Table of contents:
- About the artist who created the image of the Russian village
- Own school and court service
- The most famous works
- Success and recognition
- Religious painting and miracle
- Venetsianov's main contribution to the world of 19th century art
Video: How the poetic image of peasant Russia in the 19th century was created: The secret of the deafening success of the artist Venetsianov
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Alexei Gavrilovich Venetsianov is one of the greatest Russian artists of the 19th century, best known for his natural and dignified depiction of peasant life and nature. He is credited with the creation of genre painting and the development of the national Russian landscape. Venetsianov is also known for his huge role in training and educating young artists from poor families.
About the artist who created the image of the Russian village
Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov is a creative and extraordinary Russian artist of the 19th century, and, perhaps, one of the most interesting masters of Russian art. Venetsianov is the first Russian painter who managed to discover the art of depicting an ordinary person and create art FOR an ordinary person. He portrayed nature without academic grandeur and "Italian" exuberance. Alexey Venetsianov was the first artist in the history of Russian art who not only demonstrated the life of peasants, rural genres, but also created a poetic image of rural Russia.
Venetsianov was born in Moscow in 1780 into the family of an impoverished merchant. His father came from the Greek family Mihapulo-Proko or Farmaki-Proko, and the nickname "Veneziano" has already appeared in Russia, where the artist's great-grandfather moved with his wife and son in the 1740s. The boy attended a private boarding school and was originally trained for the civil service as a forest inspector. Painting at that time was only a hobby, the main business was the state service. The artist was lucky: for the first time he had the opportunity to study portrait painting with Fyodor Rokotov, who lived next door. And later, already in St. Petersburg, he took painting lessons from the famous Vladimir Borovikovsky, in whose house Venetsianov lived for some time.
The work of the French artist François Marius Granet impressed him so much that Venetsianov decided to apply the same techniques on his canvases. He was especially fascinated by the natural colors and airy atmosphere in the paintings of the painter. From that time on, more thorough work in painting techniques began, and his hobby slowly turned into his life's work.
In 1802 he moved to St. Petersburg and took courses at the Academy of Arts. In parallel, Venetsianov spent long hours in the Hermitage, copying the works of great masters, especially Dutch landscape painters. In 1810, the artist received the title of Honored Worker from the Academy, which contributed to the growth of his popularity.
Own school and court service
Love for nature and countryside, as well as the desire to paint natural subjects (in the Granet style) prompted Venetsianov to buy a small estate in the Tver province. In 1820 Venetsianov completely abandoned political affairs and service in favor of painting. After moving into his home, he focused on portraying peasants and village life. Now the artist could devote himself entirely to art. In 1824 Venetsianov sold his painting "The Barn" for a large sum at that time - 5,000 rubles.
With these funds, the artist organized an art school on his estate - the Safonkovsky School - for talented students who could not afford an art education. Venetsianov taught drawing and painting according to his own method. Over the entire period of its existence, about 70 students graduated from the school (among the distinguished ones were G. Soroka, N. Krylov, A. Alekseev, L. Plakhov, A. Tyranov, K. Zelentsov, S. Zarenko and G. Mikhailov). To pay all the expenses for the school, Venetsianov turned to Nicholas I with a request for financial support. In 1830, the tsar appointed Alexei Gavrilovich as his court painter with a salary of 3,000 rubles.
The most famous works
The most famous works of Alexei Venetsianov:
A characteristic feature of Venetsianov's work, which made an indelible impression on the Russian art environment, was his disregard for academic rules and methods. Venetsianov's works amaze viewers directly with the "living" nature of perception, which was innovative for its time. Venetsianov created beautiful and somewhat idealistic images of peasants, the dignity of peasant life, using natural light and the natural environment. His palette is quite complex, it combines rich yellow-brown, green, bluish shades. Most of his paintings were created “in the open air.
Success and recognition
The obvious success and uniqueness of Alexei Venetsianov were confirmed by the tsar and empress. In 1818 Venetsianov created a whole series of portraits of famous statesmen. He presented the paintings to Empress Elizabeth, and in gratitude received from her a gold snuffbox.
But the painting "Cleansing the beets", with which, as many believe, began Russian everyday painting, was acquired in 1823 by the Emperor Alexander I himself for 1000 rubles. The period of the 1820s can be called the most fruitful in the career of this artist: Venetsianov wrote many works with a personal message - to capture reality as it is and without embellishment. The exhibition, held at the Academy of Arts in 1824, brought Alexei Gavrilovich a resounding success, and his work was noted by both the public and many critics in the newspapers.
Religious painting and miracle
In addition to his favorite peasant subjects, Venetsianov was also engaged in religious painting, fulfilling orders for nearby churches. It is interesting that in the images of Christ, the Mother of God and the apostles, all the same familiar features of ordinary peasants appear (the artist remained faithful to his ideas).
A year before his death, Alexei Gavrilovich received an important order - painting a church in Kalyazin. Among other images, he needed to draw the image of the Monk Makarii Kalyazinsky. The artist was not familiar with the history of this saint and was looking for paintings with him for a long time. But to no avail. Legend has it that the image of Makarii Kalyazinsky came to the artist in a dream, after which Venetsianov managed to create the appearance of the saint. However, despite the miraculous event that occurred, death prevented the completion of the order from the church. Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov was 67 years old when he died tragically in an accident on a snowy road. The artist's works are exhibited at the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum and the Hermitage.
Venetsianov's main contribution to the world of 19th century art
1. Recognition of the importance of natural light in painting, 2. Creation of compositional integrity of figures and landscape to create unity between people and nature, 3. Emphasis on the virtues of peasants, 4. Depiction of aristocratic subjects in an informal and everyday setting, 5. Revival of early romanticism techniques.
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