2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
If you look closely, you can see a cat in a shiny teapot, and only one of the eggs is reflected in it. A faceted glass with fresh tea and a smart look of a dog. What story was Petrov-Vodkin trying to convey in the painting “Morning Still Life”? Description of the painting will be given below.
Short biography of the artist
Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin was born in 1878 in the Saratov province. At the age of 27 he graduated from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, among whose mentors was V. A. Serov. After that, he traveled a lot and visited art studios in Europe.
His early works are done in the spirit of symbolism (for example, The Dream, 1911). The painting "Bathing the Red Horse" (1912), which brought the artist worldwide fame, is identified with the fate of Russia. In 1910, the author creates his own artistic and theoretical system, in which he tries to convey"live looking" at the world around him. This trend is trying to convey in his still lifes "Herring" and "Morning Still Life" Petrov-Vodkin. Description of the painting "After the battle" in 1923 makes it clear to the viewer that the artist is trying to idealize the image of the civil war. In the painting "Alarm" of 1934, one can trace the "premonition" of Stalin's policy of "great terror", and "Housewarming" of 1937 seems to ridicule the former bourgeoisie. Petrov-Vodkin liked to turn to literature in his later works (Euclid's Space, 1933) and create "fictitious autobiographies" in them.
The artist died in Leningrad in 1939.
Description of the painting by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin “Morning Still Life”
In a certain period of his work, Petrov-Vodkin focused on still lifes. So, "Morning Still Life" can be described as a kind of "poem" about space and things in it. The artist uses delicate, light colors: bluish bells contrasting with yellow dandelions, a pinkish wooden country table. The objects on this table simultaneously create perspective and are equally close to the viewer. The shape of the objects is definite and clear. The artist deliberately creates an incorrect reflection in the nickel-plated coffee pot and also distorts the spoon behind the glass of tea. By this, Petrov-Vodkin is trying to emphasize that what our eyes see depends on the real properties of the objects themselves.
The artist deliberately introduces living beings into the picture - a dog peeping out from behind the table and a cat thatreflected in the coffee pot. This, in turn, symbolizes the presence of a person. You can also see that "presence" is enhanced by all items on the table. Who, if not a man, brought fresh wildflowers? Who is the dog looking at and whose matches are on the table? The artist specially painted a still life from the side where a person should sit. Thus, the viewer may experience the effect of presence, which was implied in his painting "Morning Still Life" by Petrov-Vodkin.
Description of the painting "Herring" and comparison with "Morning Still Life"
Petrov-Vodkin witnessed turning points in history: the First World War and the Civil War. In 1918, when both of these paintings were painted, the artist lived in St. Petersburg and taught at an art school.
In the picture "Herring" you can see that instead of a table there is a canvas with the artist's initials. It is covered with pink paper (an alternative to a tablecloth). There are few objects: two potatoes, a piece of black bread and a herring on dark blue paper. In "Morning Still Life" the table is more meager (tea, eggs), but the atmosphere of the paintings is similar. They both evoke bright feelings and reflect everyday simplicity.
The artist depicts the severity of time in these paintings, food in those days was scarce and monotonous. That is why the canvases depict albeit meager, but food that people were happy at that difficult time. Both paintings are filled with light sadness and joy at the same time.
Thus depictseveryday life, filled with simple joys, in his painting "Morning Still Life" by Petrov-Vodkin. The description of the painting given in the article opens up a huge scope for reflection on how the artist lived, how he saw the world around him and how he tried to convey it to today's viewers.
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