Perov Vasily Grigorievich: paintings, their names and descriptions

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

Vasily Grigorievich Perov (1834-1882) - the great Russian artist-itinerant. During his lifetime, he was recognized as one of the best representatives of everyday realistic and historical painting, an outstanding portrait master. In the article we will consider the most famous paintings by Perov Vasily Grigorievich with names, we will give a brief description of each of them.

The Wanderers

Perov is known to us as the organizer and representative of an independent association of Russian artists of the late 19th century, which functioned under the name "Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions". Members of this association were also called - itinerant artists. They contrasted their works with the works of "academicians" with their canvases on biblical and mythological subjects and portraits in ceremonial style. The so-called salon landscapes were popular. Russian academic artists include, for example, Alexander Ivanov and Karl Bryullov.

The Wanderers drew inspiration from the history of the people and their culture. The first exhibition of paintings by artists belonging to this association was held in 1871 in the building where the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts was located. Later these works moved to Moscow, Kyiv, Kharkov. A kind of "hits" of the collection of paintings then became the canvases "Rooks have arrived" by A. Savrasov and "Peter I interrogates Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof" by N. Ge.

Demonstrations of the work of the Wanderers took place in various cities of the Russian Empire. Among the goals of such events were, in particular, the acquaintance of the inhabitants of the Russian provinces with the works of Russian artists and the development of love for art among contemporaries from different walks of life. Along the way, the artists sold their canvases, since there was an association at their own expense. They were acquired both in museums and for private collections. Often the Wanderers painted portraits to order.

Such famous masters as Ilya Repin, Vasily Surikov, Ivan Kramskoy, Ivan Shishkin, Isaac Levitan, Valentin Serov, Vasily Perov and others were involved in the partnership in different periods.

Rural Procession on Easter

Already the initial sketch of this picture, made by the young boarder of the Academy of Arts Vasily Perov in 1861, horrified the council of venerable academic teachers: the priest was depicted in it drunk, barely standing, the majority of the parishioners were the same.

The religious procession, consisting of thoroughly spree parishioners, falls out of the hut onto the slushy slushystreet. Some peasant is holding the icon upside down, and the deacon is lying on the porch almost unconscious from the amount of alcohol he has drunk. And the look of the rest of the participants in the move is very depressing.

I must say that the action takes place during Bright Week, after the celebration of Easter - at this time the priest usually came to visit the parishioners. And on the occasion of the holiday in every house, of course, honor and treats were prepared for him.

The sketch of Vasily Grigorievich Perov's painting "Rural Procession on Easter" was rejected, and the canvas, which the restless Perov later returned to work on, was prohibited. Acquaintances predicted for the artist, instead of his rightful trip to Italy, exile almost to Solovki. The Highest Synod called the painting "slander" and "the death of high art." However, the irony of the artist was quite clear to many: the one who was called to be a spiritual shepherd was in fact far from being higher than the people around him and, of course, no cleaner. He is one of all, with the same sins and weaknesses. Is such a person capable of leading believers? The artist left the answer to this question at the discretion of the public.

Troika

Among the paintings of Perov Vasily Grigorievich, this is perhaps the most tragic and heart-touching work. Its other name is "Apprentice artisans carry water." The artist painted it in 1866. Formally, this is the largest of the artist's works - the size of the canvas is 123.5 by 167.5 cm.

In this picture, the artist deliberately used gloomy, devoidbrightness, dull colors. Three children in rags - two boys and a girl, straining, pull a barrel of ice water. Children are exhausted and exhausted from overwork. The cold winter wind hits them in the face. Behind the barrel is supported and pushed by an adult whose face we can't see, a dog runs to the side of the children.

Here is what critic and art historian V. V. Stasov wrote about this work:

Who among us does not know Perov's "Troika", these Moscow children, who were forced by the owner to drag a huge vat of water on a sled across the icy surface. All these children, probably, are of rural origin and have only been brought to Moscow for fishing. But how much they suffered in this "fishery"! Expressions of hopeless suffering, traces of eternal beatings are drawn on their tired, pale faces; a whole life is told in their rags, in their poses, in the heavy turn of their heads, in their tortured eyes…

This painting made Perov an "artist of the people's great sorrow" and brought him the well-deserved title of academician.

Hunters at rest

The appearance of this canvas caused a lot of emotions among amateurs, connoisseurs of painting and critics. The canvas was compared with the "Notes of a Hunter" by I. S. Turgenev, while accusing the artist of excessive theatricalization of the scene. M. E. S altykov-Shchedrin, for example, spoke about the unnaturalness and pretense of the characters' poses. F. M. Dostoevsky heatedly argued with him, who said:

What a beauty! Of course, to explain - so the Germans will understand, but they will not understand, like us, that this is Russiana lie and that he is lying in Russian. After all, we almost hear and know what he is talking about, we know the whole turn of his lies, his style, his feelings!

So, "Hunters at Rest", which appeared in 1871, continued a series of already known similar paintings by the artist Perov Vasily Grigorievich, such as "Birdcatcher", "Fisherman", "Fishing", "Pigeon", and became the most popular among these canvases.

I must say, Perov, who had already received the position of professor at the Academy of Arts, less and less often embodied in his works scenes telling about the hardships and injustices of folk life, striving for the fullest realization of his artistic skills.

On the canvas "Hunters at Rest" there is a usual frontal composition: having settled down to rest after hunting, three people are sitting, in appearance and their surroundings (guns, game bag and horn, shot game, a hunting dog) - avid hunters. Among the central characters is an elderly "liar", enthusiastically telling his tales about the incredible stories that happened to him on the hunt, his also middle-aged comrade, who scratches his ear, smiling skeptically, and a young hunter, trustingly listening to these stories. The picture is sustained in brownish "autumn" tones. After all, the peak of the hunt was precisely at this time.

About prototypes

In this picture, in fact, there are three portraits at once. As you know, the prototypes of the characters of the work were real people,which, of course, especially fueled the interest of the public. For example, in the figure of a "liar", who enthusiastically tells entertaining, but for the most part unprecedented hunting stories, many recognized Dmitry Kuvshinnikov, a great lover of rifle hunting. Literary historians know that the same person served as Chekhov's prototype for Dymov (the story "The Jumper").

The doctor and amateur painter Vasily Bessonov "played" an ironic and not believing a single word comrade. But the young hunter, naively believing the "lie", was "played" by Nikolai Nagornov, who in the future will become a member of the City Council in Moscow.

Portrait of F. M. Dostoevsky

In 1872, Perov painted one of his best works - a portrait of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, which was commissioned to him by P. M. Tretyakov, the owner of the Art Gallery in Moscow. About that wonderful work, the writer's wife said that Perov managed to catch that "minute of creativity" of the writer, when he, focused on his thoughts, seemed to "look into himself."

Later, the artist I. N. Kramskoy will evaluate this picture with these words:

This portrait is not only the best portrait of Perov, but also one of the best portraits of the Russian school in general. In it, all the strengths of the artist are evident: character, power of expression, huge relief and, which is especially rare and even, one might say, the only time met with Perov, is color. The decisiveness of the shadows and some kind of sharpness and energy of the contours,always inherent in his paintings, in this portrait they are softened by an amazing color and harmony of tones; looking at him, positively, you don’t know what to be more surprised at, but the main advantage remains, of course, the expression of the character of the famous writer and person …

We have given descriptions of paintings by Perov Vasily Grigoryevich - an outstanding Russian artist.