Illarion Mikhailovich Pryanishnikov is perhaps one of the most famous artists of the Russian Empire. Along with Karl Bryullov, Ilya Repin and Ivan Kramskoy, the painter enters the galaxy of brilliant Russian masters of the brush. It was Illarion Pryanishnikov who founded the world's first partnership of Wanderers, who, contrary to royal censorship, carried their work around the cities and organized independent exhibitions.
Pryanishnikov's paintings still receive rave reviews from art critics, and are also actively acquired by well-known collectors for private collections.
The master’s works reflect the life and life of the immediate Russian peasants, the atmosphere of old Russia, the national spirit, customs and habits that have been preserved in the outback for centuries are perfectly conveyed.
Biography of Pryanishnikov
The artist was born on March 20, 1840 in the small village of Timashovo, Kaluga province. The boy belonged to an old merchant family, received an excellent home education. Illarion was significantly ahead of his peers in his development; by the age of twelve, he was already able to submit documents to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. The examination committee, having examined the artist’s children's work, was so impressed by the boy’s talents that Pryanishnikov was accepted into the academy without entrance exams.
Unfortunately, soon the Illarion family went bankrupt and was unable to pay for the further education of the young man. Seeing Pryanishnikov’s serious mood, taking into account his exceptional abilities, the leadership of the academy completely exempted Illarion from paying fees for materials and brushes, and also almost halved his tuition fees.
Eager for knowledge, Hilarion got a "errand boy" in a trading shop, where he tried to fulfill the double standard of work in order to receive double payment.
early years
Thanks to hard work and the help of the employer, in 1856, Illarion Mikhailovich Pryanishnikov was restored at the academy and immediately fell into the painting class, which was led by recognized brush masters, such as E. S. Sorokin, S. K. Zaryanko, E. Ya. Vasiliev. The latter became a close friend of the young artist and was able to get the leadership of the academy to completely cancel the tuition fee and provide an apartment for the young talent.
In 1864, Hilarion created his first major work - the painting "Reading a Letter in a Small Shop", she received rave reviews from critics and brought the master a small silver medal from the Academy Directorate. A year later, Pryanishnikov received a large silver medal for the work “Jokers. Gostiny Dvor in Moscow. "
Society of Wanderers
At the end of 1869, Illarion Mikhailovich Pryanishnikov got the idea to create a society of artists whose work would be accessible to ordinary people, regardless of the review that this or that work received from the imperial chancellery. A similar project of such an uncensored union was incredibly bold and radical for that time, it had little chance of success. However, in early 1870, under the active leadership of Hilarion, the "Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions" was created, popularly known as the "Union of Wanderers."
For Russian artists of the 19th century, the theme of folk life became special. Despite the fact that before the first revolution it was still a long way off, more and more members of the upper strata of society became interested in the life of ordinary people, and a rather significant number of representatives of the creative intelligentsia tried to depict the picture of folk life in their works.
Patriotic War
In the mid-nineteenth century, Hilarion began to pay great attention to the history of the Patriotic War of 1812. The artist writes several paintings on this subject.
Many literary encyclopedias contain an enthusiastic description of Pryanishnikov's painting "In 1812", which depicts captured French soldiers. The work was admired by both contemporaries of the artist and his descendants. The legendary Ivan Kramskoy spoke of this picture as a "masterpiece of Russian painting" and "a wonderful thing."
Teaching activities
In 1873, the artist accepts the offer to become one of the teachers at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Under his strict guidance, such talents as Korovin, Lebedev, Malyutin, Stepanov and many other creators were revealed, whose works in the future will become pearls of Russian painting.
At the end of the nineteenth century, the artist creates several paintings illustrating the traditional way of life of the inhabitants of the Russian North. These works found a positive response from culturologists and art historians of that time, finally securing the title of a brilliant painter for Illarion.
Folk themes have always been the basis of the artist. It was in her that he drew inspiration and strength to continue working in difficult periods of life.
Art style
The peculiarities of the painting style of Illarion Mikhailovich Pryanishnikov include fairly large strokes, the use of a large number of shades of black and brown. Along with bright and bright episodes of peasant life, the artist masterfully depicts the gloomy everyday routine of ordinary people, filled with hardships and problems. The artist’s works are characterized by a gloomy mood and faded color scheme, which greatly affects the overall impression of the series of paintings by Pryanishnikov.
Death
The life of the great artist ended on March 12, 1894. Illarion Mikhailovich Pryanishnikov died in his house in Moscow, surrounded by people close to him - his wife and adopted daughter.