor, bronze, graphite pencil. 30 x 33 cm
State Russian Museum
http://www.art-catalog.ru/picture.php?id_picture=4656
Adam and Eve.
Konstantin Yuon. 1908–09 Paper on cardboard, ink, pen.
Serpukhov History and Art Museum
Adam and Eve (Rhythm).
Vladimir Baranov-Rossine. 1910 Oil on canvas, 202x293.3.
Adam and Eve.
Vladimir Baranov-Rossine. 1912 Etude 3. Oil on paper, 47x?65.5.
Private collection
Adam and Eve.
Vladimir Baranov-Rossine. 1912 Oil on canvas, 155x219.7.
Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Spain
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum - Wikiwand Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Eve.
Vladimir Baranov-Rossine, 1912
Man and woman. Adam and Eve.
Pavel Nikolaevich Filonov. 1912–13
Exhibition "Eyewitness of the Invisible"
Man and woman.
Pavel Nikolaevich Filonov. 1912
Paper, brown ink, pen, graphite pencil, 18.5x10.8 (outlined).
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Man and woman.
Paper dubbed on paper and canvas, oil. 150.5x114.5 (author's paper); 155x121 (canvas)
Exhibition "Eyewitness of the Invisible"
Man and woman.
Pavel Nikolaevich Filonov. 1912–1913
Watercolor, brown ink, ink, pen, brush on paper.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Man and woman.
Pavel Nikolaevich Filonov. 1912–1913
Watercolor, brown ink, ink, pen, brush on paper, 31x23.3.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Olga's Gallery
The whole semantics of Filonov's paintings is realized in a metaphor, in a symbol, in a sign. Moreover, its symbolism has a greater historical depth than that of the symbolists of the turn of the century. The fish is a Christological sign, the tree is the tree of life, the barge is Noah's ark, the man and woman are naked Adam and Eve in the face of the world, history - past and future.
Filonov often returned to the plot of Adam and Eve (cf. several oil paintings, watercolors and ink drawings "Man and Woman", 1912-1913) and the primordial world of Genesis, while resurrecting in memory the themes of the expulsion of vice and the inevitability of hell, rather than the spiritual purity and the lessons of morality. Although Adam in both versions of "Man and Woman" still remains asexual, and both figures seem to be dancing with still innocent joy, the environment around them no longer appears as a blooming primeval landscape of Genesis, but as a sinful city inhabited by monsters and freaks, as if they had come from medieval descents into hell.
Brought up as an Orthodox Christian, Filonov knew the Holy Scripture well, and many interpretations of it can be found in the artist's works. Filonov painted at least a hundred icons, several versions of the Madonna and Child, two scenes with the Magi, and a painting originally called The Holy Family, which was renamed Peasant Family in Soviet times (1914). In other words, it would be logical to assume that Filonov filled his two paintings entitled "Man and Woman" with allusions to Genesis, fall and exile. Whether these works were motivated by religious convictions, profound life experiences, or familiarity with Italian, French and German Old Testament paintings that he saw while traveling in Europe in 1912, they form a special and significant part of his pictorial wealth and repeat, like before, in many drawings and paintings by Filonov, both early and late, the theme of the moral fall of Adam and Eve and the apple that provoked them. True, these motifs do not always correspond to the truth of the biblical narrative, but they can also be recognized among compositional heaps, for example, in Girl with a Flower (1913) and, possibly, in The Formula of the Petrograd Proletariat (1920-1921). Booklet for the exhibition "Eyewitness of the Invisible"
Adam and Eve.
Marc Chagall. 1912 Oil on canvas, 160.5x109.
Museum of Art, St. Louis, USA
if-art.com
Angel at the gates of Paradise.
Marc Chagall. 1956
Marc Chagall
Garden of Eden (Le jardin d'Eden).
Marc Chagall. 1961 Oil on canvas, 199x288.
Marc Chagall Museum, Nice
Paradise. Green donkey.
Marc Chagall. Paris, 1960. Lithograph.
Marc Chagall
Fall. Eve and the snake.
V. M. Vasnetsov. 1891
Sketch for the painting of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv
http://hramznameniya.ru/photo/?id=381
The temptation of Eve by the serpent.
V. M. Vasnetsov. 1885-1896
Fragment of the painting of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv
Vladimir Cathedral, Kyiv
Gallery Tanais
Fall.
A. A. Ivanov
The tempting serpent tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree, saying that it would make people like gods.
“And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eye and desirable, because it gives knowledge; and she took the fruit of it, and ate; and gave also to her husband, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6).
Temptation.
I. E. Repin. 1891 Paper, pastel, charcoal, graphite. 29?41.
Far Eastern Art Museum
Adam and Eve
I. E. Repin. 30x41
Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland
Illustration for the Book of Genesis.
Exile from paradise.
A. A. Ivanov
Exile from paradise.
Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin. 1911
Serpent.
Marc Chagall. Paris, 1956. Lithograph.
Gallery of contemporary art
Paradise. tree of life
Marc Chagall. 1960
Gallery of contemporary art
Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit
Eve's punishment by God.
Marc Chagall. Paris, 1960. Lithograph.
Marc Chagall
Adam and Eve: expulsion from Paradise.
Marc Chagall. 1960
Marc Chagall
Exile from paradise.
Marc Chagall. Paris, 1956 Lithograph
Expulsion from Paradise (Adam et Eve chass?s du Paradis).
Marc Chagall. 1954–1967
Marc Chagall Museum, Nice
Adam and Eve.
Yuri Annenkov. 1912
The works of the ancestors.
Vasnetsov Viktor Mikhailovich
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Adam and Eve with children under a tree.
Ivanov Andrey Ivanovich 1803 Oil on canvas. 161x208.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
For this picture, the artist A.I. Ivanov received the title of academician of painting
Exile from paradise.
Klavdy Vasilyevich Lebedev
Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel are the sons of Adam and Eve. According to the biblical myth, the elder, Cain, cultivated the land, the younger, Abel, shepherded the flocks. Abel's bloody gift was pleasing to God, Cain's sacrifice was rejected. Jealous of his brother, Cain killed him.
Abel.
Anton Pavlovich Losenko. 1768 Oil on canvas 120x174.
Kharkiv Art Museum, Ukraine
Cain.
Anton Pavlovich Losenko. 1768 Oil on canvas. 158.5x109
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
... During this period, Losenko paid much attention to pictorial sketches of a naked body; as a result, the famous canvases "Abel" and "Cain" (both 1768) appeared. They reflected not only the ability to accurately convey the anatomical features of the human body, but also the ability to communicate to them the richness of the picturesque shades inherent in living nature.
As a true representative of classicism, Losenko portrayed Cain like a sketch of a naked model. This reporting pensioner's work by Losenko was exhibited at a public exhibition of the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1770. Judging by the reports of A.P. Losenko, it was written in Rome, from March to September 1768. The name "Cain" was already in the XIX century. The second painting, called "Abel", is in the Kharkov Museum of Fine Arts. www.nearyou.ru
Abel's sacrifice.
Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin. 1910
Ovruch (Ukraine)
The placement of murals on non-canonical themes in the accurately recreated ensemble of the cathedral is probably due to the fact that they are a kind of allegory for the events of the death of Prince Oleg in the moat of the Ovruch fortress after the defeat of the troops by the retinue of his brother Yaropolk.
First kill.
F. Bruni. 1867
Cain, condemned by the Lord for fratricide and fleeing from the wrath of God.
Vikenty Ivanovich Briosky. 1813. Oil on canvas. 86 x 65
Old Testament. Genesis, IV, 1, 9.
Above on the back of the canvas in red: No. 71; on the left, on the upper bar of the stretcher, there is a blue stamp: I. A. X. / museum; on the top bar of the subframe in blue pencil: no. 71. Brioski; on the right plank in blue pencil: Delivered to the Pantry 1794 (?) on September 9; ink: 3. V.; on the left side
in red pencil: Picture No. 71; below with a graphite pencil: timing 2180; stamp on the lower bar: G. R. M. inv. No. 2180 (number crossed out)
Received: in 1923 from the Academy of Arts* Zh-3474
Written according to the program given in 1812. The minutes of the Council of the Imperial Academy of Arts * testify that “the foreign painter Brioschi, who already exhibited his works at the Academy, at his request, is assigned a program: “to present Cain, condemned by the Lord for fratricide and fleeing from the wrath of God.” Figures in the picture should be the size of a small nature<...>whom to add to the number of those appointed" (Petrov 1865 **, pp. 39-40). In 1813, at the annual meeting of the Imperial Academy of Arts, he received the title of academician for this painting (ibid., pp. 47-48).
* (Russian) Academy of Arts, since 1917; earlier: IAH - Imperial (Russian) Academy of Arts. St. Petersburg-Petrograd, 1840-1893; earlier: 1757-1764 - Academy of the three noblest arts; 1764-1840 - Educational school at the Imperial Academy of Arts; further: 1893-1917 - Higher Art School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Imperial Academy of Arts (institution). St. Petersburg-Petrograd, 1764-1917.
** Collection of materials for the history of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Arts over a hundred years of existence / Ed. Ya. Ya. Petrova. St. Petersburg, 1865, v. 2.
http://www.tez-rus.net/ViewGood36688.html
Briosky Vikenty Ivanovich - academician of historical painting, b. in 1786 in Florence and here he studied at the Academy with the painter Benvenuti; in 1811 Brioschi arrived in St. Petersburg, where, after two years of studying historical painting, he received the title of academician for the painting: "Cain, pursued by the wrath of God for fratricide." In 1817, Briosky was assigned to St. Petersburg. The Imperial Hermitage for the restoration of paintings, which often sent it abroad to carry out various assignments for the artistic part. Vikenty Ivanovich Brioski died in 1843.
Cain's murder of Abel.
Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin. 1910
Fresco in the church of St. Basil the Golden-domed (XII century) reconstructed by A. V. Shchusev,
Ovruch (Ukraine)
In October 1910, the artist traveled to Ukraine in the city of Ovruch, where he painted one of the two stair towers on the sides of the western facade in the 12th-century church reconstructed by A.V. Shchusev. Petrov-Vodkin depicted the biblical scenes “Abel makes a sacrifice to God” and “Cain kills his brother Abel”, and placed the “All-Seeing Eye” and a rainbow in the dome of the tower. The work captured the artist and predetermined his further creative aspirations, now inextricably linked with the lofty principles of ancient Russian art.
The placement of murals on non-canonical themes in the accurately recreated ensemble of the cathedral is probably due to the fact that they are a kind of allegory for the events of the death of Prince Oleg in the moat of the Ovruch fortress after the defeat of the troops by the retinue of his brother Yaropolk.
Cain and Abel.
Marc Chagall
etnaa.mylivepage.ru
Cain and Abel.
Marc Chagall. Paris, 1960 Lithograph
http://www.affordableart101.com/images/chagall%20cain.JPG
Cain and Abel.
Claudius Vasilievich Lebedev.
global flood
“In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on this day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened; and it rained on the earth for forty days and forty nights. And the waters increased exceedingly on the earth, so that all the high mountains that are under the whole sky were covered; fifteen cubits the waters rose above them, and [all the high] mountains were covered. And all flesh that moved on the earth, and birds, and cattle, and beasts, and all creeping things that crawled on the earth, and all people, lost their lives; everything that had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils on dry land died.” Genesis
Old Testament elder Noah with his sons. XVIII century.
Unknown artist. Canvas (dubbed), oil. 126x103 cm.
The painting has been restored several times.
The plot of the picture is didactic in nature. Works of this type were especially common among the Old Believers. On the left side of the canvas is a long-bearded old man in a gray shirt with whitening folds in a three-quarter turn. Above his head is a European-type halo and the inscription "Noah". There are red and blue veils on the elder's shoulders. With crossed arms, he blesses the sons depicted below - the red-haired Japhet and the gray-haired and imposing Sim. Both have full beards and are dressed in caftans. Behind Noah's back, the head of a dejected Ham is visible, who, in thought, leans on his right hand.
At the bottom left, the scene of Noah's intoxication is chastely depicted. Top right - flood with drowning people. Even more to the right, a tree is visible on a rock, from which a swaddled baby is lowered into the hands of its mother. Across the "strait" on the dark brown Mount Ararat stands Noah's Ark, on which is a white, basilic-type building. Above it are two flying doves, which let Noah know about the approaching land - the top of the mountain. These scenes are provided with almost unreadable explanatory inscriptions. But at the bottom right is a large white plaque with a text that reads: “Noah lived during the flood of three hundred and fifty years and was all the days of Noah flying 950 and died.”
The plot emphasizes the importance of righteous children who honor their parents. It is possible that the emphasis placed by the author on the lush beards of the depicted characters is associated with opposition to the decree of Peter I on shaving beards.
The nature of the performance of the work testifies to the author's strong connection with icon painting.
M. Krasilin. MDA http://www.mpda.ru/cak/collections/88423.html
Global flood.
Ivan Aivazovsky. 1864 Oil on canvas. Canvas, oil. 246.5x319.5.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Rodon
In 1862, Aivazovsky wrote two versions of the painting "The Flood", and then repeatedly returned to this biblical story throughout his life. One of the best versions of the painting "The Flood" was painted by him in 1864.
It is the sea that usually appears in him as the universal basis of nature and history, especially in plots with the creation of the world and the flood; however, the images of religious, biblical or gospel iconography, as well as ancient mythology, cannot be counted among his greatest successes. Gallery Tanais
global flood
Vereshchagin Vasily Petrovich. Sketch. 1869 Oil on canvas. 53x73.5.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Global flood.
Fedor Antonovich Bruni. Painting attic of the cathedral.
St. Isaac's Cathedral, St. Petersburg
The painting technique is peculiar: with oil paints on plaster covered with oily soil according to the system of French chemists D "Arce and Tenor (one part of wax, three parts of boiled oil and 1/10 of lead oxide). The plaster was impregnated with hot soil, rubbed with pumice and covered with whitewash on oil.
Improvisation. Flood.
V.V. Kandinsky. 1913 Oil on canvas, 95×150.
Munich, Germany. City gallery in Lenbachhaus
Noah's Ark.
Andrei Petrovich Ryabushkin (1861-1904). 1882
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
commons.wikimedia.org
Noah's Ark.
David Davidovich Burliuk (1882-1967). 1954 Paper, ink, brush, pencil, 21.8x29.8.
Galerix
Noah's Ark (Noah's Ark).
Noah's Ark (L'Arche de Noé)
Marc Chagall. 1955–1956 65x50
Marc Chagall Museum, Nice
Noah and the Rainbow (Noé et l'arc-en-ciel).
Marc Chagall.
Chagall Museum, Nice
Noah's descent from Mount Ararat.
Ivan Aivazovsky. 1870s Canvas, oil
Museum of the Armenian Patriarchy, Istanbul
Rodon
Noah's descent from Ararat.
Ivan Aivazovsky. 1889 Oil on canvas.
National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia
The creative individuality and worldview of the great marine painter, with their national roots, already during his lifetime connected him with Armenian culture. The biblical Mount Ararat - the symbol of Armenia - Aivazovsky wrote at least ten times. “The Descent of Noah from Ararat” he first exhibited in Paris, and when the local compatriots asked if he had any Armenian views, he led them to the picture and said: “Here is our Armenia.”
Subsequently, Aivazovsky presented the canvas to the Novo-Nakhichevan school. During the civil war, the school was turned into a barracks, which was alternately occupied by whites and reds. The picture covered the gap in the door. Once the breach was sealed with a board, and the picture disappeared. The kidnapper was Martiros Saryan, who once studied at this school. In 1921, among the works of Armenian art he collected, he brought the "Descent of Noah" to Yerevan. Gallery Tanais
Noah's descent from Ararat.
Ivan Aivazovsky. 1897
The drawing was made for the book “Brotherly Help to Armenians in Turkey” (compiled by G. Janshiev)
Noah's sacrifice after the flood.
F. A. Bruni (1799-1875). 1837–1845
Oil painting on dry plaster
Painting attic in the northwestern part of St. Isaac's Cathedral
http://www.isaac.spb.ru/photogallery?step=2&id=1126
A story from the Old Testament. After the Flood, everything on Earth was covered with water for five months. The ark stopped on the mountains of Ararat. When the earth dried up, Noah left the ark (after staying in it for one year) and released the animals to breed on the earth. In gratitude for his salvation, he built an altar and offered a sacrifice to God, and received a promise that there would be no more flood. The banner of this promise was the rainbow that appears in the sky after the rain, as a sign that it is not a rain of a flood, but a rain of blessing.
Thanksgiving sacrifice of Noah.
Claudius Vasilievich Lebedev.
Church and Archaeological Cabinet of the MDA
Noah curses Ham.
Ksenofontov Ivan Stepanovich (1817-1875). Canvas, oil
Buryat Republican Art Museum. Ts. S. Sampilova
Aivazovsky belonged in his religion to the Apostolic Armenian Church. In his work, he repeatedly created paintings dedicated to biblical and historical subjects. The artist in 1862, paints two versions of the painting "The Flood" at once. Subsequently, throughout his entire creative life, Aivazovsky more than once refers to this story from the Bible. Perhaps the best version of the painting "The Flood" was painted by him in 1864. In the works of Aivazovsky, most often it is the sea that appears as the universal basis of history and nature. Most of all, this is felt in the plots with the flood and the creation of the world.
However, many connoisseurs of the art of this artist argue that the images of biblical religious and gospel iconography, just like ancient mythology, can hardly be attributed to Aivazovsky's greatest creative successes. The worldview and creative individuality of the magnificent marine painter with national roots very strongly connected him with the culture of the Armenian people. Aivazovsky at least 10 times painted the symbol of Armenia - the biblical Mount Ararat.
The artist first exhibited the painting "Noah's Descent from Ararat" at the Paris exhibition, and when his French compatriots asked if there were any views of Armenia in his works, he gladly led them to the canvas with the words: "This is our Armenia." Later, the author presented this picture to one of the schools in Novonakhichevan. During the war years, this school was given over to the barracks. It alternately lived either red or white. It was this picture that covered the breach in the door, but one day, the breach was boarded up with a board, and the picture disappeared. Martiros Saryan, who previously studied at this school, helped save this painting. The painting "The Descent of Noah" came to Yerevan in 1921, when he brought it along with other works of Armenian art.
The paintings, which are based on a historical plot, include the painting “The Baptism of the Armenian People”. For a long time she decorated one of the Armenian churches in Feodosia and aroused the patriotic feelings of the parishioners. The plot of this picture was a turning point in the history of the culture of the Armenian people. Its popularity was facilitated by the adoption of Christianity by Armenians. At the beginning of the 4th century, Christianity was legalized in Armenia and became the state. Today Armenia is one of the most ancient Christian states.
In the State Russian Museum of St. Petersburg, Aivazovsky's painting "The Flood" is stored in storerooms. Unfortunately, art lovers are deprived of the opportunity to see its original. Perhaps the reason for this is the small area of the hall intended for the exposition of Aivazovsky's works. After all, the size of this masterpiece is really impressive 246.5 x 319.5 meters and it could take up an entire wall.
This can be said to be a terrible story, the painter began to write in 1862, and two years later he returned to this topic again and created another version, which is in the museum. It is painted in oil on canvas, there is also a version of drawing in watercolor on paper. It should be especially noted that having a multifaceted talent, Aivazovsky wrote a lot on biblical and historical topics.
The picture The Flood, which was exhibited at the exhibition of the Academy of Arts, received rave reviews from the Russian intelligentsia. The following year, Emperor Alexander II bought it for the Hermitage.
The beautiful stories of the holy book seemed to come to life under his magic brush. The palette of colors skillfully conveyed vitality and emotionality on the canvas. Please note that it is in front of Aivazovsky’s paintings in the museum that a handful of people always stand, unable to tear themselves away from the contemplation of these iridescent azure-turquoise hues that imperceptibly flow from the water element to the gloomy sky. In the picture "The Flood" golden-yellow colors, as if written only to illuminate the blue-violet darkness of the rest of the world, abandoned by Noah's ark.
The foamy sea surface appears before our eyes. The picture shows a more evil essence of the elements of the sea than is told about this in sacred books and legends. Aivazovsky deliberately focuses on the image of the sea, its charms and rigidity, the master's brush depicts a clear victory of the sea element. You should not expect mercy from her giant crest. There is a clear law, and only the sea obeys it. He is relentless and ruthless. And there is luxury and majesty in this too. The power of the elements is faster than human thought. The author convincingly shows the power of nature over living beings. No need to expect indulgence from her, and once in the abyss - there is no return.
The power of nature has always attracted the curiosity of mankind, like hypnosis. The woefully bewitching tones and shades are already a kind of prediction of death and inevitability. The contrast in the work adds to the despair of people left alone with the disaster.
However, water cleanses from sinfulness and hopeless blue-violet darkness, this is not the end - says Aivazovsky. The element that appears before us carries both a weak hope and faith, despite the darkness and sadness. This is a chance granted by the Almighty for purification and salvation. The work does not cause pessimism among the audience, since we are sure that a way out of the abyss into the bright world of goodness will be found very soon. The artist's sea is a peculiar basis of nature and history, especially in religious themes. However, religious iconography can hardly be called Aivazovsky's great success.
Aivazovsky's worldview with national roots was closely associated with the culture of Armenia. Ararat - the symbol of Armenia - the painter depicted more than a dozen times. His famous work "Noah's Descent from Ararat" was presented at the Paris exhibition.
The flood is a universal cataclysm, which is spoken of in many religions of the world. This gigantic flood is the punishment of the Supreme Being(s) for sinfulness and disobedience. The flood is retribution for the loss of morality. God wanted to rid the Earth of people mired in immorality and leave only the pious Noah with his family. Noah was then, according to the Bible, five hundred years old. He had three sons and it took them about a hundred years to build this "antediluvian" ship.
Having completed this grandiose activity, Noah boarded the ship, took a pair of each creature that then lived on Earth. The doors slammed shut, and at the same moment the water hit the land like a powerful wall. The disaster lasted 40 days and everyone died. Only those on board survived. The water rose above the mountains. Five months later, it slowly began to decrease, and on the 17th day of the 7th month, the ark sailed to Ararat. It took a long time before the land became visible.
Aivazovsky's painting "The Flood" is a rather rare work on a plot borrowed from the Bible. Here Aivazovsky brilliantly combined talent, imagination and love for improvisation. It is possible that none of his contemporaries could have portrayed the scale of the cataclysm so magnificently, the storm in the heavens and the sea, the huge waves sweeping over the rocks, where people and animals are unsuccessfully trying to escape. The author combined all the heroes of the work into groups - in the center is visible the figure of an old man, who is surrounded by a family, a woman dies nearby, nearby people are kneeling with their eyes turned to the sky. Naive images that denounce greed, the hope of avoiding fate are the king and priest sitting on elephants with golden vessels and jewelry. The sea at Aivazovsky is the basis of nature. He is more interested in the sea element. not a biblical story. It is to the sea, its indomitable power, that our eyes are riveted.
On the right side of the picture, the embankment of the city and residential buildings peep a little out of the darkness, no lompads are burning in any of the windows, most likely it’s three o’clock in the morning, all the inhabitants are sleeping peacefully, but soon the city will begin to wake up, and the serene sea will wake up behind it. With the help of oil paints on canvas, the artist was able to convey this short moment of serenity and tranquility of the sea element, when everything around seemed to freeze in anticipation of something important. Morning will soon come and the haze of mystery will disappear, a new day will come, but this will be a completely different story ...
Today, Aivazovsky's painting “Moonlight Night. Bath in Feodosia "is located in Taganrog in the city art gallery, its size is 94 by 143 cm.
In the Museum of the city of St. Petersburg, there is an amazing painting by marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky called "The Flood". The painting began in 1864. The masterpiece reflected the faith of the marine painter. A huge number of paintings were created on biblical themes. "The Flood" is the epitome of beautiful stories from the Bible. The versatility of Ivan Aivazovsky's art never ceases to amaze. The ability to convey life and emotions on paper with paints makes every person who has seen the work of the artist at least once in his life breathe heavily.
The foamy sea again appears in the picture of the great marine painter. This art canvas clearly shows the wild life of the sea element, rather than a tale from the bible. The emphasis is on the sea, its beauty and rigidity, the contours of the artist's brush show the advantage of sea waves over all.
The catastrophic wave crest spares no one. Clear laws have been established by which the sea element lives. They are relentless and cruel. The nautical luxury overshadows the overall look of the art, as the power is released with the speed of thought. It was very important for the creator to show how strong nature can be before man. It is impossible to defeat her, and if you fall into the depths of the sea, you can’t go back.
People who die in the sea abyss show the role of this cataclysm. The powerful element attracts attention to itself so strongly as if by hypnosis. An alluring sad set of colors predicts the death of people and the inability to escape. The contrast of the artistic picture complements the horror and despair of a man who was left alone with the sea.
Along with water, sins and gloom go away, this is not death, the artist showed. The presented element is a glimmer of hope and faith, through darkness and sadness. For people, the only chance to purify and receive mercy from the Creator. The end result of the picture suggests a way out of the abyss into another world - the realm of goodness and light.
The great marine landscape painter painted not only sea views. Among his heritage, one can also find paintings on religious subjects - illustrations of biblical stories. However, even here he did not change himself: in almost every canvas the water element appears. Let's look at the Holy Scriptures through the eyes of Aivazovsky (with the help of the modern translation of the Bible of the Russian Bible Society).
world creation
World creation. 1864. Timing
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was empty and desolate, darkness was over the abyss, and the spirit of God hovered over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light." And there was light. God saw how good the light was, and separated it from the darkness, gave the name "day" to the light, and the name "night" to the darkness. Evening came, morning came - the first day. And God said: “Let there be a vault in the middle of the water, dividing the waters in two.” And it became so. God created the vault, and separated the waters under the vault from the waters above the vault, and gave the vault the name "heaven". Evening has come, morning has come - the second day (Genesis 1:1-8).
global flood
Global flood. 1864. Timing
“The flood lasted for forty days. When the water began to rise, she lifted the ark, and the ark floated. The water continued to rise and flood the earth. The ark floated, and the water rose higher and higher until it covered the highest mountains that are under the sky. The water rose fifteen cubits above them, and the mountains disappeared under the water. And then all who lived on the earth perished: both the birds, and the cattle, and the beasts, and all the creatures that the earth was full of, and all the people. All who had the breath of life in their nostrils, all the inhabitants of the land, all died. Everything that was on earth - and people, and cattle, and all living creatures, and birds of the air - everything was swept away from the face of the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. The flood lasted one hundred and fifty days." (Genesis 7:17–24).
Noah's descent from Mount Ararat
Noah's descent from Mount Ararat. 1889. National Gallery of Armenia
“On the twenty-seventh day of the second month, when the earth dried up, God said to Noah: “Come out of the ark, together with your wife, sons and wives of sons. And bring out all the animals - and birds, and cattle, and living creatures scurrying around the earth: let the earth be full of them, let them be fruitful and numerous. And Noah came out of the ark, along with his sons, his wife and wives of his sons, and then came the animals, small living creatures, birds - all the inhabitants of the earth, view after view. (Genesis 8:14-19).
Jews crossing the Red Sea
Jews crossing the Red Sea. 1891. USA, Collection K. and E. Sogoyan
“And the Lord said to Moses: “Stretch your hand over the sea - the waters will return and drown the Egyptians, and the chariots, and the horsemen!” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea - and by morning the sea returned. The Egyptians ran straight towards its waters - and the Lord plunged the Egyptians into the abyss of the sea! The water returned and swallowed them all - and the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh, who pursued the sons of Israel along the bottom of the sea. Not a single Egyptian survived! And the sons of Israel walked on the bottom of the sea as on dry land; on their right hand stood a wall of water, and on their left a wall of water. So the Lord saved the children of Israel that day from the Egyptians.” (Exodus 14:26-30).
Walking on the waters
Walking on the waters. 1888. State Museum of the History of Religion
“Immediately after that, He told the disciples to get into the boat and sail to the other side, without waiting for Him to let the people go. After parting with the people, He went up the mountain to pray alone. When evening came, He was there alone. And the boat was already at a distance of many stages from the shore, she fought with the waves, because the wind was contrary. At dawn, Jesus went to them - He was walking on the sea. When the disciples saw that He was walking on the sea, they were afraid. "It's a ghost!" they screamed in fear. "Calm down, it's me! Do not be afraid!" Jesus immediately spoke to them. Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to walk to You on the water." "Go," He said. Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus, but when he saw how strong the wind was, he got scared and began to drown. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and, picking him up, said: “Little faith, why did you doubt?” When they entered the boat, the wind died down. (Gospel of Matthew, 14:22–32).
