Russian artist Pavel Chelishchev: biography, creativity

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

Pavel Fedorovich Chelishchev is a famous Russian artist who has gained fame all over the world. This article presents his biography and work, as well as photos of some of his works.

Writing about this man is not easy. Biographers disagree on some events in the life of Pavel Fedorovich and their interpretations, there is no single point of view about the facts, dates, and the assessment of his works and environment, philosophical and religious views, as well as the interpretation of his paintings are different. Of course, art historians have yet to understand the work and biography of the great Russian artist.

The origin and childhood of Chelishchev

Chelishchev Pavel Fedorovich was born on September 21, 1898 in the Kaluga province (the village of Dubrovka). His father was Fedor Sergeevich Chelishchev, a landowner.

The future artist, apparently, grew up as an impressionable, addicted child. He became interested in art quite early: pencil portraits of his three sisters, made in adolescence, made by Chelishchev, have been preserved. Fedor Sergeevich supported the artistic talent and interest in the art of his son. He invited private teachers for him, who gave him painting lessons. Fedor Sergeevichsubscribed to the magazine "World of Art". It is also known that in 1907 the Children's Art School in Moscow had the honor of teaching Pavel Chelishchev.

As a result of all this, the future artist became seriously interested in various ways of creative self-expression. At some point, according to biographical sources, he became very interested in ballet. However, drawing became his main passion. Not only the Children's Art School in Moscow opened its doors for him. In 1907, Chelishchev also attended art classes operating at Moscow University.

There is a legend that says that the works of Pavel, performed by him in his teens, were once shown to Konstantin Korovin with a request to accept Chelishchev as a student. However, he said that Pavel was already an artist, and he had nothing to teach him.

Revolution in the fate of Chelishchev

The biography of Pavel Fedorovich would probably continue, like many talented art lovers, with information about entering the MUZHVZ or the Academy of Arts, would be replete with creative trips, participation in various art associations. However, a revolution has come. In 1916-1918. Pavel Chelishchev nevertheless studied in Moscow, but in 1918 his family, according to the legend, was evicted from Dubrovka on Lenin's personal order. She moved to Kyiv to escape the persecution of the authorities.

Life in Kyiv

Pavel Fedorovich continued his art education in Kyiv. In the period from 1918 to 1920, Chelishchev studied at the icon-painting workshop, took painting lessons from AdolfMilman and Alexandra Exter, attended the Academy of Arts. In Kyiv, the artist painted lyrical landscapes, and also created canvases in the cubist style. In addition, Chelishchev worked for the theater of K. A. Marjanashvili. In 1919, he made sketches of scenery and costumes for the operetta "Geisha" by S. Jones in the processing of I. Karil. Unfortunately, the production of this performance did not take place. In the same year, the artist joined the Volunteer Army, where he served as a cartographer.

Moving to Constantinople

Further, according to some sources, he moved to Odessa in 1920 (here Pavel Fedorovich allegedly worked as an artist in the theater). Other sources testify to his move to Novorossiysk in the same year, from where he allegedly emigrated to Constantinople with Denikin's army. Only the last fact finds confirmation: Chelishchev arrived in Constantinople in 1920.

In this city, he created scenery for a number of ballet performances by Viktor Zimin and Boris Knyazev. In the works of this period, the influence of Exter is still quite strong. Together with Knyazev in the spring of 1921, Chelishchev moved to Sofia. Here he designed a book called "Exodus to the East. Premonitions and Accomplishments. Statement of the Eurasians", and also painted several portraits.

Life in Berlin

In the company of Knyazev in the fall of 1921, Chelishchev settled in Berlin. Here in the early 20s of the last century there were many Russian artists: K. L. Boguslavskaya, A. P. Archipenko, M. Z. Shagal, I. A. Puni, S. I. Sharshun and others. In this city Chelishchev began to paint portraits to order, still lifes and landscapes. In addition, as a theater artist, he collaborated with the Russian Romantic Theater (he worked on its scenery), the Königgrätzerstrasse theater, and the Blue Bird cabaret. Chelishchev even designed the scenery for the Berlin Opera, which staged the opera "The Golden Cockerel" by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Paris years

Together with the troupe of Boris Romanov, who directed the Russian Romantic Theater, in 1923 Chelishchev left Berlin and went to Paris. Here he finally began to seriously engage in painting (before that, the artist worked almost exclusively in graphics - book, theater, etc.). Chelishchev's Still Life "Basket of Strawberries" was appreciated by Gertrude Stein herself, who bought it. In those years, this writer had great authority in the artistic circles of Paris. A friendship developed between her and Chelishchev. Gertrude patronized Pavel Fedorovich, helped him financially, and also introduced him to her salon, which was visited only by the most talented and famous representatives of the new art.

Chelishchev deserved recognition and became quite a popular master. Since 1925, he began to take part in the salons of artists, held annually. In particular, Chelishchev participated in the Autumn Salon. The gallery "Drouet" in 1926 hosted the first exhibition of neo-humanists, which also featured the work of Pavel Fedorovich.

Decoration of the ballet "Ode"

Chelischev in Paris became known as a theater artist. In 1928, Pavel Fedorovich designed the ballet "Ode" for the troupe of S. Diaghilev. Performancestaged according to the ode of Lomonosov. Sergei Lifar, the leading actor, recalled that Diaghilev first entrusted the production to one of his proteges, but he did not meet the deadlines, so he had to personally direct it in the conditions of general confusion and severe time pressure. The performance turned out to be too innovative even for the Parisian public, which was distinguished by its particular sophistication.

The birth of Chelishchev's own style

At this time, Chelishchev's own style was born in the reworking and fusion of cubic and realistic trends. The mid-20s in his work passed under the sign of neo-romanticism (neo-humanism). He created many portraits of his acquaintances and friends. The artist began to be more and more interested in depicting the essence of a person, and not his appearance. However, Chelishchev's portraits of the 1920s were still executed in a realistic vein. Over time, the idea of the supremacy of the inner content, its prevalence over the exterior, was transformed into the so-called "anatomical" or "neon" heads. They literally show the internal structure of a person.

Friendship with Edith Sitwell and C. G. Ford

In the salon of Gertrude Stein, Pavel Chelishchev met two people who played an important role in his life - Edith Sitwell (English poetess) and Charles Henry Ford (American writer and poet).

Edith Chelishchev met in 1928. She became his close friend for many years. In addition, Sitwell became Chelishchev's new patroness in the art world. She organized exhibitions, morally and financially supported PavelFedorovich. In the early 1930s, an acquaintance with C. G. Ford took place. In 1934, friends left Paris and went to New York. After some time they moved to Italy. Only with the death of Pavel Chelishchev (in 1957) did their relationship end. Evidence of friendship with Edith Sitwell and Charles Ford were numerous sketches and portraits. By the way, after some time, another character began to appear frequently in the portraits of the artist - actress Ruth Ford, Charles's sister.

New York period

Chelishchev's art in New York blossomed in full force. The artist began to work in new areas of graphics - he created covers for Vogue and View magazines, and also designed wine labels. Chelishchev began to work freely in painting, without driving himself into the framework of one style or another. At this time, psychological portraits, created in a realistic way, side by side with "metamorphic landscapes" - fake paintings made in a surrealist spirit. The artist in his fake works experiments with images of animals, people, trees, leaves, grass, and other forms of nature. A photo of one of the works of this period - "Children-leaves" (1939) - is presented above. By the way, the first such paintings, filled with surrealistic figures and forms, were painted by Pavel Fedorovich back in the 1920s, that is, almost 10 years earlier than Breton, Dali, Magritte and other surrealists recognized today.

Metaphysical heads

In the 1940s, Chelishchev created a series"metaphysical heads" (one of them is presented above). The analytical painting of P. Filonov left its mark on the style of these works. Human figures in Chelishchev's paintings are translucent so that knots, vessels, and the skeleton are visible.

It is generally accepted that in these works the artist tried to depict the essence of man. By "essence" the artist understood energy. At first, he concentrated on depicting nerves and blood vessels, which, according to Chelishchev, are the pathways for energy transmission. In the future, Pavel Chelishchev stopped depicting "paths". He began to paint the energy itself, presented as a structure of luminous spirals, ovals and circles (one of such portraits is presented below).

First solo exhibition

In 1942, Pavel Chelishchev became officially recognized in New York and all over the world, whose paintings by that time were already very famous. It was then, in 1942, that his first solo exhibition took place at MOMA, which was a huge success. At the same time, Chelishchev's Hide and Seek (pictured below) became one of the most popular paintings in the museum's exposition, along with Picasso's Guernica.

New Rayonism

Chelishchev often faced misunderstanding in his life. The fame that fell upon the artist further exposed his loneliness in the crowd of admirers who could not share his views and ideas. Chelishchev at the end of the 1940s practically abandoned society. Possibly from-for this, his painting finally lost its figurativeness. The artist moved to abstraction. He began to create complex geometric shapes. Tchelishchev wanted to show the refraction of light rays in a limited space. This style would later be called New Rayonism. One example of such paintings is "Apotheosis" of 1954. A photo of this work is presented below.

Last years of life. Chelishchev's grave

Missing Europe, in 1951 the artist went to Italy, to a villa located near Rome in Frascati. Pavel Chelishchev lived in Italy for several years. During this time, the artist gained great fame in Europe. Two solo exhibitions held in Paris were a huge success. Pavel Chelishchev died in 1957 in Frascati. He died of a heart attack, which was mistaken for pneumonia.

First, Pavel Fedorovich was buried in Frascati, on the porch of the local Orthodox monastery. Then Alexandra Zausailova, his sister, reburied the ashes of the artist at the Père Lachaise cemetery in France. However, the first burial place of Pavel Chelishchev has also been preserved. Currently, the remains of the artist rest in the Pere Lachaise cemetery.

Promotion of creativity

After the death of Pavel Fedorovich, C. Ford and his sister Ruth, the closest people to the artist, did everything possible not only to maintain interest in his work, but also to popularize Chelishchev's work in every possible way. They organized expositions several times, and also exhibited paintings by Pavel Fedorovich onopen auctions. In 2010, an auction of the artist's works took place in New York, where the "Portrait of Ruth Ford" was sold for almost 5 times the original cost. This painting became the most expensive work of Chelishchev sold on the market. For the past 10 years, the poet K. Kedrov, his great-nephew, has been popularizing the work of Pavel Fedorovich in our country.