2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
Among the most outstanding masters of Russian painting at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the name of Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov is deservedly mentioned. The paintings of this painter and graphic artist at the dawn of his creative activity were appreciated by the Wanderers and artists from the World of Art, and at the end of his life he was also awarded by the Soviet authorities.
He lived a life filled to the brim with intense creative work.
The long way of the worker
He was born in Ufa, in a merchant family, in 1862. There is a legend about a miracle that happened to the baby Michael when he fell ill and was dying. His relatives had already ordered a memorial service, and his mother placed an icon of the Orthodox saint, Tikhon of Zadonsk, on his chest. The disease receded, and the child recovered, and the artist lived 80 years, worked until the last hour and rarely needed to see a doctor.
Parents did not insist on the commercial future of their son, when it became clear that he had a clear ability to draw. It is to them that the future master owes the fact that he passeda magnificent school of draftsman and painter at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. One of his favorite teachers was the great Vasily Perov. The first significant works of Nesterov - paintings on everyday and historical subjects - became close in spirit to the canvases of the leading artists from the association of the Wanderers and were highly appreciated by them.
Finding your theme
The tragedy experienced by Mikhail Vasilyevich at the age of 24 influenced the attitude to life and the choice of the main directions of creativity. At the birth of his daughter, the young beloved wife of the artist, Maria Ivanovna Martynovskaya, died. The shock he experienced found expression in attempts to capture the image of the departed on the canvases. Since then, many female images created by the artist have had the features of Nesterov's deceased wife. The paintings "Christ's Bride", "Queen", illustrations and murals of temples, made at that time, allowed those who followed his art to talk about a special female type created by the master.
The lives of the saints, who have become a support for Orthodox people, is another direction in Nesterov's work. The master considered the paintings dedicated to the images of martyrs for the true faith, among which the great elder Sergius of Radonezh was his favorite.
Vision to the youth Bartholomew
Bartholomew - that was the name of Sergius of Radonezh before he was tonsured. One day an angel appeared to the youth in a monastic form. The elder learned from Bartholomew about his desire to learn to read and “blessed him to understand reading and writing, and as a sign of the grace of God gave hima piece of prosphora. … And he surpassed his brothers and peers in literacy.”
Nesterov created an amazing atmosphere on the canvas. The description of the picture of the meeting of the shepherdess and the heavenly messenger is filled with unearthly light. The face of the holy elder is hidden by a robe and is not visible to the viewer. We understand the divine goodness emanating from him from the face of the boy more than from the faintly glowing halo. The main content of the canvas is a mystical mood created, among other things, by a stunning landscape. An autumn forest, a hillside, a wooden church, a river bend - everything is familiar to the Russian gaze, but the artist fills this picture with the music of heaven.
Not everyone understood the artist Nesterov in this masterpiece. Paintings with such an unearthly meaning were not accepted to be exhibited at the exhibitions of the Wanderers. Democratic-minded art criticism condemned the ideological subtext of the canvas, but everyone saw Nesterov's greatest artistic skill.
"Nesterovsky" landscape
The natural environment on the canvases of the master plays a very important role. For a long time, Nesterov dreamed of a joint exhibition with I. Levitan - they were connected by friendship and a similar view of Russian nature. Most often, he refers to the northern or central strip of Russia: he does not have brightness and riot of color, but the power of impression from his landscapes does not decrease from this. She is in spirituality, readable in every tree, in every birch, written in a way that only Nesterov could do.
"Hermit" (1888), "Silence" (1903), "Holy Russia" (1905), "Philosophers" (1917) - in all the paintings of the artistthe Russian spirit, like Russian nature, is not aggressive, but it fills any contemplative soul. This special look has become the most important contribution of the master to the national culture.
Honesty and hard work
Among those who, after October 1917, remained in Russia and did not emigrate, was M. V. Nesterov. The pictures he painted before the revolution did not correspond in mood and content to the coming time, but the respect that the artist enjoyed for his work and talent was too great.
He continued to work - to paint and educate students, now more engaged in the portrait genre. He did not hide his convictions, did not flirt with the authorities, so it is difficult to call his life devoid of problems, including material ones. The repression severely hit his daughter, whose husband was shot, and she herself was arrested.
He himself was protected by a big name and authority among colleagues in the profession, and constant pursuit of his favorite business served as a reliable life support. In the end, even the authorities recognized his talent and hard work. The artist Nesterov, whose paintings, depicting prominent figures of science and art, were highly appreciated by specialists and ordinary viewers, received the Stalin Prize in 1941 for the famous portrait of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov. Later he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
But the title, which Nesterov cherished above all, sounds simpler, but much more significant - a true Russian artist.
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