The topic of our article will be the biography of Petrov-Vodkin. Kuzma Sergeevich is an outstanding Russian artist who worked at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was engaged not only in painting, but also in graphics, theatrical, decorative and monumental art. In addition, Petrov-Vodkin is the creator of several autobiographical stories. We will talk about this outstanding person.
Petrov-Vodkin biography
Kuzma Sergeyevich was born on October 24, 1878 in the Saratov province, in the city of Khvalynsk. At first he studied at the city school, and then entered the Samara drawing school. Later, for several years he was a graduate of the Central College of Technical Drawing. And only in 1897 the future artist entered the Moscow School of Painting, Architecture and Sculpture, where he became part of the workshop of V. A. Serov. He graduated from this educational institution in 1904.
As an artist, Petrov-Vodkin (whose biography we are now considering) was formed during serious changes taking place both in political life and in the art of Russia and Europe. Critical realism has not yet outlived , and new trends have begun to appear, associated with the changed aesthetic ideals of the 20th century.
Another difficulty in the creative formation of Petrov-Vodkin was that at the age of fifteen he became interested in literature. Because of this, the artist for a long time could not decide which art to give preference to. As a result, painting won, but, as we will see later, Kuzma Sergeyevich never left literature.
Travel to Italy and Russian icon painting
In 1905, Petrov-Vodkin was sent to Italy. The biography of this period, which amounted to four months, tells about the artist’s passion for drawing. He captured on paper all the possible movements and positions of the human body. It was these sketches that formed the basis of his first works - “Shore”, “Elegy” and “Sorceress”.
After returning to his homeland, the biography of Petrov-Vodkin changes dramatically. The artist gets acquainted with ancient Russian art. In 1911-1912, he first saw examples of icon painting from the 14-15th centuries, which made a great impression on him. From this moment began the creative search of Kuzma Sergeyevich in this direction. It is on the basis of icon painting that the artist creates his own unique style.
“Bathing the Red Horse”, “Mother”, “Girl on the Volga”
Petrov-Vodkin, whose biography is the subject of our review, begins to show his creative identity. The artist brings to court the admirers of the beautiful excellent examples of the same and the created style. For example, the painting “Bathing the Red Horse”, which brought Kuzma Sergeyevich popularity. Initially, it was planned to depict a horse bathing scene at sunset, which the author had once seen on the Volga, not far from Kharkov.
But a meeting with old Russian painting forced to change the original idea. Now the center of the canvas is a fire-like flaming horse, which would cause associations with the image of St. George the Victorious, found on many ancient icons. In the picture, he became a symbol of nobility, mighty will and inexhaustible energy. Those who saw the picture for the first time noted that they found in the canvas an omen of future changes in public life, which, by the way, did not take long to wait. It is no accident that at the exhibition "World of Art" a picture was placed above the entrance, like a banner.
Then another picture appeared in the same style - “Mother”. Work on it was conducted from 1911 to 1913. On the canvas is a sitting woman in a red skirt and pink sweater, in her arms is a child. And in the background are the Volga steppes that go deep into the picture.
But the most important was the painting "Girl on the Volga", testifying to the great creative growth of Petrov-Vodkin. This picture became a kind of stage on the path to the formation of the unique style of Kuzma Sergeevich. The artist’s idea arose on the basis of impressions obtained during observations of the life of the Volga. However, not only his native Khvalynsk helped in painting, but also the memories of Italian Renaissance frescoes, on which young girls were depicted with special grace. It was a combination of worldly observations, works of Italian masters and Russian icon painting that gave rise to a new distinctive style.
Teaching
Petrov-Vodkin (biography of the artist confirms this) paid great attention to the education of his young colleagues. So, he taught drawing and painting at the art school of E. Zvyagintseva. In addition, Kuzma Sergeyevich created his own pedagogical system aimed at helping young artists to master the art of painting.
At the same time, Petrov-Vodkin switched to a three-color system in his work. His concept was based on the assertion that all the richness of the color palette is built on the basis of three colors - blue, red and yellow. Only a combination of these shades can create the most clear and strong harmonies. Two paintings of Petrov-Vodkin perfectly illustrate this position: “Noon. Summer "and" Morning. Bathers. "
Revolution
Met the beginning of revolutionary action in the homeland of Petrov-Vodkin. A short biography of Kuzma Sergeevich tells that during this period of his life he was engaged in the creation of posters, the design of magazines, and made all kinds of illustrations.
The most vividly revolutionary reality was reflected in the canvas entitled "1918 in Petrograd." The picture was a woman with a child. Mother is standing on the balcony, which is pictured against the background of a street filled with an excited crowd of people. She seems to be protecting her child, which increases the overall emotional alertness of the entire canvas. This work also had another name - "Petrograd Madonna." The image of the mother becomes a comprehensive, the only human feeling capable of uniting all people.
Another response to the events of the revolution was the canvas "Battlefield". The painting depicts three Red Guards mourning for a commander who fell in battle. In the background you can see the moment of the death of this commander.
In addition, for 20-30 years, the artist has been working on portraits. So, in 1922, the famous image of Anna Akhmatova came out from under his brush.
Biographical works
We continue such a topic as the biography of Petrov-Vodkin. Briefly we can further mention the literary debuts of the famous artist. As a writer, Kuzma Sergeyevich proved himself in the creation of biographical works. Among them can be called: "The Space of Euclid", "Hlynovsk", "Samarkand".
The first two works were written between 1928 and 1932, when doctors forbade Petrov-Vodkin to paint in oil because of a health hazard, since he was seriously ill at that time. And “Samarkand” was the result of a visit to Central Asia in 1921. All these stories were well received by critics and the public, and subsequently reprinted more than once. In addition, the works became the basis for monographs, brochures and articles on the life of Petrov-Vodkin.
Awards
The biography of the artist Petrov-Vodkin will be incomplete without mentioning his awards. So, Kuzma Sergeevich was elected an honorary member of the French Astronomical Society, which awarded him an honorary diploma. In 1928, the artist participated in the Venice International Art Exhibition. And in 1936 in Moscow, and then in Leningrad, a personal exhibition of his works took place.
Death
Until the end of his life, Petrov-Vodkin’s thoughts were absorbed in art, new ideas and ideas were constantly born in his head. However, a serious illness did not allow them to be realized, and in 1939 the artist died. Petrov-Vodkin was buried at the Volkov Cemetery in Leningrad.
The work of Kuzma Sergeyevich became an art of enormous proportions, based on classical European traditions and ancient Russian painting. The unique and inimitable style created by Petrov-Vodkin still causes not only public interest, but also a lot of controversy.
Such was the path of life that Petrov-Vodkin went. Biography, paintings and books by the artist perfectly complement this information.