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- 09.07.2019 The catalog contains 463 lots: paintings, graphics, porcelain, glass, silverware, jewelry, etc.
- 08.07.2019 The traditional twenty lots of the AI Auction are thirteen paintings and seven sheets of original graphics
- 05.07.2019 Sold 60% of the catalog. All lots went to Moscow and St. Petersburg
- 04.07.2019 On July 9, 2019, the auction “The Golden Age of Russian Literature. From a private European collection"
- 06.06.2019 The premonition did not disappoint. Buyers were in good mood, and the auction went great. On the very first day of “Russian week” the top 10 auction results for Russian art were updated. Almost $12 million was paid for Petrov-Vodkin
- 23.05.2019 You will be surprised, but this time I have a good feeling. I think that purchasing activity will be higher than last time. And the prices will most likely surprise you. Why? There will be a few words about this at the very end.
- 13.05.2019 Many believe that such a high concentration of very wealthy people inevitably creates adequate demand in the domestic art market. Alas, the scale of purchases of paintings in Russia is by no means directly proportional to the amount of personal wealth
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- 29.03.2019 The Stroganovka students who met in the morgue were destined to become the inventors of social art, the instigators of the “bulldozer exhibition”, dealers in American souls and the most recognizable representatives of independent art. Soviet art in the world
- 13.06.2019 Brought to St. Petersburg works of art, created using artificial intelligence. Among the participants is the French art group OBVIOUS, who managed to effectively monetize this work
- 11.06.2019 In the Gallery of Art of Europe and America of the 19th–20th centuries. from June 19 it will be possible to see selected works A. Giacometti, I. Klein, Basquiat, E. Warhol, G. Richter, Z. Polke, M. Cattelan, A. Gursky and others from the collection of Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris
- 11.06.2019 From June 19 to September 15, queues will line up in the Main Building of the Pushkin Museum on Volkhonka, 12, for an exhibition of about 150 works from the collection of Sergei Shchukin - paintings by Monet, Picasso, Gauguin, Derain, Matisse and others from the collections of the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin, Hermitage, Oriental Museum, etc.
- 11.06.2019 About 170 works by Goncharova from museums and collections from all over the world, including Russia, were brought to London for the exhibition.
- 07.06.2019 Until the end of June, the Tsereteli Gallery on Prechistenka is hosting a large personal exhibition of Konstantin Aleksandrovich Batynkov, who is celebrating his 60th birthday this year.
This one was born wonderful person February 29, 1872 in the Krynki farm (near the village of Tekhtin) in the modern Belynichi district in the family of a small tenant. Due to the conflictual nature of their father, they often had to change their place of residence. But it was precisely thanks to this circumstance that young Witold was able to see the world and nature of Belarus and Russia. Much later, being captivated by childhood memories and impressions, he would tirelessly paint landscapes native land, displaying in them the inconspicuous beauty of picturesque Belarusian forests, copses, gardens and fields.
He recalled about those years: “I am a Belarusian. Born on the Krynki estate near Belynich in the Mogilev region. My childhood years passed there. My father served as a tenant, later in the Dnieper Shipping Company. Going on flights along the Dnieper, Pripyat, Sozh, he often took me with him on trips. This was the greatest happiness and joy for me, because it was then, on those trips, that I discovered the incomparable nature of my native Belarus.”
For some time the artist lived in Kyiv with his older brother Alexander and studied at cadet corps. Here he made friends with local artists, who, appreciating the young man’s capabilities, introduced him to M. Murashka, the head of a well-known art school at that time. Leaving the cadet corps, Witold goes to school, where he receives elementary lessons painting, and then studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Friendly relations with teachers, peredvizhniki artists N. Nevrev, S. Korovin, I. Pryanishnikov, assimilation of their rich professional experience had a major influence on the formation of his taste and artistic manner.
At the same time, V. Byalynitsky-Birulya meets I. Levitan. Frequent meetings, conversations, work in the studio of the great painter became a good school for the aspiring artist. Under the influence of the talent of his teachers, he begins to understand that his favorite genre is landscape, only then it acquires artistry, touches the mind and soul of a person, when it conveys the truth of life through the color and shadows of paints. Later, researchers of the artist’s work noted that a person, his spirit, was always invisibly present in the painter’s landscapes.
Since 1897, V. Byalynitsky-Birulya begins to show his paintings at exhibitions of the Moscow Association of Art Lovers and the Moscow Society of Artists, at International exhibitions and competitions, where his works are increasingly celebrated and become noticeable.
Since 1899, the artist's name has appeared in catalogs of traveling exhibitions. His landscape “Eternal Snows,” exhibited at the Caucasian Anniversary Exhibition in 1901, was awarded a gold medal. In 1904, V. Byalynitsky-Birulya was elected a member of the Society of Traveling Exhibitions (Peredvizhniki), and four years later he was awarded the title of Academician of Painting.
Great success came to the artist in 1911, when his painting “The Hour of Silence” received an honorary medal in Munich and a bronze medal in Barcelona. This recognition became one of highest achievements masters.
In subsequent years, his work was closely connected with “Chaika” - a dacha that he built in 1912 not far from the places where I. Levitan often worked (Tver region). Lake Udomlya and its surroundings served as an inexhaustible source of motives for further sketches.
In 1936, the artist visited Pushkin’s places - Mikhailovskoye and Trigorskoye - and brought back a whole series of paintings from there. Having visited Klin, the homeland of P. Tchaikovsky, he exhibits new landscapes - corners of nature that the classic of Russian music loved.
The theme of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) entered the work of V. Byalynitsky-Birulya as a large unhealed wound. About this period he left the paintings “The Red Army in the Forests of Karelia”, “In the Footsteps of the Fascist Barbarians” (1942) and others.
In 1944, he, already a well-known master, received the title of People's Artist of Belarus, and in 1947 he became People's Artist of Russia and was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Arts. In the spring of the same year, after a long separation from his native places, V. Byalynitsky-Birulya visits Belarus: “...I cannot forget its forests, rivers, lakes, infinitely dear and close to my heart,” said the artist. “When I go out to write, it’s hard for me to tear myself away from the greening winter shoots. I see destroyed German tanks on the outskirts of the roads. They remind me that just recently there were bloody battles here... The years have shackled me. Otherwise, I would have visited Polesie, or Krasnopolye, or near the town of Chausy in the Mogilev region. What picturesque places there..."
While in his homeland, in 1947 the artist created about thirty paintings, studies and sketches: “Belarus. Spring has bloomed again,” “Belarus. Apple trees in bloom”, “Old Belarusian village”, “Belarusian birches have turned green” and others.
It is no coincidence that V. Byalynitsky-Birulya is considered an unsurpassed master of the spring landscape. More than two hundred of his paintings are known, which depict the awakening of nature, its renewal. These paintings are lyrical and emotional in nature. The artist’s works are unmistakably recognizable by the muted palette of dim colors, subtle transitions and alternation of colors. He was a subtle connoisseur of nature, well understood its condition, noticed shades and showed this marvelous green color in dynamics, constant change. V. Byalynitsky-Birulya painted earth, water and sky all his life, using only three or four colors. But this modest palette of the master was quite enough for those who loved the enchanting beauty of landscapes and their quiet, bright sadness. He recalled with love his childhood in nature: “Since childhood, my life has been constantly connected with nature. In her and with her the meaning of life has always been for me. I grew up in the village, in nature, among the people.”
Died great artist at his dacha "Chaika" on June 18, 1957 at the age of 85. Buried in Moscow on Novodevichy Cemetery. In Belynichi and Mogilev there are two art museums named after academician of painting Vitold Kaetanovich Byalynitsky-Birulya, where dozens of original paintings by the artist are exhibited. In the Belynichi region, plein airs are constantly held with the participation of artists from Moscow, Kostroma, Minsk, Mogilev, Belynichi, after which the funds of art museums are significantly replenished. In the urban villages of Belynichi and Mogilev, streets are named after the famous painter, our fellow countryman. On the site of the former Krynki farm (Tehtin street), where the artist was born, a memorial sign was erected.
Byalynitsky-Birulya Vitold Kaetanovich (1872 - 1957)
Famous master of Russian lyrical landscape
“He was one of those modest, simple followers of Levitan, who just as strongly and devotedly loved Russian nature, although he did not reach the heights of his teacher. Years will pass, and his works will be valued in the same way as the works of small Dutchmen are now valued in Europe.” (Nashirvanov B.N.)
Belarusian painter, People's Artist of Belarus (1944) and the RSFSR (1947), full member of the USSR Academy of Arts (1947). Vitold Kaetanovich Byalynitsky-Birulya ( real name- Birulya) was born on January 31 (February 12), 1872 in the village of Krynki, Mogilev province. Belarusian. He took the pseudonym from his native Belynitsky (Byalynitsky) district of the Mogilev region. He received his art education at the Kyiv Drawing School under N. I. Murashko, then at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1889-1897) under S. A. Korovin, V. D. Polenova, I. M. Pryanishnikova. Back in 1892, P. M. Tretyakov acquired his painting “From the Outskirts of Pyatigorsk” for his gallery, which happened extremely rarely with young authors. In 1904, Byalynitsky-Birulya became a member of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions.
In 1908, for the painting “Days of Early Spring” he received the title of academician of painting. In 1909 he was awarded a gold medal at the International Art Exhibition in Munich for his painting “Hour of Silence.”
Byalynitsky-Birulya. An hour of silence. Lake Udomlya. 1911.
Its the most famous painting of this period "Spring" (1912) gives close connection creativity of the landscape painter with the poetics of I. I. Levitan. About this painting I. E. Repin wrote to its author: “I am so used to refreshing my soul before your living trends of truth, simplicity and freedom.”
In his work, V. K. Byalynitsky-Birulya continued and developed the traditions of Russian lyrical landscape of the 19th century. His harmonious landscape paintings, exquisite in color, represent the author’s lyrical thoughts about the eternity of nature. In the calm, balanced compositions of the master, a wide expanse of fields and forest expanses with a majestically outlined horizon opens up.
After 1917, Byalynitsky-Birulya, like V.N. Baksheev, K. F. Yuon, I. E. Grabar, became one of the main guardians of the traditions of Russian realistic landscape. Great place images took over his work memorable places, related to the life and work of Russian cultural figures: in 1928 he painted a series of landscapes Yasnaya Polyana- the estate of L. N. Tolstoy, in 1937 - views Pushkinskiye Gory, in 1942 - landscapes depicting the estate of P. I. Tchaikovsky in Klin. In 1944, Byalynitsky-Birulya created a series of paintings depicting monuments of ancient Russian architecture in the vicinity of Arkhangelsk. In the summer of 1947, the artist painted landscapes of Belarus, the nature of which he had been familiar with since childhood. They embodied the artist’s wisdom, acquired over many years of creative work.
Several of the artist's works are in Tretyakov Gallery:
From the outskirts of Pyatigorsk (1892)
Spring (1911)
The Ice Has Gone (1930)
Thoughtful days of autumn (1932-1942)
Nivoges (1936-37)
Belarus. Spring has bloomed again (1947
Stamp (Belarus, 1997) from the collection of Konstantin Konstantinov (“Bulletin of Zamoskvorechye”)
Museum of V.K. Byalynitsky-Biruli
The Vitold Kaetanovich Byalynitsky-Birulya Museum was opened on December 24, 1982. This is the first in the republic memorial museum, dedicated to the life and work of the artist. 
The house in which the artist was born in the small village of Krynki near Belynich, Mogilev province in 1872, has not survived. Therefore, it was decided to open a Museum in Mogilev and locate it in a stone two-story mansion with an attic, a monument of civil architecture of the 17th century, at 37 Leninskaya Street.
By the time the branch of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus was opened, it had almost five hundred paintings People's Artist of the BSSR and RSFSR Byalynitsky-Birulya, collected with great diligence and love by the director of the State Art Gallery, Honored Artist of the BSSR Elena Vasilyevna Aladova. This collection is the only one in its completeness and artistic significance a collection of works by a remarkable landscape painter. In addition, the artist’s widow Elena Alekseevna donated to the museum a significant part of the documentary materials, photographs and personal belongings that were previously located in the “Chaika”, the artist’s house-studio on the shore of Lake Udomlya: a sketchbook, palette, brushes; a hunting rifle is evidence of a special passion for hunting; furniture made in the Abramtsevo workshop; unique letters from I.E. Repin, in one of which the great Russian painter wrote about his admiration for the works of the young landscape painter. All this made it possible to create a fairly integral memorial section of the Museum, which occupies the entire first floor of the building.
The photographs are of particular interest. They talk about Vitold Kaetanovich’s relatives, his family, show the artist in different years life - as a child, a student of the Kyiv Cadet Corps, at work at the easel, with his daughter Lyubochka, among friends, with famous Russian artists at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of traveling art exhibitions, with a group Belarusian artists in Minsk, from famous masters Soviet art in the halls of the Museum of the Academy of Arts in Leningrad.
Originals and copies of various documents tell about the years of study at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, about participation in creative competitions, exhibitions, receiving honorary titles and awards. The Museum stores the medal with which the painting was awarded “ Winter dream"at the exhibition in Barcelona, orders of the USSR, as well as diplomas, congratulatory addresses, signed the greatest masters visual arts, publications, dedicated to creativity Byalynitsky-Biruli.
Among the exhibits in the memorial section are works by artists who are close friends of V.K. Byalynitsky-Birulya: portrait of the artist’s mother A.R. Byalynitskaya-Birulya, written in 1894 by N.P. Ulyanov; portraits of V.K. Byalynitsky-Biruli, performed by A.V. Moravov (1908), M.M. Zaitsev (1922), F.A. Modorov (1950); landscapes depicting the Chaika house-workshop and the surroundings of Lake Udomlya.
The second floor of the museum is completely occupied by works by V.K. Byalynitsky-Biruli. More than a hundred canvases, finished paintings and small sketches, placed in bright, spacious rooms, give a complete picture of the work of an outstanding painter, a wonderful master of lyrical landscape.
The roots of Byalynitsky-Birulya's art undoubtedly lie in the nature of his native Belarus, the discreet beauty of which, unpretentious motives, soft calm colors forever entered the artist's soul and determined the originality of his art, the entire emotional structure of his works. Byalynitsky-Birulya's brushes include masterfully painted landscapes of winter, summer, and golden autumn. But what worried him most was spring nature, its awakening from hibernation, the first greenery and its lush flowering. Turning to a specific landscape plot, the master sought, first of all, to convey the state of nature, which depends on the season, time of day, sunlight, to convey the emotions that a person feels when communicating with nature
In 1912, Vitold Kaetanovich purchased a plot of land in the Tver province on the shore of Lake Udomlya and built a house with a workshop. He named his small estate “Chaika”. Much of the creative and personal life masters. It was here that many famous paintings by the painter were created, including his famous picture“Hour of silence. Lake Udomlya" (1911).
A significant part of the exhibition is occupied by works created in secular times. In the 20s and 30s, fascinated by the new things that were happening around, Byalynitsky-Birulya traveled a lot around the country. He is interested in the first experiments in agricultural reconstruction at the Gigant state farm and the Seybit commune, the construction of Azovstal, and the transformation of the North. Three times - in 1933, 1935 and 1937. - he visited the Arctic. These trips are evidenced by the paintings presented in the exhibition. Despite the thematic basis of these works, the lyrical and poetic element prevails in them, coming from the artist’s talent and his worldview.
The exhibition includes paintings “Blue Spring” (1942), “Spring Silence” (1943), paintings depicting monuments of Russian wooden architecture- “Nine-domed wooden church”, “Village of Conception”, “Ratonavolok. Old Church”, “Mill on the Northern Dvina” (all - 1944). There is beauty in them native land and admiration for cultural heritage people. That's exactly how it was during the Great Years Patriotic War the artist-citizen expressed his devotion to the Motherland and boundless love for it.
Early spring evening
Boats, 1913
Early spring, 1953
At the beginning of spring
Spring waters. 1930. Oil
Blue Chapel. Before 1920. Oil
Thoughtful days of autumn. 1940
Cottage in the garden
Dormant Pond
Moskvoretskaya embankment 1913
"Silence" 1890s - early 1900s
At the end of winter
Almost forty-five years of Vitold Kaetanovich’s life was connected with the Tver land. Here, on the shores of Lake Udomlya, in the famous Chaika dacha, he created many famous paintings. Anna Vasilyevna Knipper, who visited the Chaika dacha, dedicated very beautiful and inspired lines to these places...
Harsh summer north
The unkind side...
Clover blooms in the fields
And linen blue eyes.
Boulders purple blocks
They blow up the body of the fields -
And the lake is full of fish
And waves of blue lead.
And the sky above him is not smiling
In a raincoat of torrential rains.
But I will always remember
Your joy and sadness
And you know what, Udomlya,
I'll come back to you again.
This poem, like the paintings of Byalynitsky-Birul, is a declaration of love for an amazingly beautiful protected corner of Russian nature, which has become a creative workshop for many artists of different generations.
Emerald of spring. 1915
Spring has bloomed again. 1947 State Tretyakov Gallery
Spring is coming. 1911 State Tretyakov Gallery
Prophetic waters. Canvas, oil. 59x73. State Russian Museum
Forest river in winter. 1920. State Russian Museum
Autumn wind. 1902
At the end of winter 1911
Blue Spring
VC. Byalynitsky-Birulya is one of the creators of the genre of memorial landscape. His works include images of memorable places associated with the lives of famous figures of Russian history and culture L.N. Tolstoy, A.S. Pushkina, P.I. Tchaikovsky and others. In the museum, this side of the artist’s work is represented by paintings dedicated to Pushkin’s places - “Mikhailovskoye. Nanny's house A.S. Pushkin Arina Rodionovna", "Svyatogorsk Monastery. Grave of A.S. Pushkin", "Trigorskoe. Birch by the Sorot River" (all - 1936), " Autumn days. Trigorskoe. River Sorot" (1952). The poetry and lyricism of the paintings, the musicality of their pictorial solution are consonant with the spiritual poetry of Pushkin.
An important event of the year was the arrival of Vitold Kaetanovich to Belarus for the first time in many years. From May to mid-June, the artist lived and worked at the Belaya Dacha in the outskirts of Minsk. Here he painted several dozen sketches, which became the basis for a series of paintings dedicated to Belarus. It was here, in the vicinity of Minsk, that the motive for the painting “Belarus. Spring has bloomed again,” the emotional content of which is subordinated main idea author - life triumphs, it has defeated death and destruction. This painting is one of the central ones in the exhibition.
The Art and Memorial Museum gives a complete picture of the life and work of Vitold Kaetanovich Byalyniky-Birulya, an inspired artist, a great worker, a son of the Belarusian land.
Museum address: 212030 Mogilev, st. Leninskaya, 37
tel.: 0222 224887, 0222 220409
Vitold Kaetanovich Byalynitsky-Birulya (Belorussian. Vitold Kaetanovich Byalynitski-Birulya; 1872-1957) - Belarusian, Russian and Soviet landscape painter, People's Artist of the BSSR (1944) and the RSFSR (1947), full member of the USSR Academy of Arts (1 947). Member of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (since 1904), the Union of Russian Artists, AHRR (since 1922). Developed the traditions of Russian lyrical landscape late XIX century.
Born on January 31 (February 12), 1872 in the village of Krynki, Belynichi district, Mogilev province Russian Empire in the family of a small tenant. The Krynki estate was located three kilometers north of the village of Tekhtin and 20 km from Belynichi, Mogilev region. The family often changed their place of residence. The father served in the Dnieper Shipping Company and often took his son sailing along the Dnieper, Pripyat and Sozh. For some time the artist lived in Kyiv with his older brother Alexander. He studied first at the Kiev Cadet Corps, then moved to the Kyiv Drawing School N. I. Murashko (1885-89), later went to Moscow and entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture for a course with teachers S. A. Korovin, V. Polenov . D., Pryanishnikov I. M. In Moscow, the artist met I. Levitan, worked in his workshop. Under the influence of teachers, I became interested in landscapes. In 1892, P. M. Tretyakov acquired the painting “From the Outskirts of Pyatigorsk” for his gallery.
Since 1897, Byalynitsky-Birulya has been demonstrating his paintings at exhibitions of the Moscow Society of Art Lovers and the Moscow Association of Artists, at international exhibitions and competitions. Since 1899, the artist's name has appeared in catalogs of traveling exhibitions. The landscape “Eternal Snows,” exhibited at the Caucasian Anniversary Exhibition in 1901, was awarded a gold medal. In 1904, Byalynitsky-Birulya was elected a member of the Association of Itinerants, and four years later he was awarded the title of academician of painting. He is also a member of the Union of Russian Artists and the Society of Artists named after A.I. Kuindzhi. In 1911, the painting “Hour of Silence” received two medals: an honorary one in Munich, and a bronze medal in Barcelona.
In the same year, he created the painting “Winter Dream” - one of the best paintings by V. K. Byalynitsky-Biruli. For this painting, the artist was also awarded a bronze medal at the International Exhibition in Barcelona. The film uses a minimum of means of expression. Only a few planes and a small number of lines make up its composition. In the center of the picture is a temple, the outlines of which appear against the sky. The smear is barely noticeable. Everything seems to be shrouded in the haze of deepening twilight. Despite the laconism expressive means, the picture is emotionally rich, which is achieved by skillfully developing shades of color relationships.
In 1912, the artist purchased a plot of land in the Tver province on the shore of Lake Udomlya, not far from the places where Levitan often worked, and built a house with a workshop here. He named his small estate “Chaika”. Much of the master’s creative and personal life is connected with The Seagull. Lake Udomlya and its surroundings became an inexhaustible source of motives for his further creativity. Members of the party and government came to hunt on this estate, which was left to the artist as personal property.
In 1917, Byalynitsky-Birulya organized art school for peasant children. In painting he continues to develop the traditions of “Russian impressionism”, like Grabar, Yuon and Baksheev.
In 1922, Byalynitsky-Birulya became a member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia. IN Soviet time he continues to develop the traditions of Russian lyrical landscape of the late 19th century and becomes one of the creators of the genre of memorial landscape. In the 1920s and 1930s, the artist traveled a lot around the country. He is interested in the first experiments in agricultural reconstruction at the Gigant state farm and the Seybit commune, the construction of Azovstal, and the transformation of the North. In 1933, 1935 and 1937 he visited the Arctic, which is the subject of several series of landscapes.
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Russian and Soviet, painter. A classic of the Russian lyrical landscape with its spirituality and poetry, the color of his canvases is harmonious and refined. Academician of painting at the Imperial Academy of Arts (IAH, 1908). Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1937). People's Artist BSSR (1944) and RSFSR (1947). Full member of the USSR Academy of Arts (1947). State Prize THE USSR. Awarded two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor. Honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR.
Born in the village of Krynki near Belynichi, Mogilev province. He studied at the Kyiv Drawing School (1885–1889) with N. I. Murashko. Then, at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1889–1897) with I. M. Pryanishnikov, S. A. Korovin, V. D. Polenov. Participant in exhibitions since 1897. Even before finishing his studies, his painting “From the Outskirts of Pyatigorsk” (1897) was acquired for his gallery by P. M. Tretyakov. In 1908 he received the title of academician of painting (for the painting “Days of Early Spring”).
Since 1904, member of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions and Society named after A.I. Kuindzhi (1904), exhibitor of the Union of Russian Artists (1904). For the painting “Days of Early Spring” he received the title of Academician of Painting (1908), and for the painting “Hour of Silence” Byalynitsky-Birulya was awarded a gold medal at the International Art Exhibition in Munich (1909). Got medals International exhibition years in Barcelona (1912). His most famous painting of this period, “Spring” (1912), reveals the close connection of the landscape painter’s work with the poetics of I. I. Levitan, without being his student, Birulya consistently developed his ideas throughout his life.
Vitold Kaetanovich's favorite time of year was early spring, and the recognizable motif of his paintings is young, still without leaves, lonely trees. Already in the pre-revolutionary years he played a prominent role in Russian artistic life. It was then that his style developed and a range of topics developed. The favorite motifs of Byalynitsky-Birul’s work were the transitional states of nature. His element is the off-season, those hours when the day has not yet ended and the evening has not yet begun. This is how the artist conveyed her changeable beauty and subtle shades of human moods.
In 1917, Byalynitsky was one of the organizers of the Izograf association of painters, graphic artists and sculptors. In 1922 - became one of the organizers of the Association of Artists revolutionary Russia, in 1928 - took part in the creation of the Association of Realist Artists (OHR).
IN Soviet period continued and developed the traditions of the Russian lyrical “mood landscape”, the creator of which in Russian painting was I. I. Levitan, depicting mainly unassuming views of central Russia and Belarus.
Work on sketches occupied a significant place in the work of V. K. Byalynitsky-Birul. According to the artist’s adopted daughter, Vitold Kaetanovich took with him cardboards primed in a special way and went to sketches for several days, upon his return he showed a dozen completely completed full-scale works. Having written many sketches during his life, the artist believed that the sketch was an absolutely necessary link in the work on a landscape painting, and always remembered what I. I. Levitan told him and S. Yu. Zhukovsky: “Never pursue large sizes of sketches; in a large sketch there are more lies, and in a small one there are very few, and if you truly, seriously feel what you saw when you painted the sketch, then in the picture you will display the correct and complete impression of what you saw.”
This is what Byalynitsky-Birulya said about the sketches: “In them I always tried to reflect my true and truthful impression of what I saw in nature and at the same time convey the feelings that were born at the first impression of nature. At the same time, I tried to most accurately convey the correct relationship between earth, sky and water.” “A landscape artist needs to develop a memory for impressions: that is, cultivate the ability to preserve the first impression in all the original freshness of the perception of nature and be able to convey it. Having started a sketch, you need to finish it at the same hour. This is also important when writing a sketch in cloudy weather; It would seem that on a gray day you can write for a long time, but this is not true, since the lighting conditions change quickly even in this weather, and therefore the relationships you initially assumed correctly change.”
For a landscape artist, it is equally important to write both small and large sketches: “Large sketches, completed over several sessions, help develop the ability to paint with a brush, improve painting techniques and your techniques. Not every nature can be conveyed in a sketch in one session. The image of a forest edge with a forest of different species requires a multi-session sketch, since in a single session it is impossible to recreate with the necessary completeness the originality of the forms, the differences in the color of the foliage, trunk, and covers of various tree species. Along with multi-session complex studies, it is necessary to write quickly, within half an hour, small studies in order to be able to correctly capture the tone and correctly convey the color of surrounding objects, since in nature everything often changes very quickly.”
In his sketches, Byalynitsky-Birulya not only recorded observations of nature. In creating them, he spent a lot of time creative work on the preparation of paintings. The artist believed that the picture must be constantly replenished with observations, therefore, once written, it must be endlessly checked and corrected with new and new sketches. At the same time, he did not deny that it is possible to paint a picture entirely from life, although he himself almost always created his paintings based on sketches.
The artist’s natural works are noticeably different from the canvases painted in the studio; they have a pronounced texture, a body-like “savory”, energetic brushstroke, are more material, tonally more contrasting and look more weighty. On the contrary, the works made in the workshop have a similar tonality and a soft silvery palette. In principle, all the artist’s works are distinguished by modesty color combinations, the coloring of his works is based on non-intense colorful mixtures strictly subordinated to the general tonality.
The artist was never carried away by the variety of themes and motifs; in addition to his favorite landscapes, he sometimes painted still lifes (“Violets”, 1937) and very rarely interiors. Vitold Kaetanovich lived for a long time on his estate in the Tver region, walked around the surrounding area and neighboring villages, often wrote the same passages. Distinguished by his incredible ability to work, the artist created a huge number of paintings. In its vast creative heritage you can find many repetitions of the same successful works, differing in the time of creation, minor details and the quality of painting. In one Belarusian national museum in Minsk there are several identical paintings made in different time: “Flood”, “Hour of Silence”, “Spring Waters”, “Autumn, Alley. Lenin Hills." There were also attempts to meet the demands of the time, the artist tried to create paintings on modern industrial themes, but Byalynitsky’s subtle, elegant painting manner seemed to protest against this, it was sharply dissonant with storyline paintings. These works with locks and hydroelectric power stations looked strange and even ridiculous (“Arctic Circle. Spillway of the Nivages power station,” 1930).
In 1928, the artist painted a series of landscapes of Yasnaya Polyana - the estate of L. N. Tolstoy, in 1937 - views of the Pushkin Mountains, in 1942 - landscapes depicting the estate of P. I. Tchaikovsky in Klin. He created a series of paintings depicting monuments of ancient Russian architecture in the vicinity of Arkhangelsk (1944). In the summer of 1947, he painted landscapes of Belarus, the nature of which he had been familiar with since childhood. They embodied the artist’s wisdom, acquired over many years of creative work.
Works by V. K. Byalynitsky-Biruli are in the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), the State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), the National art museum Belarus (Minsk), Museum modern history Russia, Mogilev Memorial Art Museum of V. K. Byalynitsky-Biruli, Belynichi Art Museum of V. K. Byalynitsky-Biruli, Vologda Regional art gallery, Samara Art Museum, Tver Gallery, Khimki Art Gallery named after S. N. Gorshin. His work is presented in museums in Voronezh, Kostroma, Krasnoyarsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Tomsk, Chelyabinsk, Kozmodemyansk, Stavropol, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kyiv, many other Russian and foreign museums and galleries around the world. The artist’s works have always been popular among collectors; his paintings are included in numerous private collections. His work was especially appreciated by figures of art and science - actors, musicians, writers, singers, academics.
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