Ryabushkin Andrei Petrovich (1861-1904)

Frail and sickly, "like wearing some kind of a secret," "a man of great talent and a large, hidden passions" ( Mikhail Nesterov ), AP Ryabushkin created paintings, in which poetic form and, with his natural sense of decoration introduced life of ancient Russia.

Born into a peasant family Ryabushkin-icon painter. Fourteen years was left an orphan. Artistic and musical abilities of his appeared very early. Due to sheer luck, he was in the Moscow School of Painting (1875-82). After the death of his teacher, B. Perov , Ryabushkin continued his studies at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1882-90).

His works are noted by the awards, but for his diploma film "The Descent from the Cross" (1890) Ryabushkin has not received a large gold medal for the reason that deviated from the originally approved by the Board of the Academy of Arts sketch. A frustrated artist is intended to cut the huge (129 cm) canvas into pieces and used for other work, but here he visited the studio of Pavel Tretyakov, and bought a painting. President of the Academy of Arts, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich found it necessary to provide RYABUSHKIN of his own money payable to the gold medalists on a foreign trip, however, for a period not three, but two years.

And Ryabushkin went through the old cities of Russia. He visited Novgorod, again traveled to Moscow and Moscow region, then looked Kiev, Tula, Orel, Ryazan, Uglich, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod. Everywhere he wrote sketches of churches, copies fragments of ancient frescoes, sketching designs. Exploring the museums antique fabrics, household items, costumes, weapons. With passion is reading the literature on the history of Russia, chronicles, folk tales. All that interested him for a long time: since the 1880s. forced to look for jobs all the time student Ryabushkin constantly publishes illustrated magazines in different compositions on the theme of the history of ancient and sketches of everyday life in modern Russian village (magazine and book designer and he will deal with later). It must be admitted that a serious study of the historical realities did not result in styling. History in Ryabushkina leaves the impression of living life. This rare gift he resembles B. Surikov .

Jean moved near St. Petersburg, close to the Luban, the estate of his friend Expanse JF Tyumeneva. Here, in a specially built house with his workshop, he begins an independent path with two choices of genre painting "Waiting Suite from the crown in the Novgorod province" (1891) and the historical track "Mock in the wheels" (1892, depicts soldiers amusing regiments Peter 1 and archers in tavern). Paintings of these paintings still in the dark peredvizhnicheskogo. But there is a new - no expanded action. Dramatic impact on the heart is not RYABUSHKIN. So it will be in the future. These works have been taken to show the Wanderers.

But the following picture, in which the artist has finally found himself - bright, colorful, "Seat of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich with the boyars in his sovereign's Room" (1893) - have refused to take the Wanderers. Why? Too unusual. Again, no action, or rather, all the action is inaction - in the "Thinking" about public affairs, illustrated quite ironic. Furnishings here are more important than people, almost falling asleep from boredom. Ryabushkin with pleasure depicts a cheerful Uzoroche painted walls and ceiling, rich brocade robes, tiled stove, twisted chandeliers, ornate inlays of precious stones throne.