Video: Contemporaries called Vasnetsov's paintings "popular prints": is the big thing seen at a distance?
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Painting "Heroes" by Viktor Vasnetsov - one of the symbols of Russian culture. Her numerous reproductions can be seen everywhere, and, perhaps, there is not a single person in the post-Soviet space who at school would not write an essay about Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich. Today it is difficult to imagine that contemporary critics predicted a short life for these canvases, believing that they would soon be consigned to oblivion …
The childhood of Viktor Vasnetsov was not easy: he was one of six children in a family, lost his mother early, and decided to enter a theological seminary in order to be able to go public. During his studies, he studied icon painting with interest, and then his desire to become an artist was formed. The guy turned out to be so talented that the rector of the seminary blessed him for further training in painting. The father also did not oppose the will of his son, and Victor really went to study.
Viktor Vasetsov announced himself with the painting "From apartment to apartment", which depicts a poor couple with belongings walking along a frozen city street. This painting was highly praised by critics. But interest in folklore topics did not find a positive response. So, in the magazine "Rus" was published a devastating review of "The battle of the Scythians with the Slavs", "Three princesses of the underworld" and (later became legendary) "Alenushka". The critic called them ugly and popular. Even the “Bogatyrs” were denied artistic significance: they criticized to smithereens both the color scheme and the general vulgarity of tone.
Today it is obvious that the accusations were unfounded, because the paintings occupy a significant place in the history of Russian culture. It is interesting that the master became famous not only in the field of painting: he is also credited with experiments in the field of design (in particular, it was he who came up with the idea of releasing Budenovoks for the Russian army).
Vasnetsov's paintings, simple and understandable at first glance, keep many secrets. For example, the picture "Alyonushka" was originally called "fool" … And the author described his heroine like that for a reason …
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