Singer of the proletariat Nikolai Kasatkin

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

This artist, whose paintings are of a social nature, refers to the life of the people, dedicates the first works to the peasants and connects creativity with the fate of the working people. It shows people who are able to protect their interests.

An artist calling to fight

Nikolai Kasatkin was born in 1859. The gifted boy enters the School of Painting in Moscow and learns from the famous artists V. Perov and I. Pryanishnikov. A young author who graduated from an institution with a silver medal is invited to work in a large book publishing house.

In the 90s of the XIX century, the painter turns to the theme of work and life of the working class. Under the influence of the proletarian movement, which is beginning to gain strength, Nikolai Kasatkin paints pictures of the hard work of ordinary people, sees their poverty and reveals the beauty of unbroken workers. For example, the miners, whom the author often depicts, embodied his ideas about a new force that is growing stronger day by day. He thinks it's not worth itto create beautiful canvases that caress the eyes of the townsfolk, but it is necessary to pay attention to the hard labor of workers and call for a fight against the exploiters.

Real scenes from the life of working people

Nikolay Kasatkin is the artist who was the first to tell about the hard lot of miners. His canvases, striking with the significance of the images, are painted in a gloomy range of colors, and such coloring is justified by realistic plots. The author, who travels a lot around the country, sees poverty, but does not try to portray his characters in such a way as to arouse sympathy from society. He writes highly social works from the life of workers and peasants, chooses dramatic subjects, but is not limited to everyday realism.

There is no excessive sentimentality in the canvases, and people engaged in hard labor do not look crushed and broken. A single human tragedy is perceived by the audience as typical.

Image of a new person

The artist, who received the title of academician of painting, welcomes revolutionary events and paints canvases depicting workers struggling with power. According to the author, works of art are obliged to agitate and ring the bell, indicating the existing problems.

After 1917, Nikolai Kasatkin combines Russian realism and Soviet art in his work. He paints pictures dedicated to the life and struggle of the proletariat, takes an active part in the work of the Russian Academy of Arts. In the Soviet period, the painter is working on the image of a new person and creates a whole series of portraits of Komsomol members - young fightersfor communism, because he sees the future of the country in young faces.

Community Mission

The works of the Soviet artist are shown at traveling exhibitions, which are eagerly awaited by illiterate peasants. Downtrodden people who cannot read see the injustice, troubles and grief of the working people on the canvases, and a protest against the exploiters rises in their souls. Thus, Nikolai Kasatkin, whose paintings open up a new world of images and feelings, fulfills not only a cultural, but also a social mission.

A whole gallery of female portraits

The artist creates amazingly beautiful images of Soviet women, emaciated, but not losing their dignity and not causing compassion in the viewer. His works delight with expressiveness, precise lines and inner charm of the depicted characters.

Miner

A charming study filled with a special light, recognized as a treasure of Russian painting art. A smiling young girl, confident in her abilities, proudly looks at the viewer. Her image is full of inner warmth, and the need has not yet had time to leave its mark on her, and this canvas stands out among other gloomy canvases of a supporter of realistic art. The artist conveys the complex spiritual world of the girl, paying close attention to the plasticity of her face and hands, and the viewer does not even notice the poverty of the miner's outfit.

Watercolor study

Another wonderful study that came out from under the hand of Kasatkin,It's called "Woman's Head". The light watercolor canvas, written in 1908, attracts the eyes of the audience. No one knows where the artist met this girl, whose image echoes the "Miner", only there the character of the worker is expressed more sharply. A charming dark-haired beauty from the working environment, with inner strength, does not make eye contact, but it is impossible to take your eyes off her.

Girl at the fence

The work, which depicts a poorly dressed girl who recently moved to the city from the village, makes the viewer worry about the fate of a pure and bright soul. It is clear that nothing good awaits her here, except for slave labor, rudeness and ruthlessness of people. But while a sweet girl, who knows nothing about the cruelty of society, is captured against the backdrop of green leaves, one can only guess how her fate will turn out.

The singer of the proletariat Nikolai Kasatkin, who left a valuable legacy, understood the trends in the social development of Russia and saw in the proletariat a powerful force that could change the usual course of history.