Essay-narration based on the painting by I. Grabar “February Azure”

(1871-1960) - famous Soviet artist, painter, art critic, professor, teacher, restorer. During his creative career, he created many wonderful paintings, which today are considered a real treasure of Russian art. One of the most famous paintings by I. Grabar is considered to be a work called “February Blue”.

The landscape “February Azure” was painted in 1904. Canvas, oil. Dimensions: 141 x 83 cm. Located in the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. The painting was painted in the style of impressionism. The mood of the picture is joyful and bright. In this work, Igor Emmanuilovich tried to convey a sunny winter day in a birch grove. Thanks to his talent, the artist was able to convey not only the landscape itself, its realistic appearance and the slightest nuances, but also the very character of a sunny winter day. When looking at the picture, you create a feeling of something beautiful, joyful and bright, which takes you away from everyday life and glorifies the beauty of the Russian forest, the silence of a birch grove, light frost, the crunch of snow underfoot, the rays of the sun, which even in winter warm and promise the imminent arrival of the long-awaited spring.

In the foreground we can see a birch tree that has spread its branches and permeates the entire space of the picture with its majestic beauty. Here I. Grabar chose a perspective in which the viewer looks at the trees from the bottom up, which makes the birches, as well as the entire space of the picture, even more impressive in their size and scale. The unusual perspective, as well as the bright color of the work, made the painting not just a beautiful landscape, but a real masterpiece. Looking at this work, it immediately becomes clear that in its basis and details there is something elusive that makes the nature of the Russian forest unusually attractive and exciting the heart, soul and imagination.

The painting “February Azure” also foreshadows the arrival of spring. There is a certain sadness in this about parting with winter. The sun begins to shine brighter. The frosts are receding. The trees have already shed their caps of snow and soon streams will run through the forest, and buds will begin to swell on the birches. The picture is filled with the quick awakening of nature after a long hibernation. From the mixed feelings of sad parting with winter and the joy of the arrival of spring, the picture becomes even more exciting and touches the heartstrings.

The history of the painting “February Azure” began after the artist went to his friends’ dacha in February 1904. During his walk around the neighborhood, when it was a sunny day, the artist accidentally dropped a stick. Bending down to pick it up, he turned his head and suddenly saw something that struck him to the core. From a different angle, ordinary nature began to sparkle with completely different colors, the nearby snow shone, the trees seemed more majestic, the sky seemed even bluer. Igor Grabar immediately ran home to make the first sketch. The next day he went to the same place, dug a trench in the snow to install an easel and got to work. Thus was born a masterpiece of Russian art, which today delights and delights art lovers and visitors to the State Tretyakov Gallery.

The ability of the brilliant Russian painter Igor Grabar to convey the moment when winter is about to give way to spring has never been disputed by either critics or ordinary viewers. So the painting “February Azure” miraculously takes us to a winter forest, which is already preparing to throw off the shackles of winter. It is imbued with the mood of this coming change to the last stroke.

“I stood near a marvelous specimen of birch, rare in the rhythmic structure of its branches. Looking at her, I dropped the stick and bent down to pick it up. When I looked at the top of the birch from below, from the surface of the snow, I was stunned by the spectacle of fantastic beauty that opened before me: some kind of chimes and echoes of all the colors of the rainbow, united by the blue enamel of the sky.” It should be noted that Grabar possessed the most important quality of a true painter - he knew how to truly see, that is, perceive in the world around him much more than what is revealed to the ordinary eye.

Work on this painting, which he later considered the most important in his work, proceeded in a very unique way: the sketch was painted from a trench that Grabar dug in deep snow. In this trench, the artist placed himself with an easel and a large canvas in search of a stronger impression of a low horizon and high sky (later he used this “trench” method in other full-scale paintings).
works). From this point, the artist was able to reveal the whole variety of blue tones in gradations from light green to ultramarine - what Ilya Ostroukhov would later call the “Indian sky.” The vertical format of the painting, as in White Winter, emphasizes the plasticity of the birch tree, which has spread its fan-shaped branches like wings, and emphasizes the infinity of the azure space.

The angle chosen by the artist is interesting: the viewer looks at the image from below, this expands the space of the picture. A lot of light colors were used in the work - white birch trees, snow, sky. But, despite this, the bright light color of the work does not interfere with its comfortable perception. In addition to a large number of whitish shades, the artist also uses colors traditionally associated with the arrival of spring: blue and ultramarine. The combination of colors helps the viewer understand that the days of winter are numbered and very soon spring will come into its own.

The main character of Grabar’s painting “February Azure” is, of course, the birch tree in the foreground. Its branches stand out clearly against the spring blue sky. Frost sparkles on them, framing the Russian beauty like a beautiful necklace. Behind her, the artist depicted several more birch trees, the beauty and grace of which echo the main character.

The mood of the picture is joyful, spring, despite the fact that winter has shackled nature with its cold. It is clear that spring with its cheerful streams and birdsong is just around the corner, the cold will soon end and the birches will be covered with catkins and young fresh leaves.

Year of painting: 1904.

Dimensions of the painting: 141 x 83 cm.

Material: canvas.

Writing technique: oil.

Genre: landscape.

Style: impressionism.

Gallery: State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

Essay based on the painting by I. Grabar “February Azure”

I. Grabar - famous Russian landscape artist, student of I.E. Repin, singer of winter, snow, frost. We are all familiar with his paintings such as “March Snow”, “Winter Evening”, “Winter Landscape”. One of his best creations is the painting “February Blue,” painted by him in 1904.

In the picture we see a winter birch grove. This tree has always attracted the artist's attention. “What could be more beautiful than a birch, the only tree in nature whose trunk is dazzlingly white, while all other trees in the world have dark trunks. Fantastic, supernatural tree, fairy tale tree. I passionately fell in love with Russian birch...”, wrote I. Grabar. And it was the birch tree that inspired him to paint this beautiful landscape. This is how the artist himself recalls it: “I stood near a marvelous specimen of a birch tree, rare in the rhythmic structure of its branches. Looking at her, I dropped the stick and bent down to pick it up. When I looked at the top of the birch from below, from the surface of the snow, I was stunned by the spectacle of fantastic beauty that opened before me: some kind of chimes and echoes of all the colors of the rainbow, united by the blue enamel of the sky. “If only a tenth of this beauty could be conveyed, then it would be incomparable,” I thought. February was amazing. It froze at night and the snow did not let up. The sun shone every day, and I was lucky enough to paint in a row without a break or change in weather for about two-plus weeks, until I finished the picture... I painted with an umbrella painted blue, and I placed the canvas not only without the usual bending forward, facing the ground, but turning his face to the blue of the sky...”

The painting depicts a wonderful February day - joyful, sunny, frosty. In the foreground we see a delicate white-trunked birch tree, caressed by a ray of sunshine. Its branches spread wide and rushed into the dazzling blue, clear, huge sky. There are practically no clouds on it. Below is fresh pearl-turquoise snow sparkling in the sun. Burning, transparent, frosty air. In the background we see a birch grove, young, thin, slender trees. And here cold tones and colors already predominate - the sun almost does not penetrate the birch thicket. The whole picture leaves an unusually joyful impression. We involuntarily recall Pushkin’s lines:

Under blue skies with magnificent carpets,
Glistening in the sun, the snow lies,
The transparent forest alone turns black,
And the spruce turns green through the frost,
And the river glitters under the ice.

This picture of nature created by Pushkin creates the same joyful and peaceful impression.

The artist uses white, brown and delicate, subtle shades of blue - turquoise, mother-of-pearl, lilac, azure. Why, the painting itself is called “February Blue.” I think this name suits this landscape very well.

I really liked the picture. She conveys the gentle, quiet and majestic beauty of Russian nature.

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The painting “February Blue” by Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar, painted in 1904, has a special poetry. February is a month of struggle between winter, which does not want to give up its rights, and just a premonition of the approach of spring, its light breath. A long wait for the awakening of all nature after a quiet winter sleep.

Winter does not give up its position; it frightens us with frosts and snow blizzards. But even in February there is sunny weather, when you immediately pay attention to nature, which is always amazingly beautiful. It’s just that in our hectic world, we sometimes don’t find time to pay attention and look around. Grabar, as a true artist, could not remain indifferent to such beauty and gave us this magnificent landscape.

In the foreground of the picture there is a birch tree covered with the thinnest layer of lacy frost, shimmering and sparkling even under the dim rays of the sun. A little further away you can see younger and still “teenage” birches with thin trunks. It seems that with their branches spread out, they slowly spin in a smooth round dance, like young girls celebrating Maslenitsa and welcoming the arrival of spring. Only the forest in the background separates heaven and earth. If you stand in front of this picture for a while, you will suddenly seem to clearly hear a Russian folk song about a birch tree. After all, the birch tree is a symbol of Russia, its beauty, so people composed many songs about it, both funny and sad.

White-trunked beauties are depicted against the backdrop of an azure snow blanket and an almost identical color of the winter sky. These tones, which the painter so generously uses, carry coolness and purity, like the breath of the breeze and the smells of the still approaching silent light tread of spring.

Such shades of azure, turquoise, and blue are like a gift from our Russian nature in the most blizzard winter month in the vastness of Russia. The entire canvas creates a feeling of an approaching holiday,

Igor Emmanuilovich also liked the painting February Blue. He often talked about how amazing inspiration suddenly came to create it. Grabar saw such a landscape in the Moscow region on a frosty sunny morning, going for a walk. He was struck by the color of azure, which seemed to envelop everything around, and only the birch trees, stretching out their branches, as if in a dance, diluted these incredible colors of pearls, coral, sapphire and turquoise. All together it looked like a fairy-tale island in the glow of precious stones.

The artist was amazed at the fantastic beauty of the birch branches in this chime of all shades of the rainbow, against the background of the blue sky. Against the background of the turquoise sky, last year’s foliage, which survived at the very top of the birch tree, seems golden. As if fulfilling the painter’s wishes, the sunny days lasted for almost two weeks, allowing Grabar to capture this miracle. It seemed that nature was posing for the talented artist, showing her grace in winter attire. Fuzzy lines have the effect of filling the picture with light and air.

The artist uses very light, pure shades, resulting in a crystal blue chime - from delicate turquoise to sparkling ultramarine. The canvas is reminiscent of paintings by famous French impressionists.

Today, Grabar’s painting “February Azure” is in the State Tretyakov Gallery. Canvas size 141 by 83 cm

Grabar February blue

Russian language lesson in 4th grade. Educational and educational complex "School of Russia"

Subject: Essay-narration based on the painting by I. E. Grabar “February Azure”

Target: teaching students the ability to determine the theme of a painting, describe a painting, reveal the artist’s intention, and convey their attitude to the painting.

Formed UUD:

Cognitive:

Conscious and voluntary construction of speech utterances in oral and written form;

Communicative:

Mastery of monologue and dialogic forms of speech in accordance with the grammatical and syntactic norms of the native language;

Regulatory:

Drawing up a plan and sequence of actions;

Comparison of the method of action and its result with a given standard;

Making necessary additions and adjustments to the plan and method of action;

Personal:

Moral and ethical assessment of the acquired content, ensuring personal moral choice based on social and personal values.

Equipment: presentation, cards for students, reproduction of the painting “February Azure”.

During the classes

I . Organizing time

II . Work on the topic of the lesson

1.Acquaintance with the life and work of I. E. Grabar

SLIDE 2

Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar is a famous landscape artist and a keen connoisseur of nature. He was born on March 13, 1871 in Budapest. In 1876, his family moved to Russia.

The talented artist entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1894, and already in 1896 Grabar went to Europe to get acquainted with Western European art.

SLIDE 3

In 1901, returning to Russia, he painted the painting “September Snow”. The audience greeted her enthusiastically, seeing in her a search for new opportunities in the fine arts. Grabar knew how to find a real wealth of colors in everyday motifs.

SLIDE 4

One of his best paintings is “February Blue”. The path of Grabar the artist was intertwined with the activities of a scientist and art researcher. In 1910-1914, several volumes of “History of Russian Art” were published.

SLIDE 5

In 1920, Grabar organized an expedition along the Northern Dvina and along the White Sea coast. The artist was captivated by the nature of these places, its solemn calm. On the banks of the Northern Dvina he painted the painting “Siysky Monastery”.

SLIDE 6

Grabar’s talent as a portrait painter was most clearly demonstrated in the painting “Self-Portrait with a Hat”

2 .Work on an essay based on the reproduction of I. E. Grabar “February Azure”

In order to describe what is shown in the picture, you need to use the following plan. (The plan is printed on cards for each student)

SLIDE 7

Plan

“February Azure” is one of the best paintings by I. E. Grabar.

Description of the birch tree in the foreground.

Description of the birch grove in the background.

Color scheme of the painting.

The mood that the picture evokes.

Approximate description of the painting:

“February Azure” is one of the best paintings by I. E. Grabar. The canvas depicts a birch grove on one of the radiant February days. She froze against the background of the azure sky.

In the foreground we see a tall, spreading birch tree with a thick trunk. The artist compositionally highlighted it: he seemed to push the young grove into the background so that it would not interfere with our seeing the birch. There is no longer any snow on its branches, but it seems to glow from the rays of the sun.

To show the birch in all its majestic beauty, Grabar painted it while standing in a specially dug hole. So he was able to see the treetops and mysterious shadows in the snow. White-trunked birches are painted with dense masks, and against the background of the sky blue they seem even whiter. They look like a frozen fountain. The entire grove is transparent, crystal, flooded with sunlight. Fragile coral branches froze in the air.

We see the shimmer of all the colors of the rainbow, united by the blue enamel of the sky. The colors amaze our imagination. Looking at the picture, we understand: winter is coming to an end. This can be seen from the melted lilac snow and the long sapphire shadows on it.

When you look at the painting “February Blue”, you are overcome with a feeling of joy and admiration for nature. The picture amazes with the purity of the light, blinding with its azure-blue color.

III . Independent work

Try writing an essay yourself. When writing an essay, you can use a reproduction of I. E. Grabar and the following material to describe the painting. (The material is printed on cards for each student)

Material for the essay

Sky: blue-azure, bluish, clear; not a cloud on the horizon.

Day: clear, radiant, sunny, bright, wonderful.

Grove: flooded with sun, illuminated by sunlight; the slanting rays of the winter sun illuminate the grove.

Birches: majestic, directed upward; the trunks sparkle; coral branches; trunks with yellow, reddish, orange-brown hues; twisted huge birch tree.

IV . Reflection

V . Summing up the lesson

What artist did you learn about today?

What do you remember about him?

Do you have a desire to get acquainted with other paintings by the artist?

Information sources

Literature: