Painter Mashkov Ilya Ivanovich: biography, creativity

The brightest, original artist of the 20th century Mashkov Ilya Ivanovich lived an interesting, rich life. He went through the influence of different artists, revolutionary search and finding his place in art. His legacy today is several hundred works, which are in many collections of the world.

Childhood and family

Mashkov Ilya Ivanovich was born in the village of Mikhailovskoye region of the Don Army (today the Volgograd Region) in a poor peasant family. Ilya was the eldest of nine children, and there was no money for parents engaged in small-scale trade. The boy, who showed great traction and drawing abilities from a young age, was sent to a parochial school, but at the age of 11 they took him from there and sent him to work so that he could help the family. He had to stand for 14 hours in the fruit merchant's shop, serving customers, he hated this job, but there was no choice.

Vocation and study

Later Mashkov Ilya went to work in the shop of a merchant, the work was not easier, but here he was sometimes instructed to draw posters and signs. This occupation gave him great pleasure. In his spare time he copied pictures from magazines, sketched the surrounding objects, birds. The boy was very fond of drawing. Despite his extremely tight financial situation, he wrote himself a mailbox with paints. One day a teacher at the Borisoglebsk gymnasium noticed a drawing boy and asked him if he wanted to study. Ilya was very surprised, because he did not even suspect that drawing can be learned. So he began to receive the first skills and advice from the teacher from the gymnasium. This allowed him to understand his vocation and set a goal - to become an artist.

In 1900 he entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Here he learns from outstanding teachers: K. Korovin, L. Pasternak, V. Serov, A. Vasnetsov. Since the first years of training Mashkov has shown extraordinary talent and eccentric character. He was very fond of hyperbole, an excess of color, while giving very much time to mastering the technique of drawing, was very efficient. As a poor student in the school, he was offered an underworking, and already in 1904 Mashkov begins to give lessons, earning his living.

Revolutionary youth

Pretty quickly Mashkov Ilya rises to his feet. In 1906 he built his own workshop in the building of the Polytechnic Society. She will become his creative home until the end of the day. In 1907 he met Petr Konchalovsky, this meeting had a great influence on the artist. In 1908, the artist went to Europe, visited France, England, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, where he became acquainted with the new trends in painting.

In 1910 Mashkov was expelled from the school, but by that time he had already found his way. The artist still works a lot, takes lessons in the studio of K. Korovin, writes to order portraits and still lifes. He exhibited, including at the Salon in Paris, where his work is bought by a Russian philanthropist S. Morozov. Even then, Mashkov's paintings are distinguished by an unusual view of the world and surrounding objects. He is imbued with revolutionary ideas in Europe and is eager to change Russian art.

"Jack of Diamonds"

In 1911, Mashkov Ilya, together with Peter Konchalovsky, founded the art community "The Jack of Diamonds". First in 1910 there was an exhibition with this name, after which the like-minded artists create the same community. Already the name itself shocked the public, alluding to politkotorzhan. Moscow artists set as their goal the accomplishment of the revolution in art, and this they succeeded to the full. They opposed the traditions of academism and realism, proclaimed the dominance of Impressionist, Fauvist and Cubist ideas.

Mashkov became one of the ideologists of the community. It was thanks to him that the "jacks" so often painted still lifes that resembled the signs of a grocery store. Artists experimented with shape and color. Unlike many avant-gardists, Mashkov and comrades claimed objectivity in art. In 1911-14, the artist is the secretary of the society, participates in all his exhibitions. In 1914 he left the "Jack of Diamonds" and went abroad.

Mashkov and the "World of Art"

Upon his return Mashkov enters the "World of Art" - an association that existed since the end of the 19th century and united the most outstanding Russian artists. Just at this time the group proclaims the possibility of creating a new classics, the main idea becomes the "New Academy" A. Benois. The second half of the 10-ies of the twentieth century was difficult for artists who are part of this community. Despite the fact that the "World of Art" - an association that made a huge contribution to Russian painting, at the time of Mashkov it was, rather, a formal unity. But the artist participates in exhibitions and supports his comrades. During this period Mashkov still works a lot, but gradually comes to a new realism.

Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia

In 1925, Mashkov Ilya entered the new society of the AHRR, which preaches new, revolutionary ideals. In fact, he becomes one of the first ideologists of socialist realism. The artist is in the Association until its collapse in 1929. During this period he painted pictures of a happy new life, portraits of the foremost workers, still lifes with an abundance of products. Moscow painters, former collaborators of Mashkov, do not understand his new ideals, many of them live in emigration. Ilya Ivanovich remains in the USSR and fully supports new ideas. In the 1930s Mashkov wrote ideologically correct pictures: "Greetings to the 17th Congress of the CPSU (b)", "Soviet Breads".

During the war, Mashkov lives in Abramtsevo, writes portraits of soldiers and wounded, rear workers. Late Mashkov presents his optimistic outlook to the audience. The well-known art critic Yakov Tugendhold said that in his works "a healthy love of bright flesh and blood" is visible. He retained his predilection for exaggeration to the last days.

Exhibition activity

Ilya Mashkov all his life was very productive, he also actively exhibited his work. He participated in many significant exhibitions of the early twentieth century. These are the events of the Knave of Diamonds, the World of Art. In 1916, at the "Exhibition of Contemporary Russian Painting" he shows 70 works, it was the biggest lifetime exhibition of Ilya Mashkov. Since the 1920s, the artist has exhibited a lot abroad: Venice, London, New York. In the 1930s, the Soviet authorities gladly carried pictures of Mashkov to all the largest cities in the world.

Pedagogical activity

Throughout most of his life, Ilya Mashkov, an artist, painter, taught. Even in his youth, he developed his own method of teaching painting and painting. His school, which he opened as early as the beginning of the twentieth century, will later become the central studio of AHRR. Among his students were Falk, Tatlin, Osmerkin, V. Mukhina.

After the revolution, the artist teaches a lot, working on various courses, at the Military Academy and VHUTEIN.

Private life

Ilya Mashkov showed his cheerfulness in everyday life. He was a big lover of ladies and married three times. The first wife was an Italian Sophia Arentzvari, Mashkov married her in 1905, a year later the only son of the artist Valentin was born. He became a design engineer, in 1937 was repressed. The second wife in 1915 was the artist Fedorova Elena Fedorovna. The third wife was also an artist: in 1922 Mashkov married Danilov Maria Ivanovna.

Heritage and Memory

Ilya Mashkov, whose paintings are extremely valued by art lovers, died on March 20, 1944 at his dacha in Abramtsevo. He left a great legacy behind him. His paintings today are in the collections of 78 cities around the world. The widow's collection was transferred to the Volgograd Art Museum. His paintings rarely appear on auctions and are sold for huge sums. So, the canvas "Flowers" was sold for 3.5 million dollars, and "Still Life with Fruits" - for 7.2 million dollars.

Mashkov's art is studied by art critics, books are devoted to him. The museum in Volgograd bears his name. The memory of the artist does not disappear, exhibitions of his works are held periodically in major museums. So, in 2014 in Moscow, the artist's later works were shown, the exhibition was a great success.