Artist Egorov Alexei Egorovich - Russian painter and draftsman, as well as professor of historical painting. As a teacher at the Academy of Arts, he was able to have a huge impact on Russian art. Such talented artists as Basin, Markov, K.P. Bryullov and others grew up under his wing.
Short biography: early years
The place of birth and origin of the future artist were unknown. However, according to Yegorov’s childhood memories, it can be concluded that the child definitely had Asian roots: a rich silk dressing gown, a wagon and embroidered boots were combined with the Tatar appearance.
Being a Kalmyk captured by the Cossacks, he ended up in an educational home in Moscow. Date of birth falls on 1776.
In 1782, on March 14, at a young age of only 6 years old, Alexei entered the Academy of Arts and became a student of Ivan Akimov, a Russian painter working in the direction of classicism. At the institution, student Alexei quickly gains fame as the best draftsman from life, which is documented by the medals handed to him (small and large silver) and the distinction "For good behavior and success."
Youth
In 1797, the artist Egorov graduated from the training course and in 1798 he was already appointed a teacher in this institution. Exactly in the 19th century, he received the title of academician and after 3 years (1803) he went on an internship to Rome, where he undergoes practical training with Vincenzo Camuccini, a painter and graphic artist in Italy.
Being a foreigner of domestic tastes and traditions, as well as a true Russian hero in his youth, the artist Aleksey Egorov is very popular while in Italy.
Almost everyone knew him. From some lips, a characteristic was heard of him as one of the greatest Russian draftsmen, and someone said that Yegorov was a real "Russian bear."
Mature years
In 1807, the biography of the artist Yegorov again went to his native Russia, when he returned to St. Petersburg and was immediately appointed deputy, and then academician for his magnificent achievements in the film "Position in the Coffin."
At the same time, the artist Egorov takes the place of a drawing teacher and teaches Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna and Alexander I. the latter, sincerely loving Alexei, gave him the nickname “famous”, since the artist was able to write a large-scale work, “Welfare of the World”, in just 28 days, which depicted about 100 life-size figures.
If we talk about Egorov, referring to his role as a teacher, then we can say that the personality of the ancient philosopher was traced in him: not only a sense of duty, but also warm human relations, such as brotherhood and friendship, connected with the teacher’s students. Respect and love on the part of the wards reached the point that the students were ready to give him an overcoat or a stick, light a flashlight, and accompany the whole class to the house.
In fact, Yegorov helped to correct students' errors with the help of personal instructions with advice and only rarely could he reproach with a short and harsh word.
Last years
At the end of the life of the artist Egorov, he suffers a terrible blow: in 1840 he was dismissed from service for the dissatisfaction of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich with the work of Egorov "The Holy Trinity", which was to adorn the walls of the cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo. The “pension” for his labors was the annual payment of a fee in the amount of 1,000 rubles, 4,000 of which were kept for payment of royal images.
Do not lose heart Egorov helped his former students. Despite the dismissal from the Academy, the artists Markov, Bryullov, Shamshin and others came to the professor's house for advice, instructions, demonstrated new works and listened to his opinion, still cherishing his beloved teacher.
Thanks to the support and faith in him, Alexey worked in painting until the end of his days.
On September 22, in 1851, news spread through Petersburg: the artist Alexei Egorov died, saying before his death: "My candle burned out." He was buried in the Smolensk Orthodox Cemetery, but in the 30s of the XIX century he was transferred to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Personal life
Alexey Egorov was married to the daughter of the sculptor Martos - Vera Ivanovna. Despite the teaching talent, he did not engage in the education of his daughters at all, considering the training of girls tyranny and useless work. According to him, the priority was the financial situation: there will be a dowry - there will be grooms.
The artist Egorov painted images of angels, including with his daughters, with the youngest he even portrayed odalisks (women - concubines of the harem).
In marriage, he had four children:
- Hope (was married to D.N. Bulgakov);
- Evdokia (was married to A. I. Terebenev);
- Sophia
- son of Evdokim.
Creation
Being a deeply religious Christian, Alexey found his calling in religious painting. All paintings by the artist Egorov were painted on biblical and divine themes.
During the Roman internship, Antonio Canove and Yegorov's teacher Vincenzo Camuccini did not cease to be amazed at his skill, which combined the severity of style with personality. In paintings, the artist preferred simplicity and clarity, and in colors - naturalness.
Some of the most famous paintings of the artist Egorov:
- "Holy Family";
- "Saint Simeon the God-Receiver";
- "The torture of the Savior."
All three works are in the Russian Museum.
Egorov said that with the help of church painting he preaches the word of God, so for those who wanted to paint portraits from himself, he offered the services of other artists. However, he had exceptions: he nevertheless painted portraits for Princess Evdokia Galitsyna, General Dmitry Shepelev, the son of engineer Alexei Tomilov and others.
The artist Egorov is one of the largest figures in the Russian academic school and a representative of the classicism movement. He preferred to work by the method of free linear drawing, performing with a chalk or ink pen, either on brown paper or on a tinted basis. Egorov also paid more attention to the rhythmic construction of the picture, practically without modeling the form.
Depending on the artistic task, he could reproduce lines rough, broken, jerky or soft and round.
Egorov created works for such institutions as Kazan Cathedral, Trinity Cathedral, Tauride Palace, Zion Cathedral in Tiflis, Malaya and Palace churches in Tsarskoye Selo.