Paintings of the artist who loved one woman and one city for 60 years

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Fate does not often favor artists with blessings in all spheres of life at the same time. Rarely does anyone manage to walk a life and creative path on an even road, without bumps and sharp turns. Konstantin Fedorovich Yuon - one of these darlings of fate. He was lucky in creativity, he was lucky in marriage … And what else does a creative person need? Today the review contains an amazing story of the artist's quivering love.

Konstantin Fedorovich Yuon (1875-1958) - Russian painter, master of landscape, theater artist, art theorist, academician of the USSR Academy of Arts, People's Artist, Stalin Prize laureate. And if you briefly describe his artistic work, then Konstantin Yuon was an excellent master of urban landscapes and theatrical scenery. He painted portraits, depicted Russian nature and monuments of ancient architecture, painted old provincial Russian cities and small villages. Well, and of course he devoted the lion's share of his legacy to Moscow, where he was born, lived all his life and loved immensely.

Yuon began his work with the golden shining domes of Russian churches, which, after the revolutionary events, were replaced by large-scale canvases depicting parades on Red Square.

Several pages from the biography

The artist's father, Swiss by birth, was an employee of an insurance company, and later its director; mother - German, was an amateur musician. 11 offspring were born in the Yuonov family with many children, who since childhood absorbed the atmosphere of love for art. The large family in particular loved music and theater. Therefore, they often organized home concerts and performances, for which they themselves wrote texts and sewed costumes. The scenery for the performances, you guessed it, was drawn by Kostya. He became seriously interested in painting at the age of eight, and became a regular visitor to the Tretyakov Gallery.

By the way, one of Konstantin's brothers in the future will become a famous composer, professor at the Berlin Conservatory. Kostya himself will enter the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where famous artists KA Savitsky and AE Arkhipov will become his teachers. Later he will become a student of Valentin Serov, in whose workshop he learns all the mysteries of pictorial art.

And I must say that the career of the young painter began quite successfully. Even as a student of an art school, the novice artist exhibited at student exhibitions, and his works were already in considerable demand among art lovers. His paintings sold out well, and even in his youth, Konstantin could afford to travel abroad.

And at the age of 25, Yuon opened a private studio, where until 1917, in parallel with personal creativity, he would teach young artists the art of painting, and years later he would become a teacher at the Surikov Institute. And in those pre-revolutionary years among his students were the graphic artist Vladimir Favorsky and the sculptor Vera Mukhina, the Vesnin brothers and many other novice talents of Russia. As it turned out, Konstantin Fedorovich was a born teacher. Also, the master was engaged in the design of performances, as we remember, he loved this business from childhood.

60 years love

However, the artist received the greatest joy and inspiration in his family. Konstantin Yuon lived a long and happy life. In large part, because he had an unusually successful marriage. Although this love at one time had to go through considerable trials.

The artist's wife, Klavdia Alekseevna, nee Nikitin, was an ordinary peasant girl from the village of Ligachevo, where 25-year-old Konstantin went to sketch. Working once in the open air by the river, the young man saw a girl with a luxurious long braid climbing the mountain with a yoke. He immediately understood - this is fate. Having taken a simple girl as his wife for great love in 1900, he never regretted it.

But his family did not accept the village daughter-in-law, and for several years Konstantin tried to reconcile his relatives with his choice. The father considered this marriage humiliating, he could not even think that his son would dare to disobey him. Going against the will of his parent, a famous Moscow intellectual, the son chose love. And he, insulted and offended, for several years avoided meeting and communicating with the rebellious heir.

And over time, everything fell into place - the beauty, spiritual generosity and kindness of Klavdia Alekseevna overshadowed all class prejudices and made her the favorite daughter-in-law of the Yuon family. And the 60-year-old marriage of Konstantin Fedorovich with his beloved wife Klavdia Alekseevna could be called absolutely happy, if not for the tragic death of 17-year-old son Boris. Although, on the other hand, the common grief brought the spouses even closer.

Bonus

An amazing and touching story about the relationship of this couple, which has become a legend, told by a friend of Konstantin Yuon. Once, having returned with the artist to his apartment, at the entrance they found that the elevator was not working. Friends had no choice but to climb the stairs on foot. At that time, Konstantin Fedorovich was already old and very ill.

When the last step was overcome, the artist stopped to catch his breath. - Klavdia Alekseevna will be very worried about this … - he explained to his friend. And then suddenly seeing a bucket forgotten by someone on the staircase, Yuon suddenly approached with delight and hit him lightly foot: - Let him think that we arrived by elevator, and it slammed his door … After that they entered the apartment with the guest, where they were warmly welcomed by the hostess of the house. and quietly did not ask: "… did Konstantin Fyodorovich feel very bad after they climbed the stairs?"

The buddy was dumbfounded, how did she know? And the artist's wife quietly whispered that she knew about the broken elevator, but, “worrying that her husband would be nervous because she would be upset, she specially put a bucket on the stairwell so that he would kick it, because, indeed, its ringing very much like the sound of slamming elevator doors? …"

Surprising … This is how much it was necessary to know the thoughts and predict the actions of a person, even a close one …

Until the end of his life, until his last breath, Konstantin Fedorovich Yuon painted pictures and was very active. At the age of 82, he was even elected first secretary of the board of the Union of Artists of the USSR.

Well, what is really there - the darling of fate.

Continuing the theme of the artists who worked in Russia in the first half of the 20th century, read: How the failed priest Plastov became a famous artist praising the eternal peasant Russia.