Artist Bogdanov-Belsky Nikolai Petrovich: biography, features of creativity, best paintings

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

N. P. Bogdanov-Belsky is a Russian artist whose works are kept in the most famous museums in the world. His life and work coincided with a turning point in the history of Russia. To date, there are no serious studies of his creative heritage. Even the encyclopedic dictionary "Russian Artists" published in 2000 does not mention the work of this outstanding master.

The painter of the Russian village - this is how you can characterize the essence of the artistic style that distinguished N. P. Bogdanov-Belsky. Although he was a successful artist of the upper class, the ruling dynasty and the royal aristocracy often commissioned portraits from him, but he was really fascinated by the theme of simple village life. The son of a laborer from the Smolensk province, even having risen to the heights of creative recognition, saw the deep soul of the Russian village and conveyed it on the canvases of his paintings.

Childhood

He was born on December 8 (20), 1868. Onothing is known to the mother of the future academician, except that she was a laborer and a bean. The church bell ringer became the first teacher. Under his supervision, the boy learned to read and write. The ability to draw began to appear at an early age - a six-year-old village boy tried to depict on paper the life around him.

The next stage of education is the Shopotovo primary two-year school. Here, the founder of the folk school in Tatevo, S. A. Rachinsky, saw a capable boy. Under his patronage there were 30 schools where village children studied. A highly educated man, a professor at Moscow University, Rachinsky made significant efforts to improve the lives of peasant children. In the school art workshop, he himself was engaged in painting and drawing with his students. The two years of study that N. P. Bogdanov spent at this educational institution largely determined his future life.

First painting

The artistic talent of the student was so obvious that in 1881 S. A. Rachinsky sent him to continue his studies to master icon painters. At the same time, he determines the financial support for his pupil - 25 rubles a month.

The first painting with which the 16-year-old painter took part in an art exhibition was Spruce Forest. According to V. D. Polenov and V. A. Serov, everything in it breathed the natural simplicity and beauty of the Russian landscape. The artistic debut was also successful commercially. The painting was bought by the collector Sapozhnikov. Two years later, the young man begins a five-yearstudying at the Moscow Art School (1884–1889).

Completion of education

From the age of 18, a young artist begins to earn his living through artistic work. His paintings are sold, and this money is enough for food and continued education. In addition, he still receives support from S. A. Rachinsky, who is closely following the fate of his pupil.

After graduating from the landscape department of the art school, where he studied with the famous artists V. D. Polenov and I. M. Pryanishnikov, in 1894 N. P. Bogdanov continued his education at the school at the Academy of Arts. I. E. Repin became his teacher during this period. The training lasts a little over a year. In 1895, the young artist decides to continue his education abroad. In subsequent years, he works and studies in France, Germany, Italy. N. P. Bogdanov graduated from the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1903. At the same time, the artist receives the second part of his last name. When signing the diploma on awarding him the title of academician, Emperor Nicholas II, with his own hand, added Belsky to the surname Bogdanov through a hyphen. Under this name, Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky, whose paintings are recognized masterpieces of painting, remained in the history of Russian and world fine arts. The Academy of Arts recognized him as a full member at the age of 46 (1914).

Emigration

The painter could not accept the revolutionary events of 1917. His relationship with the new authoritiesformed, and in 1921 N. P. Bogdanov-Belsky emigrated from Soviet Russia. His new place of residence was Latvia. He never returned to Russia. The Latvian period of the artist's life lasted 23 years.

He works hard. The calm nature of Latgale with its lakes, forests and meadows pleased the artist. During this period, he created many landscapes and still lifes. But the children's theme is clearly seen in the work of the painter. A whole series of paintings about children comes out from under his brush. The little characters in the paintings are very touching and depicted with great love. As a high award for creativity and educational activities - awarding the Order of the Three Stars. His exhibitions were successfully held all over the world. The years of emigration became the period of the second flowering of the talent of the great Russian artist.

One picture as a mirror of creativity

A distinctive feature of the work of N. P. Bogdanov-Belsky is almost photographic accuracy in the transfer of details on his canvases. An example is the description of the painting "Virtuoso". Bogdanov-Belsky depicted on canvas a group of village children who are enthusiastically listening to the play of a young balalaika player. Carefully, with filigree meticulousness, the artist prescribes the smallest details of the uncomplicated village clothes of his heroes. The expression of children's faces, carried away by music, a birch grove, the detachment of a teenager playing the balalaika - Bogdanov-Belsky's painting "Virtuoso" is full of details that reveal the inner world of its characters. And such a "documentary" approach tothe transfer of details can be traced in almost all the creations of the great artist.

Behind the prescription of years

Unbelievable, but to date there is no complete catalog of paintings by a recognized master. His works were exported to different countries. Although most of the paintings are well known not only to specialists, but also to a wide audience. However, there are still disputes about the period of writing this or that canvas. It is believed that the already mentioned painting by N. Bogdanov-Belsky "Virtuoso" was painted by the artist in 1891. But a number of researchers of the painter's work believe that it was created in a later period, around 1912-1913. This is a period of creativity that took place in the village of Ostrovno, near Lake Udomlya. One of the residents of the village, who was born in 1903, Agafya Nilovna Ivanova, was among the children depicted by the artist in this picture.

And this is only one mystery among the series of white spots that accompany any biography of the painter. The artist Bogdanov-Belsky, whose paintings are known all over the world, is still waiting for his interested biographer.

Last year of life

In 1944, the great artist's he alth deteriorated markedly. Because of this, he had to go to Germany, where he was treated in one of the Berlin clinics. However, the efforts of German doctors did not bring recovery. The great painter N. P. Bogdanov-Belsky passed away at the age of 77. Death of a Russianthe artist went almost unnoticed - Germany was losing the war. Berlin was preparing to repel the attacks of the approaching Red Army. This happened on February 19, 1945. His last refuge in exile was the Russian cemetery Tegel on the outskirts of the German capital.

Instead of afterword

Could a peasant woman from the Smolensk province, overworked by overworking laborers, have imagined that her son would go down in the history of world painting under the name Bogdanov-Belsky? Nikolai, whose descriptions of paintings in our time occupy pride of place in the catalogs of the world's best exhibitions, also could not guess what a brilliant future in art awaits him. Unfortunately, the talent of the great Russian painter was undeservedly forgotten in his homeland. But the faces of hundreds of characters in his paintings continue to live in exhibitions and on the pages of artistic photo albums. And it seems that the artist himself looks into modern life through their eyes. His gaze from the past is inquisitive. After all, our reality was created by the efforts of the heroes of his paintings.