Favorite painters at the Tretyakov Gallery.
The State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow is the national treasury of Russian fine art and one of the greatest museums in the world.
With a collection containing over more than 180 000 works of art, including paintings, sculptures, icons and graphics, it is located in one of the oldest directs of Moscow - Zamoskvorechye, not far from the Kremlin.
The official opening of the museum called the Moscow City Gallery of Pavel and Sergei Tretyakov took place on 15 August 1893, under the initiative of Pavel Tretyakov a merchant and art collector.
You can spend hours, exploring the gallery, and it will definitely not be boring, rather fascinating.
The collection is truly beautiful and of great taste.
What is fascinating in painting are the quantity of layers, the combination, contrast, and encounter of colors, and the complexity of the process that leads to a pure and harmonious manifestation because it is full of convictions and movements, and therefore, of life.
From this anti-superficial and meticulously devoted process, masterpieces are born, which mark space-time in an eternal and therefore immortal way and that sometimes strangely bring more truth to life than any other tangible experience.
In this first essay on Russian painting, I would like to share five of the great names of the 19th and 20th centuries who have caught my attention from childhood, like Ivan Aivazovsky, or later, while living in Russia.
For me, accustomed in my education to French, Italian, and Flemish painting, this is the discovery of another world.
And I know this is only the beginning.
What are the Russian painters,
who deserve to be known closely ?
LET’S DICOVER TODAY FIVE OF THEM.
Ivan AIVAZOVSKY
Ilya REPIN
Victor VASNETSOV
Ivan SHISHKIN
Arkhip KUINDZHI
IVAN AIVAZOZOVSKY (1817-1900)
For me, Ivan Aivazovsky is a genius in every sense, and I can hardly find the words to describe how deeply I have always loved his work since I discovered the world of painting, and how devotedly I always look at any of his masterpieces.
I have always been fascinated by his countless paintings of the sea and sky. He depicts these vast expanses of blue with such contrast that a single work, in itself, requires hours of observation. The most striking detail is the impression created by these works, filled with an overflowing life, in which both peace and chaos emanate. He touches with such precision the beauty of nature and its most captivating, even extreme, moments: from dawn to sunset, from a calm sea to a raging sea, from a precise view towards the immensity; for me, the painter, through his canvas, touches the very heart of life and its essence.
There is a magical, sometimes tragic side, a gentleness that then turns into violence, as if through these paintings he had literally poured out a part of his soul. Fascinating, captivating.
He is a Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art.
The master painted approximately 6,000 paintings during his career !!!
I can't decide which paintings are the most beautiful; they are all masterpieces, in my opinion.
ILYA REPIN (1844-1930)
Ilya Repin is one of the greatest names in Russian painting. His works of art serve as witnesses to historical turning points in Russian history and reveal a vision of Russian culture that no one had previously achieved. His works are so realistic that they could be compared to a photograph of a key moment in history, leading the observer to directly immerse themselves in, or even to feel or project themselves into, the characters depicted.
As a French person, Repin led me, little by little, to discover Russian culture in all its depth by accessing the reality of daily life and the soul of the Russian people, revealing different episodes of life of different social classes.
Among the most striking paintings, I will mention: '‘Sadko” (1876), “Grand Duchess Sofia” (1879), “Religious procession in Kursk” (1883), “Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan” (1885), “Delegation of voigts before Alexander III” (1886), “Manifestation. October 17, 1905” (1907) and “In the Sun”.
VICTOR VASNETSOV (1848-1926)
I love the magic of Victor Vasnetsov's paintings. It seems rather rare that a painter has dedicated himself to such unreal subjects, but by delving into Russian folklore, we understand the important place occupied by tales and mythological stories. Looking at his paintings, we almost end up believing in the existence of these characters, so fascinating, sometimes frightening, and it is not surprising, then, that he is considered one of the most influential painters of Russian art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
He painted against the realistic current of his time, moving toward a romantic, symbolic, and historical dimension. There is a deep feeling of love emerging from his paintings that is expressed in the way he shows the beauty of the landscapes of the Russian countryside and the happy and simple existence of the Russian people.
Among his most famous works, I would like to highlight "The Knight at the Crossroads" (1878), "The Flying Carpet" (1880), "Alyonushka" (1881), "Ivan Tsarevich on the Grey Wolf" (1889), "Bogatyrs" (1881-1898), "Kashchei the Immortal" (1917), and "Baba Yaga" (1917).
IVAN SHISHKIN (1831-1898)
For Aivazovsky, the sea is what the forest is for Shishkin. Knowing that most of the Russian land is covered with forests, we can consider Ivan Shishkin the master paysagist of Russian nature.
Therefore, it is no coincidence that contemporaries called him the most patriotic landscape painter of Russia and "the king of the forest".
There is always a joyful, romantic light emanating from his paintings. From what was written about his school years, we understand that Shishkin was an introverted bear who could achieve incredible results in solitude and found deep inspiration in his summer trip to the Island of Valaam, the painting of which earned him a gold medal at his graduation from the Academy of Art in 1860. His personal life was pretty tragic, and his work, which comprises nearly 523 works of art, happened to be his salvation.
Among his most striking works, I suggest taking a look at: "Rye Field" (1878), "Edge of the forest" (1879), "Morning in a pine forest" (1889), "In the Wild North" (1891) and "Forest of conifers" (1895).
ARKHIP KUINDZHI (1842-1910)
Arkhip Kuindzhi had an atypical artistic path.
Before becoming one of the most famous artists of his era, with paintings bought by collectors and members of the imperial family, and queues at his exhibitions, he was accepted by the Academy of Arts only on the third attempt. Aivazovsky himself did not immediately value his talent. As a student, like Shishkin, Valaam Island on Lake Ladoga became a source of inspiration for the artist.
Later, he disagreed with most of his colleagues and decided to follow his own creative path. At the height of his fame, he became a recluse. He continued to work but did not show his paintings to anyone for twenty years. During these years, he created approximately 500 sketches and full-fledged paintings, and about 300 graphic works.
Here are some of my favorite paintings that I have seen: "Autumn Rasputitsa" (1872), "Lake Ladoga" (1873), "North" (1879), "Dnieper" (1881), "Steppes" (1895), "Darial Pass. Moonlight" (1895), "Fishing on the Black Sea" (1900), "Sunset in the Steppes" (1900), and "Night" (1908).
