Kramskoy direction. Kramskoy Ivan

Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy, an artist of the second half of the 19th century, went down in the history of Russian painting as the founder of the realistic movement in art. He actively developed the principle critical realism in his work, as well as in articles devoted to the theory of art. Many of his paintings are recognized as classics Russian painting. The author was a master of portraits, historical and genre scenes.

short biography

Kramskoy, an artist famous for his realistic paintings, was born in 1837 into a bourgeois family. He graduated from the Ostrogorzh real school, but due to the poverty of his family he was unable to continue his education at the gymnasium. While working in the local council, he became interested in retouching photographs. Soon M. Tulinov became his teacher, who taught him the basics of painting. A few years later, Kramskoy, an artist best known for his portraits, moved to St. Petersburg, where his fruitful career began. creative career, which lasted until sudden death in 1887.

Studying at the academy

In 1857 he became a student of academician A. Markov, who specialized in historical painting. During his studies, he received several medals both for his paintings and for copies of paintings by other painters on religious themes. The future famous painter received his small gold medal for a painting dedicated to a biblical story.

To receive the title of artist with the right to receive a state pension, it was necessary to submit to a competition a work dedicated to a scene from the Scandinavian sagas. However, Kramskoy, an artist who strived for a realistic depiction of events and freedom of creativity, along with other thirteen students appealed to the administration of the academy with a request to remove them from the competition, justifying their desire by the fact that they wanted to write on topics that they themselves preferred. After this, the young painters founded their own artistic artel, which, however, did not last long, since its members very soon decided to switch to state support.

"Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions"

Which is already in early period his work became a landmark event in cultural life empire, became one of the organizers and ideological inspirers of this organization. Its members defended the principles of realism in art, active social and civic position artists. In his work, the author defended the principles of realism. He believed that paintings should not only be believable, but also carry a moral and educational meaning. Therefore, his works are imbued with a special drama.

In the 1870s, the author created a number of remarkable portraits of his famous contemporaries: he painted images of Tolstoy, Nekrasov, Shishkin, Tretyakov and others. In this series, a special place is occupied by the portrait of the artist Kramskoy, created by him himself in 1867. This canvas is different high degree realistic, like the rest of his works from this period.

Portrait of N. Nekrasov

This is, for example, famous work artist “Nekrasov during the period of “Last Songs”” 1877-1878. In this painting the artist set out to show famous poet at work in last period his life. In general, in the artist’s work big role played the theme of a person’s emotional experiences, his struggle with death or some kind of shock. In the master’s works, this theme did not have a social connotation, as in the works of other painters. He always showed the struggle of the spirit with illness and most powerfully managed to convey this idea in the above picture.

Women's portraits

Perhaps the master’s most famous work is the painting “Stranger”. The artist Kramskoy emphasized the beauty of his model. He emphasized that she was an urban fashionista, and therefore prescribed her with special care appearance: a rich fur coat, a flirty headdress, magnificent jewelry and fabrics.

It is significant that the background plays on this canvas minor role: It is presented in a haze, as the author concentrates all his attention on the elegant young woman. The artist Ivan Kramskoy especially loved to draw portraits. The author's paintings have different moods.

If the woman in the above-described picture is depicted in a proud, confident pose, then the model in the canvas “Girl with a Loose Braid,” on the contrary, is shown in a difficult, even painful moment, when she seemed to have renounced everything around her and was completely immersed in herself. Therefore, her face, in contrast to the stranger’s appearance, expresses deep, concentrated thoughtfulness, sadness and light sadness.

"Inconsolable Sorrow"

This painting was painted in 1884, inspired by the personal grief of the artist who lost his son. Therefore, in the image of a woman depicted in a mourning dress, one can discern the features of the author’s wife.

This painting differs from other works of the author by the hopelessness with which it is imbued. In the center of the canvas is a middle-aged woman in a black dress. She stands next to a box full of flowers. Her grief is expressed not in her pose, which is quite natural and even free, but in her eyes and the movement of her hand, with which she presses the handkerchief to her mouth. This painting is perhaps one of the most powerful in the artist’s work and Russian painting in general.

A picturesque sketch for the painting "Unknown", which is kept in Prague, in a private collection (1883).

This is probably the most famous work Kramskoy, the most intriguing thing, which remains incomprehensible and unsolved to this day. By calling his painting “Unknown,” the clever Kramskoy forever attached to it an aura of mystery. Contemporaries were literally at a loss. Her image evoked concern and anxiety, a vague premonition of a depressing and dubious new thing - the appearance of a type of woman who did not fit into the previous system of values. “It is unknown who this lady is, decent or corrupt, but a whole era sits in her,” some stated. Stasov loudly called Kramskoy’s heroine “a cocotte in a stroller.” Tretyakov also admitted to Stasov that “ previous works“He likes Kramskoy more than the latter. There were critics who connected this image with Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, who had descended from her heights social status, with Fyodor Dostoevsky's Nastasya Filippovna, rising above the position of a fallen woman, the names of ladies of the world and demi-monde were also called. By the beginning of the 20th century, the scandalousness of the image was gradually covered by the romantic and mysterious aura of Blok’s “Stranger.” IN Soviet time Kramskoy’s “Unknown” became the embodiment of aristocracy and secular sophistication, almost Russian Sistine Madonna- ideal unearthly beauty and spirituality.

In a private collection in Prague there is a picturesque sketch for the painting, convincing that Kramskoy was looking for ambiguity artistic image. The sketch is much simpler and sharper, what has been said and more definite picture. It reveals the insolence and power of a woman, a feeling of emptiness and satiety, which are absent in the final version. In the film “Unknown,” Kramskoy is captivated by the sensual, almost teasing beauty of his heroine, her delicate dark skin, her velvet eyelashes, the slightly arrogant squinting of her brown eyes, her majestic posture. Like a queen, she rises above the foggy white cold city, driving in an open carriage along the Anichkov Bridge. Her outfit - a "Francis" hat, trimmed with elegant light feathers, "Swedish" gloves made of the finest leather, a "Skobelev" coat, decorated with sable fur and blue satin ribbons, a muff, a gold bracelet - all these are fashionable details of a women's costume of the 1880s years, claiming expensive elegance. However, this did not mean belonging to high society; rather, on the contrary, the code of unwritten rules excluded strict adherence to fashion in the highest circles of Russian society.

The exquisite sensual beauty, majesty and grace of the “Unknown”, a certain alienation and arrogance cannot hide the feeling of insecurity in the face of the world to which she belongs and on which she depends. With his painting, Kramskoy raises the question of the fate of beauty in imperfect reality.

Unknown

The artist Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy is an outstanding Russian master of painting who lived and worked in the second half of the nineteenth century. He is not just a painter - he is one of the founders of the movement of realist artists in Russian and world art.

Since Ivan Nikolaevich stood at the origins of critical realism, a very tempting idea arose to present the artist as a revolutionary painter who led a rebellion at the Academy of Arts, opposed biblical painting and, accordingly, the reactionary tsarist system. All this is politicking. And nothing more. The truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle.

Biography of the artist Ivan Kramskoy

The artist Ivan Kramskoy was born on May 27, 1837 in the Voronezh province, near the city of Ostrogozhsk, in the family of a tradesman. He graduated from a real school with honors, but was unable to enter the gymnasium - the boy’s father died in 1849 and the family lived very modestly. After graduating from real school, Ivan worked for some time in the City Duma. It was in the City Duma that he became interested first in calligraphy and then in painting.

The desire to paint was so great that Ivan constantly asked his older brother for help - his brother could arrange him as an apprentice to some local painter. He annoyed his older brother with these requests for two whole years and, as a result, was assigned to study with one of the Voronezh painters. Ivan Nikolaevich did not work long in the icon-painting workshop - he ran away. Subsequently, he recalled that in the icon-painting workshop he was not allowed to paint, but was used as a household assistant - to bring, carry, wash.

After escaping, young Kramskoy met M.B. Tulinov, who was a passionate lover of painting and the emerging photography. For some time, Ivan Nikolaevich lived with Tulinov, and then moved to Kharkov and got a job as a retoucher in the photo workshop of Ya.P. Danilevsky. During this period, the future artist became interested in reading and began to study the theory of painting and art theory.

Kramskoy worked in Kharkov for three years and decided to enter the Academy of Painting.

Life in St. Petersburg turned out to be far from cheap and the money earned in Kharkov quickly ran out. Kramskoy decided to combine his studies at the Academy and work as a retoucher in a photo workshop. The combination turned out to be successful - the young artist was able to rent a small (by nineteenth-century standards) apartment of three rooms on Vasilyevsky Island. It was this apartment that became the place for almost daily gatherings of fellow students, a place for heated discussions and ambitious dreams about the future.

Kramskoy's training at the Academy was quite successful. For the work “The Mortally Wounded Lensky” in 1860, student Kramskoy received a second silver medal, in 1861-1862 for the painting “The Prayer of Moses upon the Israelites Crossing the Black Sea”, seven portraits, the painting “Oleg’s March to Constantinople” and two large copies of paintings by Y. Kapkov and P. Petrov (paintings on religious themes) were nominated for the second gold medal.

In 1862, Kramskoy was hired as a teacher at the school of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts.

To complete training at the Academy, one had to complete the program to receive the First Gold Medal. The first gold medal allowed the artist to receive a class rank and a state pension for a business trip abroad for the purpose of developing and studying painting.

However, in 1863, the Academy Council developed new rules for students wishing to receive the First Gold Medal. The conditions were so difficult (simply impossible) that 14 graduates, led by Ivan Kramskoy, turned to the Council with a request to exempt them from participating in the competition. Exactly with a request. Not with a demand or a revolutionary appeal.

This is how the legend of the “Revolt of the Fourteen” arose. However, the reluctance to participate in the competition became a challenge and outraged the leadership of the Academy. But was it a rebellion?

Students were released from the Academy without a title cool artist, which significantly complicated future life young painters. And Kramskoy proposed creating the “St. Petersburg Artel of Artists” - a community of young painters with a mutual aid fund and mandatory contributions to the cash desk from each work sold at a percentage established by the comrades.

Ivan Nikolaevich was involved in the affairs of the artel with great desire, but the community very soon disintegrated - one of the comrades began to petition the Academy for the allocation of a pension for him personally to travel abroad. Kramskoy was indignant, but the majority of the participants in the artel supported the apostate. It turned out to be an ugly story. It must be said that Kramskoy was not only ideological inspirer artel, but also its main patron of the arts - it is known that only in 1869 he contributed more than 3,000 rubles to the artel’s cash desk. It turned out that he supported artists whom he considered like-minded people, and his comrades were in the artel solely for material gain and, when they received greater benefits, they easily left the artel.

Kramskoy himself left the artel and soon this community of artists disintegrated.

In 1870, the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions was formed. And one of the organizers of this society, as you may have guessed, was Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy, who was not only the creator - he simply put his soul into the Partnership.

The artist died on March 25, 1887. He was painting a portrait of Dr. Rauchfus, when he suddenly froze and fell. The arriving doctor confirmed the death of the great artist.

I won’t talk about the artist’s works – I’ll show you some of them.

The canvas belongs to early stage creativity of the artist, but many of his inherent distinctive features, which determined the painter’s style in the future. The portrait depicts the master’s wife, with whom the marriage was successful [...]

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Self-portrait

Kramskoy Ivan Nikolaevich (1837-1887), Russian artist of genre, historical and portrait painting. Born in Ostrogozhsk, into a poor middle-class family, he received his initial education at a district school. Kramskoy was self-taught in drawing since childhood, and then, with the help of the advice of one drawing lover, he began to work in watercolors. At the age of sixteen, he became a retoucher for a Kharkov photographer.

Maria Feodorovna, born Princess Dagmara of Denmark, wife of the Russian Tsar Alexander III. 1880

Having moved to St. Petersburg in 1856, Kramskoy continued to do the same with the best photographers in the capital. The next year he decided to enter the Academy of Arts, where he soon made rapid progress in drawing and painting. As a student of Professor A. T. Markov, Kramskoy received a small silver medal for the painting “The Dying Lensky” (1860),

Painting of the main dome of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. 1863

Prayer of Moses after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea 1861

a large silver medal for a sketch from life (1861) and a small gold medal for the painting painted according to the program: “Moses pours out water from a stone.” Kramskoy was supposed to compete for a big gold medal, but at that time doubts arose and ripened among the young academic artists about the correctness of academic teaching, and they submitted a petition to the academy council that they would be allowed to each choose their own theme for a painting to compete for a big gold medal. medals. The Academy of Arts reacted negatively to the proposed innovation.

Christ in the Desert, 1872 Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Unknown, 1883 Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Girl with a loose braid, 1873 Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Alexander III, 1886 Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Maria Fedorovna 1880

One of the academy’s professors, architect Ton, even characterized the young artists’ attempt this way: “in the old days you would have been given up as a soldier for this.” As a result, 14 young artists, led by Kramskoy, refused in 1863 to paint pictures on the theme set by the academy - “A Feast in Valhalla” and left the academy. First, to find a means of livelihood, they formed an artistic artel, and in 1870, some of them, joining young Moscow artists, headed by Myasoedov, founded a partnership of traveling exhibitions. Kramskoy became a portrait painter. In his further artistic activity Kramskoy constantly showed a desire for paintings - works of imagination and willingly surrendered to it when everyday circumstances allowed it. Even when he was an academician, Kramskoy brought great benefit to his professor Markov, having spent a year drawing cardboards for the ceiling in the Church of the Savior (in Moscow), according to Markov’s sketches.

Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich

TO the best works Kramskoy’s non-portrait paintings include the following paintings: “May Night” (according to Gogol), “Lady in moonlit night», « Inconsolable grief", "Forester", "Contemplator", "Christ in the Desert" and some others. Kramskoy put a lot of work into composing the painting “Jesus Christ, ridiculed as the King of the Jews” - a painting that he called “Laughter”, and he hoped a lot for it.

But Kramskoy was unable to provide for himself in such a way as to completely devote himself to this work, which remained far from finished.

Sculpture Christ 1883

Forester 1874

The Contemplator 1876

Mermaids (May Night) 1871

Moonlit Night 1880

Kramskoy, painting portrait to his daughter, Sophia 1884

Artist's family

Children in the forest 1887

Kramskoy painted many portraits; Of these, portraits of S. P. Botkin, I. I. Shishkin, Grigorovich, Mrs. Vogau, the family (female portraits) of the Gunzburgs, a Jewish boy, A. S. Suvorin, unknown, Count L. N. Tolstoy, Count Litke deserve special mention , D. A. Tolstoy, Goncharov and many others. They are distinguished by their complete similarity and talented characterization of the person from whom the portrait was painted; the above-mentioned painting “Inconsolable Grief” is actually a portrait, which has all the qualities and advantages of the painting.

Portrait of Sofia Kramskoy, 1869

Portrait of landscape painter Fyodor Vasiliev (1850-1873), burned out from consumption - a friend of the artist

Portrait of Leo Tolstoy 1873

Portrait of the artist Shishkin, 1873

Portrait of the artist Ivan Shishkin, 1880

Portrait of the philosopher Solovyov, 1885

Portrait of a Woman 1881

Inconsolable grief 1884

But not all of Kramskoy’s works are of equal strength, which the artist himself admitted without hesitation; sometimes he was not interested in the person from whom he had to write, and then he became only a conscientious recorder. Kramskoy also understood landscape, and although he did not paint a single picture of this genre, in “May Night,” as well as in the other “Night,” he perfectly conveyed the moonlit illumination not only of human figures, but also of the landscape setting.

Forest path, 1870

Village-Yard-in-France, 1876

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 (The portrait was painted one morning, but remained unfinished, since Kramskoy died while doing this work.)

Many of Kramskoy's works are in the famous Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow (paintings “Inconsolable Grief”, “Christ in the Desert” and “May Night”; portraits of P. M. Tretyakov, count L. N. Tolstoy, D. V. Grigorovich, N. A. Nekrasov, P. I Melnikova, V.V. Samoilov, M.E. Saltykov and others; drawings: “A green oak tree near the seaside”, portrait of V. Vasistov, N. Yaroshenko and other works).

Portrait of the artist Nikolai Dmitrievich Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, 1866

Portrait of Academician Ruprecht Franz Ivanovich. (etching)

Kramskoy also engaged in engraving on copper with strong vodka; Among the etchings he executed, the best were portraits of Emperor Alexander III, when he was the crown prince, Peter the Great and Taras Shevchenko. It is difficult to say whether Kramskoy would have become a major historical painter. The artist’s rationality prevailed over imagination, as he himself admitted both in an intimate conversation and in correspondence, placing I. E. Repin above himself in terms of talent. In general, Kramskoy was very demanding of artists, which earned him many critics, but at the same time he was strict with himself and strived for self-improvement. Kramskoy's comments and opinions about art were not of the nature of mere personal conviction, but were usually demonstrative, to the extent possible in matters of aesthetics.

Ivan Kramskoy, Portrait of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. 1877

Its main requirement is content and nationality works of art, their poetry; but no less than that, Kramskoy also demanded good painting itself. In this regard, Kramskoy should be noted, and this can be seen by reading the artist’s correspondence, published by A. Suvorin according to the thoughts and edited by V. V. Stasov (“Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy, his life, correspondence and art-critical articles.” ( St. Petersburg, 1888). It cannot be said that Kramskoy judged correctly based on first impressions, but he always more or less motivated a change of opinion. Sometimes his opinions remained hesitant for a long time until the painter found a compromise.

Ivan Goncharov

Kramskoy did not have much education, he always regretted it and made up for this deficiency with constant serious reading and community intelligent people, as a result of which he himself was a useful interlocutor for artists (Kramskoy is also known for his pedagogical activity, as a teacher since 1862 at the drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists).

Portrait of the artist I. E. Repin - a student of Kramskoy

Portrait of the artist Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy by Repin. 1882

Kramskoy Ivan Nikolaevich passed away at work, at his easel. On his last day, March 24 (April 5, new style) 1887, Kramskoy painted a portrait of Dr. K. Rauchfus for several hours in a row. He suddenly turned pale and collapsed on the easel, lifeless. Rauchfuss tried to help him, but it was too late.

The grave of Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy. St. Petersburg, Tikhvin Cemetery, Alexander Nevsky Lavra

Bouquet of flowers, 1884

Without Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy it is impossible to imagine the democratic artistic culture of the second half of the 19th century. Kramskoy played a decisive role at all stages of the development of advanced Russian painting in the 1860-1870s. He was rightfully the ideological leader, conscience and brain of the Peredvizhniki movement.

Portrait of Sofia Nikolaevna Kramskoy, the artist’s wife 1879

Portrait of Anatoly Kramskoy, Son, 1882

Portrait of Sofia Ivanovna Kramskoy, the artist’s daughter, 1882

Portrait of Sergei Kramskoy, son of the artist, 1883

The Insulted Jewish Boy 1874

Portrait of the writer Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov 1874

Portrait of Sofia Nikolaevna and Sofia Ivanovna Kramskoy, wife and daughter of the artist 1875

Portrait of Dmitry Vasilyevich Grigorovich, 1876

Portrait of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, 1876

Portrait of Vera Nikolaevna Tretjakowa, born Mamontowa, 1876

Portrait of the sculptor Mark Matveevich Antokolsky, 1876

Portrait of the poet Nikolai Nekrasov, 1877

ON THE. Nekrasov during the period of "The Last Songs" 1877-1878

Portrait of the writer Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov 1878

Portrait of Adrian Viktorovich Prakhov, art historian and art critic, 1879

Portrait of singer Elizaveta Andreevna Lavrovsky on the stage of the Assembly of the Nobility, 1879

Portrait of the writer Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov (N. Shchedrin), 1879

portrait of a woman 1880

Portrait of Doctor Sergei Petrovich Botkin, 1880

Portrait of S. I. Kramskoy. 1880

Portrait of Anna von Dervisa, 1881

Girl with a cat, 1882

Portrait of Barbara Kirillovna Lemokh as a child, 1882

Woman with an umbrella (in the grass, Moscow region), 1883

Portrait of Olga Afanasyevna Raftopulo 1884

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Part 46 -