Batal genre in the fine arts. The artist is a battle. Paintings

Art has always existed and will exist. This is not just a manifestation of creativity, it is the soul of one person and a whole people. Here you can see everyday emotions and what you can feel only once. Pictures, sculptures, music - all this can tell us about the history of the people, about their experiences and doubts. This is most clearly shown by the battle genre in the fine arts.

The concept of

This term appeared in the Renaissance. The greatest popularity reaches in the 17-18 centuries. The genre in the visual arts tells of war and military life. In such pictures, battles on land, in the sea, as well as soldiers' hikes are displayed. The main task of the artist is not just to show scenes or heroics of war, but also to reveal the true meaning and historical context of events.

Indirectly battle genre in the visual arts is historical. But scenes of military life can be attributed to the domestic genre. In addition, artistic battle-painting contains landscapes, portraits, animalism, still life. The paintings not only convey the nature of the battles, but also show all sorts of minute details that the viewer does not know about.

Historical foundation

As mentioned earlier, the battle genre in the visual arts appeared in the 16th century. Although the image of the fighting was known for a long time: East, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome. Then it was possible to find unusual reliefs on which invincible and formidable rulers were displayed and sieges of fortresses or processions of soldiers could be seen.

Later became the mural paintings of ancient Greece, which were also designed by artists of the battle genre. The battle image can be found on triumphal arches, carpets, book miniatures, tapestries, etc.

Real attempts

It was during the Renaissance that attempts to work with the battlefield became more effective. Especially it was possible to artists from Italy. In addition to fictional battle scenes, real battle events began to appear here.

In Russia, this genre appeared in the 18th century, during the reign of Peter I. Artists tried to convey not only the historical basis of the battle, but mainly to show patriotism, the courage of warriors and worship before their heroism. This theme was continued by Russian artists until the 20th century. It is no wonder that the Great Patriotic War was a new stage in the development of the battle. And not only in the visual arts, but also in music, literature and architecture.

Representatives of

At one time, the battle genre in the visual arts was of great importance. Nothing could be connected with anything good. Nevertheless, the war inspired the creators. Everyone tried to create something epoch-making, colossal, something that could be remembered forever.

Of course, throughout the existence of this trend, there appeared not only a painter battalist, who was able to convey not just a historical event, but also his character and power. Among the popular painters are Alexander Sauerweid, Bogdan Willewalde, Alfons de Neuville, Basil Vereshchagin, Nikolai Karazin, Ivan Nikitin and, of course, Franz Roubaud. This list can be continued indefinitely. About some of the creators who decided to glorify the historical-battle genre, we'll talk in more detail.

Artist from birth

Russian academic battle painting gave us many outstanding artists. Each of them became famous for his creations. The most successful and famous in this area is considered to be Franz Roubaud. He was born in 1856 in Odessa and from the very childhood he followed the artist's path. He studied at the Munich Academy, and on his arrival he went to the Caucasus to create.

Franz Alekseevich Rubo in 1885 engaged in a series of works for the military museum. Immediately after completing 17 paintings, he began the next work. The most famous and battle canvas was the "Assault of the village of Akhulgo." This is not the only known panorama of the painter. There are also two amazing works, The Defense of Sevastopol and Borodino.

Epochally and tastefully

Franz A. Rubo is the author of the painting "Assault of the village of Akhulgo." This panorama was written in 1888. The basis of the plot of the canvas is the assembly point of Shamil - Akhulgo. In 1839 Russian troops came here. They began the siege of the village, but could successfully complete it only six months later. The picture depicts the assault of Akhul'go.

The main highlight of the panorama is its stunning landscape. This moment the artist has spent a lot of time. Before the audience are extraordinary gorges of cliffs. The main events occur on the sides and at the top. In the left corner you can see a fenced aul. On the opposite side is the Russian infantry, crossing the narrow bridge. One of the soldiers drops weapons, and the painter was able to accurately and believably convey his emotions.

Highlanders shoot rocks from Russian cliffs, and women throw rocks. There is on the canvas and the most active place. Then immediately noticeable old man, who is trying to protect himself before fanaticism, waving a banner. Not far from the battlefield, already seen dead and wounded soldiers. The picture displays expressive and exciting events very brightly and effectively.

Portrait-painter

Ivan Nikitin was allegedly born in 1688 in Moscow. Little is known about his fate. The painter studied persistently and at one time became known to Peter I. Tsar was proud of him and had high hopes. He liked the work of Nikitin, who at that time was engaged in portraits. The earliest painting of the artist is the image of Natalia Alexeevna, sister of Peter I. After he painted portraits of many relatives and close tsar.

It would seem that his phenomenal skills in the portrait genre could not glorify him to a greater extent. Nevertheless, Nikitin successfully managed to try himself in the battle-field. So the picture "Kulikovskaya battle" appeared.

Beauty in Detail

It is assumed that the first painting by Nikitin in this genre was the "Poltava Battle". His artist wrote about in 1727. The painting occupied a canvas of a square shape the size of "about three arshins". Work on it took the painter about 2 months. For it, he received 80 rubles. And yet it is not as famous as the picture "Kulikovo battle".

In general, this panorama very peculiarly shows the artist. He not only wrote his vision, but also used the work of other creators. He was also an educated man, and therefore knew the famous classical works. The basis for his "copying" was the engraving of Antonio Tempesta.

The battalion artist did not try to imitate someone else. It can be seen that he sensibly used the material he needed to create a magnificent work. Obviously, the "Kulikovo Battle" is not a copy of Tempest's engraving with a biblical story. Nikitin was able to remove everything he did not need, change characters and add his own style.

A famous battle arises before the spectator. At once we notice Dmitry Donskoy, Vorontsov, Prozorovsky. Nearby you can see several famous princes: Belozersky and Peresvet. The latter battles the enemy Chelubeya. In general, there are many legends about this couple. There is evidence that they both destroy each other with spears. There is also a story in which Peresvet manifests its combat capabilities and kills Chelubeya.

All the details in the pictures are observed. Nikitin is trying to identify the heroes. On their shields and clothes are inscriptions and coats of arms. One can also notice the sayings with which the soldiers go in battle. But the main task of Nikitin was to convey the idea that the victory in the Kulikovo battle was won not only by the princes, but also by a huge crowd of soldiers fighting in the background. Their countless number. The army rushes into battle. It's these characters that are barely visible, the main characters of the battle.

Outstanding artists

Examples of the battle genre can be found in many artists who were affected by any war. Nikolay Karazin was an outstanding painter, who worked as a military correspondent. This is what helped him to be saturated with a military mood and eventually "pour" it on the canvas. Connoisseurs can recognize him in the pictures "The Taking of Tashkent", "The Tekin Expedition of 1881. Storm Geok-Tepe ", etc.

Vasily Vereshchagin is not only a battle figure, but also a well-known writer. He received his artistic education while traveling around the world. The most popular of his paintings is the canvas "The Apotheosis of War." He was the first who tried to resist academic battle. He did not like the fact that epoch-making panoramas are written for the sake of glorifying patriotism and heroism. Vereshchagin was against the war and in his works this protest is clearly visible.