The history and the description of the picture "Vision for the Bartholomew" by Nesterov

Artist Nesterov Mikhail Vasilievich always treated with a special love for St. Sergius of Radonezh. The painting "The Vision of the Bartholomew" is the first of a whole series of his works devoted to the Reverend Father Superior. This is due to the fact that Nesterov is an artist whose work was formed on the basis of a high spiritual and Christian tradition. He was fond of his Motherland, its nature and people who lived near it.

About the artist

Born Nesterov Mikhail Vasilyevich May 31, and the old style on May 19, 1862 in Ufa. According to family legends, the genus of the future artist came from the Novgorod peasants who once moved to the Urals. His grandfather Ivan Andreevich was serf, and later became, as they were called, freed-up. He managed to finish seminary "excellent" and, having put a lot of effort, broke out into the merchant class.

In the family, the Nesterovs were very fond of literature and even put on small plays. And once they even played Gogol's comedy The Inspector General, than they made a stir in the provincial little Ufa. I must say that in those days books were still rare, but in this house they were. On the recommendation of his father, Mikhail, as a child, enjoyed reading Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. And was very impressed by this work.

Father Mikhail Vasilyevich was an outstanding personality. Having discovered his son's talent for drawing, he did not interfere with his development, but, on the contrary, supported him in every possible way. And this is despite the fact that in the merchant families the case was transferred from father to son.

Church Painting

Religious subjects entered the paintings of the artist Nesterov firmly and permanently. But the master wrote not only paintings. At one time he was engaged in painting the churches. For example, in 1893-1894 in the Vladimir Cathedral of the city of Kiev, he painted the altarpiece under the name "Christmas", and two years later, in one of the churches in St. Petersburg, the mosaic work was completed. In 1899, Nesterov proceeded to paint the Caucasian Church of Alexander Nevsky. After 5 years it was completed. Also, the master's brushes belong to the frescoes located in the Moscow Marfo-Mariinsky monastery. Work on them was conducted from 1907 to 1911. By this time the best pictures of Mikhail Vasilievich Nesterov , written by him on religious themes, belong.

Family legend

What can explain such a great craving for the artist to holy images? There was a certain family legend according to which little Mikhail nearly died, but thanks to the intervention of a saint who miraculously healed him, the boy still survived.

I must say that they were treating children with rather severe national methods. For example, they were kept in the snow or in the frost, or, conversely, they were placed in a hot oven. According to the artist himself, his mother thought he was dead. Then the child, as expected, was ransomed and put under the icons, the chest was placed the image of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, and they themselves went to the cemetery to order a funeral. After some time, the mother noticed that her child woke up. She was sure that this miracle happened thanks to the intercession of the saint. Since that time, in addition to Sergius of Radonezh, Tikhon Zadonsky has become especially revered and loved in their family.

Work on the picture

Nesterov "Vision for the Bartholomew" wrote while in Komiakin. Not far from this place was the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Also nearby is the estate Abramtsevo, owned by the then famous philanthropist Savva Mamontov. As you know, he was very fond of inviting already well-known artists: Serov, Vasnetsov, Bilibin, Vrubel. There was also Nesterov. "Vision for the Bartholomew" is a painting in which Abramtsev's landscapes were used. The artist himself wrote that he sketched the sketch for this work, being right there. Then he was struck to the depths of his soul by the uncomplicated authenticity of Russian nature. Preserved several preparatory drawings and sketches for this most famous of his canvas.

Canvas themes

Mikhail Nesterov "Vision of the Bartholomew" dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh, who lived in the XIV century. He was the founder and hegumen of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. In the world bore the name Bartholomew. He is still one of the most revered saints in Russia.

It was with the blessing of Sergius that Dmitry Donskoi went to the battle that took place on the Kulikovo field in 1380. The battle against the hordes of Mongol-Tatars under the leadership of Khan Mamai ended with the victory of the Russian army. From her began the liberation of lands from the Mongol yoke.

For the artist, the image of young Sergii became a kind of symbol that gave hope that Russian spirituality would nevertheless revive.

Nesterov's "The Vision of the Bartholomew" portrays one of the episodes of the life of Sergius of Radonezh. Unlike his brothers, as a child, it was very difficult for a boy to learn a grammar. Once, looking for the missing horse, he wandered into the forest, where he met a monk praying at an oak tree. Bartholomew complained to the monk that the letter was given to him with great difficulty. The elder with the help of the sacrament of Communion helped the boy to acquire knowledge.

Colors on the canvas

While describing the picture "A Vision of the Youth Bartholomew," one can not help noticing the heat emanating from her. Almost all colors used by the artist to write it are sunny and joyful: yellow, orange, green, brown, ocher.

In the foreground of the picture we see two central figures - a monk and a youth, surrounded by an autumnal, purely Russian landscape. On the second - a hill overgrown with tall grass. It is almost all yellowed and dried up in places, but nevertheless on its background small soft-blue flowers are clearly visible. Depth of the picture is given by the hills, located on the sides: on the left - yellow-green, overgrown with high fir trees, and on the right - red-yellow.

In the background, there is a field sown with a golden wheat field, and on its edge there are two dilapidated, slightly squinting, dark huts. Behind them is a wooden, no longer new church with bright blue domes surrounded by slender birches and firs. Opposite it, across the road, a small river, twinkling, gleaming. The water in it is clean and transparent.

The central figure

I must say that the description of the picture "The Vision of the Bartholomew" will be incomplete unless we separately mention how the image for one of the main characters was found. They say that Nesterov spent a long time looking for nature to write a boy from her. But one day he happened to meet a girl who was consumed with tuberculosis. He was struck by her appearance: on the painful childish face, it seemed that only bright eyes were living, looking at him with some unearthly gaze. It was then that the artist realized that he had finally found the image of the boy.

In the picture, little Bartholomew is depicted in a simple white peasant shirt, a whip is seen on his belt, and a bridle hangs from his hand. As was said above, according to the Life, the boy's father sent him to look for the lost horse. Looking into the eyes of the boy, you can see all the purity of his soul. They look at the old man very seriously, in an adult way, as if they see their future destiny.

The image of the monk

Some of the mystery of the picture is attached to the fact that the face of the saint is hidden by a pulled up puppet. It is evident that the elder carefully holds the casket in his hands. This is seen as love and tenderness, which are directed towards the boy. Bartholomew, standing in front of the monk, folded his hands prayerfully, and his feet, slightly bent at the knees, eloquently testify to the apparent worship before the holiness of the old man.

While describing the picture "The Vision of the Bartholomew," one should separately mention the golden nimbus surrounding the head of the monk. After the canvas was first shown at the exhibition of the Wanderers in 1890, it was this small detail that caused serious disputes among the artists. They immediately noticed one characteristic discrepancy: the face of the elder was written in profile, and the halo itself for some reason in the front. Following artistic plausibility, holiness should be depicted only in a thin gold line, and not around, as in the picture. But most likely, drawing this detail in this way, the artist Mikhail Nesterov wanted to attract the attention of the audience not to the image of the saint, ie, to his external features, namely his righteousness.

Contrast

An interesting detail that must be included in the description of the picture "The Vision of the Bartholomew": at the feet of the boy grows a very feeble and thin Christmas tree, similar to him, and behind the old man - an oak, old and wrinkled, like the monk himself. This tree always represented wisdom and greatness.

Continuing to compare the image of the elder and the boy, it is impossible not to notice that a simple white shirt on the boy is the brightest detail that is in the center of the picture. It symbolizes purity and youth, while the dark, almost black clothes of the monk - the wisdom that comes with the years, and old age.

Nesterov's painting "The Vision of the Bartholomew" was written very harmoniously. The boy's straw hair resembles autumn fields and yellowed leaves on birches, and his boots and panties are made with the same colors as the old man's doll.

A series of paintings about St. Sergius of Radonezh

Nesterov is an artist who did not leave the image of this saint for almost the whole of his life. After the first picture, dedicated to Sergius of Radonezh (Vision for the Youth of Bartholomew), he proceeds to the next large canvas - "Youth of St. Sergius". Working on it, he seemed to create a legend about Holy Russia. In this mythical country, nature and man merged together, united by sublime spirituality and prayerful contemplation.

Nesterov's paintings are notable for their unusual landscapes. Most often, there is a discreet nature of either the middle belt of Russia or its northern regions. This type of landscape is called - Nesterov. For him, thin birch, fluffy pines, mountain ash with berries and carved leaves, as well as sprawling willows are inherent. Every tree in the pictures is, as it were, endowed with its own soul.

Post-revolutionary activity

After 1917, Nesterov was mainly engaged in writing portraits, since the churches were not in the hands of the Bolsheviks. In his paintings, the artist always gravitated toward the lyric line of his art. That's why he continued it in women's portraits. This is especially noticeable when he wrote his daughter Vera in 1928. She is depicted in a white ball gown with delicate pink flowers on her chest, sitting on an old sofa.

His other daughter, Natasha, Nesterov portrayed in the image of a girl who lived during the French Revolution. This picture was called "Girl at the pond", and it was written in 1923.

Interesting is the fact that the more years Nesterov became, the more energetic and masterful his art appeared. Strangely enough, the best of the portraits were written to him after 70 years of age. The artist drew not only other people, but himself. There are several of his self-portraits. On one of them, he made a high cliff over the Belaya River. His last work was a landscape called Autumn in the Village. The artist was very fond of his native land and a bit harsh, but so sweet to the heart of Russian nature.

What picture did M. Nesterov consider the best and most successful? "Vision for the Bartholomew", of course. According to the artist, he really wanted that not only contemporaries, but also descendants appreciated this work of art. His dream came true. Now this picture is exhibited in the State Tretyakov Gallery, room 39.