Why the icon painter created portraits of Soviet heroes and what he did not have time to do: The vicissitudes of fate of the artist Pavel Korin

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

The picturesque image of Alexander Nevsky is well known to us from childhood - he looks sternly from the pages of history textbooks. This painting is part of a triptych created during the Great Patriotic War by the artist Pavel Korin in support of Soviet soldiers. A former icon painter who had a chance to decorate the stations of the Soviet metro, he painted portraits of marshals and all his life dreamed of completing his own Requiem …

The biography of Pavel Korin seems incredible. His work included icon painting and portraits of famous people of the USSR, metro construction and acquaintance with representatives of the Romanov dynasty, historical canvases and mosaics with a portrait of Lenin … It seemed as if Pavel Korin had lived several lives in one and surprisingly turned out to be a successful Soviet artist of openly Orthodox faith. But first things first.

He was born in 1892, in a family of hereditary icon painters, in Palekh, still famous for its masters of lacquer miniatures. In 1911, Korin decided, as they say, "to break away from the roots" - he moved to Moscow, where he was apprenticed to the artist Mikhail Nesterov. Together they worked on the creation of frescoes in the Martha and Mary Convent. From Nesterov, the young painter adopted an attitude towards art as a spiritual feat, possible at any time, under any power.

In 1916, he painted the tomb on the territory of the monastery by order of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Acquaintance with her had a significant impact on the life of the artist. And the point is not even that, on her advice, he closely studied the church frescoes in the central part of Russia. It was Elizaveta Fedorovna who introduced Korin to his future wife. Praskovya Petrova came to the monastery from Chuvashia to learn the craft of a sister of mercy, but somehow she mentioned in the presence of the princess that she dreamed of learning to draw. And the princess found a suitable teacher for her - the young artist Pavel Korin … Three years after they met, he made Praskovya an offer, but he waited for consent … for seven years. Only in 1926, the lovers were able to get married in the Orthodox Church on the Arbat.

A year earlier, in 1925, after the revolution and civil war, in a country torn by contradictions, Korin suffered his own shock, which left a deep imprint on all of his work. He attended the funeral of Patriarch Tikhon. Crowds of Orthodox Christians from all over the country, people whose faith was now subjected to ridicule and sacred objects to destruction, were incredibly steadfast and united in their grief … Now he truly believed. It was at that time that the artist conceived the idea of a large-scale canvas, which he planned to call "Requiem". For a decade, Pavel Korin painted portraits of church leaders who participated in the procession of the cross during the funeral of the patriarch. In the thirties, these preparatory works were seen by Maxim Gorky, who was friends with the artist. He suggested calling the work "Departing Russia", which made it possible to somewhat veil Korin's "anti-Soviet" views. And in itself friendship with the "petrel of the revolution" protected the artist from attacks. Korin painted a dramatic, even theatrical portrait of Gorky. After the death of the writer, he still did not dare to complete his Requiem, fearing the reaction of the authorities.

But during these years Korin received many orders for portraits. He writes artists and scientists, actors and musicians …

During the Great Patriotic War, the time for a true masterpiece came for Korin. In 1941, at the November 7 parade, he heard the words of Joseph Stalin: "May the courageous image of our great ancestors inspire you in this war." So he found another theme of his, which allowed him and - quite sincerely - to serve his homeland, and remain true to himself.

In 1942 he began work on the triptych "Alexander Nevsky", the central part of which is known, perhaps, to every resident of Russia. The monumental figure of a prince leaning on a sword obscures the city with white-stone churches, behind the warrior's back is a khorguv with the face of the Savior. Two more parts - "Ancient Skaz" and "Northern Ballad" - are more poetic, although they still glorify the power and courage of Russian soldiers. Among the images of the triptych is a portrait of the famous northern storyteller Krivopolenova.

Pavel Korin's brush belongs to the portrait of Marshal Zhukov, created already in 1945. In all of Korin's paintings, the influence of icon painting and Palekh miniatures is felt. Its colors are local, the lines are rigid, the forms are always crystallized, the figures are elongated, even disproportionate, they seem to hang over the viewer, like images of saints on the walls of a temple.

The theme of the heroes of the Russian land Korin continued after. The images of the great commanders also became subjects for eight large-scale mosaic panels that adorn the Komsomolskaya station of the Moscow Metro. For the Novoslobodskaya metro station, the artist made sketches of hanging stained glass windows with intricate ornamentation, where Soviet symbols are combined with motifs of medieval stained glass art. He embodied the image of soldiers and Russian mothers in the mosaics of the Smolenskaya and Paveletskaya stations.

After the war, the artist remained in demand. He supervised the restoration of the paintings of the Dresdne Gallery, which was damaged during the bombing. Korin received the Lenin Prize for portraits of art workers of the USSR, he was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR, he was elected a full member of the Academy of Arts …

Surprisingly, even during the years of Soviet power, his life remained closely associated with Orthodox art. He happened to be engaged in the restoration of church frescoes, including the works of his teacher - Nesterov. Corinne has amassed an impressive collection of icons. In 1966, Corinne began another heroic triptych - "Flashes", which remained unfinished - a year later, after two heart attacks, the artist died.

All his life he dreamed of returning to his "Requiem", but he never did. The artist's last words were "did not have time" …