Artist Vasily Polenov: biography, creativity

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

The second half of the 19th century was the heyday of Russian painting. One of the representatives of the galaxy of outstanding artists of this period is Vasily Polenov, whose paintings amaze with realism and the desire to "give happiness and joy." The last words belong to the painter himself and are the motto of his work and life, as evidenced by the artist's biography.

Parents

The future famous artist was born into a cultured and fairly we althy noble family in 1844. His father, Dmitry Polenov, was known as a keen archaeologist and bibliographer. Mother, Maria Alekseevna, nee Voeikova, was engaged in painting and wrote books for children. She was the daughter of Vera Nikolaevna Lvova, who, after the early death of her parents and before marriage, was brought up in the family of G. Derzhavin.

Childhood

Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov spent his childhood in St. Petersburg, but his family often traveled for the summer to the Olonets Territory and to the Olshanka estateTambov province, owned by the artist's grandmother. Vera Nikolaevna adored her grandchildren and loved to entertain them by telling epics, legends and fairy tales. She was also well acquainted with Russian and European poetry, so she played a big role in shaping the artistic taste of little Vasya. As for the birth of his love for painting, his mother was engaged in drawing with children. She also insisted that her husband hire tutors for Vasily and her youngest daughter Elena. P. Chistyakov was invited as a teacher, who at that time was studying at the Academy of Arts himself. In parallel with this, the boy attended the gymnasium and showed great zeal for learning.

Student years

In 1863, Vasily Polenov graduated from high school and, together with his younger brother Alexei, entered St. Petersburg University at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. However, the love of painting was stronger than the passion for science, and in the evenings the young man attended the Academy of Arts. In addition, young Polenov was fond of music, was a frequent visitor to the opera house and even sang in the student choir of the Academy.

Soon the young man took a leave of absence from the university and devoted all his time to painting. In 1867 Vasily Polenov graduated from the Academy of Arts. At the same time, he received silver medals for studies and drawings.

Immediately after that, the young man returned to university, but changed faculty and began studying law.

Meeting with Repin

In 1869, Vasily Polenov had a burning desire to receive the gold medal of the Academy of Arts. With thishis goal was to paint the painting "Job and his friends." She received a small reward and gave him the right to continue in the competition. The new task was to create the painting "The Resurrection of the Daughter of Jairus", and Ivan Repin became the rival of the young artist.

The result of the competition was unexpected: both masters of the brush presented excellent works, so the jury awarded them big gold medals and a trip to Europe.

In 1872, Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich and Repin went first to Germany, and then to Italy and Paris. The capital of France so fascinated the artist that he decided to stay there. In Paris, Polenov painted the painting "The Arrest of the Countess d'Etremont", for which, after returning to Russia, he was awarded the title of academician. The talent of the painter was also appreciated by representatives of the imperial family. In 1876, he took the position of court painter and went to the Russian-Turkish war, where he was at the headquarters of Tsarevich Alexander.

Moscow period

Returning from the theater of operations, Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich settled in Moscow and began teaching at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. There his students were I. Levitan, K. Korovin, I. Ostroukhov, A. Arkhipov, E. Tatevosyan and A. Golovin.

At the same time, the artist himself wrote a lot, and in 1877 he presented his work "Moscow Yard" at the 6th traveling exhibition. The picture was a resounding success, and Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich was recognized as the founder of a new genre, called by critics "intimatescenery.”

Another significant event of the Moscow period of the artist's life was his decision to join the Wanderers, among whom by that time he had many friends.

Bible Themes

Old Testament and Christian stories from the very beginning were present in the work of Polenov. In search of inspiration in 1881-1882, the artist traveled to biblical places in the Middle East. He visited Constantinople, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. From the trip, the artist Polenov Vasily brought sketches and sketches for the painting "Christ and the Sinner" and other works written under the impression of what he saw. Some of them delighted Pavel Tretyakov, who purchased paintings for his collection.

Image of Christ

In 1883, the painter went to Italy with his wife. There he continued to work on the painting "Christ and the Sinner", which he presented to the public at the 15th exhibition of the Wanderers. The canvas made a splash, and the desire to see it in his museum was announced by Emperor Alexander III, who favored the artist since the Russian-Turkish war.

In 1888, Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich painted another famous painting on a biblical theme - "On the Lake of Tiberias (Genisaret)". On the new canvas, he again depicted Christ - a man with an oriental type of face and with the look of a sage, but not a sufferer. Moreover, an important "protagonist" of the picture was a landscape painted according to sketches made by the artist from life intravel time to Middle East.

Life in Bekhovo

In the 1890s, Vasily Polenov, whose biography is a long list of successes, decided to leave the capital and move to the Tula region. There, on the banks of the Oka, he built a house. Somewhat later, workshops were attached to the main building, in which Polenov taught drawing to rural children. The painter gave the name Borok to the founded estate and began to make efforts to turn it into a folk museum over time.

Vasily Polenov: "Golden Autumn"

Views of the environs of Borok won the heart of the artist. It was they who became the theme of the works that Vasily Polenov wrote in the early 1890s. "Golden Autumn" occupies a special place among them. The canvas depicts the banks of the Oka, bordered by birch trees in bright decoration. The painting is exhibited in the museum-estate "Polenovo" (the former estate "Borok") and is strikingly different from the early landscapes painted by Vasily Polenov ("Overgrown Pond", "Old Mill", etc.).

After 1917

After the October Revolution, Polenov took an active part in organizing a theater circle in the Borok estate and worked a lot with peasant youth.

At the same time, he painted the painting "Spill on the Oka", which became one of the best works of the artist's mature period.

Last years of life

In 1924, in honor of the artist's 80th birthday, a personal exhibition of Vasily Dmitrievich's works was arranged in the Tretyakov Gallery. In general, the Soviet government wasfavorable to the artist. In particular, in 1926 the painter was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR. Most likely, this was due to Polenov's charitable activities and his desire to contribute to public education with all his might even at a time when only rare representatives of the Russian intelligentsia were engaged in this.

July 18, 1927, the painter died. The artist was buried on the banks of the Oka, in the vicinity of the estate Borok founded by him.

Polenovo

In 1931, the Soviet government decided to establish a museum in the Borok estate. It was renamed Polenovo, and the interiors that were during the life of the artist are preserved there. Interesting cultural events are regularly held there and paintings by a famous painter are exhibited.

Now you know the main events of the biography of V. Polenov and the history of the creation of some of his most significant works, which are among the masterpieces of Russian fine art of the 19th century.