The artist Nesterov Mikhail Vasilievich has always been especially fond of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The painting "Vision to the Youth Bartholomew" is the first of a whole series of his works dedicated to the Monk Superior. This is because Nesterov is an artist whose work was formed on the basis of a high spiritual and Christian tradition. He dearly loved his homeland, its nature and the people who lived next to it.
About the artist
Nesterov Mikhail Vasilievich was born on May 31, and according to the old style on May 19, 1862 in Ufa. According to family legends, the family of the future artist came from the Novgorod peasants who had once moved to the Urals. His grandfather Ivan Andreevich was a serf, and later became, as it was called, freed. He was able to "excellently" finish the seminary and, with a lot of effort, broke out into the merchant estate.
The Nesterov family was very fond of literature and even staged small performances. And once they even played Gogol’s comedy The Inspector General, which caused a stir in the provincial little Ufa. I must say that in those days books were still rare, but they were found in this house. On the recommendation of his father, Mikhail, as a child, with pleasure read the “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy. And he was very impressed with this work.
Father Mikhail Vasilievich was an outstanding person. Having discovered his son’s talent for drawing, he did not interfere with his development, but, on the contrary, supported him in every possible way. And this is despite the fact that in merchant families the matter was passed from father to son.
Church painting
Religious themes entered the paintings of the artist Nesterov firmly and for a long time. But the master painted not only paintings. At one time he was engaged in murals of churches. For example, in 1893-1894, in the Vladimir Cathedral of Kiev, he painted an altarpiece called the Nativity of Christ, and after 2 years, work on mosaics was completed in one of the churches of St. Petersburg. In 1899, Nesterov began painting the Caucasian Church of Alexander Nevsky. After 5 years, it was completed. Also, the master’s brushes belong to the frescoes located in the Moscow Martha-Mariinsky monastery. Work on them was conducted from 1907 to 1911. By this time, the best paintings of Nesterov Mikhail Vasilyevich, written by him on religious topics, were precisely related.
Family legend
How can one explain such an artist’s great craving for holy images? There was a certain family legend according to which little Michael almost died, but thanks to the intervention of a saint who miraculously healed him, the boy still survived.
It must be said that then children were treated with rather severe folk methods. For example, they were kept directly in the snow or in the cold, or, conversely, laid in a hot oven. According to the artist himself, his mother thought he was dead. Then the child, as expected, was ritualized and put under the icons, a figurine of St. Tikhon Zadonsky was placed on his chest, and they themselves left for the cemetery to order a funeral. After some time, the mother noticed that her child woke up. She was sure that this miracle happened thanks to the intercession of the saint. Since then, in addition to Sergius of Radonezh, Tikhon Zadonsky has become especially revered and loved in their family.
Work on the picture
Nesterov wrote “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” while in Komyakin. Not far from this place was the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius. Also nearby is the Abramtsevo estate, which was owned by the then-famous philanthropist Savva Mamontov. As you know, he was very fond of inviting already famous artists to his guests: Serov, Vasnetsov, Bilibin, Vrubel. Nesterov has also been there. "Vision to the Youth Bartholomew" is a picture in which Abramtsevo landscapes are used. The artist himself wrote that he sketched a sketch for this work, being right there. Then he was struck to the core by the uncomplicated authenticity of Russian nature. Several preparatory drawings and studies for this most famous of his paintings have been preserved.
Theme of canvas
Mikhail Nesterov “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh, who lived in the XIV century. He was the founder and hegumen of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. In the world bore the name of Bartholomew. He is still one of the most revered saints in Russia.
It was with the blessing of Sergius that Dmitry Donskoy went to the battle that took place on the Kulikovo field in 1380. The battle against the hordes of Mongol-Tatars led by Khan Mamaia ended in victory for the Russian army. With it began the liberation of land from the Mongol yoke.
For the artist, the image of young Sergius became a kind of symbol, which gave hope that Russian spirituality would nevertheless revive.
Nesterov’s painting “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” depicts one of the episodes of the life of Sergius of Radonezh. Unlike his brothers, it was very difficult for a boy to learn to read and write. One day, looking for a missing horse, he wandered into the forest, where he met a monk praying by an oak tree. Bartholomew complained to the monk that the letter was given to him with great difficulty. The elder, with the help of the sacrament of communion, helped the youth gain knowledge.
Colors on the canvas
Making the description of the painting “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew”, one cannot but notice the heat emanating from her. Almost all the colors used by the artist to paint her are sunny and joyful: yellow, orange, green, brown, ocher.
In the foreground of the picture we see two central figures - the monk and the lad, surrounded by an autumn, purely Russian landscape. On the second - a hill overgrown with tall grass. Almost all of it turned yellow and dried out in some places, but nevertheless small pale blue flowers are clearly visible against its background. The depth of the picture is given by the hills located on the sides: on the left is yellow-green, covered with tall fir trees, and on the right is red-yellow.
In the background you can see a field sown with golden wheat, and on its edge - two dilapidated, slightly rickety, dark huts. Behind them is a wooden, no longer new church with bright blue domes surrounded by slender birches and fir trees. Opposite her, across the road, a small rivulet curls, gleaming. The water in it is clean and clear.
Central figure
I must say that the description of the painting "Vision to the Youth Bartholomew" will be incomplete, if we do not separately mention how the image was found for one of the main characters. It is said that Nesterov had been looking for nature for a long time to write a boy from her. But one day he accidentally met a girl who suffered from consumption. He was struck by her appearance: on his sickly little face, it seemed, only bright eyes lived, looking at him with some unearthly gaze. It was then that the artist realized that he had finally found the image of the lad.
In the picture, little Bartholomew is depicted in a simple white peasant shirt, a whip is visible on his belt, and a bridle hangs from his hand. As mentioned above, according to the Life, the boy's father sent him to search for the lost horse. Looking into the eyes of the lad, you can see all the purity of his soul. They look at the old man very seriously, in an adult way, as if they see their future destiny.
The image of a monk
Some mystery to the picture is given by the fact that the saint's face is hidden by a thrust puppet. It can be seen that the elder carefully holds a casket in his hands. This is seen love and tenderness, which are directed towards the lad. Bartholomew, standing in front of the monk, folded his hands in prayer, and his legs, slightly bent at the knees, eloquently testify to the apparent admiration for the holiness of the old man.
Making a description of the painting “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew”, we should separately mention the golden halo surrounding the monk’s head. After the canvas was first shown at the exhibition of the Wanderers in 1890, it was this small detail that caused serious debate among artists. They immediately noticed one characteristic discrepancy: the old man’s face was written in profile, and for some reason the halo itself was in front. Following artistic plausibility, holiness was to be depicted only with a thin golden line, and not in a circle, as in the picture. But, most likely, having painted this detail in such a way, the artist Mikhail Nesterov wanted to attract the attention of the audience not to the face of the saint, i.e., to his external features, namely to his righteousness.
Contrast
An interesting detail that needs to be included in the description of the picture “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew”: a very weak and thin Christmas tree grows at the boy’s feet, similar to it, and behind the old man there is an oak, old and wrinkled, like the monk himself. This tree has always personified wisdom and greatness.
Continuing to compare the image of the old man and the lad, it is impossible not to note that a simple white shirt on a boy is the most striking detail located in the center of the picture. It symbolizes purity and youth, while the dark, almost black robes of a monk are wisdom coming over the years and old age.
Nesterov’s painting “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” was written very harmoniously. The boy's straw hair resembles autumn fields and yellowed leaves on birches, and his boots and panties are made with the same colors as the old man’s cockle.
A series of paintings about St. Sergius of Radonezh
Nesterov is an artist who did not leave the image of this saint throughout almost his entire life. After the first picture dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh (“Vision to the youth Bartholomew”), he proceeds to the next large canvas - “Youth of St. Sergius”. Working on it, he seemed to be creating a legend about Holy Russia. In this mythical country, nature and man merged together, united by exalted spirituality and prayer contemplation.
The artworks of Nesterov are distinguished by their unusual landscapes. Most often, they have a discreet nature of either central Russia or its northern regions. This type of landscape is called Nesterov. Thin birches, fluffy pines, mountain ash with berries and carved leaves, as well as sprawling willows are inherent in it. Each tree in the paintings is as if endowed with its own soul.
Post-Revolutionary Activities
After 1917, Nesterov was mainly engaged in painting portraits, since the Bolsheviks had no honor in the churches. In his paintings, the artist always gravitated to the lyrical line of his art. That is why he continued it in female portraits. This is especially noticeable when he wrote his daughter Vera in 1928. She is depicted in a white ball gown with delicate pink flowers on her chest, sitting on an old sofa.
Nesterov portrayed his other daughter, Natasha, in the guise of a girl who lived during the French Revolution. This painting was called “The Girl at the Pond,” and she was painted in 1923.
An interesting fact is that the more years Nesterov became, the more energetic and masterful his art seemed. Oddly enough, the best of the portraits were painted by him after 70 years of age. The artist painted not only other people, but himself. There are several of his self-portraits. On one of them, he made a high cliff above the Belaya River in the background. His last work was a landscape called "Autumn in the Village." The artist was very fond of his native land and a little harsh, but so sweet to the heart Russian nature.
What picture did M. Nesterov consider the best and most successful? "Vision to the youth Bartholomew," of course. According to the artist, he really wanted not only contemporaries, but also descendants to appreciate this work of art. His dream came true. Now this picture is exhibited in the State Tretyakov Gallery, in the hall number 39.