An excellent documentary film about V.D. Polenov “Knight of Beauty” was filmed by director Galina Samoilova in 2004 and shown on the “Culture” TV channel (in Russian):

Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was born on May 20, 1844 in St. Petersburg into a family where artistic culture played a huge role. His father, Dmitry Vasilevich Polenov (1806-1872), was a subtle connoisseur of art, and his mother Maria Alekseevna Voeikova (1816-1895) was a talented portrait painter of the Bryullov school.

The future artist spent his childhood in St. Petersburg, the main center of Russian culture, and in his youth he visited Karelia, in the Olonets province.

Following family tradition, Vasily Dmitrievich received a legal education at St. Petersburg University. But dreaming of becoming an artist, he entered the Academy of Arts, where he studied from 1863 to 1871. After graduating from the Academy, Vasily Polenov got the opportunity to travel around Europe and visited Germany, Italy, Greece, and France. In France he had a studio in Montmartre, at the very center of Parisian artistic life at the time, and he traveled around Normandy in search of inspiration. In 1871, Polenov was awarded the gold medal of the Academy of Arts for the painting “The Resurrection of Jairus’s Daughter.” Having in fact become the founder of the Russian school of landscape realists, since 1879 he participated in all annual exhibitions of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions and in 1926 received the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.

Humanist educator

In the 1860s, the progressive minds of Russia rose up to fight oppression, highlighting the need to educate the people. Their ideas had a strong influence on the young Vasily Polenov and did not leave him throughout his life.

In 1882, Polenov married Natalya Vasilievna Yakunchikova, and the couple had five children. The family moved to the village - they began to create a new family nest in the Tula region. Natalya Vasilyevna actively helped the artist in the implementation of his humanitarian projects. Together they created two schools - in the nearby villages of Bekhovo and Strakhovo - and an amateur theater group. Vasily Dmitrievich believed that creative activity is one of the best ways to educate the people.

Vasily Dmitrievich died on July 18, 1927, leaving behind a rich creative and educational heritage that reflects his ideas about the world. Back in 1906, in his artistic testament, Polenov wrote: “The death of a person who managed to fulfill some of his plans is a natural event and not only not sad, but rather joyful, natural, it is a desired rest, peace, and the peace of non-existence , and being remains and passes into what he created.” Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov is buried in Bekhovo.


One of the most significant phenomena in Russian painting of the second half of the 19th century is the work of Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov. The artist’s multifaceted creativity, where he sought to apply all his talents, knew no bounds. He is a painter and theater artist, architect and musician, and was an innovator in many ways. Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was born in St. Petersburg on May 20 (June 1), 1844 into a cultured noble family. His father, Dmitry Vasilyevich Polenov, the son of an academician in the department of Russian language and literature, was a famous archaeologist and bibliographer. The future artist’s mother, Maria Alekseevna, nee Voeykova, wrote books for children and was engaged in painting. The ability to draw was characteristic of most of the Polenov children, but two were the most gifted: the eldest son Vasily and the youngest daughter Elena, who later became real artists. Meeting with one of the teachers - P.P. Chistyakov - became decisive for Polenov’s life path. Chistyakov taught drawing and the basics of painting to Polenov and his older sister. “Don’t start anything without thinking, and once you start, don’t rush,” the teacher advised Polenov. Obviously, Chistyakov was able to convey to his student the main thing - a professional approach to painting, the understanding that real art can only arise as a result of hard work...


After much hesitation, in 1863, after graduating from high school, he and his brother Alexei entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University. At the same time, in the evenings, as a visiting student, he attends the Academy of Arts. Polenov does not stop playing music. Not only was he a regular visitor to the opera house and concerts, but he himself sang in the student choir of the Academy. Having transferred to the full-scale class of the Academy of Arts as a permanent student, Polenov left the university for a while, completely immersing himself in painting. Having thus made the right choice, because already in 1867 he completed his student course at the Academy of Arts and received silver medals for drawings and sketches. Following this, he participated in two competitions for gold medals in his chosen class of historical painting, and in January 1868 he again became a university student, but now at the Faculty of Law.


In 1871, he received a law degree and, simultaneously with Ilya Efimovich Repin, a large gold medal for the competition painting “The Resurrection of Jairus’s Daughter.” However, several more years passed before Polenov really found himself as an artist. Vasily goes on an internship in Paris for a long time, and there he painted, among other things, the painting “The Arrest of the Countess d'Etremont.” After returning to his homeland, Polenov became a staunch supporter of national democratic art. He paints truthful portraits, imbued with love for the people of the people, of the epic storyteller N. Bogdanov (1876), the village boy Vakhramey (1878), and a picture of peasant life “Family Grief” (1876).


Polenov and the Theater “The stage is that amazing platform on which all the arts merge together. This includes poetry, music, painting, plastic arts, and choreography, architecture and all applied arts can come here, facial expressions, athletics, etc. can be here.” V.D. Polenov


In 1915, Polenov acquired a plot of land and, with the help of friends who sympathized with the cause, built, as he said, “a theater laboratory for the whole of Russia.” This house housed decorative and costume workshops, warehouses for scenery, props, props, a theater library and a hall for demonstration performances, which were staged in the scenery of Vasily Dmitrievich himself, who wrote about thirty standard sets, and copies of them made by young artists were rented out to all theater groups.


V.D. Polenov makes sketches of the scenery and costumes for the production of the play “Anne of Breton.” Polenov was very fond of the story of the 13-year-old Duchess Anne of Breton (1477–1514), later a French queen, told by the French writer E. Foa, who, dressed as a peasant woman, walked around the villages and learned about the needs of the poor. In the early 1900s, Polenov translated Eugenia Foa's story and wrote a play, and later a children's opera, and he also composed music for it


One of Polenov’s great achievements in music is the opera “Ghosts of Hellas.” It was first staged in 1894 in Moscow in the hall of the Noble Assembly for a congress of artists in the form of a living picture called “Aphrodite” against the background of the excellent scenery of V.D. Polenova: a Greek temple, behind it is the sea and a chain of snow-covered mountains, in the center is a statue of the Venus de Milo.


To stage (g.) the tragedy of A.N. Maykov “Two Worlds” Vasily Dmitrievich created sketches of the scenery and played here the role of the Roman patrician Decius, and also wrote the oratorio “Two Worlds” of the same name.




The work of Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov is one of the most significant phenomena in Russian painting of the second half of the 19th century. A remarkable landscape painter, he developed plein air painting systems in Russian art, creating works full of poetry and lyricism, beauty and truthfulness, and freshness of painting. His paintings "Moscow courtyard" "Grandmother's garden"; "Christ and the Sinner" brought recognition to the artist. They are not only widely known and popular, but have become a kind of “sign” of Russian fine art. The artist’s multifaceted creativity was not limited to achievements in the field of landscape genre. A painter and theater artist, an architect and a musician, he revealed his talent in every genre and type of art, and in many respects acted as an innovator.

In 1888, the artist wrote in one of his letters: “It seems to me that art should give happiness and joy, otherwise it is worth nothing.” It can be considered that these words contain the creative principle of the master, which he carried throughout his life. Polenov was born in St. Petersburg on May 20 (June 1), 1844 into a cultured noble family. His father, Dmitry Vasilyevich Polenov, the son of an academician in the department of Russian language and literature, was a famous archaeologist and bibliographer. The artist’s mother, Maria Alekseevna, nee Voeykova, wrote books for children and was engaged in painting.

One of Polenov’s strongest childhood impressions were trips to Olshanka, Tambov province, to the estate of his grandmother V.N. Voeikova. Vera Nikolaevna, the daughter of the famous architect N. A. Lvov, raised after the death of her parents in the house of G. R. Derzhavin, knew Russian history and folk poetry well, and loved to tell her grandchildren Russian folk tales and epics. Vera Nikolaevna encouraged her grandchildren’s passion for painting, usually organizing competitions like academic ones among children, awarding a “medal” for the best work.

The ability to draw was characteristic of most of the Polenov children. Two of them turned out to be the most gifted: the eldest son Vasily and the youngest daughter Elena, who later became real artists. The children had painting teachers from the Academy of Arts. A meeting with one of the teachers, P.P. Chistyakov, became decisive for Polenov’s life path. Chistyakov taught drawing and the basics of painting to Polenov and his sister in 1856-1861, while still a student at the Academy of Arts. Already at that time he demanded from his students a close study of nature. “The nature,” Polenov later recalled, “was established for a long time, and the drawing was developed systematically, not by a conventional method, but by careful study and, if possible, an accurate rendering of nature.” “Without thinking, don’t start anything, and once you start, don’t rush,” the teacher advised Polenov. Obviously, Chistyakov was able to convey to his student the main thing - a professional approach to painting, the understanding that real art can only arise as a result of hard work.

But from studying with Chistyakov to choosing a profession as an artist, the path was still very far. This choice forced Polenov to move away from the “normal” path trodden by previous generations of his family associated with public service, which, in the end, could lead to the emergence of another Polenov-senator (the senator was the artist’s uncle, M.V. Polenov) . In any case, Polenov’s family could not imagine his future life without a university education. And, after much hesitation, in 1863, after graduating from high school, he entered, together with his brother Alexei, the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics (natural science) of St. Petersburg University. At the same time, in the evenings, as a visiting student, he attends the Academy of Arts, and studies not only in drawing classes, but listens with interest to lectures on subjects that are not in the university course - anatomy, construction art, descriptive geometry, history of fine arts. Polenov does not stop playing music. Not only was he a regular visitor to the opera house and concerts (Polenov’s first acquaintance with Wagner’s music dates back to this time - his passion for the art of the great romantic composer, who performed in concerts in Russia in 1863, lasted throughout his life), but he himself sang in the student Academy Choir.

Having transferred to the full-scale class of the Academy of Arts as a permanent student, Polenov left the university for a while, completely immersing himself in painting. In 1867, he completed his student course at the Academy of Arts and received silver medals for drawings and sketches. Following this, he participated in two competitions for gold medals in his chosen class of historical painting, and in January 1868 he again became a university student, but now at the Faculty of Law. In the summer of 1867, Polenov traveled to France and visited the World Exhibition there, where there was a large section with works of folk arts and crafts from various countries. The impressions from this exhibition will subsequently form the basis of the dissertation that he will defend at the university. In 1869, Polenov received a small gold medal for the painting “Job and His Friends” and the right to compete for a large gold medal; he prepared the theme “Resurrection of Jairus’s Daughter” for the competition together with Repin.

Both artists sought to create a work of high style, to give an elevated character to what was depicted. They coped with the given program brilliantly, almost on an equal footing. Although Polenov’s painting was not inferior to Repin’s canvas in terms of coloristic merits and skill in organizing the composition, it bore the features of a genre and was somewhat inferior in the depth and significance of the concept. However, many noted the great warmth of feeling expressed by Polenov in the image of a girl stretching her thin hand to Christ. Both Polenov and Repin received large gold medals and the right to travel abroad for pensioners. In the same year, 1871, Polenov graduated from the university - passed the final exams and presented a dissertation “On the importance of art in its application to craft and measures taken by individual states to enhance crafts, introducing an artistic element into it.” This topic is certainly not accidental. It is connected both with the author’s personal acquaintance with folk arts and crafts, and with the ideological movement of the era - a broad wave of attraction to the national in art. “Society,” writes Polenov, “the more versatile its development, the more aware it is of the need for aesthetics, the more urgent is the need for art (...) History shows what a strong influence art has on a person, on his morals, on their softening, on moral and mental development. Usually, where freedom penetrated, art appeared, or where art penetrated, the spirit of freedom developed, driving out the spirit of subordination. In terms of influence on the masses, it acts more powerfully than science.”

The retirement period (1872 -1876) played a very important role in Polenov’s creative development - greater than for Repin, who was abroad with him, who by this time had already found his line in art. Despite his age (he went abroad at the age of twenty-seven), he had not yet developed as an artist. This already made him more “open” to foreign influences. He continued to study intensively, visiting numerous galleries, museums, and private collections. Polenov's path - Germany, Italy (then temporary return to Russia), France. What has the greatest influence on the artist? Of course, it is impossible to list all European influences. For example, the impressions received from visiting ancient German knightly castles, from which Polenov made many sketches, will form the basis of his plan for the painting “The Right of the Master” (1874), and his visit to the Russian church in Paris, in the interior design of which Bogolyubov’s landscapes were used, will later find a response in the artist’s work on the cycle of paintings “From the Life” of “Christ” (1899 -1909). Polenov also experiences the influence of the artistic atmosphere of the cities through which his travel route runs.

The strongest impression was made on him by "Venezia la Bella" (the beauty of Venice), which seems (in his words) "to a passing traveler like something fantastic, some kind of magical dream." Polenov’s admiration for Venice was intensified by the fact that it was the birthplace of his favorite artist, Paolo Veronese, who conquered him while still studying at the Academy of Arts. Since then, Veronese’s passion has not passed, becoming more meaningful and purposeful year after year. Polenov, with his inclinations as a colorist, was amazed by the enormous coloristic gift of the Venetian artist and the power of his painting. “What a subtle sense of colors,” Polenov admired, “what an extraordinary skill in combining and selecting tones, what strength in them, what a free and widely deployed composition, with all this ease of brush and work, like I don’t know from anyone!” Admiring the beauty of the colors of Veronese’s paintings, Polenov especially appreciated his objectivity, which perpetuated the colors of the beauty of Venice for posterity.

With this stock of artistic impressions, Polenov arrived in Rome. Many plans and plans swarmed in his head, and in his soul there was a burning desire to work selflessly. But Rome very soon disappointed him, and the surrounding artistic life turned out to be little conducive to inspired creativity. “Rome itself... is somehow dead, backward, outdated,” Polenov shared his observations with Repin. “It exists... for so many centuries, but it doesn’t even have typicality, like in German medieval cities... There is no life in it unique, its own, but all of it seems to exist for foreigners. There is no mention of artistic life in the modern sense, there are many artists, but they all work in isolation, each nationality is separate from the other, although their studios are open, but to the main thing. way, again, for rich overseas buyers, so the art is adjusted to their taste. Even in his first painting, the old Italians do not captivate me.

In Rome, Polenov met the Mamontov family, where artistic youth gathered, and began to visit them often. The talented, constantly carried away owner of the house - S.I. Mamontov - knew how to fill life with ever-new inventions, fun games and entertainment, and knew how to arouse in people their artistic inclinations, no matter how modest they were. Home performances, concerts, carnivals followed each other continuously, and Polenov took an active part in all of this. The in-depth studies that the artist dreamed of naturally receded into the background, and his plans remained unfulfilled day after day. . . “I found myself in such a whirlpool,” Polenov complained to Repin, “that I got completely caught up in the bustle of the world, and forgot about my own ascetic feat...” He did not create a single painting in Rome.

Different impressions awaited him in Paris. Here he is fascinated by the variety of stylistic trends in which artists work - “whatever suits anyone,” their ability to “realize their strengths and abilities.” Polenov's retirement in Paris coincided with the first appearance of the Impressionists, whose works caused lively controversy in artistic circles. The art of the new direction did not deeply affect Polenov, but was an additional impetus for his mastery of plein air painting. Mastering the secrets of outdoor painting became an important task for many artists studying abroad at that time. On the advice of Bogolyubov, around whom a group of Russian artists working in the open air had gathered, Repin and then Polenov went to the north of France - to Normandy, to the sea, to the small town of Vel. In a month and a half, Polenov wrote a lot of excellent sketches. Among them are “White Horse, Normandy”, “Old Gate”, “Vel”, several “Ebb Tide”, “Fishing Boat. Etretat. Normandy”


Russian artist, musician and theater figure Vasily Polenov for a long time did not dare to turn to the Biblical theme in his work. Until something terrible happened: his beloved sister became seriously ill and before her death she made her brother promise that he would begin “to paint a large picture on the long-planned theme of “Christ and the Sinner.” And he kept his word. After the creation of this painting, Vasily Polenov Polenov began creating a whole series of paintings called “From the Life of Christ,” to which he devoted several decades of tireless creative and spiritual search. For this, Polenov even travels through Constantinople, Athens, Smyrna, Cairo and Port Said to Jerusalem.




The outstanding portrait artist Henryk Semiradsky, although he was Polish by origin, felt an organic connection with Russian culture from his youth. Perhaps this was facilitated by studying at the Kharkov gymnasium, where drawing was taught by Karl Bryullov’s student Dmitry Bezperchiy. Semiradsky brought picturesqueness to his canvases on biblical subjects, which made them bright, memorable, and lively. Detail: Took part in the painting of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Henryk Semiradsky




Alexander Ivanov “He left only the divine Raphael as his teacher. With a high inner instinct, he sensed the true meaning of the word: historical painting. And his inner feeling turned his brush to Christian subjects, the highest and last degree of the high,” Nikolai Gogol wrote about the famous painter. Alexander Ivanov is the author of the painting “The Appearance of Christ to the People,” which cost him 20 years of real work and creative devotion. Ivanov also made watercolor sketches for the “Temple of Humanity” murals, but he showed them to almost no one. Only after the artist's death did these drawings become known. This cycle entered the history of art under the name “biblical sketches”. These sketches were published more than 100 years ago in Berlin and have not been reprinted since then.




Nikolai Ge Ge’s painting “The Last Supper” shocked Russia, just like Karl Bryullov’s “The Last Day of Pompeii” once did. The newspaper “St. Petersburg Vedomosti” reported: “The Last Supper” amazes with its originality against the general background of dry fruits of academic bearing,” and members of the Academy of Arts, on the contrary, for a long time could not make up their minds. In “The Last Supper,” Ge interprets the traditional religious plot as a tragic confrontation between a hero who sacrifices himself for the good of humanity, and his student, who forever renounces the precepts of his teacher. In Ge’s image of Judas there is nothing private, only general. Judas is a collective image, a man “without a face.” Detail: Nikolai Ge first turned to gospel stories under the influence of Alexander Ivanov


N. I. Ge. "Last Supper"


Ilya Repin It is believed that none of the Russian artists, except Karl Bryullov, enjoyed such fame during their lifetime as Ilya Repin. Contemporaries admired the masterfully executed multi-figure genre compositions and seemingly “living” portraits. Ilya Repin repeatedly turned to the gospel theme in his work. He even went as a pilgrim to the Holy Land to see for himself the places where Christ walked and preached. “I wrote almost nothing there once, I wanted to see more... I painted an image of the Russian church, the head of the Savior. I wanted to make my contribution to Jerusalem...” Later he said: “there is a living Bible everywhere,” “I felt the living God so grandiosely,” “God! How magnificently you feel your insignificance to the point of non-existence.”




Ivan Kramskoy Ivan Kramskoy pondered his painting “Christ in the Desert” for a whole decade. At the beginning of 1860, he made the first sketch, and only in 1867 the first version of the painting, which did not satisfy him. To see everything that has been done in this way, Kramskoy travels around Europe with a mandatory visit to the best museums in the world. leaves for Germany. He walks through art galleries in Vienna, Antwerp and Paris, gets acquainted with new art, and later makes a trip to Crimea to the areas of Bakhchisarai and Chufut-Kale, so similar to the Palestinian desert.
Marc Chagall The author of the famous “Biblical Message” Marc Chagall loved the Bible since childhood, considering it an extraordinary source of poetry. Since he came from a Jewish family, he began to learn the basics of education quite early at the school at the synagogue. Many years later, as an adult, Chagall in his work tried to comprehend not only the Old Testament, but also the New Testament, and gravitated towards understanding the figure of Christ.



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