Multiplying joy: 10 famous Russian artists who were fathers of many children

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

There is a stereotype that creativity requires complete dedication, while there can be no talk of any family and children. But it's not for nothing that they say: a talented person is talented in everything. Russian artists managed not only to paint their great canvases, but also to be quite happy husbands and fathers. Children, no matter how many there are, add special colors and new emotions to life.

Ivan Kramskoy - 6 children

The artist drew attention to Sofya Prokhorova while still studying at the Academy of Arts. Despite the fact that the girl's reputation was far from ideal due to her affair with a married man, Ivan Kramskoy did not even try to resist his feelings. He proposed to the girl and never regretted his choice. Sofya Nikolaevna became a faithful companion for the artist, and a caring mother for their six children. The artist valued his family very much, loved children and greatly appreciated the support and help of his wife.

Two sons of the spouses Kramskoy, Ivan and Mark, died in childhood, nothing is known about the fate of Sergei, the youngest child. The first-born Nikolai, having matured, became an architect. The only daughter, Sophia, showed artistic talent since childhood, she studied painting with her father, and then at a private school in Paris. In the 1930s, she was accused of counter-revolutionary activities and sent into exile, upon returning from which she died in St. Petersburg. Another son of Kramskoy, Anatoly, held a position in the Ministry of Finance.

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Valentin Serov - 6 children

Acquaintance with Olga Trubnikova took place in the house of Valentin Serov's relatives, who raised a girl who was left an orphan. The lovers were confident in their feelings, but they had to wait for a happy wedding day for 9 long years. The couple became happy parents of six children born with a small age difference.

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Vasily Polenov - 6 children

The artist got married quite late, at 38 years old. His chosen one was Natalya Yakunchikova, the daughter of a capital merchant and industrialist. Six children were born, but the firstborn of the spouses, Fedor, died at 2 years old. The rest of the Polenovs' heirs, a son and four daughters, lived to a very old age.

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Vasily Vereshchagin - 5 children

The artist has been married twice. The first marriage with Elizabeth Maria Fisher lasted 19 years, but there is no information about the daughter of the spouses Claudia, except for the mention in the letters. After parting with his first wife, Vasily Vereshchagin married the pianist Lydia Andreevskaya, who gave the artist four children. The eldest daughter Lydia died at the age of six, and the youngest, also Lydia, gave birth to the only grandson of Vasily Vereshchagin - Alexander Plevako.

READ ALSO: Vasily Vereshchagin: How was the fate of the Russian genius, whom the French did not give the Nobel Prize >>

Viktor Vasnetsov - 5 children

The wife of the painter was Alexandra Ryazantseva, a highly educated daughter of a Vyatka merchant. She graduated not only from the gymnasium at home, but also the first female medical courses at the Medical and Surgical Academy in St. Petersburg. The marriage of Viktor Vasnetsov and Alexandra Ryazantseva was very happy and lasted almost 50 years. They raised five children, a daughter and four sons.

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Ivan Aivazovsky - 4 children

The famous marine painter was in his first marriage with the Englishwoman Julia Grevs, for whom he had very strong feelings and hoped to live with her until the end of his life. But the wife, having given birth to the artist four daughters, suddenly changed her attitude towards her husband and their life together. She was no longer satisfied with life in the Crimea with its quiet provincial way of life. Julia longed to shine at balls and lead an active social life.

They broke up after 12 years of marriage, but divorce was filed only after many years. The ex-wife of Ivan Aivazovsky diligently conveyed her dissatisfaction with her husband to her daughters, but the artist did not stop communicating with his children, even when he was already in his second marriage.

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Ilya Repin - 4 children

The artist's first marriage with Vera Shevtsova can hardly be called happy. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the interests of the spouses were too different. The artist loved guests, he was ready to arrange secular parties almost every day. His wife, burdened with worries about the household and four children, wished for a calm measured life. Their marriage lasted 15 years, followed by a painful separation. The two youngest children, Yuri and Tatiana, began to live with their mother, while the elders, Vera and Nadezhda, remained with their father. Vera served for some time at the Alexandrinsky Theater, Nadezhda became a doctor, Yuri became an artist, and her youngest daughter became a teacher.

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Ivan Shishkin - 4 children

In the first marriage of Ivan Shishkin with Evgenia Vasilyeva, two sons and a daughter were born. The sons died at the age of two. From a second marriage with Olga Lagoda-Shishkina, a daughter, Ksenia, was born. Olga's sister Lydia was involved in her upbringing, since her mother died a month and a half after giving birth.

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Leonid Pasternak - 4 children

Four children were born in the family of the genius artist and talented pianist Rosalia Kaufman. Boris, as you know, became famous all over the world for his poems, Alexander became a fairly famous architect. Lydia and Josephine were not only educated, but also talented representatives of the family, they were seriously hired by science and literary creativity.

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Kazimir Malevich - 3 children

The first experience of married life for Kazimir Malevich was unsuccessful. After the birth of two children, a son and a daughter, the wife repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with Casimir's hobby for drawing. After parting with her husband, she first took the children, but then left them too, leaving with a new lover. Malevich, taking the children from Meshchersky, where they were under the supervision of a colleague of his ex-wife, met his second wife, who later gave him a daughter.

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Stable, strong families, in which five or more children have become a unique phenomenon, especially among famous people. They deserve special respect in spite of difficulties and problems.