Victor Vasnetsov (1848-1926)

The outstanding Russian painter, one of the founders of the national-romantic version of Russian Art Nouveau, Victor Vasnetsov, was born in 1848 in the village of Lopyal Urzhum County in Vyatka province. Great-grandfather of the artist graduated from the seminary drawing classes. His father, Mikhail Vasilievich Vasnetsov, was formed by the local parish priest.

In a cottage Vasnetsovs combined different ways of life. In the evening, read a lot of books and magazines devoted to science and astronomy, drawing. And my grandmother and my father owned a watercolor artist, that his father was his first art teacher. Vasnetsov and his brother grew up Apollinaria not in isolation, and being in close contact with the peasant children. Artist since childhood imbued with poetry folk tales, legends and superstitions, the beauty of folk art, colorful ceremonial side of life. He saw nature as an animate being. That childhood laid the spiritual foundations of moral personality of the artist.

Primary education Vasnetsov was a local religious school, and then at the seminary (1862 - 1867), where he studied the Old Russian literature. Literary images interwoven into the artist's soul with folk imagery, saturating his inner world, which could not but affect the future work of the artist.

During his studies at the seminary Vasnetsov trained and practiced copying lithographs from high school teacher and owner of the icon studio NA Chernyshev. It was of great importance in the formation of Vasnetsov as an artist in the disclosure of his artistic talent.

In August 1867 Vasnetsov went to St. Petersburg to study at the Imperial Academy of Arts. A few months after the arrival of a young man meets a Kramskoy , who taught at the School to promote artists. Kramskoj, propagated among his students call NGChernyshevsky to the reflection in the art of contemporary problems, has had a huge impact on Vasnetsov and moral, and artistic sense. The School to promote artists Vasnetsov met with Repin, which was subsequently very friendly. Vasnetsov was a member of the Association of the Wanderers

Since 1868, the artist became interested in drawing and the beginning of the 1870s has made great strides in this area. His "Book shopkeeper (Provincial bookseller. Merchant with a book)" and "Boy with a bottle of vodka," received a bronze medal at the International Exhibition of 1874 in London.

Experience served as an artist in the chart success of his later oil paintings: "The poor singers", "Tea at the inn", which reflected his experience in the study of human characters and social phenomena. Subsequent genre paintings of the artist are characteristic of analytical direction of the Wanderers, inclined to lyricism, to penetrate the thoughts of his characters.

Artist studied at the Academy of the program, easel painter, but he was the first artist who combined painting, design of the performance, architecture and applied arts in one artistic idea. The Academy Vasnetsov stayed until 1875 and received for excellence in drawing and sketches from nature for two small and one large silver medals (for the song "Pilate and Christ to the people", 1870).

In the spring of 1876 after the release of the Academy Vasnetsov, at the invitation of Repin , with whom they were particularly friendly, came to Paris, where he worked for more than a year. Thanks Repin Vasnetsov dipped into the study of the artistic life of Paris, full of intense struggle. Artist acquainted with Mamontov and with Polenov receives from him an invitation to live in Moscow. Web "Acrobats (On a holiday in the suburbs of Paris)" (1877), written in Paris was of another genre in nature, but that is where the artist got the idea to turn their creativity in a different direction. During this time he wrote a sketch of "Heroes", which initiated the epic cycle.

Upon his return to Russia he created a kind of genre and historical cycle, displaying Russian-Turkish war. In the series were: the painting "War Telegram", "Kars took the" image and "night on the streets of St. Petersburg on the day of the capture of Plevna" (1878). These works were shown at the exhibition TPHV VI in March 1878.

At the same time he wrote sketches for "The Tavern," reflecting the real state of the person at the time of merriment. The artist once again turned to folklore, and wrote a sketch for the painting "A Knight at the Crossroads" (1878), the first version of which was shown naVI exhibition TPHV. But it was not yet a final appeal to folk artist. Vasnetsov creates another genre story: "Preference" (1879), reflecting the social phenomenon from the point of view of ethical realism Wanderers. This picture admired Picture. Works 1877 - 1879 years. complete the ten-year period devoted to genre painting.