The famous Wanderer, one of the main reformers in art of the 19th century century, the painter and portrait painter Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy could have remained in the history of Russian art by painting only a portrait of the “Unknown”. The painting - one of the diamonds of the Moscow Tretyakov Gallery - is known to everyone in the post-Soviet space. “The Unknown” is called the Russian Gioconda.
However, the artist gave the world hundreds of paintings that delight, amaze and beckon. Among them " Moonlight night", "Mina Moiseev", "Mermaids", "Christ in the Desert". Having led the “revolt of the fourteen” in his early youth, creating the association of the Wanderers, a subtle art critic, Kramskoy became the ideologist of a whole generation of realist artists.
Childhood and youth
The artist was born in the summer of 1837 in the suburban settlement of Novaya Sotnya near Ostrogozhsk, in the Voronezh province. He was brought up in the family of a clerk and a tradesman.
The ultimate dream of the parents was for Vanya to grow up and become a clerk, but the plans were unwittingly disrupted by the neighboring self-taught artist Mikhail Tulinov. He opened up the world of art to little Kramskoy and taught him to draw. watercolor paints. Since then, the boy, at every opportunity, grabbed a pencil and sketched the world around him.
At the age of 12, Ivan Kramskoy completed a course at the Ostrogozhsky School, receiving diplomas in all subjects. That same year, the teenager lost his father and went to work. He got a job in the City Duma, where his father had previously worked as a clerk. Kramskoy practiced calligraphy and was involved as a mediator in amicable land surveys. The desire to draw did not disappear, and the guy got a job as a retoucher for a photographer, with whom he traveled all over Russia.
An event that happened in 1853 changed the biography of Ivan Kramskoy. When he turned 16, a regiment of dragoons arrived in Ostrogozhsk, and with him Yakov Danilevsky, a photographer. Young artist entered the service of Danilevsky. The work of a retoucher brought Kramskoy 2 rubles. 50 kopecks per month, but most importantly, the talented photographer taught the young man a lot during the 3 years that Ivan worked for him. With him, the artist moved from the provincial provincial town to St. Petersburg.
In the northern capital, Ivan Kramskoy moved on to another photographer, Aleksandrovsky. At that time, the young retoucher’s skill had reached such heights that he was called the “god of retouching.” Even then, a talented portrait painter awoke in Kramskoy. Thanks to his assistant, Aleksandrovsky became a photographer for the imperial family and received the “Eagle”, and Ivan was invited to the famous photo studio of Andrei Denyer. The St. Petersburg elite lined up for Kramskoy’s retouched photo.
In St. Petersburg, Ivan Kramskoy fulfilled a dream that he had cherished since childhood: he entered the Academy of Arts. The young man was assigned to the group of Professor Alexei Markov. In the very first years, the future painter became the leader of academic youth.
In 1863, the talented artist received the Small Silver and Small Gold medals. Kramskoy was a little removed from the main award - the Big Gold Medal and a paid 6-year trip abroad: creative competition should have drawn a picture on the proposed topic.
However, to depict the plot from Scandinavian mythology 14 out of 15 applicants for the medal refused - there was growing interest in society in the realistic genre, in paintings that depicted everyday life. The rebels were led by Ivan Kramskoy. The students were denied their request to draw a different, non-mythical subject, and they left the final exam.
Painting
After graduating from the academy, Kramskoy organized and headed Artel free artists, which included graduates and like-minded people. Masters took orders for portraits and copies famous paintings, illustrated books.
Ivan Kramskoy impressed with his hard work: he painted portraits, looked for customers, distributed money, took on students. Became one of them. In the mid-1860s, the artist began painting the domes of the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior: Kramskoy made sketches on cardboard during his student years.
In 1869, the painter went to Europe for the first time to get acquainted with the art of the West. Impressions received by the Russian master after getting acquainted with the exhibits art galleries European capitals turned out to be contradictory. Unlike many compatriots western art did not excite him.
After returning home, the artist had a conflict with a colleague in the artel: having violated the rules of the “fourteen”, he accepted a paid foreign trip from the Academy of Arts. Kramskoy left the artel. Without him, the community quickly fell apart.
The painter founded a new creative association, calling it the Partnership of Traveling Art Exhibitions. Together with Kramskoy, the co-founders of the partnership were Grigory Myasoedov and Vasily Perov. The Peredvizhniki artists opposed themselves to adherents of academicism and delivered traveling exhibitions to all cities of the empire, popularizing art and bringing it closer to the people.
At the exhibitions of the Itinerants, those who wished to purchase their favorite paintings. One of them, “May Night” by Kramskoy, was bought by a philanthropist and gallerist. The artist painted a mystical plot inspired by the story in Little Russia.
In 1872, Ivan Kramskoy made the final strokes on the canvas “Christ in the Desert,” which became his most famous work. Tretyakov immediately purchased the painting for 6 thousand rubles. The work created a sensation, and the painter’s alma mater almost awarded Kramskoy the title of professor, but he refused.
But Ivan Kramskoy gained greatest fame among his contemporaries as a portrait painter. His images, Sergei Botkin, according to the painter’s contemporaries, have a complete resemblance to the heroes and convey the characters, the inner light of nature.
The artist presented the canvas “Mina Moiseev” to the world in 1882. Fans of Kramskoy and art connoisseurs call the portrait of a peasant best work Russian painter. In fact, Mina Moiseev is a sketch, a sketch for the canvas “Peasant with a Bridle,” painted later. This job - shining example Kramskoy, a humanist who loved and understood the Russian people.
In the 1880s, Ivan Kramskoy amazed and split society with his painting “Unknown.” The woman depicted does not belong to high society. She's dressed according to last word fashion of those years, which was considered indecent among noble ladies.
Critic Vladimir Stasov rendered a verdict on the painting, calling it “Cocotte in a Stroller.” Many contemporaries agreed that the portrait showed a rich kept woman. Tretyakov refused to buy the painting - it was purchased by industrialist Pavel Kharitonenko.
Kramskoy’s painting technique is a subtle completeness, a careful and detailed depiction of faces. The artist did not paint landscapes, but in the canvases “May Night” and “Moonlit Night” he brilliantly depicted moonlight.
Ivan Kramskoy is rightly called the ideological leader of the Peredvizhniki movement, the brightest representative of democratic art of the 19th century. The artist’s portraits are surprisingly humane and spiritual.
Personal life
The young artist met his future wife Sofia Prokhorova while a student at the academy. He loved the girl so much that he ignored the trail of rumors trailing behind her. Sonya’s reputation was not impeccable: before meeting Kramskoy, Prokhorova lived in a civil marriage with a married artist, learning about his “unfree” status too late.
However, for Ivan Kramskoy, Sophia became a model of purity and fidelity. His wife shared with him years of hardship and lack of money; the artist consulted with her during his work and asked her to pray when he began a new canvas.
Sofya Kramskaya gave birth to her husband six children. Two of them - sons - died within 3 years of each other. On famous painting « Inconsolable grief"The painter's wife is depicted. Ivan Kramskoy created the canvas for 4 years.
The artist’s favorite daughter, Sofya Kramskaya, followed in her father’s footsteps. In the 1930s, she fell under the skating rink of repression.
Death
In the last 5-6 years of his life, the artist’s presence was recognized by a strong dry cough: Kramskoy was diagnosed with angina pectoris (heart aneurysm). Morphine injections helped relieve the pain. The artist was treated by Sergei Botkin, who hid the name of the fatal illness from the patient. Ivan Kramskoy found out about it by chance, after reading the symptoms in a medical encyclopedia that Botkin carelessly left on the table.
Heart disease (aortic aneurysm) was the cause of the painter’s death. He died at work - painting a portrait of Dr. Karl Rauchfus. Kramskoy did not live 2 months before his 50th birthday.
He was buried at the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Works
- 1880 – “Moonlit Night”
- 1882 – “Mina Moiseev”
- 1871 – “Mermaids”
- 1872 – “Christ in the Desert”
- 1873 – “Portrait of the artist I. I. Shishkin”
- 1873 – “Portrait of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy”
- 1877 – “Portrait of Empress Maria Alexandrovna”
- 1878 – “D. I. Mendeleev"
- 1881 – “Portrait of a Lady”
- 1883 – “Unknown”
- 1884 – “Inconsolable Grief”
- 1886 – “Alexander III”
- 1883 – “Portrait of the son of Sergei”
- 1878 – “N. A. Nekrasov during the period of “The Last Songs”
He did not have strong organizational skills. Thanks to Kramskoy, all art formations of the second century were created half of the 19th century century. Kramskoy was the main Itinerant and a great theorist in art.
The artist's parents were bourgeois. Kramskoy's father was a clerk of the city duma; he died when the boy was 12 years old. At the age of 12, Ivan Kramskoy graduated from the Ostrogozhsk School with certificates of merit in all subjects. Then, until the age of 16, in the Duma, where my father worked, he studied calligraphy. At the age of 15, he began studying with an Ostrogozh icon painter and studied for about a year. At the age of 16, Ivan leaves Ostrogozhsk with a Kharkov photographer, working as a retoucher and watercolorist. So he traveled around Russia for three years.
Since 1857 I.N. Kramskoy in St. Petersburg. Not having art education, enters the Academy of Arts, having successfully passed the exams! The young man spends six years within the walls of the Academy, facing the difficulties of earning a living. To earn a living I.N. Kramskoy comes to Denyer, who opened his own “daguerreotype establishment”, where artists practiced photography. Kramskoy was known as the “god of retouching.”
In 1863, the young painter left the Academy with loud scandal which made him famous. His nature was formed on the writings of the critic and novelist Chernyshevsky. I.N. Kramskoy led the famous “revolt of 14”. Fourteen graduates refused to write a competition paper on mythological history, wanting to choose free topic. So, having refused to fight for the Big Gold Medal, they slammed the door. They organized an “Artel of Artists”, with Kramskoy as its leader and inspirer. The Artel of Artists declared deductions in the amount of 10% of private cash receipts and 25% of earnings for “artel” works, but some artists hid their income. With the growth of popularity, “there appeared,” according to Kramskoy, “some thirst for the spirit, while others had complete contentment and obesity.” Because of this, in 1870 the artist left the artel, which soon disintegrated after his departure.
Married I.N. Kramskoy on Sofya Nikolaevna Prokhorova, who lived in a civil marriage with another artist - a certain Popov. Popov was officially married to another woman. He soon leaves abroad, and the young woman is left alone. Saving her reputation, Kramskoy extended a helping hand to her, taking upon himself all the negative assessments of his chosen one’s behavior. The marriage was happy, the family had six children (the two youngest sons died in childhood). Sofya Nikolaevna has always been the artist’s guardian angel.
After Kramskoy left the artel, he was inspired new idea G. Myasoedov on the organization of a new “Moscow-St. Petersburg” artistic association. This association is known to us from the history of Russia under the name “Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions.” The goals of the Partnership, in accordance with the Charter, read: “The organization of traveling art exhibitions in all cities of the empire, in the following forms: 1) providing residents of the provinces with the opportunity to get acquainted with Russian art and follow its successes; 2) developing love for art in society; 3) making it easier for artists to sell their works.”
I.N. Kramskoy became close friends with the philanthropist P.M. Tretyakov, becoming his adviser and executor of a number of his orders. However, fulfilling orders often resembled “bondage.” In the early 1870s Kramskoy met talented artist landscape painter Fyodor Vasiliev, the friendship had a tragic end. The young painter burned out from consumption.
Despite the fact that Kramskoy has been abroad, the search for new painting he remained indifferent, considering them “fleeting.” Kramskoy felt like a prophet sounding the alarm. From the first Itinerant Exhibition (1871) to the 16th, Kramskoy was one of its main exhibitors. Not only success accompanied Kramskoy, in recent years the Partnership has subjected Kramskoy to severe criticism. “Almost everyone turned their backs on me... I feel insulted,” Kramskoy lamented at the end of his life.
In 1884, while living in a small French town, he treated his heart under the supervision of Russian doctors, and in free time from treatment, he gave drawing lessons to his daughter Sonya - in the future, at the turn of the century, a fairly popular artist. His life ended at work; he was then painting a portrait of Dr. K. Rauchfus.
Famous works of Kramskoy Ivan Nikolaevich
The painting “Mermaids” was painted by the artist in 1871 and is in the State Tretyakov Gallery, in Moscow. Kramskoy showed this picture at the first Peredvizhniki exhibition, which he himself organized. The painting is based on the plot of V. Gogol’s story “May Night”. Kramskoy said that he wanted to portray “something fantastic,” “to catch the moon.” Plot vs. literary source inspiration is freely executed. The painting depicts all the grace, immensity, silvery light of the Ukrainian night.
Painting “N.A. Nekrasov during the period of “The Last Songs” (1877-78), State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. The portrait of Nekrasov, who became seriously ill in 1877, was commissioned by P. Tretyakov, who wanted the trace of the poet and writer to remain in the history of Russia. P. Tretyakov placed the portrait in his gallery. According to the original plan, Nekrasov was supposed to be shown wearing pillows. However, contemporaries argued that it was impossible to imagine a “great fighter” even in a robe. Thus, Kramskoy painted a bust-length portrait of Nekrasov with crossed arms. The portrait was completed in March 1877, but a few days later the artist began a new portrait, in accordance with the original plan, and completed it after the poet’s death in 1878. In the process of work, Kramskoy increased the size of the canvas, stitching it on all sides. He created the image of a “hero,” from which he removed Nekrasov’s beloved dog and his weapons cabinet, which were reminiscent of the poet’s hunting passion, from sight. Painting “N.A. Nekrasov in the period of “last songs”” combines the intimacy of the image and the monumentality of the image of a person with extraordinary spiritual power.
At the back of the room is a bust of the great critic Belinsky, who played main role in the poet's life, giving him a worldview. On the wall, portraits of Dobrolyubov and Mitskevich reveal Nekrasov’s beliefs. On the shelf next to the deathbed of the hero of the canvas is the Sovremennik magazine, the editor of which was N.A. Nekrasov. The author falsely dated the painting – March 3, 1877. On this day, Nekrasov read the poem “Bayushki-Bai” to the artist, which the artist spoke of as “the greatest work.”
“Go to sleep, patient sufferer!
Free, proud and happy
You will see your homeland,
Bye-bye-bye-bye!”
Kramskoy painted the painting “Unknown” in 1883; the painting is located in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Kramskoy in his works endows the heroines with an image of femininity. This picture received wide publicity at the 11th exhibition of the TPHV, and was almost accompanied by a scandal. Contemporaries didn’t like the title of the painting either; we know it as “The Stranger.” With extraordinary passion, the public solved the artist’s riddle! Ultimately, she was called a “demi-monde lady” (rich kept woman). V. Stasov wrote: “Cocotte in a stroller.” Stasov’s opinion was confirmed by a sketch for a painting with characteristic vulgarity that became famous. The Russian commitment to literary illusions made “The Unknown” first Natalya Filippovna from Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot,” then Anna Karenina, then Blok’s stranger, and then completely the embodiment of femininity. P. Tretyakov did not buy this work. And the painting appeared in the gallery during the nationalization of private collections in 1925.
Kramskoy was an excellent painter of light and air, and in this picture he brilliantly depicted a frosty pink haze, introducing a feeling of cold. The woman’s clothing corresponds to the fashion of 1883, the heroine is wearing a “Francis” hat with an ostrich feather, a “Skobelev” cut coat, and Swedish gloves. The background of the picture is Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. Despite their sketchiness, the buildings depicted by Kramskoy are quite recognizable. The heroine has a gypsy type of face, a somewhat contemptuous expression, a sensual look. What is the secret of beauty?
Painting “Inconsolable Grief” (1884), State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. The heroine of the canvas is endowed with the features of the artist’s wife, Sofia Nikolaevna. In the painting, the Russian artist reflected a personal tragedy - the loss youngest son. For a long time, Kramskoy could not construct the composition of the painting, having painted three canvases. At the same time, the heroine herself grew old and seemed to “rise” to her feet: at first she sat by the hearse; then - on a chair; and finally, she stood near the coffin. The artist's work was long and painful. This is the only work from the 1880s purchased by P. Tretyakov. However, P. Tretyakov was not very interested in purchasing the painting because he was sure that it would not find a buyer.
There is dead silence in this work. All internal movement concentrated in the heroine’s eyes, full of inescapable melancholy, and her hands pressing a handkerchief to her lips - these are the only bright spots in the composition, the rest seems to fade into shadow. On the wall is Aivazovsky’s painting “The Black Sea”. It brings human life closer to the life of the sea element, in which storms give way to calm. The red flower symbolizes the fragile human life. The wreath placed on the coffin contrasts brightly with the mourning dress of the inconsolable mother.
Masterpiece of Kramskoy I.N. – painting “Christ in the Desert”
The artist’s work was completed in 1872 and can be seen in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Kramskoy’s first fascinations with the theme of the temptation of Christ date back to the period of the artist’s life, when he studied at the Academy, in the 1860s. Then the first sketch of the composition was made. This painting was created over ten years. 1867 – the first unsuccessful version of the painting. The end result was distinguished by its stony, endless desert behind Christ. In order to find the right composition, the Russian artist went abroad in 1869 to look at the paintings of other artists who explored the same theme. For this painting, the Academy wanted to award Kramskoy the title of professor, which he refused. This painting was one of the favorite paintings of P. Tretyakov, who bought it without haggling for 6,000 rubles. Not many artists could risk painting the theme of the temptation of Christ. Among them are Duccio, Botticelli, Rubens, Blake. Realism allowed the artist to move away from the academic structure inherent in secular painting to mid-19th century. So Christ was humanized, and the picture conveyed his soul in unison with modernity. Kramskoy rediscovered the theme of Christ, and V. Polenov, V. Vasnetsov, I. Repin, V. Vereshchagin followed in his footsteps.
The pink dawn is a symbol of new life, the emergence of Christianity. The subject of the picture is the life of the spirit reflected in the face of Christ. IN portrait painting Kramskoy’s emphasis is on the hero’s face, the mirror of the soul, which the artist achieved by painting clothes without detailing them and hiding them. The intensity of Christ's inner struggles is conveyed in His clenched hands. The landscape painted by Kramskoy is so deserted and wild that it seems as if no human has ever set foot here. He, immersed in heavy thoughts, does not notice this hostility. Christ's feet are marked with stones and oozing blood. In the viewer's imagination appears long road, preceding the morning thoughts of the hero of the picture.
- Country house in France
- forest path
- In the park. Portrait of wife and daughter
- Mermaids
- ON THE. Nekrasov during the period of “last songs”
Kramskoy Ivan Nikolaevich (1837-1887)
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy (1837 - 1887), Russian artist, critic and art theorist. Born in Ostrogozhsk (Voronezh province) on May 27, 1837 in a poor middle-class family.
Since childhood, I have been interested in art and literature. Since childhood, he has been self-taught in drawing, then, on the advice of a drawing lover, he began to work in watercolors. After graduating from the district school (1850), he served as a scribe, then as a retoucher for a photographer, with whom he roamed around Russia.
In 1857 he ended up in St. Petersburg, working in the photo studio of A. I. Denier. In the fall of the same year he entered the Academy of Arts and was a student of A. T. Markov. For the painting “Moses Brings Water Out of the Rock” (1863) he received a Small Gold Medal.
During his years of study, he rallied advanced academic youth around himself. He led the protest of Academy graduates (“revolt of the fourteen”), who refused to paint pictures (“programs”) based on the mythological plot set by the Council. The young artists submitted a petition to the Academy Council asking that they be allowed to each choose a theme for a painting to compete for a large gold medal. The Academy reacted unfavorably to the proposed innovation. One of the academy’s professors, architect Ton, even described the attempt of young artists this way: “in the old days you would have been given up as a soldier for this,” as a result of which 14 young artists, with Kramskoy at their head, refused in 1863 to write on the topic given by the academy - “ Feast in Valhalla” and left the academy.
The artists who left the Academy united into the St. Petersburg Artel. They owe a lot to Kramskoy for the atmosphere of mutual assistance, cooperation and deep spiritual interests that reigned here. In his articles and extensive correspondence (with V.V. Stasov, A.S. Suvorin and others) he defended the idea of “tendentious” art, not only reflecting, but also morally transforming an inert, false world.
At this time, Kramskoy’s vocation as a portrait painter was completely determined. Then he most often resorted to his favorite graphic technology using white, an Italian pencil, he also worked using the so-called “wet sauce” method, which made it possible to imitate photography. Kramskoy had a painting technique of subtle completeness, which some sometimes considered unnecessary or excessive. Nevertheless, Kramskoy wrote quickly and confidently: in a few hours the portrait acquired a resemblance: in this regard, the portrait of Dr. Rauchfus, Kramskoy’s last dying work, is remarkable. This portrait was painted in one morning, but remained unfinished, since Kramskoy died while working on this painting.
The portraits created at this time were mostly commissioned, made for the sake of earning money. The portraits of the artists (1868), (1869), (1861), (1861), N. A. Koshelev (1866) are well known. The nature of Kramskoy’s pictorial portrait is meticulous in drawing and light and shadow modeling, but restrained in color scheme. Artistic language corresponded to the image of a democrat commoner, who was a frequent subject of the master’s portraits. These are the artist’s “Self-Portrait” (1867) and “Portrait of the Agronomist Vyunnikov” (1868). From 1863 to 1868, Kramskoy taught at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists.
However, over time, Artel began to gradually deviate in its activities from the high moral principles declared at its inception, and Kramskoy left it, carried away by a new idea - the creation of a partnership of Traveling Art Exhibitions. He took part in the development of the Charter of the Partnership and immediately became not only one of the most active and authoritative members of the board, but also the ideologist of the Partnership, defending and justifying the main positions. What distinguished him from other leaders of the Partnership was his independence of worldview, rare breadth of views, sensitivity to everything new in artistic process and intolerance to any dogmatism.
At the first exhibition of the Partnership, “Portrait of F. A. Vasilyev” and “Portrait of M. M. Antokolsky” were exhibited. A year later, the painting “Christ in the Desert” was shown, the idea of which had been incubated for several years. According to Kramskoy, “even among previous artists, the Bible, Gospel and mythology served only as a pretext for expressing completely contemporary passions and thoughts.” He himself, like and, in the image of Christ expressed the ideal of a person filled with high spiritual thoughts, preparing himself for self-sacrifice. The artist managed to speak convincingly here about a very important problem for the Russian intelligentsia moral choice, which confronts everyone who understands their responsibility for the fate of the world, and this rather modest painting has gone down in history Russian art.
The artist repeatedly returned to the theme of Christ. The defeat ended the work on the original plan big picture“Laughter (“Hail, King of the Jews”)” (1877 - 1882), depicting the crowd’s mockery of Jesus Christ. The artist worked selflessly on it ten to twelve hours a day, but never finished it, soberly assessing his own powerlessness. While collecting material for it, Kramskoy visited Italy (1876). He traveled to Europe in subsequent years.
Kramskoy's legacy is very unequal. The ideas of his paintings were significant and original, but their implementation ran into the limitations of his capabilities as an artist, which he himself was well aware of and tried to overcome with persistent work, but not always successfully.
In general, Kramskoy was very demanding of artists, which earned him many ill-wishers, but at the same time he was strict with himself and strived for self-improvement. His comments and opinions about art were not subjective, and were, as a rule, evidence-based, as far as possible in matters of aesthetics. Its main requirement is content and nationality works of art, their poetry; but he did not devote much attention to painting itself last place. This can be seen by reading his correspondence, published by A. Suvorin, edited by V. V. Stasov, “Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy, his life, correspondence and art-critical articles” (St. Petersburg, 1888). Sometimes his opinions remained wavering for a long time until he found a compromise. Kramskoy was not well educated, but he always regretted it and constantly tried to make up for this deficiency.
In the small composition “Inspection of an old manor’s house” (1873 - 1880), Kramskoy found a solution unusual in laconicism, successfully overcoming the stereotypes common in genre painting that time. His “Unknown” (1883) turned out to be an extraordinary work, which still attracts viewers with its mystery (and art historians with the mystery of the circumstances of the work on it). But the painting “Inconsolable Grief” (1884), which he realized in several versions, trying to convey strong feeling using the most discreet means possible. An attempt to implement fantasy world in the film “Mermaids” (1871) ended in failure.
Greatest success Kramskoy managed to achieve success in portraiture. He captured many figures of Russian culture: L. N. Tolstoy (1873), I. I. Shishkin (1873), I. A. Goncharov (1874), Y. P. Polonsky (1875), P. P. Tretyakov, D. V. Grigorovich, M. M. Antokolsky (all 1876), N. A. Nekrasov (1877 -1878), M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (1879) and others; Some of these portraits were painted specifically by order of P. P. Tretyakov for his art gallery.
Images of Russian peasants became a major artistic phenomenon: “Forest Man” (1874), “The Contemplator” (1876), “Mina Moiseev” (1882), “Peasant with a Bridle” (1883). Over time, Kramskoy the portrait painter became very popular; he had many customers, including members of the imperial family. This allowed him to live comfortably in the last years of his life. Not all of these good portraits were equally interesting. Yet it was in the 1880s. he rose to a new level - he achieved a deeper psychologism, which sometimes made it possible to expose the innermost essence of a person. This is how he showed himself in portraits of I. I. Shishkin (1880), V. G. Perov (1881), A. S. Suvorin (1881), S. S. Botkin (1882), S. I. Kramskoy, the artist’s daughter (1882), V. S. Solovyov (1885). The stressful life undermined the health of the artist, who did not live to be fifty years old.
Kramskoy is an outstanding figure in cultural life Russia 1860 - 1880s. The organizer of the St. Petersburg art artel, one of the founders of the Wanderers association, a subtle art critic, passionately interested in the fate of Russian art, he was the ideologist of a whole generation of realist artists.
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy (May 27, 1837, Ostrogozhsk - March 24, 1887, St. Petersburg) - Russian painter and draftsman, master of genre, historical and portrait painting; art critic.
Self-portrait. 1874
Kramskoy was born on May 27 (June 8, new style) 1837 in the city of Ostrogozhsk, Voronezh province, in the family of a clerk.
After graduating from the Ostrogozh district school, Kramskoy was a clerk in the Ostrogozh Duma. From 1853 he was a photo retoucher; First, the future artist was taught in several techniques how to “finish photographic portraits with watercolors and retouching” by his fellow countryman M. B. Tulinov, then he worked for the Kharkov photographer Ya. P. Danilevsky. In 1856 he came to St. Petersburg, where he was engaged in retouching in the then famous photography of Alexandrovsky.
In 1857, Kramskoy entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts as a student of Professor Markov.
In 1863, the Academy of Arts awarded him a gold medal for his painting “Moses Bringing Out Water from a Rock.” Before finishing his studies at the Academy, all that remained was to write a program for a big medal and receive a pension abroad. The Academy Council proposed a theme from the Scandinavian sagas “A Feast in Valhalla” to the students for the competition. All fourteen graduates refused to develop this topic, and petitioned to be allowed to each choose a topic of their own choosing. Subsequent events went down in the history of Russian art as the “Revolt of the Fourteen.” The Academy Council refused them, and Professor Tone noted: “if this had happened before, then all of you would have been soldiers!” On November 9, 1863, Kramskoy, on behalf of his comrades, told the council that they, “not daring to think about changing academic regulations, humbly ask the council to exempt them from participating in the competition.” Among these fourteen artists were: I. N. Kramskoy, B. B. Wenig, N. D. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, A. D. Litovchenko, A. I. Korzukhin, N. S. Shustov, A. I. Morozov , K. E. Makovsky, F. S. Zhuravlev, K. V. Lemokh, A. K. Grigoriev, M. I. Peskov, V. P. Kreitan and N. V. Petrov. The artists who left the Academy formed the “Petersburg Artel of Artists”, which existed until 1871.
In 1865, Markov invited him to help paint the dome of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Due to Markov's illness, the entire main painting of the dome was done by Kramskoy, together with the artists Wenig and Koshelev.
From 1863 to 1868 he taught at the Aid Society Drawing School applied arts. In 1869, Kramskoy received the title of academician.
In 1870, the “Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions” was formed, one of the main organizers and ideologists of which was Kramskoy. Influenced by the ideas of Russian democratic revolutionaries, Kramskoy defended the view of high public role the artist, the principles of realism, the moral essence and nationality of art.
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy created a number of portraits of outstanding Russian writers, artists and public figures(such as: Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, 1873; I. I. Shishkin, 1873; Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, 1876; M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, 1879 - all are in the Tretyakov Gallery; portrait of Botkin [specify] (1880) - private collection, Moscow).
One of famous works Kramskoy - “Christ in the Desert” (1872, Tretyakov Gallery).
A successor to the humanistic traditions of Alexander Ivanov, Kramskoy created a religious turning point in moral and philosophical thinking. He gave the dramatic experiences of Jesus Christ a deeply psychological life interpretation (the idea of heroic self-sacrifice). The influence of ideology is noticeable in portraits and thematic paintings - “N. A. Nekrasov during the period of “The Last Songs,” 1877-1878; "Unknown", 1883; “Inconsolable Grief”, 1884 - all in the Tretyakov Gallery.
The democratic orientation of Kramskoy's works, his critical insightful judgments about art, and persistent research into objective criteria for assessing the characteristics of art and their influence on it, developed democratic art and a worldview on art in Russia in the last third of the 19th century.
Moses' prayer after the Israelites crossed the Black Sea. 1861
While reading Portrait of Sofia Nikolaevna Kramskoy, the artist’s wife. 1866–1869
Female portrait. 1867
Portrait of the artist K. A. Savitsky. 1871
Mermaids. 1871
Portrait of the artist M. K. Klodt. 1872
Christ in the desert. 180 x 210 cm. 1872
Portrait of A. I. Kuindzhi. 1872
Beekeeper. 1872
A girl with a loose braid. 1873
Portrait of I. I. Shishkin. 1873
Portrait of the writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. 1873
An insulted Jewish boy. 1874
Forest worker. 1874
Portrait of the writer Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov 1874
Peasant's head 1874
Portrait of Sofia Nikolaevna and Sofia Ivanovna Kramskoy, the artist’s wife and daughter. 1875
Portrait of the writer Dmitry Vasilyevich Grigorovich 1876
Portrait of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov. 1876
Portrait of the sculptor Mark Matveevich Antokolsky. 1876
N. A. Nekrasov during the period. The last songs. 1877–1878
Portrait of the writer Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov (N. Shchedrin). 1879
Portrait of Adrian Viktorovich Prakhov, art historian and art critic. 1879
Moonlit Night 1880
Portrait of Doctor Sergei Petrovich Botkin 1880
Portrait of actor Vasily Vasilyevich Samoilov. 1881
Portrait of the publisher and publicist Alexey Sergeevich Suvorin. 1881
Portrait of Anatoly Ivanovich Kramskoy, the artist’s son. 1882
Portrait of Sofia Ivanovna Kramskoy, the artist’s daughter. 1882
Girl with a cat. 1882
Unknown. 1883
Peasant with a bridle Mina Moiseev. 1883
Actor Alexander Pavlovich Lensky as Petruchio in Shakespeare's comedy "The Taming of the Shrew." 1883
Bouquet of phlox flowers. 1884
Inconsolable grief. 1884
Kramskoy, painting portrait his daughter, Sofia Ivanovna Kramskoy, married to Junker. 1884
Portrait of the philosopher Vladimir Sergeevich Solovyov. 1885
Portrait of Alexander III. 1886
Children in the forest. 1887
Fully
Kramskoy Ivan Nikolaevich (1837-1887)
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy (1837 - 1887), Russian artist, critic and art theorist. Born in Ostrogozhsk (Voronezh province) on May 27, 1837 in a poor middle-class family.
Since childhood, I have been interested in art and literature. Since childhood, he has been self-taught in drawing, then, on the advice of a drawing lover, he began to work in watercolors. After graduating from the district school (1850), he served as a scribe, then as a retoucher for a photographer, with whom he roamed around Russia.
In 1857 he ended up in St. Petersburg, working in the photo studio of A. I. Denier. In the fall of the same year he entered the Academy of Arts and was a student of A. T. Markov. For the painting “Moses Brings Water Out of the Rock” (1863) he received a Small Gold Medal.
During his years of study, he rallied advanced academic youth around himself. He led the protest of Academy graduates (“revolt of the fourteen”), who refused to paint pictures (“programs”) based on the mythological plot set by the Council. The young artists submitted a petition to the Academy Council asking that they be allowed to each choose a theme for a painting to compete for a large gold medal. The Academy reacted unfavorably to the proposed innovation. One of the academy’s professors, architect Ton, even described the attempt of young artists this way: “in the old days you would have been given up as a soldier for this,” as a result of which 14 young artists, with Kramskoy at their head, refused in 1863 to write on the topic given by the academy - “ Feast in Valhalla” and left the academy.
The artists who left the Academy united into the St. Petersburg Artel. They owe a lot to Kramskoy for the atmosphere of mutual assistance, cooperation and deep spiritual interests that reigned here. In his articles and extensive correspondence (with I.E. Repin, V.V. Stasov, A.S. Suvorin, etc.) he defended the idea of “tendentious” art, not only reflecting, but also morally transforming an inert, false world.
At this time, Kramskoy’s vocation as a portrait painter was completely determined. Then he most often resorted to his favorite graphic technique using whitewash, Italian pencil, and also worked using the so-called “wet sauce” method, which allowed him to imitate photography. Kramskoy had a painting technique of subtle completeness, which some sometimes considered unnecessary or excessive. Nevertheless, Kramskoy wrote quickly and confidently: in a few hours the portrait acquired a resemblance: in this regard, the portrait of Dr. Rauchfus, Kramskoy’s last dying work, is remarkable. This portrait was painted in one morning, but remained unfinished, since Kramskoy died while working on this painting.
“Portrait of Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna Vasilchikova”
The portraits created at this time were mostly commissioned, made for the sake of earning money. The portraits of the artists A. I. Morozov (1868), I. I. Shishkin (1869), G. G. Myasoedov (1861), P. P. Chistyakov (1861), N. A. Koshelev (1866) are well known. The nature of Kramskoy’s pictorial portraits is meticulous in drawing and light and shadow modeling, but restrained in color scheme. The artistic language corresponded to the image of a democrat commoner, who was a frequent subject of the master’s portraits. These are the artist’s “Self-Portrait” (1867) and “Portrait of the Agronomist Vyunnikov” (1868). From 1863 to 1868, Kramskoy taught at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists.
"Portrait of an old peasant"
However, over time, Artel began to gradually deviate in its activities from the high moral principles declared at its inception, and Kramskoy left it, carried away by a new idea - the creation of a partnership of Traveling Art Exhibitions. He took part in the development of the Charter of the Partnership and immediately became not only one of the most active and authoritative members of the board, but also the ideologist of the Partnership, defending and justifying the main positions. What distinguished him from other leaders of the Association was his independence of worldview, rare breadth of views, sensitivity to everything new in the artistic process and intolerance to any dogmatism.
“Portrait of Sofia Ivanovna Kramskoy”
At the first exhibition of the Partnership, “Portrait of F. A. Vasilyev” and “Portrait of M. M. Antokolsky” were exhibited. A year later, the painting “Christ in the Desert” was shown, the idea of which had been incubated for several years. According to Kramskoy, “even among previous artists, the Bible, Gospel and mythology served only as a pretext for expressing completely contemporary passions and thoughts.” He himself, like Ge and Polenov, in the image of Christ expressed the ideal of a person filled with high spiritual thoughts, preparing himself for self-sacrifice. The artist managed to speak convincingly here about the very important problem of moral choice for the Russian intelligentsia, which faces everyone who understands their responsibility for the fate of the world, and this rather modest painting has gone down in the history of Russian art.
"Portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna"
The artist repeatedly returned to the theme of Christ. The work on the originally conceived large painting “Laughter (“Hail, King of the Jews”)” (1877 - 1882), depicting the mockery of the crowd at Jesus Christ, ended in defeat. The artist worked selflessly on it ten to twelve hours a day, but never finished it, soberly assessing his own powerlessness. While collecting material for it, Kramskoy visited Italy (1876). He traveled to Europe in subsequent years.
"Bouquet of flowers. Phloxes"
“Portrait of Sonya Kramskoy, the artist’s daughter”
"Forest path"
Poet Apollo Nikolaevich Maikov. 1883.
“Portrait of the singer Elizaveta Andreevna Lavrovskaya, on the stage in the Assembly of the Nobility”
“Portrait of the artist N.A. Koshelev”
“Portrait of the artist Fyodor Aleksandrovich Vasiliev”
"The Artist's Family"
"Russian monk in contemplation"
"Laughter. "Hail, King of the Jews"
"Contemplator"
Christ in the desert.1872
"Somnambulist"
Mermaids. (May Night) 1871
“Reading. Portrait of Sofia Nikolaevna Kramskoy"
“A peasant with a bridle. Mina Moiseev"
"Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Alexander III"
"Miller"
"Moonlight night"
"Girl with a loose braid"
"Female portrait"
"Female portrait"
"Female portrait"
"Female portrait"
"Girl in a Deep Shawl"
"Moses' Prayer after the Israelites Crossed the Black Sea"
“Portrait of Nikolai Kramskoy, son of the artist”
"Portrait of Alexander III"
Portrait of Sergei Kramskoy, the artist’s son. 1883
Portrait of Olga Afanasyevna Raftopulo. 1884
Inconsolable grief. 1884
An insulted Jewish boy. 1874
Unknown. 1883
Portrait of Varvara Kirillovna Lemokh as a child. 1882
“Portrait of the artist Ilya Efimovich Repin”
“Portrait of the Ukrainian writer and artist Taras Grigorievich Shevchenko”
“Portrait of actor Vasily Vasilyevich Samoilov”
“Portrait of P.A. Valuev”
"Female portrait"
"Self-Portrait"
"Portrait of the artist Shishkin"
"Portrait of a Lady"
“Portrait of astronomer O.V. Struve, director of the Pulkovo Observatory”
“Portrait of P.I.Melnikov”
"Beekeeper"
“N.A. Koshelev. Music lesson"
Kramskoy, painting a portrait of his daughter, Sofia Ivanovna Kramskoy, married to Junker. 1884
Female portrait. 1884
Actor Alexander Pavlovich Lensky as Petruchio in Shakespeare's comedy The Taming of the Shrew. 1883
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