Picturesque masterpieces of MV. Nesterov - paintings of a real Russian artist

Among the most outstanding masters of Russian painting at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the name of Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov is deservedly mentioned. Pictures of this painter and graphics at the dawn of creative activity were appreciated by the Wanderers and artists from the "World of Art", and at the end of his life the Soviet government also awarded awards. He lived a life filled to the brim with intense creative work.

The Long Way of the Worker

He was born in Ufa, in a merchant family, in 1862. The legend of the miracle that happened to the baby Michael survived, when he fell ill and was at death. The relatives had already ordered a requiem, and the mother put the icon of the holy Orthodox, Tikhon Zadonsky, on his chest. The disease receded, and the child recovered, and the artist lived for 80 years, worked until the last hour and rarely felt the need to address physicians.

Parents did not insist on the commercial future of his son, when it became clear that he had clear ability to paint. It is they who the future master owes to the fact that he passed a magnificent school of draftsman and painter in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. One of his favorite teachers was the great Vasily Perov. The first significant works of Nesterov - paintings on everyday and historical subjects - became close in spirit to the paintings of leading artists from the association of the Wanderers and were highly appreciated by them.

Finding Your Topic

The tragedy experienced by Mikhail Vasilyevich at the age of 24 was influenced by the attitude towards life and the choice of the main directions of creativity. At the birth of her daughter, the young favorite wife of the artist, Maria Ivanovna Martynovskaya, died. The shock, which he experienced, found expression in attempts to capture the image of the one who had left on the canvases. Since then, many of the female images created by the artist had the features of the lost wife of Nesterov. The paintings of the "Christ Bride", "The Queen", illustrations and murals of the temples made at that time allowed those who watched his art to talk about a special "master" created by the master "Nesterov" female type.

The life of the saints, who became the support for Orthodox people, is another direction in Nesterov's work. Pictures of the images of the martyrs for true faith, among which the beloved was the great elder Sergius of Radonezh, the master considered the best of his works.

"Vision for the Bartholomew"

Bartholomew - this was the name of Sergius of Radonezh before the tonsure. One day the angel appeared in the monastic form. The elder learned from Bartholomew about his desire to learn to read and "blessed him for understanding literacy and to commemorate the grace of God gave him a piece of prosphora. ... And he surpassed in the reading and writing of his brothers and peers. "

A wonderful atmosphere was created on the canvas by Nesterov. The description of the picture of the meeting of the shepherdess and the heavenly messenger is filled with unearthly light. The face of the holy elder is hidden in clothing and is not visible to the viewer. We understand the divine goodness that comes from him in the face of the boy more than in the weakly shining nimbus. The main content of the canvas - a mystical mood, created, including a stunning landscape. Autumn forest, slope, wooden church, the bend of the river - everything is customary for Russian eyes, but the artist fills this picture with the music of heaven.

Not all of them were understood in this masterpiece by the artist Nesterov. Pictures with such an unearthly meaning was not accepted to exhibit at the exhibitions of the Wanderers. Democratically-minded art criticism condemned the ideological subtext of the canvas, but Nesterov saw the greatest artistic skill.

"Nesterovo" landscape

The natural environment on the master's canvases plays a very important role. For a long time Nesterov dreamed of a joint exhibition with I. Levitan - they were connected by friendship and a similar view of Russian nature. Most often it refers to the northern or middle lane of Russia: it does not have brightness and riot of color, but the power of impression from its landscapes does not decrease from this. It is in spirituality, read in every tree, in every birch tree, written as Nesterov could.

"The Hermit" (1888), "Silence" (1903), "Holy Russia" (1905), "Philosophers" (1917) - in all paintings of the artist Russian spirit, like Russian nature - not aggressive, but filling any contemplating soul. This particular view became the most important contribution of the master to the national culture.

Honesty and work

Among those who remained in Russia after October 1917 and did not emigrate, there was also M.V. Nesterov. Pictures he wrote before the revolution, did not respond to the mood and content of the time, but too great was the respect that the artist enjoyed for his work and talent.

He continued to work - to paint and educate students, more now engaged in the portrait genre. He did not hide his convictions, did not flirt with the authorities, so it is difficult to call his life devoid of problems, including material ones. The repressions brutally struck at his daughter, who shot her husband, and she herself was arrested.

He himself was defended by a loud name and authority among his colleagues by profession, and his constant occupations with his favorite business served as a reliable vital support. In the end, even the authorities recognized his talent and hard work. The artist Nesterov, whose pictures depicting prominent figures of science and art, were highly appreciated by specialists and ordinary spectators, in 1941 he received the Stalin Prize for the famous portrait of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov. Later, he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

But the title, which Nesterov treasured above all, sounds simpler, but significantly weighs - a real Russian artist.