Yuri Alekseevich Vasnetsov (1900-1973) - Russian Soviet artist; painter, graphic artist, theater artist, illustrator. Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (1971).
Born March 22 (April 4), 1900 (old style) in the family of a priest in Vyatka (now the Kirov region). His father served in the cathedral in Vyatka. A distant relative of the artists A. M. Vasnetsov and V. M. Vasnetsov and the folklorist A. M. Vasnetsov. From his youth, and throughout his life, he was friendly with artists born in Vyatka and later living in St. Petersburg, Evgeny Charushin.
In 1919 he graduated from the Unified School of the second stage (the former Vyatka First Men's Gymnasium).
In 1921 he moved to Petrograd. He entered the painting faculty of Vkhutein, then - PGSHUM, where he studied for five years, with teachers A. E. Karev, A. I. Savinov. Vasnetsov wanted to be a painter, and sought to acquire all the skills necessary to work in painting. From the experience of his teachers, Vasnetsov did not adopt anything that would have influenced him as a painter - with the exception of the influence of M. V. Matyushin, from whom he did not directly study, but was familiar with him through his artist friends N. I. Kostrov , V. I. Kurdova, O. P. Vaulin. Through them, he got an idea of Matyushin's theory, and got acquainted with the "organic" trend in Russian art, the closest to his natural talent.
In 1926, at VKhUTEIN, the course the artist studied at was released without defending a diploma. In 1926-27. for some time he taught fine arts at the Leningrad school number 33.
In 1926-1927. together with the artist V. I. Kurdov, he continued his studies in painting at GINKhUK under K. S. Malevich. He was admitted to the Department of Painting Culture, led by Malevich. He studied the plasticity of cubism, the properties of various pictorial textures, created "material selections" - "counter-reliefs". The artist spoke about the time of his work in GINHUK: “All the time the development of the eye, form, construction. I liked to achieve materiality, the texture of objects, colors. See color! The work and study of Vasnetsov with K. S. Malevich in GINKHUK lasted about two years; during this time, the artist studied the significance of pictorial textures, the role of contrast in the construction of form, the laws of plastic space.
Paintings made by Vasnetsov during this period: counter-relief "Still life with a chessboard", 1926-1927; "Cubist composition", 1926-28, "Composition with a pipe" 1926-1928; "Still life. In the workshop of Malevich" 1927-1928; "Composition with Violin" 1929, and others.
In 1928, the art editor of the Detgiz publishing house, V. V. Lebedev, attracted Vasnetsov to work on a children's book. The first books illustrated by Vasnetsov are "Karabash" (1929) and "Swamp" by V. V. Bianki (1930)
In the design of Vasnetsov, many books for children were repeatedly published in mass editions - "Confusion" (1934) and "The Stolen Sun" (1958) by K. I. Chukovsky, "Three Bears" by L. N. Tolstoy (1935), "Teremok" (1941) and “Cat’s House” (1947) by S. Ya. Marshak, “English Folk Songs” translated by S. Ya. Marshak (1945), “Cat, Rooster and Fox. Russian Fairy Tale (1947) and many others. He illustrated The Little Humpbacked Horse by P. P. Ershov, books for children by D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak, A. A. Prokofiev and other publications. Vasnetsov's children's books have become classics of Soviet book art.
In the summer of 1931, together with his Vyatka relative, artist N. I. Kostrov, he made a creative trip to the White Sea, to the village of Soroki. Created a cycle of paintings and graphic works "Karelia".
In 1932 he became a member of the Leningrad branch of the Union of Soviet Artists.
In 1934 he married the artist Galina Mikhailovna Pinaeva, in 1937 and 1939 his two daughters, Elizaveta and Natalya, were born.
In 1932 he entered graduate school at the painting department of the All-Russian Academy of Arts, where he studied for three years. In the thirties, Vasnetsov's painting reaches a high level of skill, acquires an original, unique character, not similar to the work of artists close to him. His painting of this time is compared with the works of V. M. Ermolaeva and P. I. Sokolov - in terms of the strength and quality of painting, in terms of the organic element of color: "Vasnetsov preserved and increased the achievements of the original national pictorial culture."
In 1932-1935. Vasnetsov painted the canvases “Still Life with a Hat and a Bottle”, “Miracle Yudo Fish Kit” and other works. In some of these works - "Lady with a Mouse", "Church Warden" - there is an image of merchant-petty-bourgeois Russia, well known to the artist, comparable to the images of merchants in A. Ostrovsky and B. Kustodiev. Some researchers (E. D. Kuznetsov, E. F. Kovtun) attribute these works to the top achievements in the artist's work
In 1936, he designed for the Bolshoi Drama Theater in Leningrad costumes and scenery for the play based on M. Gorky's play "The Petty Bourgeois". In 1938-40. worked in the experimental lithographic workshop at the Leningrad Union of Artists. Author of greeting cards (1941-1945).
Vasnetsov's pre-war and post-war style in book graphics was created under the pressure of ideological circumstances.
"Having survived the stubborn pressure of socialist realism, Vasnetsov replaced it with a style associated with Russian folk art, in any case, it was thought so, although it had a lot from the market sample. Some stylization turned out to be acceptable. Understandable and not related to formalism, it was not perceived conditionally .. Folk, market embroidery All this, together with the real landscape, gradually relieved him of the nickname of a formalist.
In 1941 he was a member of the "Combat Pencil" group of artists and poets. At the end of 1941 he was evacuated to Perm (Molotov). In 1943 he moved from Perm to Zagorsk. He worked as the chief artist of the Toy Research Institute. Created a series of landscapes of Zagorsk. At the end of 1945 he returned to Leningrad.
In 1946 he received the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
In 1946, in the summer, he created a number of landscapes of Sosnovo, in 1947-1948. - Mill Creek, in 1949-1950. Siverskaya, in 1955 - Mereva (near Luga), in 1952 he painted a number of Crimean landscapes, in 1953-54. paints Estonian landscapes. Since 1959, he has been annually going to the dacha in Roschino and painting views of the surroundings.
From 1961 until the end of his life he lived in house number 16 on Pesochnaya Embankment in St. Petersburg.
In 1966 he received the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.
In 1971, Vasnetsov was awarded the State Prize of the USSR for two collections of Russian folk tales, songs, riddles "Ladushki" and "Rainbow-Arc". In the same year, the cartoon "Terem-Teremok" was filmed based on his drawings.
Paintings of the 1960s and 70s - mainly landscapes and still lifes ("Still Life with Willow", "Flowering Meadow", "Roshchino. Cinema" Change "). Throughout his life, Vasnetsov worked in painting, but due to accusations of formalism, he did not exhibit his works. They were presented at exhibitions only after his death.
Biography
Yuri Alekseevich Vasnetsov (1900-1973) - Russian artist, illustrator, graphic artist and painter. Born into a family of a priest, there were many famous painters and artists in the family - Appolinary Vasnetsov, who depicts mainly historical subjects in his canvases, Viktor Vasnetsov - who did not see his famous "Bogatyrs"! - also, among the distant relatives was Alexander Vasnetsov, a folklorist who collected and published more than 350 songs of the Russian people, mainly of northern Russia. Such a cultural family heritage could not but affect the descendant and was reflected in his further work, where folklore traditions, humor and the grotesque merged together.
Yuri Vasnetsov from his youth connected his life with the illustration of children's books. In 1928, he began to cooperate with the excellent Detgiz publishing house, which later became the equally famous Children's Literature. He designed a large number of children's books - "Swamp", "Cat's House" and "Teremok", "The Stolen Sun" and "Confusion" and many others. In parallel with illustration, he taught fine arts at the Leningrad school, drew postcards, designed costumes and scenery for Leningrad theaters, and was engaged in painting. In 1971, an animated film "Terem-Teremok" was shot based on his drawings.
As a child, my mother used to read all the books and fairy tales to me. And the nanny too. The story entered me...
The publisher gives me the text. I take the one I like. And it happens that there is no fairy tale in it. It happens that it is only four or even two lines, and you can’t make a fairy tale out of them. And I'm looking for a fairy tale ... I always remember for whom the book will be.
Buy books with illustrations by Yuri Vasnetsov
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Name rainbow arc
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Name Wolf and goats
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Name Ruff kids
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Name Spikelet
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Name vorkot cat
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Name never-before
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Name Naughty goat
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Name Tom Thumb
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Name Fox and mouse
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Name Rainbow
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Name Swamp
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conversations
"Neskuchny garden", 01.2008
To the limit, generalized, condensed images were instantly recognized and accepted as native - both by children and adults. It was clear that these were our heroes, Russians from heels to ears. But not epic, but living somewhere nearby. Looking at us from under the bush the way the sad top from the Tale of Fairy Tales looks - sensitively and intently.
"Young Artist", No. 12.1979
Few people manage to carry childhood impressions through their whole lives the way Vasnetsov did. The artist did not lose over the years the immediacy of the perception of nature; vividly recalled national holidays. “I remember everything as if in reality! .. I remember everything like that, apparently, I didn’t just look like that - I penetrated into everything, and not just like that. But I regret that not everything remained in my memory, I did not look at everything carefully. I should have looked more… There was a lot of unique beauty!” - in these words one sees the wisdom of the old master, the openness of his soul to the beauty of life. Yuri Alekseevich Vasnetsov was a happy man, because he rejoiced in his childhood and brought this joy into his works; his joy and happiness became the property of other people - adults and children.
Events
17.03.2014
As part of the Days of Children's Books in the Library of Book Graphics in St. Petersburg on March 20 at 19.00, the exhibition "Artists of the pre-war DETGIZ" opens. The exhibition presents illustrations, sketches, prints, lithographs, covers, books by masters of book graphics of the pre-war period.
Vasnetsov Yuri Alekseevich (1900-1973)- graphic artist, painter, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1966). Studied at the Academy of Arts (1921-26) under A.E. Kareva, K.S. Petrova-Vodkina, N.A. Tyrsy.
Vasnetsov's work is inspired by the poetics of Russian folklore. The most famous were illustrations for Russian fairy tales, songs, riddles ("Three Bears" by L. N. Tolstoy, 1930; collection "The Miracle Ring", 1947; "Fables in the Faces", 1948; "Ladushki", 1964; arc", 1969, State Project of the USSR, 1971). He created separate color lithographs ("Teremok", 1943; "Zaikin's hut", 1948).
After the death of Vasnetsov, his exquisite pictorial stylizations in the spirit of the primitive became known ("Lady with a Mouse", "Still Life with a Hat and a Bottle", 1932-1934)
Word to the artist Vasnetsov Yu.A.
- “I am so grateful to Vyatka - my homeland, childhood - I saw beauty!” (Vasnetsov Yu.A.)
- “I remember spring in Vyatka. Streams flow, as stormy as waterfalls, and we, guys, let the boats go ... In the spring, a fun fair opened - Whistleblower. At the fair, elegant, fun. And what is there! Clay dishes, pots, krinki, jugs. Homespun tablecloths with all sorts of patterns... I was very fond of Vyatka toys made of clay, wood, plaster horses, cockerels - everything is interesting in color. Carousels at the fair are all in beads, all in sparkles - geese, horses, carriages, and the accordion is sure to play ”(Yu.A. Vasnetsov)
- “Draw, write what you like. Look around more ... You can’t say everything terribly, draw it. When a lot of something is done, drawn, then naturalism arises. Let's say a flower. Take it, but recycle it - let it be a flower, but different. Chamomile is not a chamomile. I like forget-me-nots for their blueness, a yellow spot in the middle. Lilies of the valley ... When I smell them, it seems to me that I am a king ... ”(Vasnetsov Yu.V. From advice to young artists)
- (Vasnetsov Yu.A.)
- “In my drawings, I try to show a corner of the beautiful world of my native Russian fairy tale, which brings up in children a deep love for the people, for our Motherland and its generous nature” (Yu.A. Vasnetsov)
- When asked what was the most expensive gift he received, the artist replied: “Life. Life given to me"
Yuri Vasnetsov was born on April 4, 1900 in the ancient city of Vyatka, in the family of a priest. Both his grandfather and his father's brothers belonged to the clergy. Yu.A. Vasnetsov was distantly related to and. The large family of Father Alexy Vasnetsov lived in a two-story house at the cathedral, where the priest served. Yura was very fond of this temple - the cast-iron tiles of its floor, rough so that the foot would not slip, a huge bell, an oak staircase that led to the top of the bell tower ...
The artist absorbed his love for the flowery folk culture in his native old Vyatka: “I still live by what I saw and remembered in childhood.”
The entire Vyatka province was famous for handicrafts: furniture, chest, lace, toys. Yes, and mother Maria Nikolaevna herself was a noble lace embroiderer, well-known in the city. In the memory of little Yura, towels embroidered with roosters, and painted boxes, multi-colored clay and wooden horses, lambs in bright pants, lady dolls - "painted from the heart, from the soul" will remain in the memory of little Yura for the rest of his life.
As a boy, he himself painted the walls of his room, shutters and stoves in the houses of his neighbors with bright patterns, flowers, horses and fantastic animals and birds. He knew and loved Russian folk art, and this later helped him to draw his amazing illustrations for fairy tales. And the costumes that were worn in his native northern regions, and the festive attire of horses, and the wooden carvings on the windows and porches of the huts, and the painted spinning wheels and embroideries - everything that he saw from an early age was useful to him for fabulous drawings. As a child, he liked all kinds of manual labor. He sewed boots and bound books, loved to skate and fly a kite. Vasnetsov's favorite word was "interesting."
After the revolution, all the families of priests, including the Vasnetsov family (mother, father and six children), were literally evicted to the streets. “... Father no longer served in the cathedral, which was closed ... and he didn’t serve anywhere at all ... He would have to cheat, lay down his dignity, but then a meek firmness of spirit was revealed: he continued to walk in a cassock , with a pectoral cross and with long hair, ”Yuri Alekseevich recalled. The Vasnetsovs wandered around strange corners, and soon bought a small house. Then I had to sell it, they lived in a former bathhouse ...
Yuri went to seek his fortune in Petrograd in 1921. He dreamed of becoming an artist. Miraculously, he entered the painting department of the State Art Museum (later Vkhutemas); successfully completed his studies in 1926.
His teachers were the noisy metropolitan Petrograd itself with its European palaces and the Hermitage full of world treasures. They were followed by a long line of many and varied teachers who opened the world of painting to the young provincial. Among them were the academically well-trained Osip Braz, Alexander Savinov, the leaders of the Russian avant-garde - the “flower painter” Mikhail Matyushin, the suprematist Kazimir Malevich. And in the "formalist" works of the 1920s, the individual characteristics of Vasnetsov's pictorial language testified to the extraordinary talent of the novice artist.
In search of a job, the young artist began to collaborate with the department of children's and youth literature of the State Publishing House, where, under the artistic direction of V.V. Lebedev happily found himself in the interpretation of the themes and images of Russian folklore - fairy tales, in which his natural craving for humor, grotesque and good irony was best satisfied.
In the 1930s he was famous for illustrations for the books "Swamp", "Humpbacked Horse", "Fifty Pigs" by K.I. Chukovsky, "Three Bears" L.I. Tolstoy. At the same time, he made excellent - smart and exciting - lithographic prints for children, based on the same plot motifs.
The artist made amazing illustrations for Leo Tolstoy's fairy tale "Three Bears". A big, scary, like an enchanted forest, and a bear's hut are too big for a little lost girl. And the shadows in the house are also dark, creepy. But then the girl ran away from the bears, and the forest immediately brightened in the picture. So the artist conveyed the major mood with paints. It is interesting to watch how Vasnetsov dresses his heroes. Elegant and festive - the nurse mother-Goat, mother-Cat. He will definitely give them colored skirts in frills and lace. And he will regret the offended Fox Bunny, put on a warm jacket. Wolves, bears, foxes, which prevent good animals from living, the artist tried not to dress up: they did not deserve beautiful clothes.
So, continuing the search for his path, the artist entered the world of children's books. Purely formal searches gradually gave way to folk culture. The artist increasingly looked back at his "Vyatka" world.
A trip to the North in 1931 finally convinced him of the correctness of the chosen path. He turned to folk sources, already experienced in the intricacies of the modern pictorial language, which gave rise to the phenomenon that we can now call the phenomenon of painting by Yuri Vasnetsov. The still life with a large fish fully testifies to the new bright trends in the works of Vasnetsov.
On a small red tray, crossing it diagonally, lies a large fish sparkling with silver scales. The peculiar composition of the picture is akin to a heraldic sign and at the same time a folk rug on the wall of a peasant hut. With a dense viscous colorful mass, the artist achieves an amazing credibility and authenticity of the image. The external oppositions of the planes of red, ocher, black and silver-gray are tonally balanced and give the work a feeling of monumental painting.
So, book illustrations were only one side of his work. The main goal of Vasnetsov's life has always been painting, and he went to this goal with fanatical persistence: he worked independently, studied under the guidance of K.S. Malevich in Ginkhuk, studied in graduate school at the All-Russian Academy of Arts.
In 1932-34 he finally created several works ("Lady with a Mouse", "Still Life with a Hat and a Bottle", etc.), in which he proved himself to be a very great master who successfully combined the refined pictorial culture of his time with the tradition of folk "bazaar" art, which he appreciated and loved. But this later self-confidence coincided with the campaign against formalism that had begun at that time. Fearing ideological persecution (which had already touched his book graphics), Vasnetsov made painting a secret occupation and showed it only to close people. In his landscapes and still lifes, emphatically unpretentious in their motives and extremely sophisticated in terms of pictorial form, he achieved impressive results, reviving the traditions of Russian primitivism in a peculiar way. But these works were practically unknown to anyone.
During the war years, spent first in Molotov (Perm), then in Zagorsk (Sergiev Posad), where he was the chief artist of the Toy Institute, Vasnetsov performed poetic illustrations for S.Ya. Marshak (1943), and then to his own book "Cat's House" (1947). A new success brought him illustrations for the folklore collections "The Miraculous Ring" (1947) and "Fables in the Faces" (1948). Vasnetsov worked extraordinarily intensively, many times varying the themes and images dear to him. The well-known collections "Ladushki" (1964) and "Rainbow-arc" (1969) became a kind of result of his many years of activity.
Vasnetsov's bright, entertaining and witty drawings have found perhaps the most organic embodiment of Russian folklore, more than one generation of young readers have grown up on them, and he himself was recognized as a classic in the field of children's books during his lifetime. In a Russian folk tale, everything is unexpected, unknown, unbelievable. If it's scary, then it's trembling, if joy is a feast for the whole world. So the artist makes his drawings for the book "Rainbow-Arc" bright, festive - now the page is blue with a bright rooster, then red, and on it is a brown bear with a birch staff.
The difficult life of the artist left an indelible mark on his relationship with people. Usually gullible and gentle in character, already being married, he became unsociable. He did not exhibit anywhere as an artist, he did not perform anywhere, referring to the upbringing of two daughters, one of whom, the eldest, Elizaveta Yuryevna, would later become a famous artist.
Leaving home, relatives, even for a short time, was a tragedy for him. Any parting with the family was unbearable, and the day when they had to set off was a ruined day.
Before leaving the house, Yuri Alekseevich even let out a tear from chagrin and anguish, but he did not forget to put some gift or a cute trinket under the pillow for everyone. Even friends waved their hand at this homebody - a man for great art is gone!
Fairy tales remained a favorite reading of Yuri Alekseevich until old age. And my favorite pastimes are painting still lifes, landscapes with oil paints, illustrating fairy tales, and in the summer fishing on the river, always with a bait.
Only a few years after the death of the artist, his paintings were shown to the audience at an exhibition in the State Russian Museum (1979), and it became clear that Vasnetsov was not only an excellent book graphic artist, but also one of the outstanding Russian painters of the 20th century.
Vasnetsov Yury Alekseevich
It is unlikely that anything else can expose the qualities of a true artist as much as work for a children's audience. For such illustrations, all the most real is required - both knowledge of child psychology, and talent, and mental attitude. The work for kids does not tolerate any fakes. And if the drawing is not made with a cold soul and heart, if the illustrator has not turned his calling into a craft, then such a creation will certainly become an event.
Vasnetsov Yuri Alekseevich was just such a master of his craft.
The amazing world of the artist
The books illustrated by Yu. A. Vasnetsov are recognizable at first sight; millions of Soviet children grew up on them. The images in these books are of paramount importance, they inevitably attract the attention of a small reader.
The inexhaustible imagination with which Yuri Vasnetsov designed books allows you to plunge headlong into the world of childhood, forget about some worries and disorder of the adult world. The images created by the artist sparkle with optimism and are full of life-affirming power. Animals and birds, the main acting characters of fairy tales, acquire amazing expressiveness, Yuri Vasnetsov gave them a manner of behavior, movements and habits that he subtly noticed in reality.
Why Vasnetsov's illustrations are loved by children
He always found his way to the hearts of his young readers and contemplators, who had just begun to learn about the world through endless sketches, continuous study of nature. The fairy tale characters that Yuri gave life at first glance are fake, popular prints. But he draws exactly as the eyes of a small viewer see them. He does not go into a string of realistic details and details, the main goal of the artist is to make the young reader feel the fabulous nature of the characters.
Vasnetsov never dealt with issues of developmental psychology, he was not a teacher either, but he managed to accurately feel his smallest reader and admirer - one who still cannot read.
Vasnetsov Yuri Alekseevich. Biography
The future artist was born on March 22, 1900 in the northern city of Vyatka. Vasnetsov's father, grandfather and uncle were clergymen. Yuri was brought up in severity. The wealth in the family was modest, but they did not live in poverty. In 1917, after the revolution, the Vasnetsov family was evicted from the cathedral house and experienced considerable need. Yuri's father did not want to lay down his dignity, continuing to walk in a cassock.
While still a child, Yuri independently painted the walls of rooms, stoves and shutters in neighboring houses with bright drawings, where Russian ornaments, horses, unknown birds and magical flowers found their place. Art, which is so rich in his people, he already appreciated and loved.
In 1919 Vasnetsov Yuri Alekseevich graduated from the Unified School of the Second Stage, and in 1921 he left his home in Vyatka and moved to Petrograd. In the same year he became a student of the painting faculty of the Higher Artistic Technical Institute. It was here that he got acquainted with the "organic" trend in painting, which later became the closest to his work.
After graduating from the institute, Vasnetsov Yuri Alekseevich works as a teacher at the art school of Leningrad. In 1926, the artist again goes to study. This time to the State Institute of Artistic Culture. The creative director of the artist was Kazimir Malevich. The paintings of Yuri Vasnetsov, which received life during this period, are “Cubist Composition”, “Still Life. In the workshop of Malevich", "Still life with a chessboard" - they carry an excellent knowledge of the form and role of contrast.
road to children's book
Yuri Vasnetsov (illustrator) began his career, thanks to which he gained millions of admirers of his talent in 1928. It was then that he, who at that time worked as the art editor of the Detgiz publishing house, attracted a young illustrator to cooperate. The first books were "Swamp" and "Karabash" by V. V. Bianki. It was in these illustrations that Vasnetsov's humor, grotesque and kind irony were realized, which would be characteristic of all his subsequent work.
Forever included in the classics of children's art and later illustrations by Vasnetsov. In 1934 "Confusion" by K. Chukovsky was released, in 1935 - "Three Bears" by L. Tolstoy, in 1941 - "Teremok" by S. Marshak. Even later there will be "The Stolen Sun", "Cat's House", "Fifty Pigs", "Humpbacked Horse". Books were published in millions of copies and did not linger on store shelves thanks to the writing skills of their authors and the inexhaustible imagination of the illustrator. The artist created his own unique and unique artistic style, which we recognize even today, even briefly glancing at the illustration.
In the mid-thirties, Vasnetsov created several paintings ("Still Life with a Hat and a Bottle", "Lady with a Mouse"), in which he finally manifests himself as a large-scale artist, brilliantly combining the refined artistic culture of his time with the traditions of Russian folk art, which he loved so much . But the birth of these paintings coincided with the moment of the beginning of the struggle against formalism, in which the artist was accused.
War and post-war years
Before the war, Vasnetsov worked for the Bolshoi Drama Theater, designing costumes and scenery. During the war years, Yuri Vasnetsov issued a series of greeting cards. His work during this period is greatly influenced by the ideology of those times. At the very beginning of the war, the artist becomes a member of the "Combat Pencil" - a team of artists and poets who, with their work, helped defeat the enemy. In 1941, the Vasnetsov family was evacuated to the rear in the city of Perm, and in 1943 - to the city of Zagorsk. The Toy Research Institute became his place of work. Yuri Vasnetsov works there as the chief artist. He returned to Leningrad only at the end of 1945.
The post-war years the artist devotes to landscapes. The most widely known are the landscapes of Sosnovo, Estonian and Crimean, sketches of the Mill Creek.
Personal life
Illustrator Yuri Vasnetsov did not advertise his personal life, and therefore not much is known about her.
In the artist's life there was only one beloved woman. Yuri Vasnetsov married the artist Pinaeva at the age of thirty-four. In 1934, he brought his wife to his native Vyatka, and Father Vasnetsov married them in the church of John the Baptist. Galina Mikhailovna gave Vasnetsov two beautiful daughters. Elizabeth was born in 1937, and Natalya in 1939. Late children became a real outlet for Yuri Alekseevich. He perceived any separation from them as a tragedy and was always in a hurry to return home to be close to his girls.
Yuri Alekseevich was fond of breeding pigeons and was an avid fisherman.
The artist's daughters grew up in an atmosphere of love and beauty; Elizabeth often stared at her father's work. Later, she followed in his footsteps and also found herself in the visual arts. Since 1973 she has been a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR.
famous kinship
The name Vasnetsov is well known to any resident of the country thanks not only to Yuri. His distant relatives were the famous Russian artists brothers Victor and also the Russian folklorist Alexander Vasnetsov. However, Yuri Alekseevich never boasted of famous relatives.
Awards and prizes
After the war, the artist received the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR. In 1966, Yuri Vasnetsov received the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.
In the early seventies, the artist illustrated two collections of Russian folk tales. They are called "Rainbow-arc" and "Ladushki". In the same year, according to his illustrations, the animated film "Terem-Teremok" was shot, which can be safely attributed to the masterpieces of Soviet animation. For these works the artist was awarded the State Prize of the Soviet Union.
Little-known Vasnetsov
The artist devoted his entire life to painting. However, his paintings of the sixties and seventies did not bring him popularity during his lifetime. The most famous works of that period - "Blossoming Meadow", "Still Life with Willow" - saw the light only after the death of the artist. The fact is that because of the accusations of formalism, Yuri Vasnetsov preferred not to exhibit these works of his anywhere. He actually made art his secret passion, and could show these creations to the most trusted and dear people. After his paintings were presented to a wide audience at an exhibition in 1979, it became clear that the artist went far beyond the book illustrator. He is an outstanding Russian painter of the 20th century.
The artist died on May 3, 1973 in Leningrad. Yuri Vasnetsov was buried in St. Petersburg, which, over the long years of his life, became the artist's hometown.
Vasnetsov Yuri Alekseevich (1900-1973)- graphic artist, painter, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1966). Studied at the Academy of Arts (1921-26) under A.E. Kareva, K.S. Petrova-Vodkina, N.A. Tyrsy.
Vasnetsov's work is inspired by the poetics of Russian folklore. The most famous were illustrations for Russian fairy tales, songs, riddles ("Three Bears" by L. N. Tolstoy, 1930; collection "The Miracle Ring", 1947; "Fables in the Faces", 1948; "Ladushki", 1964; arc", 1969, State Project of the USSR, 1971). He created separate color lithographs ("Teremok", 1943; "Zaikin's hut", 1948).
After the death of Vasnetsov, his exquisite pictorial stylizations in the spirit of the primitive became known ("Lady with a Mouse", "Still Life with a Hat and a Bottle", 1932-1934)
Word to the artist Vasnetsov Yu.A.
- “I am so grateful to Vyatka - my homeland, childhood - I saw beauty!” (Vasnetsov Yu.A.)
- “I remember spring in Vyatka. Streams flow, as stormy as waterfalls, and we, guys, let the boats go ... In the spring, a fun fair opened - Whistleblower. At the fair, elegant, fun. And what is there! Clay dishes, pots, krinki, jugs. Homespun tablecloths with all sorts of patterns... I was very fond of Vyatka toys made of clay, wood, plaster horses, cockerels - everything is interesting in color. Carousels at the fair are all in beads, all in sparkles - geese, horses, carriages, and the accordion is sure to play ”(Yu.A. Vasnetsov)
- “Draw, write what you like. Look around more ... You can’t say everything terribly, draw it. When a lot of something is done, drawn, then naturalism arises. Let's say a flower. Take it, but recycle it - let it be a flower, but different. Chamomile is not a chamomile. I like forget-me-nots for their blueness, a yellow spot in the middle. Lilies of the valley ... When I smell them, it seems to me that I am a king ... ”(Vasnetsov Yu.V. From advice to young artists)
- (Vasnetsov Yu.A.)
- “In my drawings, I try to show a corner of the beautiful world of my native Russian fairy tale, which brings up in children a deep love for the people, for our Motherland and its generous nature” (Yu.A. Vasnetsov)
- When asked what was the most expensive gift he received, the artist replied: “Life. Life given to me"
Yuri Vasnetsov was born on April 4, 1900 in the ancient city of Vyatka, in the family of a priest. Both his grandfather and his father's brothers belonged to the clergy. Yu.A. Vasnetsov was distantly related to and. The large family of Father Alexy Vasnetsov lived in a two-story house at the cathedral, where the priest served. Yura was very fond of this temple - the cast-iron tiles of its floor, rough so that the foot would not slip, a huge bell, an oak staircase that led to the top of the bell tower ...
The artist absorbed his love for the flowery folk culture in his native old Vyatka: “I still live by what I saw and remembered in childhood.”
The entire Vyatka province was famous for handicrafts: furniture, chest, lace, toys. Yes, and mother Maria Nikolaevna herself was a noble lace embroiderer, well-known in the city. In the memory of little Yura, towels embroidered with roosters, and painted boxes, multi-colored clay and wooden horses, lambs in bright pants, lady dolls - "painted from the heart, from the soul" will remain in the memory of little Yura for the rest of his life.
As a boy, he himself painted the walls of his room, shutters and stoves in the houses of his neighbors with bright patterns, flowers, horses and fantastic animals and birds. He knew and loved Russian folk art, and this later helped him to draw his amazing illustrations for fairy tales. And the costumes that were worn in his native northern regions, and the festive attire of horses, and the wooden carvings on the windows and porches of the huts, and the painted spinning wheels and embroideries - everything that he saw from an early age was useful to him for fabulous drawings. As a child, he liked all kinds of manual labor. He sewed boots and bound books, loved to skate and fly a kite. Vasnetsov's favorite word was "interesting."
After the revolution, all the families of priests, including the Vasnetsov family (mother, father and six children), were literally evicted to the streets. “... Father no longer served in the cathedral, which was closed ... and he didn’t serve anywhere at all ... He would have to cheat, lay down his dignity, but then a meek firmness of spirit was revealed: he continued to walk in a cassock , with a pectoral cross and with long hair, ”Yuri Alekseevich recalled. The Vasnetsovs wandered around strange corners, and soon bought a small house. Then I had to sell it, they lived in a former bathhouse ...
Yuri went to seek his fortune in Petrograd in 1921. He dreamed of becoming an artist. Miraculously, he entered the painting department of the State Art Museum (later Vkhutemas); successfully completed his studies in 1926.
His teachers were the noisy metropolitan Petrograd itself with its European palaces and the Hermitage full of world treasures. They were followed by a long line of many and varied teachers who opened the world of painting to the young provincial. Among them were the academically well-trained Osip Braz, Alexander Savinov, the leaders of the Russian avant-garde - the “flower painter” Mikhail Matyushin, the suprematist Kazimir Malevich. And in the "formalist" works of the 1920s, the individual characteristics of Vasnetsov's pictorial language testified to the extraordinary talent of the novice artist.
In search of a job, the young artist began to collaborate with the department of children's and youth literature of the State Publishing House, where, under the artistic direction of V.V. Lebedev happily found himself in the interpretation of the themes and images of Russian folklore - fairy tales, in which his natural craving for humor, grotesque and good irony was best satisfied.
In the 1930s he was famous for illustrations for the books "Swamp", "Humpbacked Horse", "Fifty Pigs" by K.I. Chukovsky, "Three Bears" L.I. Tolstoy. At the same time, he made excellent - smart and exciting - lithographic prints for children, based on the same plot motifs.
The artist made amazing illustrations for Leo Tolstoy's fairy tale "Three Bears". A big, scary, like an enchanted forest, and a bear's hut are too big for a little lost girl. And the shadows in the house are also dark, creepy. But then the girl ran away from the bears, and the forest immediately brightened in the picture. So the artist conveyed the major mood with paints. It is interesting to watch how Vasnetsov dresses his heroes. Elegant and festive - the nurse mother-Goat, mother-Cat. He will definitely give them colored skirts in frills and lace. And he will regret the offended Fox Bunny, put on a warm jacket. Wolves, bears, foxes, which prevent good animals from living, the artist tried not to dress up: they did not deserve beautiful clothes.
So, continuing the search for his path, the artist entered the world of children's books. Purely formal searches gradually gave way to folk culture. The artist increasingly looked back at his "Vyatka" world.
A trip to the North in 1931 finally convinced him of the correctness of the chosen path. He turned to folk sources, already experienced in the intricacies of the modern pictorial language, which gave rise to the phenomenon that we can now call the phenomenon of painting by Yuri Vasnetsov. The still life with a large fish fully testifies to the new bright trends in the works of Vasnetsov.
On a small red tray, crossing it diagonally, lies a large fish sparkling with silver scales. The peculiar composition of the picture is akin to a heraldic sign and at the same time a folk rug on the wall of a peasant hut. With a dense viscous colorful mass, the artist achieves an amazing credibility and authenticity of the image. The external oppositions of the planes of red, ocher, black and silver-gray are tonally balanced and give the work a feeling of monumental painting.
So, book illustrations were only one side of his work. The main goal of Vasnetsov's life has always been painting, and he went to this goal with fanatical persistence: he worked independently, studied under the guidance of K.S. Malevich in Ginkhuk, studied in graduate school at the All-Russian Academy of Arts.
In 1932-34 he finally created several works ("Lady with a Mouse", "Still Life with a Hat and a Bottle", etc.), in which he proved himself to be a very great master who successfully combined the refined pictorial culture of his time with the tradition of folk "bazaar" art, which he appreciated and loved. But this later self-confidence coincided with the campaign against formalism that had begun at that time. Fearing ideological persecution (which had already touched his book graphics), Vasnetsov made painting a secret occupation and showed it only to close people. In his landscapes and still lifes, emphatically unpretentious in their motives and extremely sophisticated in terms of pictorial form, he achieved impressive results, reviving the traditions of Russian primitivism in a peculiar way. But these works were practically unknown to anyone.
During the war years, spent first in Molotov (Perm), then in Zagorsk (Sergiev Posad), where he was the chief artist of the Toy Institute, Vasnetsov performed poetic illustrations for S.Ya. Marshak (1943), and then to his own book "Cat's House" (1947). A new success brought him illustrations for the folklore collections "The Miraculous Ring" (1947) and "Fables in the Faces" (1948). Vasnetsov worked extraordinarily intensively, many times varying the themes and images dear to him. The well-known collections "Ladushki" (1964) and "Rainbow-arc" (1969) became a kind of result of his many years of activity.
Vasnetsov's bright, entertaining and witty drawings have found perhaps the most organic embodiment of Russian folklore, more than one generation of young readers have grown up on them, and he himself was recognized as a classic in the field of children's books during his lifetime. In a Russian folk tale, everything is unexpected, unknown, unbelievable. If it's scary, then it's trembling, if joy is a feast for the whole world. So the artist makes his drawings for the book "Rainbow-Arc" bright, festive - now the page is blue with a bright rooster, then red, and on it is a brown bear with a birch staff.
The difficult life of the artist left an indelible mark on his relationship with people. Usually gullible and gentle in character, already being married, he became unsociable. He did not exhibit anywhere as an artist, he did not perform anywhere, referring to the upbringing of two daughters, one of whom, the eldest, Elizaveta Yuryevna, would later become a famous artist.
Leaving home, relatives, even for a short time, was a tragedy for him. Any parting with the family was unbearable, and the day when they had to set off was a ruined day.
Before leaving the house, Yuri Alekseevich even let out a tear from chagrin and anguish, but he did not forget to put some gift or a cute trinket under the pillow for everyone. Even friends waved their hand at this homebody - a man for great art is gone!
Fairy tales remained a favorite reading of Yuri Alekseevich until old age. And my favorite pastimes are painting still lifes, landscapes with oil paints, illustrating fairy tales, and in the summer fishing on the river, always with a bait.
Only a few years after the death of the artist, his paintings were shown to the audience at an exhibition in the State Russian Museum (1979), and it became clear that Vasnetsov was not only an excellent book graphic artist, but also one of the outstanding Russian painters of the 20th century.
Vasnetsov Yury Alekseevich
