Vladimir Andreevich Favorsky: biography, creativity. Favorsky engravings

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

The first schedule of the Moscow school - Favorsky Vladimir Andreevich. The artist's biography includes not only creativity, but also participation in the First World War, and work on numerous theoretical works, and teaching. But he is primarily known as a book illustrator. Many will unmistakably recognize his drawings for the works of W. Shakespeare and S. Ya. Marshak.

Youth

It can be said that Favorsky was destined to connect his life with art as the successor of the family tradition. His grandfather, mother and great-grandmother were artists. The great Russian illustrator was born in 1886 in Moscow. Constantly watching how his mother draws, he himself took up brushes and pencils. Initially, painting was perceived by him as a pleasant pastime - nothing more. But having entered the world of art, Favorsky remained here forever and set as his goal to introduce as many people as possible to it. He began his career as a painter, showing great promise. But later I chose graphics as the closestto the people an art form.

The artist's childhood, spent in the circle of a loving family, was devoid of adversity. The closest relatives - artists, architects, sculptors - contributed to the fact that interest in art became stronger and stronger. And when the time came to go to school, in addition to basic education, it was decided to send the boy to the private art school of K. F. Yuon.

Study

Simultaneously with visiting Yuon's school, the young man attended the evening courses of the Stroganov School. After graduating from the gymnasium, he went to Munich and entered the Faculty of Economics, but soon realized that this was absolutely not his occupation. In 1906, the young man entered a private educational institution, which was led by the Hungarian artist of Armenian origin Shimon Kholloshi. Vladimir Andreevich Favorsky will always remember this teacher with gratitude as one of his favorite mentors. Without a doubt, he had a great influence on the formation of young talent and the formation of his artistic principles.

University of Munich, meanwhile, Favorsky did not quit and took a course in art history there. In 1907 he returned to Russia and continued his art studies at Moscow University.

Family life

In the last year of the university, in 1812, Vladimir Andreevich Favorsky married Maria Derviz, a lovely girl with a lively character, in addition to all other virtues, also a promising artist. Among her relatives was ValentineSerov, who in every possible way encouraged Maria's craving for art. She studied painting in St. Petersburg and in France. In Moscow, like her future husband, she was a student of Yuon, and then the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Maria was not destined to become a great artist, but the circumstances of her life were to blame, and not the lack of talent. Despite this, until the end of her days, she was a friend and helper for her husband. For the last decade of her life, she worked on her memoirs, thanks to which Favorsky's researchers were able to restore some pages of his biography.

The artist had three children: two sons, Nikita and Ivan, and a daughter, Maria. Both brothers volunteered for the front when the Great Patriotic War began. The eldest died in the first year of the war, the youngest did not live a couple of months before the end. And Maria Vladimirovna became a ceramic artist and keeper of family archives.

Artist maturity

After graduating from the institute, Vladimir Andreevich Favorsky was engaged in teaching and worked on the theory of art. With the outbreak of World War I, he goes to the front and goes through the entire war. The artist returned to Moscow in 1918 with the rank of ensign. After the army, he quickly joined the creative life of the capital.

The artist resumed teaching. In the 1920s, he headed one of the departments of the Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops (VKhUTEMAS), taught students engraving and woodcuts. In 1923 he became the rector of VKHUTEMAS. Favorsky begins work ondesigning the books of Pushkin and Tolstoy, and since then book graphics have become one of the main things in his life.

At the same time, he closely communicates with the philosopher P. A. Florensky. Cooperation, reinforced by friendship and kinship of characters, enriched them both. In many theoretical positions of the artist, one can notice the influence of Florensky. Together they joined the Left Front of the Arts (LEF). Because of their belief in the predominance of the spiritual over the intellectual, they were dubbed a group of "industrial mystics."

By the end of the 1930s, the artist is increasingly delving into the theory of art. Writes articles and reports, teaches at the All-Russian Academy of Arts. He continues to engage in engraving, designs books, collaborates with the Moscow Art Theater. Participates in exhibitions in Venice and Paris.

Favorsky entered the 40s as a mature master. The artist received recognition and the opportunity to work on the most interesting orders. His skill continues to grow, the technique is improved. The depth of images and the expressiveness of the stroke are honed.

Recent years

In his declining years, the artist reaped the well-deserved fruits of his work. In 1956 he became an Honored Artist of the RSFSR, in 1959 - a People's Artist of the RSFSR, and in 1963 - a People's Artist of the USSR. Receives gold medals at international exhibitions in Brussels, Leipzig and Sao Paulo. And in the spring of 1962, Favorsky was awarded the Lenin Prize for achievements in illustration. This does not mean that the artist rested on his laurels - he continues to work on a series of drawings, engravings,is painting. The artist passed away as a venerable master at the end of 1963. His grave is in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Theoretical views

Favorsky carefully developed and designed his theoretical program. The concept was based on lectures given by the professor to his students. From them, he began the design and systematization of his vision of art. As a result, the books "About Art, About a Book, About Engraving", "Type, Its Types and the Relationship of Illustration with Type", "Lectures on the Theory of Composition" were born. In them, Favorsky talked about the process of interaction with the form and its embodiment on the plane. He considered the topic of interpretation of lines, the role of the plane in painting and graphics. To each type of surface, the artist attributes his own composition and "pictorial quality".

Whatever aspect of creativity Favorsky talked about, the refrain was the idea that its production and ideological components should be indivisible and balanced. Roll in any direction causes deformation and leads to the degeneration of art. Creativity should be life-affirming, since the concept of truth is inseparable from the concept of beauty. Aestheticization of ugliness for art should be unacceptable.

Book Graphics

Favorsky often said that he did not illustrate a work, but created a book. He always approached the task in a complex way, creating not only illustrations, but also choosing the font, format, ornament, and proportions. All this should be subject to a single stylistic synthesis. The rhythm of indents, margins and paragraphs should be consonantthe rhythm of the engraving. In his work, Favorsky was guided not only by his creative intuition, but also relied on the experience of antiquity and renaissance. He introduced into everyday life such a thing as "architecture of the book" - the science of proportionality and harmony of all its components.

Favorsky found his own approach to each work. The design of The Tale of Igor's Campaign was inspired by ancient Russian books. Ornaments and initial letters refer the reader to old handwritten texts. The illustrations for Pushkin's "Little Tragedies" are distinguished by high detail, attention to the smallest details. The heroes freeze in theatrical poses and become a symbol of expressed emotions: greed, sorrow, anger, fear. In the illustrations for Gogol's Shponka, grotesque fantastic creatures appear: giant insects, bird-headed people. The visual series not only complements the text, but also serves as a separate work of art that can provide food for thought. One of the works of a mature author is an illustration to S. Spassky's work "New Year's Eve". Their style is dictated by the dramatic plot of the work. The drawings are sharp, bold, dynamic. The artist confidently plays with the composition, while always achieving an impeccable result. Favorsky's engraving gained many admirers and is still valued among collectors.

The artist illustrated Pushkin, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Dante, Gogol, Merimee, Burns, and this is not a complete list of his works. Favorsky not only designed adult literature, he alsoclosely cooperated with the publishing house DETGIZ. The illustration for the poem "If the children of the whole Earth …" is familiar to many from a literature textbook. Barefoot children laugh carelessly and run around in the meadow, enjoying a peaceful life. Every Soviet child must have read Marshak's collection, where there was an illustration for the poem "Mustache-striped" with a naughty kitten.

Other arts

The scope of one type of art was tight for Vladimir Andreevich. He became famous not only for book illustration. In the second half of the 1940s, Favorsky carried out the cycle “Great Russian Generals”, where the greatness and power of Russia is embodied in portraits of prominent people. One of his best works is a portrait of F. M. Dostoevsky. Serious and concentrated, the writer appears before the viewer. The artist does not flatter him, does not embellish reality, does not let in caricature pathos. But in the modest figure of Dostoevsky, anxiety for the Russian people, love for his country and an extraordinary power of thought shine through.

The artist's favorite technique was woodcut and woodcut, but he was also attracted to linocut. This technique was used to create a charming "Samarkand cycle". Having started his career as a painter, Favorsky periodically took up brushes throughout his life. His authorship belongs to the mosaic "1905". He was engaged in sculpture and monumental painting. In addition, the artist collaborated with theaters - he made sketches for productions and costumes, and in his youth even wooden puppets for children's performances. Perwhatever Vladimir Andreevich Favorsky undertook, he did everything with love and great skill. But in the memory of posterity, he remained primarily an outstanding graphic artist and illustrator.