Paintings of Alexander Andreevich Ivanov, biography facts

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The artist Alexander Andreevich Ivanov is known for his paintings on biblical and ancient themes. He worked in an academic artistic style, and his canvases amaze with their realism and composition. About the paintings of Alexander Andreevich Ivanov, his biography and unusual facts in it will be described in this article.

Biography

Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov was born in 1806. His father was a professor of painting and worked at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Already at the age of eleven, Alexander enters the academy as an "outsider" student. He studied with the support and supervision of his father, as well as the Society for the Encouragement of Artists.

In 1824, for one of his paintings, Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov received a small gold medal, and three years later, a large medal of the Academy. Seeing the ability of the artist, the society of trustees decides to send him abroad to develop and improve his talent. However, before that, he was commissioned to paint a picture onantique theme, which he completed in 1830. This painting is titled “Joseph Interpreting Dreams.”

Travel to Europe

Alexander Ivanov went to Europe, first to Germany, where he stopped for a while in Dresden, and then went to Rome. Upon arrival in Italy, the artist almost immediately begins to work and develop his talent. First of all, Ivanov copied Michelangelo Buanarotti's fresco "The Creation of Man", located in the Sistine Chapel. He also improved his skills in writing Bible stories and studied the Gospel and the New Testament.

As the master himself said, it was during his stay in Italy that he had the idea to create a large-scale canvas about the appearance of Jesus Christ in the world. In 1834-1835 he paints the painting "The Appearance of the Risen Jesus Christ to Mary Magdalene". After finishing work on it, the public of Rome highly appreciated the result.

In 1836, the canvas was sent to St. Petersburg, where, after rave reviews from critics and the public, the artist was awarded the title of academician of painting. This work became a kind of preparation for writing a large-scale canvas dedicated to Jesus.

Main Creation

Inspired by the success, the artist takes up the writing of a new work - the painting "The Appearance of Christ to the People." The master began to write it in 1837, and finished only 20 years later. The artist worked on the painting in Italy, where along the way he developed his skills, studying the works of Renaissance artists and getting his hands onon copying them.

While working on the painting, Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov painted more than 600 sketches from nature. It was not only large-scale, but also very painstaking work. The artist himself called the plot of the canvas "worldwide". The canvas has a deep meaning, in addition to the very appearance of the Savior before the people, there is a special symbolism in it that shows humanity during such an important moment.

In the center is John the Baptist, who performs the rite of baptism in the Jordan, and also indicates to everyone the approaching Christ. Several apostles are depicted next to the Baptist: Peter, Andrew the First-Called, the young John the Theologian, and Nathanael, who is called the doubter.

In the foreground you can see old men and young men, which in the symbolism of painting means unceasing life. In the figure closest to Christ, one can catch the similarity with the portrait of N. V. Gogol. A. Ivanov will create its separate version in 1841.

An interesting fact is that in the wanderer with a staff, which is located on the canvas near John, you can recognize the features of the artist himself. Despite the fact that the picture has a rich multi-figure, in general it is perfectly balanced. In addition to the beautifully drawn faces and figures of the characters, the work has an excellent color palette and realism.

The fate of the canvas

After completing work on the painting, the artist in 1858 decided to send it to St. Petersburg for a strict trial by critics and art lovers. He also decides to go to the capital, and after deliveringher paintings are exhibited in one of the showrooms of the Academy of Arts. The exhibition itself made a serious impression on the audience and caused a lot of positive and admiring reviews.

A month after his arrival in St. Petersburg, the artist died. A few hours after the news of his death, Emperor Alexander II purchased the painting for 15 thousand rubles, which was a very impressive amount at that time. After the purchase, he donated the painting to the Rumyantsev Museum, but after a while it was moved from the Northern capital to Moscow and settled in Pashkov's house. The museum was forced to build a separate room to display the painting.

Currently, this painting by Alexander Andreevich Ivanov is in the Tretyakov Gallery, studies and sketches for it are located there, as well as in the State Russian Museum.

Reason unknown

As mentioned earlier, A. A. Ivanov created a portrait of the great Russian writer N. V. Gogol. However, for unknown reasons, Gogol did not like the portrait. He is also silent about them in correspondence with his friend Pogodin. Most likely, we will never know about the true reasons for the dislike of his portrait by the great writer.

It is known that the artist created two portraits of the writer, one almost identical to the other, with only a slight difference. Currently, one of them is in the Tretyakov Gallery, and the other - in the Russian Museum. The portrait is distinguished by realism and naturalness, while it is devoid of any solemnity. He seems to be showinga real Gogol, not a festive picture.

During his life, A. A. Ivanov created a huge number of works that are highly valued not only in Russia, but also in the rest of the cultural world. He was repeatedly called the modern Raphael or Michelangelo. It can be said for sure that he was one of the greatest masters of his time, who managed to leave a mark on the cultural and artistic world.