"Art Gallery". Brothers Vasnetsov

The great-grandfather of Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was born in the village of Oshet, Nolinsky district (now the Sunsky district). Grandfather and father - in the village of Taloklyuchinskoye, Nolinsky district (now the village of Bogorodskoye, Kirov region). The father of the artist M.V. Vasnetsov in 1831. Studied at the Nolinsk Theological School.

"The people who do not remember, do not love and do not appreciate their history are bad. Only the sick and bad person does not remember and does not appreciate his kinship, childhood, youth. "V. M. Vasnetsov.

Vyatka family of Vasnetsovs.

Olga Shikhova, employee of the Nolinsk Museum of History and Local Lore.

The first Vasnetsovs

The surname Vasnetsov is unusual for Vyatka. Ordinary Vyatka surnames are associated with the world around us, natural phenomena, or simply derived from common nicknames - Shubin, Korovin, Onuchin, Laptev, Karasev, Gromov, Sorin and the like. V. M. Vasnetsov himself derived his surname from the word Vasily, but did not leave any documents on this matter. It is most likely that the surname Vasnetsovs originated from the Novgorod proper name Vasnets and apparently remained from the Novgorodian Ushkians-robbers, who in 1374 plundered Vyatka.

It is possible that this surname could come to the Vyatka land from Novgorod possessions through Ust-Vym, Nyrob, Cherdyn and Kai.

The Vasnetsov family is numerous. Almost all men of this kind were clergymen. According to O. N. Vinogradov’s research, the first documentary mention of the Vasnetsov family dates back to 1628, when 370 years ago, Moscow scribes made a note about Ostashka Vasnetsov in a book on the city of Khlynov. From it it becomes known that along the bank of the Vyatka River from the mouth of Zasora there was a township street, which was located on the site of the railway tracks of the modern river port, and that Ostafi Vasnetsov's own house was on this street. Ostafiy was a merchant, engaged in the manufacture of silver jewelry and their sale. The manufacture of silver items required a high artistic taste from the master. Consequently, this distant representative of the Vasnetsov family was a kind of professional artist. Ostafiy was a rather rich man, under the Ascension Church (now at this place is the Central Hotel), he had a shop and paid a quitrent of 4 rubles, which at that time was considered a lot of money.

For 1665, a brief mention was found that in the city of Khlynov, Ivashko Vasnetsov served as a market clerk. This mention is dear because the Vasnetsovs were already literate at that distant time. The square scribes served in the order's hut for writing complaints from illiterate people and had to testify to what was written with the signatures of two literate people. Ivashko was a kind of lawyer for the ancient Vyatichi, helping to draw up materials on undeserved insults and oppression of the authorities.

From numerous records for 1678, it becomes known that representatives of the Vasnetsov family live in five courtyards of the city of Khlynov: Timoshka Vasnetsov, his brother Ivashka Fedorov, son of Vasnetsov, and most importantly, the founder of the family of famous Vasnetsov artists, the psalmist of the Assumption Monastery, Mitka Ignatiev, son of Vasnetsov, is mentioned here. It was with him that the branch of the Vasnetsovs began, serving in the spiritual department.

Pedigree of the Vasnetsov brothers

Dmitry Ignatievich Vasnetsov was born in the city of Khlynov in 1661, at the age of 17 he served as a psalmist in the Assumption Monastery. Then he was transferred for service to the Nolinsky district, Dvorishchensky volost, the village of Oshet (now the Sunsky district), where he served all his life as a deacon. He had five sons who, following the example of their father, became priests. Several generations of the Vasnetsovs were born and served in the village of Oshet (son of Dmitry Ignatievich Iosif Dmitrievich, grandson Ivan Iosifovich). The remaining children and grandchildren of Dmitry Ignatievich were sent to serve in other parishes (Andrei Iosifovich - a priest in Kurchum, Procopius - a deacon in Kyrchany). Some of his descendants also served in the city of Nolinsk: in the St. Nicholas Cathedral - Priest Alexei Ilyich Vasnetsov, Archpriest Alexander Nikolayevich Vasnetsov (they served at different times, from about 1800 to 1936); in the Assumption Church - Archpriest Mikhail Ivanovich Vasnetsov (1882-1959). On the territory of the Nolinskoye cemetery is his burial place.

The artists' great-grandfather Kozma Ivanovich was born in the village of Oshet. From childhood, he helped his father in the church: he read and sang at services, then he studied at the Vyatka Seminary, where, in addition to basic subjects, agriculture and drawing art were also taught. He studied with very good success with the teacher-artist Fyodor Cherepanov. Kozma Ivanovich painted portraits, sketches, still lifes, standing out sharply with his artistic abilities among other students of the drawing class. After graduating from the Vyatka seminary in 1800, he was appointed to the third priestly place in the Nolinsky district, the village of Taloklyuchinnoye, the modern regional center of Bogorodskoye, where the grandfather and father of famous artists were born.

Nolinsky Vasnetsovs

Mikhail Vasilyevich Vasnetsov (father of artists) spent his childhood in the village of Kurchum, Nolinsky district (now the Sunsky district), being brought up in the house of his maternal grandfather Alexander Grigoryevich Vechtomov, therefore he considered Kurchum his homeland all his life. He received his primary education at home. By the age of seven he could sing, read and write.

On August 4, 1831, Mikhail Vasilyevich was enrolled in the Nolinsk Theological School, and a year later he was transferred to the Vyatka Theological School. After graduation, he successfully studied at the seminary. After graduating from the course of theology, Mikhail Vasnetsov in the Cross Church Cathedral was sworn in. The text of the oath is still kept in his assigned file, and under the text is the signature: Under this oath, I swear, a student of the Vyatka Seminary, Mikhail Vasnetsov, who completed the course. (Vasnetsov. Materials of the study. JSC City newspaper, Vyatka, 1993).

Having received the priesthood, Mikhail Vasilyevich is sent to serve in the Trinity Church of the Urzhum district of the Pilin volost (now the Urzhum district) in the village of Lopyal. There, Mikhail Vasilievich was immediately appointed mentor of the village school, where he taught peasant children. Here appeared his first-born: Nikolai and Victor. After six years, he was transferred to the village of Ryabovo in the Vyatka district of the Sulaevsky volost (now the Zuevsky district) and was immediately assigned as a teacher in a rural school.

The family has lived in Ryabovo for more than 20 years. Upon arrival, Mikhail Vasilievich builds his own wooden house, which has survived to this day and now houses a museum. According to the recollections of his fellow villagers, Mikhail Vasilyevich was a diversified person, with a soft-hearted character, he loved nature, loved to draw and drew well from life. Victor Mikhailovich recalled this hobby of his father: “when we came home for the summer holidays, well, of course, there was a joyful meeting. Mother hurried to feed us well, and after that father began to check how and what we studied, what grades we got. Then he demanded to show all our drawings, examined them very seriously and severely criticized them, pointing out all the mistakes he noticed. Having finished this business, somehow a little embarrassed and embarrassed in front of us children, he showed his work - drawings and sketches made by oil paints, all kinds of surrounding village beautiful places(O. N. Vinogradov).

Thus, the artistic talent of Viktor Mikhailovich and Apollinariy Mikhailovich did not appear suddenly, for no reason, but accumulated, gained strength in the remote backwoods of the Vyatka province for several generations of the Vasnetsov family.

Vyatka period in the work of the Vasnetsov brothers

Vyatka period in the biography and work of Viktor and Apollinary Vasnetsov, according to the study

T. Malyshev, is determined from the time of their birth until the autumn of 1878, when Viktor Mikhailovich and his wife finally left Vyatka and their younger brother Apollinaris moved to Moscow after them. The brothers were directly connected with Vyatka as a provincial town from the moment Victor entered the theological school and the arrival of Apollinaris to repeat the path of his elder brother.

Of the well-known early works of V. Vasnetsov, graphics stand out - sketches from nature, portraits of friends Fyodor Porvitsky, Mikhail Koshkarev and a composition on a religious subject, the Penitent Magdalene. At the same time, according to V. Vasnetsov, drawings were made for the collector of Russian folklore I. Tropinin, who intended to publish proverbs and sayings with illustrations. But the album was made later by another publisher, and, nevertheless, already famous artist was not shy about this youthful work and willingly gave it to his friends in Moscow.

Viktor Mikhailovich also turns to religious painting. His attention is attracted by the power of its impact on those around the image of Christ. The oil icon of the Blessing of the Children (Christ surrounded by small children) is his first painting work. For the first time, he saw paintings as a boy in a rural church. The iconography of the Baptist Church in the village of Ryabovo and later deserved his approval - already a venerable professor of painting.

Tough choice

During the years of his stay in Vyatka, V. Vasnetsov not only formed the foundations of creativity, but also formed public views. He refuses a career as a clergyman and a comfortable, familiar existence and is going to enter the Academy of Arts. Even in the family, he was prepared for this decision. Victor probably knew about the successes in painting of his great-grandfather Kozma Ivanovich, saw the watercolor paintings of his grandmother Olga Alexandrovna, he competed with his father Mikhail Vasilyevich in the skill of drawing and watched the work of aunt Maria Vasilievna.

The Vyatka period for V. Vasnetsov was interrupted in connection with his departure to St. Petersburg and admission to the Academy of Arts. A provincial youth who found himself in the capital without patrons, after successfully passing the exam in drawing, decided that he would enter without attestation in the sciences. But it turned out to be more difficult. Before entering the second time, he studied for a year at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts.

The return to Vyatka was connected with the visit to the grave of his father. He again settles in his homeland to improve his health and help his younger brothers, four of whom were left orphans and were still studying.

In 1868, the exiled Polish artist Elviro Andriolli arrived in Vyatka, whom they met at musical, literary and artistic evenings at the head of the post and telegraph office D. Ya. Dalmatov.

Brother Victor saw in Apollinaria a future artist, noting as the best landscapes realistic, specific in motive, with a thorough study of the drawing of the image of his native places (Ryabovo, Vakhrushi, Batarikha, Turin, Khlynovka). He was even going to show some of them to I. I. Shishkin. On one of his trips to his relatives, Apollinaris especially distinguished himself by drawing a wooden chapel in the village. Yelgan (apartment museum of A. M. Vasnetsov in Moscow), which can be considered the first evidence of the artist's indifferent attitude to ancient Russian architecture.

The years 1871-1872, spent by Victor in Vyatka, gave a lot not only to Apollinaris, who established himself in the choice life path but also to him. During this visit, Victor actively took up the engraving of boards for printed publications. He saw how easily, skillfully Andriolli did it. Yaga, Rag-picker, Glass, Gravedigger, Away, Bryusov calendar, Lord of the corners, The last of the Mohicans, Entertainment - these are his best works in this genre.

Once again, the brothers returned from St. Petersburg to their homeland at different times. Apollinaris stayed for three years in the capital, taking up an independent search for his own path in life. Victor, inspired by his native places, painted the Vyatka Forests, the Forest beyond the Vyatka River. But the most interesting thing is that during this period Vasnetsov painted an oil on canvas icon with the image of the Mother of God, intended for the Exaltation of the Cross Monastery in the town of Slobodskoy.

In 1878 the brothers visited Vyatka for the last time. Then Viktor Mikhailovich painted a series of portraits of the artist's relatives - brothers Peter and Apollinaris, mother-in-law M.I. Ryazantseva, grandmother of his wife T.A. Karavaeva and others. Vyatki, Meadow in the village of Rakovka, where the estate of the Ryazantsevs was located.

Under the influence of his older brother, A. Vasnetsov also painted the first oil landscapes. Having gone to Moscow after Viktor, he completed three paintings based on Vyatka motifs Prosek, the Old Road and the Vyatka landscape.

The nature of the Vyatka land with its pristine beauty, the life of the people with traditions characteristic of everyday life and holidays, the Vyatka villages and cities with monuments of Russian antiquity - all this gave the brothers an idea of ​​their native Rus', of the Russian home and left an imprint on all their work. It was in the wilderness of the Vyatka forests that the attachment to the folk tale and the epic was born, and the peculiar art of the Vyatka craftsmen - woodcarvers, masters of clay, painted toys, popular prints - aroused interest in fairy-tale creativity.

It was in Vyatka that the worldview of outstanding Russian artists was formed, and the foundations of their creative method were laid here.

Russian artist Viktor Vasnetsov, true patriot of his country, became the founder of the "Russian style" within the symbolism inherent in European art of the late 19th century. In his work, historical motifs were combined with the poetic atmosphere of fairy tales, leaving a bright mark on Russian and world culture.

Childhood and youth

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was born on May 15, 1848 in the village of Lopyale, Vyatka province. Father, priest Mikhail Vasilyevich Vasnetsov, put his whole soul into six children. He did not just raise children in accordance with religious rules, but did everything so that they would grow up diversified, including in the field of science. But little Vitya grew up surrounded by legends, beliefs, legends that abounded in Vyatka land, and preferred a fairy tale to science.

FROM early childhood Victor painted, and talent was felt in the boy's work. But the Vasnetsov family was not very wealthy, and therefore the father could not send his son to art school. Instead, in 1858 Vitya entered the Vyatka Theological School, where, as the son of a priest, he had the right to study for free.

The next step in education for the young Vasnetsov was the seminary. But this educational institution the young man left with the blessing of his father for the sake of the St. Petersburg Drawing School, where he entered in 1867. Simultaneously with entering the art school, Victor managed to pass the exam at the Academy of Arts, but he began to study there only a year later. AT art school was a teacher of painting for a young artist.

Creation

Viktor Vasnetsov graduated from the Academy in 1873, and began exhibiting while still a student, in 1869. At first, the artist's works were included in the exposition of the Academy. Later, after his entry in 1878 into the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions, in exhibitions organized by the association.

Vasnetsov's work is divided into two large stages. Initially, the artist worked in the socio-critical genre. Among his heroes are a couple of impoverished old people in the painting “From Apartment to Apartment”, bored and dull philistines in the painting “Preference”. The artist's works during this period resemble works imbued with irony and compassion at the same time.

At the end of the 19th century, the second stage of Vasnetsov's work began, logically connected with the public's interest in the "traditions of ancient times." Features of creativity were combined historical facts and folklore motifs. The artist painted incredibly exciting canvases that touch the soul of any Russian person.

This period includes the works "Gusliary", "The Knight at the Crossroads", "Alyonushka", "Ivan Tsarevich on the Gray Wolf", "Three Bogatyrs". The latter, on which they stand guard over the borders of the Russian land, and, perhaps, Vasnetsov's visiting card.

The “epic” period of the painter became, in the opinion of contemporaries, a vivid example of the “new Russian style”. Vasnetsov also brought innovation to scenography, creating sketches of costumes and scenery for the opera The Snow Maiden. What is worth only the scenery, which should depict the chamber.

In addition to The Snow Maiden, the artist had a hand in theatrical design of Shpazhinsky's drama The Enchantress and the opera Rusalka. The underwater landscape in "Mermaid" is still depicted based on the scenery created by Vasnetsov.

Thanks to Vasnetsov's talent, visitors to the Historical Museum in Moscow still admire the picturesque frieze " Stone Age". Colleagues highly appreciated this work of the master, made in 1883-1885.

Soon Vasnetsov became interested in the religious theme. His brush made a painting in the St. Petersburg Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. He worked on wall painting for the Church of the Nativity on Presnya, in collaboration with other painters, created the interior of the memorial church in Sofia.

It took the painter a lot of strength and ten years of life to paint the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv. From 1880 to 1890, Vasnetsov and his assistants painted almost 3,000 square meters of the walls of the cathedral. The artist managed to soften the strictness of the Byzantine canons with a lyrical, poetic beginning, fairy tale motifs.

Vasnetsov brought his own vision of the world into architecture. "Russian style" for him meant not imitation of ancient motifs, but a reasonable borrowing of the special properties of architecture Ancient Rus'. With his light hand, the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands, built in accordance with the Pskov-Novgorod tradition, and the fabulous gazebo "Hut on chicken legs" appeared in the Abramtsevo estate.

The artist himself designed the house for his own family with the help of the architect Vasily Bashkirov. Now this building, located at Moscow, Vasnetsova lane, 13, is the house-museum of the painter.

After the first Russian revolution of 1905 and Bloody Sunday, Vasnetsov, like a true genius, was imbued with what was happening. His convictions, which at that time practically coincided with the doctrine of the ultra-conservative "Union of the Russian People", led to participation in the financing and design of monarchist publications.

Vasnetsov's later paintings are filled with anxiety, a premonition of inevitable changes. Then the canvas “Varangians” was born, on which Rurik, Sineus and Truvor came to Rus' at the vocation of the Novgorodians.

The completed revolution of 1917 put an end to Vasnetsov's active participation in artistic life. The artist switched to illustrations for Russian fairy tales. The master worked on the themes “The Sleeping Princess”, “The Frog Princess”, “The Princess Nesmeyana” until last days, but, according to some critics, the power of the images was no longer the same. But during this period the painter created a number of beautiful portraits.

Personal life

Viktor Vasnetsov's wife, Alexandra Ryazantseva, came from a large Vyatka merchant family, graduated from the Vyatka gymnasium and the first women's medical courses at the Medical and Surgical Academy in St. Petersburg. The artist married Alexandra Vladimirovna in 1878, and for almost half a century the couple lived in perfect harmony. The Vasnetsovs had five children - daughter Tatyana and sons Boris, Alexei, Mikhail and Vladimir.

Apollinary Vasnetsov, the younger brother of the painter, is also a famous artist. In the village of Ryabovo, Kirov region (Vyatka province), where the family of the priest Vasnetsov lived for more than 20 years, there is a museum of both brothers-artists.

Death

The biography of Viktor Vasnetsov ended on July 23, 1926, when he was 78 years old. The artist died of a heart attack in a Moscow workshop. Vasnetsov was buried at the Lazarevsky cemetery, and when it was destroyed, the ashes were reburied at the Vvedensky cemetery.

• In 1912, Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was granted "the dignity of the nobility of the Russian Empire with all descendants."
• The Airbus A320 aircraft of the Aeroflot company bears the name of Vasnetsov.
• In 1998, the Bank of Russia dedicated two silver two-ruble coins to the 150th anniversary of Vasnetsov's birth.

• Vasnetsov's paintings and the painter himself appeared on postage stamps in Russia and Soviet Union. In Russia in 1998, two stamps and a coupon were issued with the paintings Battle of Slavs with Nomads (1881), Self-portrait (1873) and Ivan Tsarevich on the Gray Wolf (1889).
• According to the memoirs of a colleague in the shop, Mikhail Nesterov, he once asked Vasnetsov if he was hiding from life behind fairy tales. The artist replied:

“Where was higher after the Vladimir Cathedral? Where to? Buyers to write? After God? No higher! But there is something that stands up. This, brother, is a fairy tale ... ".

Artworks

• 1876 ​​- "From apartment to apartment"
• 1879 - "Preference"
• 1878 - "The Knight at the Crossroads"
• 1880 - "After the battle of Igor Svyatoslavich with the Polovtsy"
• 1880 - Flying Carpet
• 1881 - Alyonushka
• 1881 - "Three princesses underworld»
• 1889 - "Ivan Tsarevich on the Gray Wolf"
• 1890 - "Baptism of Rus'"
• 1897 - "Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible"
• 1897 - Bayan
• 1897 - "Gamayun - a prophetic bird"
• 1898 - "Sirin and Alkonost"
• 1898 - "Heroes"
• 1899 - "Snow Maiden"
• 1899 - "Guslars"
• 1904 - "The Last Judgment"
• 1909 - "Varangians"
• 1914 - "Duel of Peresvet with Chelubey"
• 1918 - The Frog Princess
• 1926 - The Sleeping Princess
• 1926 - Koschei the Immortal

The famous, outstanding Russian painter, one of the founders of the national-romantic version of Russian Art Nouveau, Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, was born in 1848 in the village of Lopyal, Urzhum district in the Vyatka province. The artist's great-grandfather graduated from the drawing class of the seminary. His father, Mikhail Vasilyevich Vasnetsov, was an educated village priest.

In the village house of the Vasnetsovs, different ways of life were combined. In the evenings, we read many books and magazines devoted to the natural sciences and astronomy, and drew. Both the artist's grandmother and father owned watercolors, it was his father who became his first drawing teacher. Vasnetsov, along with his brother Apollinarius, did not grow up in isolation, but in close contact with peasant children. The artist from childhood imbued with poetry folk tales, legends and beliefs, beauty folk art, the colorful ritual side of life. He perceived nature as an animated being.

Vasnetsov received his first primary education at the local theological school, and then at the theological seminary (1862 - 1867), where he studied ancient Russian literature. Literary images were intertwined in the artist's soul with folklore images, which could not but be reflected in the artist's further work.

In August 1867, Vasnetsov entered the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, where he met Kramskoy and Repin and became a member of the Association of Wanderers. Since 1868, Viktor Mikhailovich became interested in graphics and by the beginning of the 1870s he achieved great success in this area. His "Bookshop" and "Boy with a bottle of vodka" received a bronze medal at the 1874 International Exhibition in London.

In the spring of 1876, after leaving the Academy, Vasnetsov, at the invitation of Repin, with whom they were especially friendly, came to Paris, where he worked for more than a year. Thanks to Repin, Vasnetsov plunges into the study of the artistic life of Paris. The artist meets S. I. Mamontov and, together with Polenov, receives an invitation from him to settle in Moscow. The canvas “Acrobats (At a holiday near Paris)” (1877), written in Paris, was still of a genre nature, but it was there that the artist got the idea to direct his work in a different direction. At this time, he wrote a sketch of "Bogatyrs", which marked the beginning of the epic cycle.

Returning to Russia, the artist created a kind of genre-historical cycle, reflecting the Russian-Turkish war. The cycle included: the paintings “Military telegram”, “Kars were taken” and the drawing “At night on the streets of St. Petersburg on the day of the capture of Plevna” (1878). These works were shown at the 6th exhibition of the TPHV in March 1878. In the same year, at the invitation of Repin and Polenov, Vasnetsov moved to Moscow.

In the artist's soul, images of the folk epos have always lived. Having finally chosen national-historical themes for his paintings, the artist plunges into the motives of the Middle Ages, into the atmosphere of a poetic legend or fairy tale. The beginning of a new ideological and artistic direction of the artist's work is the painting "The Knight at the Crossroads" (1882).

Under the influence of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" he creates a sketch of the painting "After the Battle of Igor Svyatoslavovich with the Polovtsians" (1880). Simultaneously with the "Three Princesses" in 1881, he creates the painting "Alyonushka", in which he discovered the talent of a subtle landscape painter. The artist painted all natural landscapes near the village of Abramtseva, which was the estate of I. S. Mamontov.

Abramtsevo occupies an exceptional place in the artist's creative life. Mamontov's environment gravitated toward Russian national culture and enthusiastically accepted the historical and folklore themes of the artist. In the summer of 1881, Vasnetsov, together with Polenov, Repin, Mamontov, took an active part in the construction of the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands (1881 - 1882) in Abramtsevo. During the construction of the church, Vasnetsov was not only an architect, but also the creator of a holistic solution for the ensemble, he painted icons for the church, composed ornaments, painted choirs. In Abramtsevo, the artist built the Hut on Chicken Legs (1883).

In 1885, Vasnetsov created a series of drawings for the production of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Snow Maiden, based on the lyrical fairy tale by A. N. Ostrovsky, at the Moscow Private Russian Opera of Mamontov. In these sketches, the animated character of "Vasnetsov's nature" was manifested. In the production of The Snow Maiden, the artist for the first time confirmed the creative equality of the graphic designer with the playwright and composer. The Snow Maiden became a stimulus for new phenomena in the Russian theater.

In the first five years of the 1880s, Vasnetsov became interested in monumental painting. In the autumn of 1882, the artist received an invitation from the famous archaeologist Uvarov to paint monumental and decorative paintings for the Historical Museum in Moscow. In 1885, A. V. Prakhov offered the artist a job of decorating the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv (1885 - 1896). It became the fulfillment of the desires of the artist. Vasnetsov worked on the painting of the cathedral for more than ten years. This is a grandiose work that has no analogues in Russian art XIX century, became his most significant accomplishment. The artist created his own “Vasnetsovsky style”.

In 1897, the artist created the painting “Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible”, in 1889 - “Ivan Tsarevich on gray wolf". The writing of the painting "Heroes" (often called the "Three Heroes" painting) was a turning point in Vasnetsov's biography. This picture, crowning the heroic cycle of Vasnetsov's works, was painted by Vasnetsov in 1898.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of A. S. Pushkin, Vasnetsov draws up Pushkin's “Song of Prophetic Oleg”, fully illustrating it. Intros, endings, capital letters, illustrations - everything is subject to one decision. This approach to the design of the book was subsequently developed by Bilibin and the artists of the World of Art. In 1899, Vasnetsov painted a small painting called Guslars.

AT late XIX At the beginning of the 20th century, the artist completed a number of architectural projects. He was the author of the project for his house in Moscow (1894); the author of the pavilion project for the World Exhibition in Paris (1898); Faceted Chamber; Red porch; the project of transition from the Armory to the Kremlin Palace (1901); houses of I. E. Tsvetkov on the banks of the Moscow River (1901 - 1903); projects of ornamental design of the Grand Kremlin Palace (1901 - 1903). Vasnetsov was one of the participants in the exposition Tretyakov Gallery, donated to Moscow in 1904, for which he designed the facade and designed wooden showcases for displaying icons. At the site of the murder of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in the Kremlin, Vasnetsov created a memorial cross (1905), which was destroyed under Soviet rule and recreated on the territory of the Moscow Novospassky Monastery.

In pictures recent years Vasnetsov turns to lyrical motifs, but folklore "does not let go" of him and he creates the paintings "The Frog Princess" (1901 - 1918), "Nesmeyana the Princess" (1916 - 1926), "The Tale of the Sleeping Princess" (1900 - 1926) , “Fight of Dobrynya Nikitich with the Serpent Gorynych” (1913 - 1918).

The younger brother of the famous Viktor Vasnetsov, much less known, Apollinary Vasnetsov was by no means his timid shadow, but had a completely original talent.

An excellent master landscape painter, A. M. Vasnetsov became famous as a connoisseur and inspired poet of old Moscow.

Apollinary Vasnetsov did not receive a systematic art education. His school was direct communication and joint work with the largest Russian artists, his brother, I. E. Repin, V. D. Polenov and others.

The influence of the father on the formation of the characters and views of his sons was enormous. “Love for nature, so to speak, love for it, observation, was brought up in me by my father from deep childhood. At night, he drew my attention to the sky, and from childhood I knew the main constellations and stars ... Love for nature and brought up in me love for the landscape, and I owe this to my father, "A. Vasnetsov wrote in his Autobiography.

Victor was eight years older than Apollinaris, and when his father died, he was already studying at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Arriving home on the occasion of the funeral, Victor saw his brother's talented drawings and realized that another artist was growing up in the family. The older brother's example was taken up by the younger one. He already drew well from nature, achieving a close resemblance to nature. Before leaving for St. Petersburg, Victor sent his brother to study with the Polish artist Elviro Andriolli, who was exiled to Vyatka for participating in the 1863 uprising.

In 1878, A. Vasnetsov left the village, went to Moscow, to his brother, and since then he has devoted all his strength to art, close and understandable to the people, singing about his native nature, talentedly recreating pictures of his country's past. For many years, his constant mentor and, in fact, his main teacher was his brother Viktor Mikhailovich.

Since 1882, Vasnetsov annually spends the summer at the dacha of V.M. Vasnetsov, located near Abramtsevo, the estate of the famous philanthropist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov.

The Mamontov family and the circle of advanced talented intellectuals grouped around it left a bright mark on Russian artistic culture in the last quarter of the 19th century. The formation of A. M. Vasnetsov as an artist was greatly influenced by close communication with members of the Abramtsevo circle and, in general, with comrades of Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, who had great, bright talents. In the summer in Abramtsevo, and in the winter in the Moscow apartment of the Mamontovs, the artists N. V. Nevrev, V. D. Polenov, I. E. Repin, V. M. and A. M. Vasnetsov, L. A. Kiselev, V. A Serov, K. A. Korovin, N. D. Kuznetsov, I. I. Levitan, M. V. Nesterov, V. I. Surikov, M. A. Vrubel, artists M. N. Ermolova, G. N. Fedotov; the beginning is connected with Abramtsev theatrical activities K. S. Stanislavsky and F. I. Chaliapin.

The picturesque nature that surrounded the estate, and the artistic atmosphere that prevailed there, contributed to the creative growth of artists. In Abramtsevo, V. M. Vasnetsov wrote his "Bogatyrs", V. A. Serov - "Girl with Peaches", I. E. Repin collected material and worked on "The procession in the Kursk province." The Abramtsevo landscape can be seen in "Alyonushka" by V. Vasnetsov and in "The Vision of the Young Bartholomew" by M. Nesterov.

The bright colors of the south, the gloomy Caucasian cliffs, the majestic expanses of the northern Urals - every corner of vast Russia is reflected in the work of A. Vasnetsov. Having traveled half the country with his sketchbook, the artist settled in Moscow, sincerely fell in love with this city and became a real singer of its history and culture. The streets of the ancient capital, reconstructed by the artist according to archival data and materials from archaeological excavations, still amaze with their authenticity and realism.

The brushes of A.M. Vasnetsov belong to: “Northern Territory. Siberian River" (1899), "Motherland" (1886), "Taiga in the Urals. Blue Mountain (1891), Kama (1895), Street in Kitai-Gorod. The Beginning of the 17th Century” (1900), “Red Square in the 2nd Half of the 17th Century” (1925), as well as sketches for theatrical productions “Khovanshchina” (1897), “The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh…” (1907).

Apollinary Mikhailovich Vasnetsov died in 1933 at the age of seventy-seven and was buried at the Vvedensky cemetery.

"The beauty of the branches depends on the roots"

Almost the entire Vasnetsov family was priestly. In 1678, the psalmist of the Trifonov Monastery was mentioned. Dmitry Kondratiev son Vasnetsov. But the roots of the family come from Perm the Great: in 1678, churchmen were mentioned there on the churchyard of Nyrob Vasketsovs.

Map of northern Russia, including Great Perm.

Perm the Great (Perm Kamskaya) is a historical region in Russia. The cities of Cherdyn, Solvychegodsk, Solikamsk, Kaigorod, Old Perm were called Great Perm. The city of Staraya Perm was located 140 versts from the mouth of the Vychegda.

The surname originated from the name Vasily: Vaska - Vaskets - Vasketsov, and originally looked exactly like Vasketsov. Like this, the surnames Ivantsov, Pashketsov were formed.

The Vasnetsovs were people who gave their lives to serve God and enlightenment: priests and teachers.

In 10 districts of the modern Kirov region there are places associated with the activities of this glorious family: these are cities and villages where the Vasnetsovs lived, churches and schools where they served people.

Mikhail Vasilievich Vasnetsov

The father of future artists, Mikhail Vasilyevich Vasnetsov, after graduating from the Vyatka Theological Seminary, was ordained a priest of the Trinity Church in the village of Lopyal, Urzhum district, where he arrived with his wife Apollinaria Ivanovna, who came from the Kibardin priestly family, in 1844. Two children were born in Lopyal - Nikolai and Victor.

Vasnetsov Nikolay Mikhailovich(1845-1893) - teacher, wrote the book "Materials for the explanatory Regional Dictionary of the Vyatka dialect", published in 1908 by the Provincial Statistical Committee.

Vasnetsov Viktor Mikhailovich(1848-1926) - artist, master of historical and folklore painting.

In 1850, the Vasnetsovs moved to the village of Ryabovo. Four more brothers were born here: Alexander, Arkady, Apollinaris, Peter.

Vasnetsov Petr Mikhailovich(1852-1899) - agronomist, teacher.

Vasnetsov Apollinary Mikhailovich(1856-1933) - artist, master of historical painting, art critic.

Vasnetsov Arkady Mikhailovich(1858-1924) - people's teacher, standing up for the heads of the city of Vyatka.

Vasnetsov Alexander Mikhailovich(1861-1927) - Russian folklorist, folk teacher, author of the collection "Songs of North-Eastern Russia" (1894).

Mikhail Vasilyevich gave primary education to all six sons at home. He taught them to read, write, count, sing. From their father, they received their first drawing skills. “I began to draw from early childhood,” Viktor Vasnetsov later recalled, “and in my very first childhood I painted more ships and naval battles - this is distant lands from any sea. Then landscapes and people (peasants, etc.) from memory ... ".

Of course, the various talents that later manifested themselves in the brothers have hereditary roots from the grandfathers and great-grandfathers of the Vasnetsovs and Kibardins.

The village of Ryabovo - the house of the Vasnetsovs

Ryabovo is a "family nest", the family has lived here for more than 20 years. In Ryabovo, future artists Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1848-1926) and Apollinary Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1856-1933) saw beauty native land, received the first lessons of painting and life. The surroundings of the village, sung by the Vasnetsov brothers, are beautiful: fabulous forests, flowering fields, snow-covered expanses. Quiet Vyatka landscapes, life and life of the people, fairy tales, songs, legends - everything was absorbed into children's souls and reflected in creativity.

Victor and Appolinary came here when they were already adults and famous, father and mother are buried here. The brothers loved Ryabovo very much, they often remembered their native village, their letters and memoirs of contemporaries testify to this. On the land of Ryabov, undoubtedly, there were plans for future paintings.

Since 1981, the Vasnetsovs' house, which has survived to this day, has housed the Memorial Museum. Precious exhibits are carefully preserved: documents, photographs, antique items. A significant place in the museum's collection is occupied by genuine paintings by A. M. Vasnetsov, such as "Arable land", "Oak in Demyanovo".

kind mentor

The family of Vasnetsov priests is endowed by nature with artistic abilities. Among them were architects who took part in the construction of rural stone churches, the preparation of "artistic drawings", according to which the bell tower of the church in the village of Talye Klyuchi was built. According to their "artistic sketches", stone church fences and metal gratings for them, trade shops for fairs and their own houses were built. The artistic talent of the Vasnetsov priests manifested itself in finishing work and painting the walls of churches, arranging iconostases, and writing paintings.

In the house of Father Mikhail's mother, Olga Alexandrovna Vasnetsova, nee Vechtomova, all the walls were hung with her paintings. Later, Viktor Mikhailovich recalled: “... The first real paintings Apollinaris and I saw in the house of our grandmother, to whom our father took us “on a bow”, as soon as we arrive from the seminary ... everything under glass, in gold frames, hung decorously in several rows, filling the walls of the living room ... We were proud of my grandmother's talent.

Mikhail Vasilyevich was a kind and strict mentor for his sons. During the holidays, “my father demanded to see our drawings, he examined them very seriously and severely criticized them, pointing out all the mistakes he noticed. Having finished this business, somehow a little embarrassed and embarrassed in front of us children, he showed his works, drawings and sketches made with oil paints, all kinds of beautiful places surrounding the village. “Once,” Viktor Vasnetsov recalled, already a student at the Academy of Arts, “we all wrote sketches, and unanimously my father’s drawing was recognized as the best.”

Many years later, in 1929, the seventy-year-old Apollinary Vasnetsov, at that time an academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, in his autobiographical narrative “How I Became an Artist” wrote about his father and his childhood in Ryabovo: in me a father since childhood. When spring came, he called me to the forest to listen to the finches; we put birdhouses in front of the windows, in the evenings the whole family walked through the fields. At night he drew my attention to the sky, from childhood I knew the main constellations and stars; the rotation of the vault of heaven and its causes ... Love for nature and landscape brought up an artist in me, and I owe this to my father. His death shook me to the core ... Eternal, heartfelt thanks to my father.

Mikhail Vasilyevich Vasnetsov reposed in the Lord in 1870 at the age of 47. Apollinaria Ivanovna passed away four years earlier. The childhood of the brothers is over. Six children were left orphans.

From the thick of the people

The elder brother Nikolai (1845-1893) was 25 years old by that time. He graduated from the Vyatka Theological Seminary "in the first category", that is, excellent, and was sent to his homeland in the village of Lopyal as a teacher of an elementary school. A few years later, he was appointed head of the Shurma two-year school, where he taught Russian, arithmetic, history, natural science, agriculture, drawing, and the Law of God. On his own initiative, in addition to the program, he taught lessons in geography, the history of the Vyatka region, considering the main thing in his work "to sanctify the soul and heart of the child." The artistic talent of Nikolai Vasnetsov manifested itself in the creation of models of ancient peasant huts, school buildings, churches and cathedrals, which were shown at the Kazan Exhibition of 1890 and awarded a medal. But his completely unique work, the value and significance of which is increasing every year, is “Materials for the Explanatory Regional Dictionary of the Vyatka Dialect”, published in 1908 by the Provincial Statistical Committee.

Five other children of Father Mikhail Vasnetsov also received spiritual education and upbringing. Artistic ability Arkady Vasnetsov showed up in woodcarving and creating furniture both from his own drawings and from sketches by Viktor Mikhailovich. His works adorned many houses in Vyatka and Moscow.

Alexander (1860-1927) was endowed with rare musicality and a beautiful voice. For thirty years, he collected and kept the folk "home" choral song - and he himself performed them with great skill. His book "Songs of North-Eastern Russia" was published in Vyatka in 1894. Its uniqueness was appreciated by contemporaries and descendants.

Two brothers - Victor (1848-1926) and Apollinaris (1856-1933) - became artists. From childhood, they had amazing powers of observation and the ability to see the deep meaning in everyday life. In the late story “The Village Icon Painter”, A. M. Vasnetsov, recalling “dear Ryabovo”, made vivid, vivid sketches, thanks to which you seem to see and hear his heroes: “The high staircase leading to the church served as a place on long summer evenings, where the locals basked in the setting sun - the watchman Omelyan, the sexton Luka and Alexander Ivanovich, Yegor Nikolaevich “in a white linen cassock” and the local icon painter Semyon Ivanovich Kopysov. Here they often sat until late at night, chatting about this and that, deciding everyday affairs, the interests of the parish, the diocese, and even the entire Russian state. The same iridescent sun peered through the windows into the church itself, playing on the gilded iconostasis, lamps and robes on the icons.

And as if continuing to paint pictures of rural life, V. M. Vasnetsov wrote: “I lived among peasants and women and loved them not“ populist ”, but simply, as my friends and buddies, listened to their songs and tales, listened, sitting on the stove by the light and crackle of a torch.

Like his older brother, Victor was sent to Vyatka at the age of ten to study at the Theological School and Seminary. Church painting and architecture were among the compulsory disciplines there. From 1855 to 1867, they were led by N. A. Chernyshev, an icon painter and a good draftsman, who “had an icon painting workshop at home. He painted icons for many churches, including “he had an agreement with the Vyatka Transfiguration Convent on painting icons in 29 hallmarks of the iconostasis of a cold temple.”

V. M. Vasnetsov with his grandson Vitya (1925)

After graduating from the Vyatka Theological Seminary, Victor, and then Appolinary, leave their native lands and enter the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, but they do not lose contact with their native land, they are in active correspondence with relatives and friends who lived in Vyatka.

In 1909, the Vasnetsov brothers, already well-known artists throughout Russia, turned to the Vyatka community with a proposal to “arrange a gallery in Vyatka and give it their works, as well as assist in acquiring works by other artists.” The proposal was supported by artists, other representatives creative intelligentsia cities. So it appeared in Vyatka Art Museum- now the Kirov Regional Art Museum named after V. M. and A. M. Vasnetsov.

The museum houses one of the most significant regional collections of paintings: about 18 thousand paintings and drawings, including 27 works by Viktor Vasnetsov and 25 by Appolinaria Vasnetsov, paintings by Shishkin, Levitan, Tropinin, Repin, Surikov, Aivazovsky, Saryan, Kandinsky, and also works by Vyatka artists Rylov and Khokhryakov, Vershigorov, Kharlov, Vopilov.

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov - painter, master portrait and landscape painter, theater artist

"I look at this, a tall, stately man, and I believe that it is he who is destined to revive the forgotten traditions of our great ancient Russian painting ..." (Nesterov M.V.)

Kuznetsov N. D. Portrait of V. M. Vasnetsov (1891)

An outstanding Russian painter-wanderer, author of heroic-epic and fairy-tale paintings, master of monumental painting, theatrical scenery, graphic artist, creator of a number of architectural projects. Professor, full member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, holder of the Order of the Legion of Honor (France).

"I only lived in Russia." These words of the artist characterize the meaning and significance of his work.

Baptism of Rus', 1885-1896

Sleeping Princess, 1900-1926

The name of Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov is one of the most famous and beloved among the names of Russian artists. His creative legacy interesting and versatile. The talent of the painter manifested itself in all areas visual arts. Paintings of the everyday genre - and poetic canvases on the plots of Russian folk tales, legends, epics; illustrations for the works of Russian writers - and sketches of theatrical scenery; portraiture - and ornamental art; painting on historical plots- and architectural projects - such is the creative range of the artist. Vasnetsov the architect is remembered with gratitude by visitors to the Tretyakov Gallery: the facade of this elegant building was decorated according to the artist's design. But the main thing that enriched Russian art by the artist is the works written on the basis of folk art. Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was born in the distant Vyatka village of Lopyal. His father, Mikhail Vasilievich, a priest, soon after the birth of his son moved to the village of Ryabovo. Mother, Apollinaria Ivanovna, came from an old family of Vyatichi. On a very modest income, Vasnetsov's father had to feed and teach six children. Mother died early. The first thing that the future artist remembered for the rest of his life was the mysterious bluish twilight of winter twilight blurred around the room and the stories of unknown wanderers. “I think I will not be mistaken when I say that the tales of the cook and the tales of wandering people made me fall in love with the present and past of my people for the rest of my life. In many ways, they determined my path, gave direction to my future activities, ”wrote Vasnetsov. Other impressions, no less strong, were received by Victor from his grandmother Olga Alexandrovna. In her youth, she was fond of painting. The future artist was breathtaking with happiness when the grandmother opened the lid of the old chest where the paints were. The boy began to draw early, but according to tradition, the sons had to follow in the footsteps of their father, and in 1858 Victor was sent to a religious school, and soon transferred to the Vyatka Theological Seminary. Vasnetsov's decision to become an artist was strengthened after a meeting with the exiled Polish artist E. Andrioli. From him, he learned about the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. And Victor decided to try his luck. The rector of the seminary blessed him on the path of a painter, saying that there are many priests, but Rublev is still alone. The father also agreed, however, warning that he would not be able to help financially. When Vasnetsov turned to Andrioli for advice, he did not think long. He introduced Viktor to Bishop Adam Krasinsky, who attracted Governor Kampaneishchikov, and both of them assisted in holding a lottery - the sale of Vasnetsov's genre pictures "Priestess" and "Thrushmaid". Sixty rubles and a small amount given by his father made up the entire "solid" capital of the future artist.

In 1867, Vasnetsov passed the exams for the academy, but, being shy and modest, he did not even dare to check himself in the lists of those enrolled. Ordeals began: almost without money, in search of a corner and at least some work. Having accidentally met the brother of his Vyatka teacher Krasovsky, Vasnetsov gained hope: he helped him get a job as a draftsman in a cartographic institution. Victor subsequently got a job illustrating books and magazines. At the same time, he began to attend the drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, where he met the artist I. N. Kramskoy. This acquaintance played a significant role in the life of Vasnetsov. When, in August 1868, Victor again decided to try his luck within the walls of the academy, he, to his surprise, found out that he had been enrolled the previous year. Here he quickly became friends with Repin, Maximov, Antokolsky. Together with them, in a small apartment on Vasilyevsky Island, Vasnetsov listened to the young scientist, historian and poet Mstislav Prakhov, who vividly expounded his doctrine of Ancient Rus'. The first year of study at the academy brought the artist a well-deserved award - silver medal second dignity. The following year, in 1869, Vasnetsov received another silver medal for his work Christ and Pilate Before the People. But since 1871, first due to illness, and then due to lack of time, the regularity of attending the academy was disrupted. And in 1875, forced to earn his living, and succumbing to the desire to improve in painting on his own, Vasnetsov left the academy.

By this time, he had already created the genre paintings "Begging Singers" and "Tea Drinking in a Tavern" (1874). The latter was so significant that it was accepted to the exhibition of the Wanderers. In 1876, Vasnetsov included in the exhibition the paintings "Bookshop" and "From Apartment to Apartment". The last one is more successful. Decrepit old men, husband and wife, are wandering on the ice of the Neva, moving from one closet to another. In their hands they have all their meager belongings. Desolate. Only a miserable pug, running ahead, is waiting for them. Dressed in poor clothes, bent by poverty and old age, these slum dwellers look especially pathetic against the backdrop of the proudly towering Peter and Paul Fortress. No wonder they said about Vasnetsov: "A first-class genre painter could be ... very close in spirit to Dostoevsky."

From flat to flat, 1876

In the spring of 1876, Vasnetsov went to Paris, where he had long been called Repin, Kramskoy and Polenov. He closely studied the life of the French people. The result of these observations was the painting "Balagany in the vicinity of Paris" (1877). A year later, returning to Russia, Viktor Vasnetsov married Alexandra Vladimirovna Ryazantseva. He created his family in the likeness of his father's, patriarchal family. Vasnetsov lived fifty years without a year in happy family harmony. As his wife later recalled, when they moved to Moscow, the artist liked to wander along the old Moscow streets. And when he returned home, he often said: “How many miracles I have seen!” In front of St. Basil's Cathedral, he could not hold back his tears. What he saw and experienced matured into the painting "Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible", conceived at the turn of the 1880s, and executed in 1897. The figure of the king occupied almost the entire canvas. Ivan the Terrible, dressed in brocade fur, in a cap with icons, in embroidered mittens, was descending a steep staircase. His appearance was majestic, his face expressed will, great intelligence and at the same time suspicion, anger and anger. Strictly sustained color scheme of the picture created the impression of monumentality. As always, Vasnetsov's canvas background was successful: a massive wall covered with rich paintings, in its thickness a small window, from which old wooden Moscow, covered with snow, is visible far below. Ornamentation of wall paintings, printing patterns, embroidery brought decorativeness to the work.

Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible, 1897

In 1878, Vasnetsov began to paint the painting "After the Battle of Igor Svyatoslavich with the Polovtsy", which became one of the first in his new historical and epic cycle. In it, the artist wanted to solemnly, sadly and poetically sing the heroism of Russian soldiers, as the creator of The Tale of Igor's Campaign did. That is why he depicted not the horrors of the battle, but the greatness of death for the homeland. Rest emanates from the bodies of the fallen. The beautiful mighty hero, lying with his arms wide open, and the young prince in azure robes personified the idea of ​​selfless service to the motherland. The color scheme of the picture created an alarming mood. Against the dark green background of the steppe, the intense red shields and red boots of the warrior are illuminated by the crimson moon. The tragic sound of the picture was enhanced by the contrast between the themes of death and beauty: images of dead soldiers against the backdrop of lush green grass, pale blue flowers, and beautiful clothes. However, the picture did not meet with unanimous approval. She was so unusual that there could be no single opinion about her. Only Repin and Chistyakov immediately felt the "important" thing in the picture. The latter wrote in a letter to Vasnetsov: “I smelled such a distant, such a grandiose and in its own way original Russian spirit that I just felt sad: I, a pre-Petrine eccentric, envied you ...”.

After the battle of Igor Svyatoslavich with the Polovtsians, 1880

Despite the rejection of the picture by most critics, Vasnetsov did not leave the path he had chosen and by 1882 had created The Knight at the Crossroads. The artist depicted the twilight steppe, the field of the former battle with bones scattered over it. The evening glow is burning. A warning stone stands at the crossroads of three roads. Immersed in a deep thought, the knight stopped in front of him (the idea to draw an epic inscription on a dense stone was given to Vasnetsov by Stasov). In the image of a knight at a crossroads, the artist, as it were, involuntarily portrayed himself, his difficult thoughts about the future.

Knight at the Crossroads, 1882

In Moscow, Viktor Vasnetsov met the family of Savva Mamontov, and this was an important event in the life of the artist. Soon this philanthropist ordered him three paintings for the meeting room of the Donetsk railway: "The Battle of the Russians with the Scythians", "Flying Carpet", "Three princesses of the underworld". “The first picture was supposed to depict the distant past Donetsk region, the second - a fabulous way of transformation and the third - the princesses of gold, precious stones and coal - a symbol of the deity of the bowels of the awakened land, ”the son of Mamontov recalled the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthese works. All three pictures were as life-affirming as the fairy tales themselves.

Flying carpet, 1880

One of the most poetic works of the artist is the painting "Alyonushka" (1881) - the image of a bitter orphan. A lonely sad girl sits on a stone by the water. Around woods. And, as if taking part in her grief, the aspens tend to the orphan, guard her slender Christmas trees, the swallows chirp affectionately over her. The figure of Alyonushka is inextricably linked in the picture with the landscape. Sad in the heart of a girl, and sad in nature. There is grief in Alyonushka's brown eyes, and, like her grief, it is dark and deep. Tears drip, and golden leaves fly down. The color of the girl's hair echoes the tone of autumn foliage. The composition is built on a strict rhythm, on the smooth flow of the lines of her figure with a bowed head and the slopes of plants, which brings melodiousness to the picture. The poetry of this work is deeply national. She, like a native, folk song, is understandable to the viewer. This is one of the best paintings of Russian art.

Alyonushka, 1881

From the point of view of the new people's understanding of the topic, one can also consider the artist's work on the stage incarnation of The Snow Maiden. When Repin saw Vasnetsov's scenery and costumes for this opera, he wrote to Stasov: “Vasnetsov made drawings for the costumes. He made such magnificent types - a delight ... I'm sure that no one there will do anything like that. It's just a masterpiece." The artist's gift was especially vividly expressed in the scenery depicting the Berendeev Chamber. Here, perhaps, all the forms that ancient architecture knew in the interior decoration of the towers are transmitted. Against the backdrop of these amazing scenery, Berendeys and Berendeyks performed. It was impossible not to believe in the existence of this country. Vasnetsov's activity as a decorator was short-lived, but quite fruitful: scenery for Shpazhinsky's drama "The Enchantress" and for Dargomyzhsky's opera "Mermaid". And even after many decades, the design of the magical scenery of the underwater bottom in the "Mermaid", created by Vasnetsov, varied only slightly.

From 1875 to 1883, the building of the Historical Museum, huge for those times, was erected in Moscow. The order for the execution of the painting "Stone Age" was obtained for Vasnetsov by Adrian Prakhov, brother of the historian M. Prakhov. This panel was supposed to open the museum exposition. The new theme demanded from the artist and a new painting technique. Here his painting style is closest to the language of fresco. Vasnetsov used matte paints and, although he painted in oils, managed to achieve the complete illusion of painting with water colors on gray plaster, conveying the soft colors of the earth, clay, naked body, water, and animal skins. All contemporaries highly appreciated this work, but Chistyakov’s praise of Vasnetsov was especially pleased: “Vasnetsov reached clairvoyance in this picture.”

Just as unexpected as the commission for a panel was the artist's sudden offer to paint for the St. Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kyiv. And again, the proposal came from Prakhov. At first, Vasnetsov decided to refuse the order, but financial difficulties forced him to take up painting. For ten years (1880-1890), six of which he lived in Kyiv, the artist and his assistants painted 2880 square meters in the Vladimir Cathedral, made 15 compositions, wrote out 30 individual figures. These works contain a strict Byzantine faith, soft poetry of fairy tales, the power of epics. Here is the Mother of God with the Child: she seems to be floating above the ground, her typically Russian face is beautiful, it is full of love and sorrow. In the face of the baby, whom she, carefully clutching to herself, carries into the world, there is also, as it were, a premonition of the coming torment and suffering, but there is also compassion for sinners in it. No wonder the artist himself, speaking of his icon-painting works, stated: "My art is a candle lit before the face of God ...". Vasnetsov adequately resumed the living and visible school of icon painting. Subsequently, recalling this period of creativity, the artist was surprised: "It can be seen that in youth everything is possible." He fell from the scaffolding, crashed. To perform difficult work, strong strength of mind and body was required. Many years later, to the remark of the artist Nesterov, whether Viktor Mikhailovich had buried himself for fairy tales from life, he replied: “Where was it higher after the Vladimir Cathedral? Where to? Buyers to write? After God? No higher! But there is something that stands up. This, brother, is a fairy tale.

And this fairy tale - work was moving towards an end. Vasnetsov's "Bogatyrs" sounded in Russian art no less loudly and triumphantly than Borodin's "Bogatyr Symphony". In this picture - a hill from which the distant horizon opens. The characters of the canvas are three riders in ancient Russian equipment on war horses. This is the outpost of the heroic. Ilya Muromets is thick, powerful. With ease he holds in his hand "damask club". His directness and honesty are evidenced by the good large features of the peasant's face. Dobrynya looks completely different. Exquisite decoration, elegance of equipment indicate noble birth hero. His gaze is stern and strict, full of justice and nobility. Psychologically, Alyosha Popovich is more difficult. He defeats the enemy not so much by force - he does not have so much of it, but by sharpness and acumen. Alyosha is a joker and a merry fellow, in his right hand are “guselki yarovchaty”. So, in a combination of courage and pride, ingenuity and dexterity, the unbending greatness of the spirit is embodied in the picture of Vasnetsov heroic outpost Ancient Rus'. In a laconic landscape, the open spaces, the immensity of Russian fields are tangibly conveyed. "Bogatyrs" were a brilliant end to the heyday of the artist's work.

Bogatyrs, 1881-1898

Over folklore themes ("Bayan", 1910; "The Sleeping Princess", "The Frog Princess", both in 1918; "Princess Nesmeyana", 1914-1926) Vasnetsov worked until the end of his life, but with the same strength in these images are no longer there. Having dedicated his life to the service of goodness and beauty, he could not accept the “new” life with its political upheavals, revolution and the Civil War without pessimism, fatigue and disappointment. Increasingly, contemporaries saw the artist in the Trinity Church. The bent figure of Viktor Mikhailovich, as it were, confirmed his words: "God must not be blurted out, but suffered." Vasnetsov died on July 23, 1926 at the age of 79. After evening tea he went to his room. After a while, the family heard something fall. The artist died of a broken heart, instantly, without illness or suffering. They say that this is how the soul leaves, which seeks the Divine beauty and truth and finds peace in heaven. Contemporaries only after his death appreciated his work. In an article published in the Bulletin of Knowledge, it was written that in the history of Russian painting, the role of Vasnetsov is "equivalent and equivalent" to the role of Pushkin in Russian poetry. And there is no exaggeration in this assessment.

Apollinary Mikhailovich Vasnetsov - landscape painter, theater designer

“Recently, there has been a tendency among artists and critics, the essence of which is reduced to the position: “it doesn’t matter what to write, but it’s important how to write.” This is almost tantamount to denying one of the theses: an internal image comprehended by a deep inner feeling, which is usually call "content". (Vasnetsov A.M.)

Kuznetsov N. D. Portrait of A. M. Vasnetsov

He studied painting with V. M. Vasnetsov, his elder brother. In the 1870s, imitating the populists, he became a village teacher. From 1880 to 1887 he lived in St. Petersburg, worked in the magazines Picturesque Review, World Illustration, was a member of the Association of Wanderers and one of the organizers of the Union of Russian Artists (1903). Vasnetsov traveled a lot, an important place in his art is occupied by the landscapes of the Urals and Siberia, made in the style of the northern modern ("Taiga in the Urals. Blue Mountain", 1891; "Kama", 1895). In the early 1900s, he was already a well-known artist.

By 1900, A. M. Vasnetsov becomes famous artist. He has the first monumental canvases from the history of Moscow, in which Vasnetsov seeks to show the appearance and very life of pre-Petrine Moscow. To do this, he had to become a research scientist. Best historical pictures: “Street in Kitay-gorod. Beginning of the 17th century”, “Moskvoretsky Bridge and Water Gates. Middle of the 17th century”, both - 1900; All Saints Stone Bridge. End of the 17th century”, 1901, and many others. For merits in the artistic field, the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts awarded Vasnetsov the title of academician.

From 1901 to 1918 Vasnetsov taught at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, after the death of I. I. Levitan he led the class landscape painting. In 1900, Vasnetsov was awarded the title of academician.

At the turn of the century, Vasnetsov became interested in theatrical and decorative art. He worked on the design of a number of performances: Ivan Susanin (1885), Khovanshchina (1897), Sadko (1899) for S. I. Mamontov's Private Russian Opera.

In 1906, the artist became a member of the Moscow Archaeological Society, and in 1918, the chairman of the Commission for the Study of Old Moscow. For the second volume of the "History of Russian Art" published in 1910 under the editorship of I. E. Grabar, he wrote the chapter "The Image of Old Moscow". He criticized the decadents, advocated the separation of modern and avant-garde. He painted picturesque sketches of Moscow and the Moscow region. Vasnetsov died in Moscow in 1933.

Taiga in the Urals. Blue Mountain, 1891

Motherland, 1886

Elegy, 1893

At dawn near the Resurrection Bridge, late 17th century

Siberia, 1894

Lake, 1902

Kama, 1895

Red Square in the second half of the 17th century, 1925

Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov is one of the most famous Russian artists, his brother Apollinaris is also known, but rather to those who are interested in history painting and the theatre. The other brothers Vasnetsov, in particular, Arkady, are in the shadow of the glory of the great painter-storyteller. But Viktor Vasnetsov, as a phenomenon in world art, could not have taken place if it were not for the atmosphere of creativity, conscientious service to art, familiar to each of the brothers from early childhood and leading several of them to a wonderful hobby - the creation of carved wooden furniture.

The beginning of a creative life

The head of the family, Mikhail Vasilyevich Vasnetsov, was a priest in the Vyatka province, and from childhood he was fond of drawing. In the house of his mother, Viktor Vasnetsov's grandmother Olga Alexandrovna, as the artist later recalled, all the walls were occupied with paintings, the author of which was herself. The Vasnetsov family was always close to creativity in general - its representatives participated in the painting of churches, the design of church fences and the design of iconostases.

Love for art manifested itself to one degree or another in all the brothers - Nicholas, Victor, Peter, Apollinaris, Arkady and Alexander. Mikhail Vasilyevich himself gave primary education to all six.
Growing older, Viktor Vasnetsov began to take drawing lessons not far from home, and then completely left for St. Petersburg to get an education at the Academy of Arts. There he met many eminent masters, including Kramskoy, Repin, Nesterov, entered the famous mammoth circle - a creative community that arose around the philanthropist Savva Mamontov and his estate in Abramtsevo.

Apollinary Mikhailovich, Viktor's younger brother, took lessons from the Polish artist Michal Elviro Andriolli, who worked in the field of romanticism, as a child, but did not receive an academic education, despite studying in St. Petersburg with such painters as I. Repin and V. Polenov . Apollinary Vasnetsov entered the history of Russian art thanks to the images of old Moscow - not just highly artistic, but also created with impeccable historical accuracy.

Another main business of his life was the creation of scenery for theatrical productions - including the operas "Life for the Tsar", "Khovanshchina", "Snow Maiden", "Sadko". Apollinaris had the most direct relation to the Abramtsevo circle, constantly maintaining communication with its representatives. A special event in the life of Abramtsevo was the creation of a carpentry workshop.

Abramtsevo and its influence on the work of the Vasnetsovs

At the end of the 19th century, interest in folk culture increased markedly, and the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition held in 1882 inspired many artists to turn to the subject. applied arts. Another well-known philanthropist, Sergei Timofeevich Morozov, from the dynasty of merchants Morozov, acquired the exhibits exhibited at the exhibition and a few years later opened the Museum of Handicrafts, which, among other things, exhibited objects created by furniture makers.

Members of the Abramtsevo circle, and first of all, Vasily Polenov's sister Elena, Viktor and Apollinary Vasnetsov, Elizaveta Grigorievna Mamontova, took an active part in the search for samples of folk art and creating their own sketches for armchairs, shelves, sideboards, chests of drawers and other wooden pieces of furniture, which not only came to the attention of museum visitors, but also served primarily for the convenience and decoration of the interior in the homes of the artists themselves.

For ten years of functioning in Abramtsevo, the carpentry workshop has created more than a hundred products, including the authorship of the Vasnetsov brothers. Here Apollinaris created projects for the interior of his apartment.

The oak sideboard, with a pediment decorated with carved apples, with “antique” bolts, resembles a Russian teremok. And the other, also by Apollinaris, seems to take you back to the distant past - its doors are decorated like mica windows, and carving elements contain images of cockerels, grapes, figurines of magical birds Alkonost and Sirin.

These pieces of furniture still decorate the artist’s apartment - it houses a museum that contains his works and interior items, which Apollinaris not only created himself, but also looked for in the famous Sukharevsky market, located nearby. One of these acquisitions was a chest-headrest - a casket that was taken on the road and placed under the head at night.

The works of the masters of the Abramtsevo workshop, as well as the workshop of the Handicraft Museum in Sergiev Posad, where sketches of artists were often used for products, are the embodiment of the neo-Russian style in arts and crafts, and perhaps its most complete expression was the arrangement of the house of Viktor Vasnetsov, designed in the form of a fabulous Russian tower.

House Museum of Viktor Vasnetsov

The artist treated the interior of his house with special attention - suffice it to mention a huge light-filled workshop on the second floor, where a spiral wooden staircase led, and armor hung on the wall - to depict heroes on canvases. The whole atmosphere in Vasnetsov's house was invented or created by him. Chairs and armchairs according to Viktor's sketches were made by his younger brother Arkady, an excellent wood carver, a folk teacher by profession.

In the Abramtsevo workshops, a large oak table, and chairs at the table, and a bench, and a small sideboard "with owls" were made.

The dining room also housed a sideboard, made by Arkady according to the project of Victor - a sideboard, which received the name "samobranka". It seemed that the dishes appear in it by themselves - the whole point is that a door was made in the back wall of the cupboard facing the kitchen, and by the cotton of the owner of the house - as in a fairy tale - the cook put the dishes inside.
The stove in Vasnetsov's house also became fabulous - also in the form of a tower, the tiles for which were made in Abramtsevo by Vrubel.

The atmosphere of the Vasnetsov house, which can hardly be called a museum, is so preserved in it a lively, residential environment, imbued with both the spirit of antiquity and the individuality of the artists who created for the house or visited it.
luxurious french secretaire.