Eleonora Paston
MUSEUMS OF RUSSIA
Eleonora Paston
“I am in Abramtsevo Once More..."
#3 2021 (72)
Mikhail Vrubel’s creative fascination with ceramics began in 1890, soon after his arrival in Moscow in autumn 1889. There, thanks to his old friends Valentin Serov and Konstantin Korovin, he became close with Savva Mamontov, a vivid and multifaceted character, someone who was possessed of a special sensitivity to new trends in art along with an ability to recognise talented people and understand the essence of their gift. A major entrepreneur and patron of the arts, in the 1870s and 1890s, he collected a circle of artists, later known as the Abramtsevo Circle, which spanned the generations: Ilya Repin, Vasily Polenov, Viktor Vasnetsov and the sculptor Mark Antokolsky from the older generation; Valentin Serov, Konstantin Korovin, Yelena Polenova, Apollinary Vasnetsov, Mikhail Vrubel, Mikhail Nesterov and Ilya Ostroukhov, among others, from the younger generation.
POINT OF VIEW
Eleonora Paston
From the Golden Age to the Silver Age. THE CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT OF VASILY POLENOV IN THE PRISM OF RUSSIAN CULTURE
#3 2019 (64)
The Tretyakov Gallery’s new exhibition "Vasily Polenov”, running on Krymsky Val until February 16 2020, marks the 175th anniversary of the artist’s birth. Polenov (1844-1927) worked mainly in the final decades of the 19th century but the variety of his artistic activity establishes him as a key figure linking broader strands of Russian culture, not least through his influence as a teacher, contributing as he did to the development of the "Moscow school of painting” at the turn of the 20th century. Featuring more than 150 works drawn from 16 Russian museums as well as private collections, the exhibition brings Polenov’s monumental "Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery” from the Russian Museum to Moscow for the first time.
Eleonora Paston
Alexander Golovin's Anniversary Exhibition and Further Research into the Artist's Oeuvre
Papers of the International academic conference "ALEXANDER GOLOVIN AND THE CULTURE OF THE SILVER AGE" (14.10.2014 - 15.10.2014, State Tretyakov Gallery)
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Eleonora Paston
"Everything is Decorative and Only Decorative". On the anniversary exhibition of Alexander Golovin at the Tretyakov Gallery
#3 2014 (44)
THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY HAS OPENED THE EXHIBITION 'ALEXANDER GOLOVIN. FANTASIES OF THE SILVER AGE", DEVOTED TO THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARTIST'S BIRTH. GOLOVIN'S OEUVRE, WHICH IS DISTINGUISHED BY THE INIMITABLE "GOLOVIN STYLE", ELEGANT DECORATIVENESS, INEXHAUSTIBLE IMAGINATION AND GREAT ARTISTIC TEMPERAMENT, REFLECTS THE ESSENTIAL ICONOGRAPHIC AND STYLISTIC FEATURES OF THE ERA OF SYMBOLISM AND ART NOUVEAU IN RUSSIA, AND BECAME ONE OF THE LANDMARKS OF ITS PERIOD.
MASTERPIECES OF RUSSIAN ART
Eleonora Paston
The "Poetic Truth" of Moscow
#3 2013 (40)
In June 1877, Vasily Polenov came to Moscow, intending to work on a subject from Russian history – "The Tsar's Unworthy Daughter Takes the Veil" – and to settle in the capital for some time.
|
|
Eleonora Paston, Special issue. IVAN POKHITONOV. THE ARTIST SORCERER You have in your hands a special issue of the “Tretyakov Gallery” magazine that is dedicated to the life and work of the distinguished Russian artist Ivan Pavlovich Pokhitonov (Pokitonow) (1850-1923). For most of his life he lived in France and Belgium, but he never lost touch with Russia or Russian art as he considered himself a “Russian artist”. The poetic expressiveness of his work, so inherent in Russian “mood landscapes”, seamlessly came together with the refined French painting style, combined with the artist’s highest standard of excellence that he applied to his paintings. |
Eleonora Paston
THE PARIS CERAMICS WORKSHOP OF RUSSIAN ARTISTS
Special issue. IVAN POKHITONOV. THE ARTIST SORCERER
IN 1875, TWO YEARS BEFORE IVAN POKHITONOV'S ARRIVAL IN PARIS, A VENTURE CALLED THE “PARIS CERAMICS WORKSHOP OF RUSSIAN ARTISTS" WAS SET UP; IT WAS ESTABLISHED ON THE INITIATIVE OF ALEXEI BOGOLYUBOV IN A SPACE RENTED FROM AN INDUSTRIALIST CALLED GILLOT, AND IT WOULD CONTINUE TO OPERATE UNTIL THE EARLY 1880s. PARTICIPANTS INCLUDED MANY RUSSIAN ARTISTS LIVING IN PARIS, FOR WHOM THE WORKSHOP WAS ONE OF THEIR SOURCES OF INCOME OUTSIDE RUSSIA (THEIR STIPENDS FROM THE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS WERE INSUFFICIENT TO COVER ALL NECESSARY LIVING EXPENSES). THE ARTISTS IN ONE SITTING APPLIED IMAGES TO FINISHED PLATES AND DISHES WHICH WERE THEN HEATED IN A KILN AND SOLD. THE VENTURE ATTRACTED THE ARTISTS FOR ITS NEW CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES.
Eleonora Paston
LETTERS FROM IVAN POKHITONOV TO PAVEL TRETYAKOV AND ILYA OSTROUKHOV
Special issue. IVAN POKHITONOV. THE ARTIST SORCERER
THE COLLECTION OF IVAN POKHITONOV'S LETTERS TO PAVEL TRETYAKOV AND ILYA OSTROUKHOV AT THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY'S DEPARTMENT OF MANUSCRIPTS IS THE MOST COHERENT SET OF DOCUMENTS TO BE FOUND IN THE BODY OF ARCHIVAL MATERIALS, INCLUDING LETTERS, BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION, COMMENTS AND REVIEWS, RELATING TO POKHITONOV'S LIFE AND ART. OTHER COLLECTIONS INCLUDE THOSE AT THE CENTRAL ARCHIVE OF LITERATURE AND ART (MOSCOW), THE RUSSIAN MUSEUM'S DEPARTMENT OF MANUSCRIPTS (ST. PETERSBURG), THE ARCHIVE OF THE KOVALENKO REGIONAL ART MUSEUM IN KRASNODAR, AND THE STATE ARCHIVE OF THE KRASNODAR REGION (KRASNODAR). THESE LETTERS REVEAL NEW DETAILS OF THE ARTIST'S BIOGRAPHY AND SHED LIGHT ON MANY ASPECTS OF HIS CREATIVE METHODS.
Eleonora Paston
IVAN POKHITONOV AT LEO TOLSTOY’S YASNAYA POLYANA ESTATE
Special issue. IVAN POKHITONOV. THE ARTIST SORCERER
IVAN POKHITONOV STAYED AS A GUEST AT LEO TOLSTOY'S YASNAYA POLYANA ESTATE FROM 14 JUNE TO 5 JULY 1905. IN LETTERS TO HIS COMMON-LAW WIFE, YEVGENIA WULFFERT, HE WROTE ABOUT HIS IMPRESSIONS OF THE VISIT, HIS MEETINGS WITH TOLSTOY AND TOLSTOY'S WIFE SOPHIA ANDREIEVNA, AND HIS WORK DURING THE STAY.
Eleonora Paston
“I WILL BE THE FIRST ONE TO REJOICE IN OUR VERY OWN ART”
Special issue. IVAN POKHITONOV. THE ARTIST SORCERER
"I WILL BE THE FIRST ONE TO REJOICE IN OUR VERY OWN ART," TURGENEV WROTE TO THE ART CRITIC VLADIMIR STASOV, AND THE PHRASE BECAME THE TITLE FOR AN ARTICLE BY ILYA ZILBERSTEIN, A RENOWNED ART EXPERT, MAN OF LETTERS AND COLLECTOR*. HIS ARTICLE INTRODUCED READERS TO LITTLE- KNOWN PAGES FROM TURGENEV'S BIOGRAPHY, WHICH WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE WRITER'S ROLE IN THE LIFE OF MANY RUSSIAN ARTISTS, INCLUDING IVAN POKHITONOV
Eleonora Paston
MATILDA POKHITONOVA’S CORRESPONDENCE
Special issue. IVAN POKHITONOV. THE ARTIST SORCERER
IN IVAN POKHITONOV'S PUBLISHED LETTERS, HE OFTEN MENTIONS “FAMILY TROUBLES" THAT PREVENTED HIM FROM CARRYING OUT SOME PROJECTS, AND LED TO A LINGERING SEPARATION FROM HIS HOMELAND. THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THE LETTERS OF POKHITONOV'S FIRST WIFE MATILDA K. POKHITONOVA CLARIFIES TO SOME EXTENT THIS PREDICAMENT OF HIS LIFE.
Compiled by Eleonora Paston
A CHRONICLE OF THE LIFE AND ART OF IVAN POKHITONOV
Special issue. IVAN POKHITONOV. THE ARTIST SORCERER
|
|
HERITAGE Eleonora Paston #4 2011 (33) In October 2011 the Tretyakov Gallery hosted a remarkable event. In the room featuring Vasily Polenov’s works the museum put on view his two compositions – “He That Is Without Sin Among You” (1908) and “Guilty to Death” (1906), from his series of paintings “Scenes from Christ’s Life” (1890s-1900s). Found by chance at a North American educational institution, the pieces were displayed by Bonhams auction house at a pre-sale exhibition. |
|
|
EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS Lydia Gladkova, Eleonora Paston #4 2010 (29) The exhibition “The Artist-Sorcerer”, organized by the Tretyakov Gallery to mark the 160th anniversary of Ivan Pavlovich Pokhitonov (1850-1923), featured works from the collections of the Tretyakov Gallery and Otar Margania (Moscow). The dates of the exhibition, initially scheduled to run from March 2 to November 28, were twice extended due to the great public interest in Pokhitonovʼs oeuvre. Visitors to the show in their comments talked not only about gratitude for “the feeling of joy and harmony of life” they experienced viewing Pokhitonovʼs works and admiration for the artistʼs consummate workmanship, but also about his painting techniques, which were described as “spellbinding” and appearing “a miracle”. As if echoing Ilya Repinʼs opinion about Pokhitonov – “this is an artist-sorcerer”, which gave the title to the exhibition – viewers wrote that they visited the show several times to engage with this “miracle” again and again. |
|
|
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS Eleonora Paston #1 2010 (26) The solo show of Ivan Pavlovich Pokhitonov, titled “Artist the Sorcerer”, dedicated to the artist´s 160th anniversary, is being held at the Tretyakov Gallery in the “Year of France in Russia”, and its mirror event, “Russia in France”. Although unplanned, this overlap is extremely natural. It would be hard to find another artist of the second half of the 19th-the early 20th centuries whose oeuvre reflects Russo-French connections as naturally as Pokhitonov. |
|
|
EXPERTISE Lydia Gladkova, Eleonora Paston #2 2008 (19) The story of Viktor Vasnetsov’s study for the “Alenushka” painting (Tretyakov Gallery, 1881), kept at the Abramtsevo Museum Reserve was quite circuitous in spite of a propitious “starting point”. The picture came to the museum in 1967 from Lydia Ruslanova’s collection; previously it was already included in a list of Vasnetsov’s works compiled by Nikolai Morgunov and Natalya Morgunova-Rudnitskaya: “Alenushka. Oil on canvas, 68 by 48 cm. Lower left: V. Vasnetsov. The study is fairly closely related to the painting at the Tretyakov Gallery. Shown at an exhibition of Vasnetsov’s works from private collections at the Moscow Branch of the Artists’ Society in June 1947. Lydia Ruslanova’s collection, Moscow.”1 One would think that this information was exhaustive and no further research into the attribution of the piece was called for. However, something about the picture disquieted museum staff suggesting that the study should not be categorized as the artist’s “last preparatory work”.2 A certain link seemed to be missing between the two “Alenushka”s, a link that would illuminate the logic behind Vasnetsov’s work on the painting based on a “fairy tale subject”.3 |
|
|
MASTERPIECES OF RUSSIAN ART Eleonora Paston #1 2007 (14) In June 1877, Vasily Polenov came to Moscow, intending to work on a subject from Russian history – “The Tsar’s Unworthy Daughter Takes the Veil” – and to settle in the capital for some time. |
|
|
MASTERPIECES OF RUSSIAN ART Eleonora Paston №3 2006 (12) In June 1898 an important event occurred at the Tretyakov Gallery, already then donated by Pavel Tretyakov to the city of Moscow. Pavel Mikhailovich acquired for the gallery the paintings by Viktor Vasnetsov, "Warrior Knights" (1898) and "Tsar Ivan the Terrible" (1897). At the same time Tretyakov had the pictures on display re-arranged: the exhibition rooms were closed until early November and Vasnetsov received the opportunity to make new amendments to his recent pieces. "In the ‘Warrior Knights’ everything that needed touching up was touched up," the artist wrote to Tretyakov on October 5 1898, "for the better, I believe." Amazingly, this was said after the artist had been working on the painting for 30 years. |
|
|
HERITAGE Eleonora Paston #1 2005 (06) The Abramtsevo circle of artists was formed in the last third of the 19th century. It grew up around the wealthy manufacturer and patron of the arts Savva Mamontov, and came to include such artists as Ilya Repin, Vasily Polenov, Viktor and Apollinary Vasnetsov, Mark Antokolsky, Valentin Serov, Konstantin Korovin, Yelena Polenova, Mikhail Nesterov, Ilya Ostroukhov and Mikhail Vrubel. Active in many areas such as painting, sculpture and graphic art as well as drama, architecture, decorative and applied arts, the group received wide acclaim. |
MOBILE APP OF THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY MAGAZINE
