Victor Popkov - Soviet artist: biography, paintings. Popkov Victor Efimovich (1932-1974)

Victor Popkov is an artist-painter and graphic artist, author of talented original works, many of which are presented in the Tretyakov Gallery. Having survived a terrible war as a child, in his paintings he conveyed harsh reality and inner courage, which he observed during the difficult years for the country. He made the audience sympathize with his heroes and admire them, empathize and admire.

Childhood

Popkov Victor Efimovich (1932 - 1974) was born in Moscow, in a family of peasants. Father and mother, from an early age accustomed to hard work, moved from place to place in search of work.

Victor Popkov was the second child in a large family of four children. The news of his father’s death in the war came when the future painter was nine years old, and his youngest brother was several months old. The mother, at the request of her beloved husband, devoted all herself to the children, never having married. But she put the children on their feet, gave everyone a proper education.

The Popkov family was friendly, but poor. The children loved the mother and, seeing her hard work, tried to listen in everything and not upset. Realizing that they are connected by unbreakable blood ties, the guys grew up together almost without quarrels and disagreements, always ready to come to the rescue of each other and provide the necessary support.

Mother, Stepanida Ivanovna, adored her kids and tried to educate them in severity, but tenderness.

Such a seemingly happy childhood was overshadowed by several more tragedies (in addition to the death of his father and constant need).

The death of his younger brother, Toli's universal favorite, left an indelible mark on Victor Popkov’s soul. He could not even attend the baby’s funeral.

The second bright unforgettable shock occurred a little later, when a bull attacked Vitya and knocked him to the ground. The boy managed to escape thanks to the timely help.

But, despite all the sorrows, Viktor Popkov grew up as a kind and friendly child, generous and sociable.

First steps on the creative path

At school, the boy was distinguished by special diligence and zeal. From an early age, a desire to create on paper developed in him. Vita liked to follow the manifestation of the drawing on the then “summaries” (decals), on which he spent all his pocket money, and also to observe the work of a neighbor-artist who painted with watercolors, but whose name, unfortunately, we do not know.

Stepanida Ivanovna, the first to see impulses to work with a brush in her son, began to encourage the child’s desire to create. She took him to an art school and helped to enter the Moscow graphic school, sincerely praised him, inspired him for creative exploits and gave thoughtful advice.

And the boy wrote everywhere and about everything. His early sketches covered a variety of objects and events - these were trees, and houses, and people.

The teachers of the art workshop also considered talent in a gifted student and paid him extra attention. From the short sketches from the aspiring artist’s personal album, one could see that studying in the art studio benefited him: amateurish sketches were replaced by meaningful, high-quality works, mainly landscapes and still lifes.

The formation of creativity

In 1852, Victor entered the Surikov Institute at the Faculty of Graphics. And although this did not meet the desires of the young man (he wanted to study at the department of painting), nevertheless, this state of affairs had a favorable effect on his further creative activity. The knowledge and skills acquired at the graphic faculty were reflected in his non-repeated refined manner of the painter.

Now, Popkov Viktor Efimovich, whose biography and work was actively revived with admission to a higher educational institution, begins to energetically create. He works in difficult, seemingly unfavorable conditions: in a small hut, where five more people live with him - his mother, younger sister and older brother with his wife and child. Crowding, poverty, malnutrition - the then companions of the master.

Sometimes I had to write in an unheated corridor, in different felt boots, eating only a piece of bread with lard. But this did not affect the creative process. Victor Popkov worked selflessly, talentedly, confidently, regularly. His magnificent talent was noticed almost instantly, the gifted student was initially awarded an increased, and a little later, Stalin scholarship, which he gave almost a penny to the needs of his relatives.

Travels

Since 1956, Viktor Popkov has been making long creative trips around the country, in search of original material for work and expressive perspectives. He visited delightful, grandiose industrial construction sites, realized the whole enormous scale of work, recorded a lot of ordinary, routine subjects, which he subsequently “poetized” and glorified. Unlike his fellow students who were looking for picturesque bright places and images, the novice artist focused his vision on ordinary prosaic compositions. This is a concrete worker pouring mortar with water, or two workers against the background of the huge wheels of a locomotive.

Victor worked energetically, animatedly, as if he was afraid not to be in time, trying to save on paper every episode of hard work. The student exhibition of sketches, held on one of the trips to the Irkutsk Hydroelectric Power Station, was full of many accurate talented works by Viti Popkov.

In his paintings, “severe style” prevailed, reflected in the laconicism of details, realistic images, dry shades.

Thanks to his creative trips to construction sites, Popkov Viktor Efimovich was able to become a national artist, depicting on his canvases ordinary laborer workers during his heavy monotonous occupation.

“Builders of the Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station”

After a trip to the construction of a hydroelectric station in the city of Bratsk in 1960, a wonderful original painting “The Builders of Bratsk” appeared. The young artist for a long time thought over every detail of the canvas - background, color, arrangement of images, foreshortening.

No wonder the background of the picture is black, it focuses on the drawn figures, and not on events or incidents. For the artist, the main thing was to correctly present his heroes and show their strength, courage, self-confidence. The builders of Bratsk are dusty, tired from work people, but they are beautiful in their hard work and harsh, restrained energy.

It is noteworthy that in the original form on the canvas were depicted workers with tattoos on their hands, since most of the workers at the Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station were prisoners. But, realizing that in this form the leadership cannot release the picture to the exhibition, Viktor Efimovich removes the camp tattoos.

Since then, the artist has become famous. He was loved by the people, critics admitted. And Viktor Popkov, whose paintings are bought by the Tretyakov Gallery and the leading newspaper prints, continues to work fruitfully and delight the audience with new original works, living modestly and crampedly, almost poorly.

The heyday of creativity

“The working theme”, reflected in other picturesque pictures of the artist, was not the only one that Viktor Efimovich Popkov addressed during his creative inspiration.

The “Brigade is resting” and “The Bridge in Arkhangelsk” are being replaced by moral and psychological plots of simple human relations. Popkov combines different artistic styles, experimenting with color effects. These are dramatic everyday episodes, which found reflection in the canvases “Quarrel”, “Divorce”, “Family of Bolotovs”, “Two”.

Mezen Widows

Incredible fame was brought to Popkov by his cycle “Mezen Widows” (late 1960s - early 1970s), in which on each canvas he reflected the individual character and the tragic fate of a woman. Each work is striking in its realistic originality and squat pictoriality. And although the paintings “Expectation”, “Old Age”, “One” are full of tragic pain and depressing longing, nevertheless they are necessary for mankind in order to awaken humanity and kindness in it in relation to the post-war female grief and loneliness.

The theme of historical events occupied a significant place in the artist's work. His unmasking “Chekist” and “doorbell” denounced the era of inexplicable bloody repressions, and “Overcoat of his father” and others conveyed an insurmountable aching sadness for those who would never return from the front line.

Tragic death

Working on historical and poetic themes, Victor Popkov begins his legendary painting “Autumn Rain”, where he portrayed the great Pushkin on the background of a crying element. The artist came to work on the canvas in the Pushkin Mountains.

On November 12, while on business in the capital, Viktor Yefimovich and his friends approached the parked Volga to ask the driver to give them a lift. But the car turned out to be a collector. Due to the recent sensational robbery, the guards who were ordered to shoot in case of danger opened fire. The artist was mortally wounded.

At his funeral, next to a lifeless body, there was an unfinished painting, Autumn Rain.

Personal life

Popkov Viktor Efimovich was married to his classmate at the graphic school Clara - a talented artist, a true friend of life. With her, they went through poverty and deprivation, lived in the same apartment as their mother-in-law and father-in-law, worked in the same room, raised their son together.

Klara Ivanovna was a very bright and courageous man, she faithfully loved her husband, helped him during his depressions and despondency, gave practical advice.

In addition to such wonderful spiritual qualities, the woman had a bright talent and skill. She became a sought-after popular master of children's books, worked with the publishing house "Kid", took an active part in national and international exhibitions.