The second half of the 19th century was the heyday of Russian painting. One of the representatives of a galaxy of prominent artists of this period is Vasily Polenov, whose paintings amaze with realism and the desire to "give happiness and joy." The last words belong to the painter himself and are the motto of his work and life, as evidenced by the artist’s biography.
Parents
The future famous artist was born into a cultural and rather wealthy noble family in 1844. His father, Dmitry Polenov, was known as a keen archaeologist and bibliographer. Mother, Maria Alekseevna, in girlhood Voeikova, was engaged in painting and wrote books for children. She was the daughter of Vera Nikolaevna Lvova, who, after the early death of her parents and before her marriage, was brought up in the family of G. Derzhavin.
Childhood
Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich spent his childhood in St. Petersburg, but his family often went to the Olonets region and the Olshanka estate of the Tambov province, which belonged to the artist’s grandmother, for the summer. Vera Nikolaevna adored her grandchildren and loved to entertain them, telling tales, legends and tales. She was also well acquainted with Russian and European poetry, so she played a large role in shaping the artistic taste of little Vasya. As for the origin of his love of painting, then mother was engaged in drawing with children. She insisted that the husband hire tutors for Vasily and the youngest daughter Elena. P. Chistyakov was invited as a teacher, who at that time studied at the Academy of Arts. In parallel with this, the boy attended the gymnasium and showed great zeal for study.
Student years
In 1863, Vasily Polenov graduated from high school and, together with his younger brother Alexei, entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University. However, his love of painting was stronger than his passion for science, and in the evenings the young man attended the Academy of Arts. In addition, the young Polenov was fond of music, was a frequent visitor to the opera house and even sang in the student choir of the Academy.
Soon, the young man took an academic leave at the university and devoted all his time to painting. In 1867, Vasily Polenov graduated from the Academy of Arts. At the same time, he received silver medals for the sketch and drawings.
Immediately after this, the young man returned to university, but changed his faculty and began to study as a lawyer.
Meeting with Repin
In 1869, Vasily Polenov was eager to get the gold medal of the Academy of Arts. To this end, he painted the painting "Job and His Friends." She received a small award and gave him the right to continue to participate in the competition. The new task was to create the painting “The Resurrection of Jairus's Daughter”, and Ivan Repin became the rival of the young artist.
The result of the contest was unexpected: both masters of the brush presented excellent works, so the jury awarded them with large gold medals and a trip to Europe.
In 1872, Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich with Repin went first to Germany, and then to Italy and Paris. The capital of France was so fascinated by the artist that he decided to stay there. In Paris, Polenov wrote the painting “The arrest of the Countess d'Etremont”, for which, after returning to Russia, he was awarded the title of academician. The talent of the painter was also appreciated by representatives of the imperial family. In 1876, he took up the post of court artist and went to the Russian-Turkish war, where he was at the headquarters of Tsarevich Alexander.
Moscow period
Returning from the theater of war, Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich settled in Moscow and began to teach at the capital's school of painting, sculpture and architecture. There, his students were I. Levitan, K. Korovin, I. Ostroukhov, A. Arkhipov, E. Tatevosyan and A. Golovin.
At the same time, the artist himself wrote a lot, and in 1877 presented his work “Moscow Courtyard” at the 6th traveling exhibition. The picture was a resounding success, and Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich was recognized as the founder of a new genre called by critics "intimate landscape."
Another significant event in the Moscow period of the artist’s life was his decision to join the Wanderers, among whom by that time he had many friends.
Bible theme
Old Testament and Christian subjects from the very beginning were present in Polenov’s works. In search of inspiration in 1881-1882, the artist went on a journey through biblical places to the Middle East. He visited Constantinople, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. From the trip, the artist Polenov Vasily brought in sketches and sketches for the painting “Christ and the Sinner” and other works written under the impression of what he saw. Some of them delighted Pavel Tretyakov, who acquired canvases for his collection.
Image of Christ
In 1883, the painter with his wife went to Italy. There he continued to work on the painting "Christ and the Sinner", which he presented to the public at the 15th exhibition of the Wanderers. The canvas made a splash, and the desire to see him in his museum was announced by Emperor Alexander the Third, who favored the artist since the Russo-Turkish war.
In 1888, Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich painted another famous painting on the biblical theme - “On Lake Tiberias (Genisaret)”. On the new canvas, he again depicted Christ - a man with an oriental face and the look of a sage, but not a sufferer. Moreover, an important “protagonist” of the picture was the landscape, written according to sketches made by the artist from nature during a trip to the Middle East.
Life in Behovo
In the 1890s, Vasily Polenov, whose biography is a long list of successes, decided to leave the capital and move to the Tula region. There, on the banks of the Oka, he built a house. Workshops were added to the main building a little later, in which Polenov taught drawing rural children. The painter gave the name to the founded estate to Borok and began to make efforts to turn it into a folk museum over time.
Vasily Polenov: “Golden Autumn”
Views of the surroundings of Borok won the heart of the artist. It was they who became the subject of the work that Vasily Polenov wrote in the early 1890s. Golden Autumn occupies a special place among them. On the canvas depicts the banks of the Oka River, bordered by birches in bright decoration. The painting is exhibited in the museum-estate "Polenovo" (the former estate "Borok") and is very different from the early landscapes, which were painted by Vasily Polenov ("Overgrown Pond", "Old Mill", etc.).
After 1917
After the October Revolution, Polenov took an active part in organizing a theater group in the Borok estate and worked a lot with peasant youth.
At the same time, he wrote the painting "Spill on the Oka", which became one of the best works of the artist of a mature period.
last years of life
In 1924, in honor of the 80th anniversary of the artist, a personal exhibition of Vasily Dmitrievich's works was organized at the Tretyakov Gallery. In general, the Soviet government was supportive of the artist. In particular, in 1926 the painter was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR. Most likely, this was due to the charity of Polenov and his desire to promote public education with all his might even at a time when only rare representatives of the Russian intelligentsia were engaged in this.
July 18, 1927 the artist died. The artist was buried on the banks of the Oka River, in the vicinity of the estate Borok founded by him.
Polenovo
In 1931, the Soviet government decided to create a museum in the estate of Borok. It was renamed Polenovo, and the interiors that were during the life of the artist were preserved there. Interesting cultural events are regularly held there and the paintings of the famous painter are exhibited.
Now you know the main events of the biography of V. Polenov and the history of the creation of some of his most significant works, which are among the masterpieces of Russian fine art of the 19th century.