“There is a Russian spirit, it smells of Rus ...” - these well-known lines from the Pushkin's “Lukomorye” can rightfully be attributed to the work of another person who has glorified the fatherland the whole world — Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. He is the pride of Russian art, an architect and a folklorist artist whose work is deeply folk, truthful and extremely talented.
From the depths of centuries
Almost all of Viktor Vasnetsov’s paintings are turned to hoary antiquity. On his canvases the distant past of
Ancient Russia comes to life
. Myths and fairy tales created by vivid folk imagination inspired the artist to create our beloved Alyonushka and Ivan Tsarevich, jumping through the thicket in his good assistant - Gray Wolf. Victor Vasnetsov’s paintings “The Knight at the Crossroads” and “After the Battle of Prince Igor” tell us about the heroic time of the formation of the
Principality of Kiev, strife and the fight against the Polovtsy. The history of the Russian land and its long-suffering people, so rich and generous in soul and with such a heavy share, unfolds before our eyes, as if in a kaleidoscope - one has only to move from one canvas to another. The artist in an original way combined in his work real historical, mystical and epic motifs, becoming the creator of his own genre in painting. This is evidenced by the paintings of Viktor Vasnetsov: “The Battle of Dobryny with the Serpent”, “Warriors of the Apocalypse” and many others.
Singer of life "natural"
However, the contribution of the master to the development of everyday life is no less significant. Greatness and simplicity, high and mundane, solemn and everyday, everyday equally captivate the artist. This is evidenced by the paintings of Viktor Vasnetsov from the "Wanderer" period. A peasant girl walking along a narrow path with a yoke, a group of village children near a tree, inveterate gamblers sitting up preference until morning, shopping malls and shops on Novgorod square, the noise and din of the crowd - everything is interesting and close to the artist, everything attracts him, in everything he sees the poetry of "real life," the being of the people. And the audience, becoming acquainted with his work, also becomes dear to this element of simple and natural everyday life. Therefore, the paintings of Viktor Vasnetsov are deeply folk and humane, truly Russian in spirit and essence.
Portrait painter
And what was the artist himself? To find out, let's turn to his self-portrait. Yes, the range of creativity of the master is so wide that he created many works in this genre. From a picture of Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (Self-Portrait, 1873) an elderly man with amazingly wise and kind eyes looks at us. The face is thin, even somewhat haggard and mournful, but surprisingly spiritual, attentive. Thin features, a beard and long hair, and most importantly, an expression of love and understanding, compassion in the eyes bring the person in the portrait closer to Jesus Christ or Prince Myshkin from the novel by Dostoevsky.
“Not of this world”, standing above material temptations, the struggle for benefits and privileges, who has completely devoted himself to the service of art and homeland, Vasnetsov is indeed akin to these personalities. The similarity - internal and external - is especially noticeable if you compare this work of authorship with another, written by a different master. The portrait of Vasnetsov by N. D. Kuznetsov shows the artist in work clothes, with a palette and brushes in his hands. So - from the everyday atmosphere to immortality - he stepped.
Democratic motives
Many paintings by artist Viktor Vasnetsov raise the theme of national grief and suffering. On the canvas "From apartment to apartment" we see already an elderly married couple, forced to move from their homes. It is worth taking a closer look at the mournful, hunched figures, and a note of deep sadness and sincere sympathy creeps into the heart. It is clear that poor people are not voluntarily wandering along the ice-bound embankment of St. Petersburg. Most likely, the owner drove them out for non-payment, and now tired and frozen, defenseless in the face of a ruthless autocratic system, the husband and wife wander sadly down the street.
In their hands they hold knots with their poor belongings. The motive of loneliness, homeless restlessness is strengthened by the fact that there are no more people on the embankment. Only seagulls fly in the whitish sky, and an evil dog grins its teeth on travelers. What the artist wanted to say with his work is understandable without words. Democratic motives permeate other paintings by Viktor Vasnetsov, whose names you are already familiar with.
And again, "Alyonushka"
Far from always the master, having set to work, immediately brings his creation to the end. For many years, Pushkin wrote The Onegin. Four times remade "War and Peace" by Tolstoy. Similar examples are known and painting. Phased worked on his famous "Alyonushka" Vasnetsov. At first, in 1880, he painted a forest landscape: mighty trees, impassable thicket and reed-covered pond with dark, deep water. And a year later he was supplemented with the lyrical
figure of a girl so fragile and defenseless against the backdrop of harsh nature. The author clearly wanted the audience to empathize with the heroine of the picture. And they fell in love with Alyonushka - with all their heart and soul.