In the world you can find many monuments that not only amaze the imagination with their grandeur, the sharpness of the lines, but also help to trace the development of the art of sculpture over the centuries. But what do we know about those people who create these monuments, who put a particle of their soul in their favorite business?
In this article, we recall the famous Russian sculptor. Alexander Mikhailovich Opekushin - who is he, what contribution has he made to world art, and what works has become famous?
Biography
Born A.M. Opekushin November 28, 1838 (according to other sources in 1833) in the small Volga village of Svechkino (Yaroslavl province). He came from a peasant family. His father was a serf landowner Catherine Olkhina, a skilled self-taught modeler.
From childhood, Opekushin showed artistic talent and taste, approaching simple peasant tasks creatively. He successfully graduated from a rural school. It was difficult not to pay attention to the giftedness of the boy, so the father, who often visited the mistress in St. Petersburg, decided to send the boy to study. Having reached the consent of E. Olkhina, the young Opekushin at the age of 12 went to enter the Drawing School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Artists.
Education
Studying in St. Petersburg was easy. And instead of the prescribed three years, he spent only two. A.M. Opekushin showed extraordinary abilities during his studies and won the hearts of famous artists and professors. One of them was the Danish sculptor David Jensen. After graduating from the Drawing School, he invited Opekushin to his workshop as a freelance sculptor.
Further education and career for the young sculptor were impossible, because according to the documents he was still serf. To solve the problem, Opekushin needed money for the ransom - 500 rubles. To do this, he worked a lot, completing additional orders and receiving a salary.
Strong emotional stress, daily study, constant lack of sleep and malnutrition significantly weakened the body of Opekushin, and he became seriously ill. Only the care of friends at the academy and young age helped to overcome the ailment. And in 1859, Freedom was signed to Opekushin. Now he was free and could continue his career, as and where he wants.
The new alma mater was the Imperial Academy of Arts. In parallel, the young sculptor continued to visit Jensen's workshop and earnestly won the title of one of the best Russian sculptors.
A family
In 1861, Alexander Mikhailovich married. Unfortunately, the sources do not provide accurate data about his wife and children. It is only known that Opekushin had a large family, several daughters. The regular income from the creation of decorative sculptures helped to maintain it.
Opekushin Alexander Mikhailovich was a deeply religious person and a convinced monarchist. His work was highly appreciated in the imperial family. During a difficult period in Russia, the family of the already famous Russian sculptor was begging and starving. At public expense, she moved from revolutionary St. Petersburg (then Petrograd) to her native province of Opekushin. And later in Rybnitsy she got a house for free use. Alexander Mikhailovich was in old age and was no longer engaged in his favorite craft. However, the People's Commissariat for Education allocated an academic ration for his family.
In 1923, Opekushin fell ill with pneumonia and died. He was buried in the same village of Rybnitsy, next to the Spassky Church, in which he was baptized. Half a century later, a modest tombstone appeared on the grave of the sculptor. And in 2012, an unknown admirer of Opekushin’s work allocated money for a granite tombstone with the inscription: “To the great sculptor from grateful descendants”.
Carier start
Opekushin Alexander Mikhailovich began working as an artist and sculptor early. By the age of 17, he had created the authority of a talented master. However, the turning point in his fate was 1862. The bas-relief “Angels Announcing the Nativity of the Shepherds to the Shepherds” became a kind of starting point for great art for the young sculptor.
Soon he was noticed by the famous artist Mikhail Mikeshin and offered to take part in the creation of the monument “The Millennium of Russia” in Novgorod - a large-scale project at that time. Of course, cooperation with Mikeshin had a serious impact on Opekushin. However, at the same time, it burdened the sculptor. The style of the young sculptor was largely shaped by the creativity of the Russian sculptor-realist Mark Antokolsky, in particular, his statues of Ivan the Terrible and Peter I.
Work
Over the course of his career, Opekushin created several dozen masterpieces. For some of them, the Russian sculptor received awards and titles. But, unfortunately, a considerable part of the monuments was demolished during the revolutionary period. Such, for example, was the monument to Alexander II. It was opened in 1898. The bronze monument towered near the southern Kremlin wall.
Opekushin was widely known for his work demonstrated at the World Exhibition in Paris. These include a hammered dish depicting historical scenes, which was made according to the model of the master.
It is impossible to deny the enormous contribution that Opekushin Alexander Mikhailovich made to the development of Russian and world sculpture. His sculptures are distinguished by a simple, restrained, but at the same time deeply individual manner of execution. The list of works includes monuments to famous poets A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontov, naturalist Karl von Baer and Admiral Greig, a bust of Countess Shuvalova and Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich.
However, the late work of the sculptor is considered by critics as less successful and expressive. So, for example, the monument to Emperor Alexander III was not very highly appreciated by contemporaries.
Statue of Peter I
Opekushin liked to work with portrait sculptures of famous historical figures. Particularly successful was his work on Peter I. The statue depicts a king sitting on a chair in uniform and jackboots.
The sculptor was amazingly able to capture the impetuosity and mobility of character that Peter the Great possessed. However, as already mentioned, this is far from the only portrait masterpiece created by the master.
Monument to Pushkin
One of the most significant works that Opekushin created is a monument to Pushkin. For its creation, the sculptor began in 1872, abandoning all other projects. For three long years it took to develop a sketch of the monument. For this, the master had to study more than a dozen portraits of the poet and his work. After confirming the candidacy of Opekushin in 1875, he proceeded to implement the sketch. The sculptor took the architect I. Bogomolov as an assistant.
Only five years later, all work was completed. And on June 6, 1880, a monument to the great Russian poet A.S. was officially opened on Tversky Boulevard in Moscow Pushkin. The bronze monument towered majestically on a pedestal and immediately aroused mass delight among the townspeople.
And today, the Russian poet in bronze performance is thoughtfully standing on one of the main streets of the capital in an elegant frock coat, over which a wide-brimmed cloak is thrown over. In his pose one can feel ease, liveliness. The slight tilt of the head and the look of Pushkin express inspiration and noble greatness.
Sam Opekushin considered the monument to Pushkin one of the most serious and ambitious works, in the implementation of which he invested not only his time and efforts, but also part of his soul, love of poetic art.
Monument to Lermontov
In 1889, he turned to the work of another famous Russian poet and erected a monument to Lermontov in Pyatigorsk. The composition of his partly captures the source of inspiration and endless thoughts of the poet - the Caucasus.
Looking at the monumental Lermontov, you involuntarily catch yourself thinking that the poet, after some wanderings, crouched on a rock and, bowing his head, admires the snow-white caps of the mountains. His gaze expresses deep thoughtfulness and inspiration. Some sculpture lovers felt that the monument to Lermontov captured the poet rather sad and ugly, with sharp features. While portraits of him speak more about softness. However, this creation of the artist in an individual manner and perception remained the decoration of the city.
Monument to Muravyov-Amursky
The largest building in pre-revolutionary Russia and in the works of Opekushin (16 meters in height) was the monument to Count Muravyov-Amursky - the governor of Eastern Siberia. After his death in 1881, Emperor Alexander III decided to perpetuate the memory of his close. Therefore, in 1886, he announced a competition for sculptors. Among them was the “golden trinity” Mikeshin, Antokolsky and Opekushin.
The project of Alexander Mikhailovich was recognized as the best. The laying of the monument took place in 1888, and three years later it was officially opened in Khabarovsk and installed on the Khabarovsk cliff. The count's figure towered on a pedestal, his gaze fixed on China. The pedestal was decorated with five commemorative plaques with the names of officers and civilians who actively participated in the annexation of the Amur Region to Russia. However, in 1925, in connection with the “Decree on Monuments”, the monument was demolished and handed over to the local history museum, and later cut into scrap metal.
Decorative sculpture
A special place in the work of Opekushin was occupied by decorative sculpture. It was she who was the subject of his tireless attention, improvement and main source of income. It was thanks to her that Alexander Mikhailovich at a young age was recognized as a talented sculptor.
After the skillful execution of bas-reliefs and the famous seven figures for the monument to Catherine II in St. Petersburg, Opekushin was instructed to arrange the Royal Gates for the iconostasis in the Resurrection Cathedral. And he dealt with it expertly.
In the portrait busts that were created by the sculptor, a realistic approach was noted with a subtle reflection of individual features. In the rest of the author’s works of decorative sculpture, art historians emphasize the artistic expressiveness of images and the elegance and softness of lines.
Awards and titles
- While studying at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, Opekushin Alexander Mikhailovich received his first award - a silver medal - for his excellent performance of a bas-relief on a biblical theme.
- In 1864, for the sketches of the statues "Belisarius" and "Cupid and Psyche", the sculptor received the title of non-class artist. Five years later, he was promoted from this title to a class artist of 2 degrees, and even later received 1 degree.
- The most significant achievement was the title of academician, which was awarded to Opechushin in 1872. The Imperial Academy of Arts included him in the scientific staff due to his merits and significant work in the format of the state: the bust of the prince and the statue of Peter the Great.
- In the same year, Alexander Mikhailovich, the Society of Natural History Lovers, was awarded a large gold medal for a number of thematic works.
- Opekushin’s victories were at the international level. One of the highest achievements was the first prize he received in Estonia, the city of Tartu (then Derpt) for creating a monument to Karl Baer. Along with Opekushin, sculptors from European and American countries took part in this competition.
Interesting Facts
- In 1978, in memory of the sculptor (on his 140th birthday), an illustrated (artistic) envelope with his portrait on the front side was released.
- In 1986, astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh discovered the asteroid, which she named after the Russian sculptor.
- Since 1993, Yaroslavl Prize named after Opekushin has been awarded to outstanding cultural figures.
- In 2013, Olga Davydova's book about the life and work of the sculptor was published. By the way, the author several times published essays on the Guardian. This book contains a description of the most significant periods of life and works of the great master. It took almost 30 years to create it. And the reason for the publication was immediately two dates: the 175th anniversary of the birth of Opekushin (according to sources born in 1833) and the 90th anniversary of his death.
PS
The example that Alexander Mikhailovich Opekushin showed to the world, his biography and his achievements in art, is truly a feat of a serf. He was one of the first to go against the social system and proved that neither social status, nor any other restrictions prevent a person from doing what he loves and creating something beautiful, forever leaving a memory of himself on this planet. And even though they forgot about the Russian sculptor after numerous praises and titles for several years, art critics are sure that his trace in the monumental and sculptural art is uniquely deep and has no boundaries of memory.