Why did the artist Kuindzhi have 3 passports and other little-known facts from the life of the great Russian landscape painter

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

Arkhip Kuindzhi (1842–1910) was an outstanding landscape painter, one of the most memorable figures in Russian painting of the second half of the 19th century. The perseverance of the Greek orphan boy, who, despite all the circumstances, became the pride of Russian painting, is striking. Interesting facts from the biography of Kuindzhi speak of the extraordinary giftedness, dedication and generous soul of the great artist.

1. Arkhip Kuindzhi was a Greek

The master was born in the city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. The artist's interesting appearance is due to his Greek origin. Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi was born into the family of the Russianized Greek Ivan Khristoforovich Emendzhi, a shoemaker and grain grower, in the Tatar region on the outskirts of Mariupol in the territory of modern Ukraine. During the reign of Catherine II, his ancestors, along with other Greek refugees, settled near the Sea of Azov.

2. The artist had three official passports

Kuindzhi's life has always been full of secrets and legends, and even the exact date of his birth is unknown. The Russian State Historical Archive in St. Petersburg contains three artist passports, each with a different year of birth - 1841, 1842 and 1843. The most likely date is 1842.

2. Arkhip Kuindzhi initially had no education

At the Kuindzhi Academy of Arts, no one was waiting with open arms. Life in St. Petersburg began with unsuccessful attempts to learn about high art. He was simply not taken to the Academy. But his outstanding gift helped Kuindzhi achieve notable success in art. The talent allowed Kuindzhi to even get an internship in the workshop of the famous marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky, as well as attend classes of the Society of Art Lovers. Then he was finally noticed, awarded the title of a free artist and even allowed to take exams in his specialty.

3. The artist's surname is translated as "jeweler"

Kuindzhi is a surname of Turkish origin (turkish kuyumcu - "jeweler"), also common among the Azov Greeks - Rumey and Urum. Surprisingly, the translation of his surname was perfectly reflected in all his activities.

4. Kuindzhi loved birds

The artist saw God in every living being: he possessed a mystical, religious mindset and a pantheistic view of the world. He adored nature with all his heart. They say that Kuindzhi was even afraid to trample the grass with his feet or accidentally step on a beetle or ant. The artist was especially fond of birds. He was constantly brought pigeons and sparrows, wounded by a slingshot or simply sick. And then Kuindzhi and his wife treated them, nurtured and released them.

5. "Ukrainian Night" - a work that was praised by Europeans and did not accept at home

The first recognition was brought to him by the early paintings "Autumn libertine" (1870), "Lake Ladoga" (1870) and "On the island of Valaam" (1873). During the same period Kuindzhi traveled extensively in Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria, where he sought inspiration and thoroughly studied the work of the great masters.

However, upon his return, he creates works that are completely different from those that he saw in European museums. In 1878, at an exhibition in Paris, where Kuindzhi arrived with his young wife, he amazed the French public. He was recognized as the most Russian and original artist. In the same year he began work "Ukrainian Night". The painting was a great success in Paris. But his Petersburg colleagues, who saw in his work only illusory color effects and romantic searches, did not understand him.

6. Under Kuindzhi's painting, the audience was looking for a light bulb

When Kuindzhi left the "Association of the Itinerants", he exhibited his new work, which made him popular - "Moonlit Night on the Dnieper." It was an explosion. Unsurprisingly, the artist experimented so much with colors and lighting. He used special lighting effects to paint nature, and achieved such astounding results that people who first saw the painting in the exhibition tried to check the other side of it. The audience was actively looking for a light bulb behind the canvas!

7. Kuindzhi used chemicals in his painting

Kuindzhi's innovation manifested itself in his tireless search and experiments with light, color and colorful pigments. The artist deliberately used the latest discoveries of physics and chemistry in his work. For example, in the already mentioned painting "Moonlit Night on the Dnieper", the brave experimenter Kuindzhi used bitumen, a dark material capable of reflecting light. The painting was exhibited in a room with darkened windows, and an electric light was directed over it. Thanks to these techniques, the painting was an extraordinary success. The spectators were amazed by the effect of light, which seemed to come from the moon depicted in the picture.

8. Kuindzhi was fired from the post of professor for supporting students

In 1894 Kuindzhi received an invitation to become a professor at the Academy. He was very fond of teaching, and his students admired him. However, his career as a professor did not last long. Kuindzhi was fired for supporting students in their protests against the authorities. But he continued to teach his students privately, and then paid for their travels in Europe. Subsequently, Kuindzhi donated a large sum of money to the Academy of Arts, which was to be used to reward young artists.

9. Kuindzhi bequeathed his inheritance to help artists

In 1910, the artist drew up a will, according to which, after his death, the "Society of Artists named. Kuindzhi "was to receive all of his capital in the amount of 421,800 rubles, as well as 228 dessiatines (almost 2,500 square kilometers) of land on the southern coast of Crimea. It was important for Kuindzhi that all his inheritance should serve for the benefit of the development of Russian art. The AI Kuindzhi Society of Artists was founded in February 1909, a year before his death and existed until 1930. Its main task was to provide financial assistance to art societies and groups, as well as talented artists.

10. Kuindzhi worked in a workshop for 20 years without going out in public

Alas, at the very peak of his fame, Kuindzhi became a recluse. At the zenith of fame, he disappears from the sight of the public and critics. He continued to work, but for twenty years he did not show his canvases to anyone. According to estimates, there were a lot of them: about 500 sketches and about 300 graphic works. Biographers cannot explain the behavior of such a famous person.

Arkhip Kuindzhi was born into a poor family, was orphaned early, but with his talent and perseverance managed to go from a retoucher's apprentice in Taganrog to a professor at the Academy of Arts and owner of apartment buildings in St. Petersburg. Having gone through a difficult life and becoming a millionaire, he remained a modest person, allocating funds to his gifted students and aspiring artists.