Nesterov

MIKHAIL NESTEROV AND THE RUSSIAN RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHERS

Nicoletta Misler

Article: 
EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS
Magazine issue: 
#2 2007 (15)

Among some of the most fascinating and prized items owned by the State Tretyakov Gallery is Mikhail Nesterov’s famous double portrait of the philosophers Pavel Florensky (1882-1937) and Sergei Bulgakov[1] (1871-1944). Painted in 1917 and showing the two men in Sergiev Posad, for many years “The Philosophers” was consigned to storage; yet now, once again, it forms part of the Tretyakov Gallery’s display as a vital element of Nesterov’s creative and spiritual development. Deacon Sergiy Trubachev’s important article[2], written to mark Florensky’s the 100th anniversary of Florensky’s birth and examining this very painting, focuses in particular on its spiritual merit. Deacon Trubachev’s study offered a convenient starting point for this article.

MIKHAIL NESTEROV AND THE RUSSIAN RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHERS

Mikhail Nesterov. Quiet Truths

Pavel Klimov

Article: 
EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2016 (50)

When a soul, sinful but talented and longing for epiphany, encounters genuine holiness, a “divine spark” produced by this encounter kindles an unquenchable flame of creativity. For Mikhail Nesterov, “holiness” was a hallmark of the ideas and objects regarded as sacred by every nation: the lands of the forbears, religion, the history and heroes of the country. But, together with his deep “affection for one’s hearth and home, affection for one’s ancestral tombstones,” he equally revered the title of artist, questioning, until his last days, his right to be called one.

Mikhail Nesterov. Quiet Truths

From Biography to Hagiography. The Russian Intelligentsia in Mikhail Nesterov's Work

Olga Atroshchenko

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#2 2014 (43)

LATE IN 1901, MIKHAIL NESTEROV, THEN LIVING ALMOST ALL THE TIME IN KIEV, BEGAN WORKING ON HIS "HOLY RUS"' (1901-1905, RUSSIAN MUSEUM), WHILE IN ST. PETERSBURG THE RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL ASSEMBLIES STARTED GATHERING REGULARLY. AT THE ASSEMBLIES, MEMBERS OF THE INTELLIGENTSIA MET WITH THE SENIOR CHURCH HIERARCHS TO DISCUSS RELIGIOUS ISSUES OF PUBLIC CONCERN. THE ASSEMBLIES GATHERED IN THE SPACIOUS "SMALLER" HALL OF THE GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, LOCATED ON FONTANKA STREET, FREQUENTLY FILLING THE VENUE TO OVERFLOWING. THE ASSEMBLIES WERE INITIATED BY PROMINENT PERSONALITIES OF THE SILVER AGE, LIKE WRITERS-SYMBOLISTS INCLUDING DMITRY MEREZHKOVSKY, ZINAIDA GIPPIUS, ALEXEI REMIZOV; THE PHILOSOPHER VASILY ROZANOV, THE THEOLOGIAN VALENTIN TERNAVTSEV, AND OTHERS. AS GIPPIUS RECALLED, "THE FIRST REPORT [PREPARED BY TERNAVTSEV - O.A.] INTRODUCED... THE SUBJECT OF ALL FUTURE DISCUSSIONS: THE QUESTION OF CHRISTIANITY; OF ITS EFFECT ON HUMAN LIFEAND ON HUMAN SOCIETY. CONCURRENTLY, ANOTHER QUESTION AROSE, ABOUTTHE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (OR CHURCHES) - OF ITS PERCEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY."

The Russian Intelligentsia in Mikhail Nesterov's Work

LATE IN 1901, MIKHAIL NESTEROV, THEN LIVING ALMOST ALL THE TIME IN KIEV, BEGAN WORKING ON HIS "HOLY RUS"' (1901-1905, RUSSIAN MUSEUM), WHILE IN ST. PETERSBURG THE RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL ASSEMBLIES STARTED GATHERING REGULARLY. AT THE ASSEMBLIES, MEMBERS OF THE INTELLIGENTSIA MET WITH THE SENIOR CHURCH HIERARCHS1 TO DISCUSS RELIGIOUS ISSUES OF PUBLIC CONCERN. THE ASSEMBLIES GATHERED IN THE SPACIOUS "SMALLER" HALL OF THE GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, LOCATED ON FONTANKA STREET, FREQUENTLY FILLING THE VENUE TO OVERFLOWING.

Russian Patriarchs of the 20th Century in Pavel Korin's Works

Anastasia Starovoitova

Article: 
EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS
Magazine issue: 
#2 2014 (43)

THE LIFE AND ARTISTIC CAREER OF PAVEL KORIN (1892-1967) COINCIDED WITH THE RESTORATION OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE PATRIARCHATE IN RUSSIA. HE WAS PRIVILEGED TO MEET ALL THE PRIMATES OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ELECTED DURING THE SOVIET PERIOD, FROM TIKHON TO PIMEN, THE FUTURE PATRIARCH. THESE FATEFUL ENCOUNTERS TOOK PLACE AT A TIME WHEN THE VERY EXISTENCE OF THE RUSSIAN CHURCH WAS CHALLENGED.

Russian Patriarchs of the 20th Century in Pavel Korin's Works

THE LIFE AND ARTISTIC CAREER OF PAVEL KORIN (1892-1967) COINCIDED WITH THE RESTORATION OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE PATRIARCHATE IN RUSSIA. HE WAS PRIVILEGED TO MEET ALL THE PRIMATES OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ELECTED DURING THE SOVIET PERIOD, FROM TIKHON TO PIMEN, THE FUTURE PATRIARCH. THESE FATEFUL ENCOUNTERS TOOK PLACE AT A TIME WHEN THE VERY EXISTENCE OF THE RUSSIAN CHURCH WAS CHALLENGED.

The Portraits of Mikhail Nesterov

Lyudmila Bobrovskaya

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2013 (38)

PORTRAITS WERE A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF NESTEROV'S OEUVRE, BUT FOR A VERY LONG TIME -PRACTICALLY UNTIL THE EARLY 1930S - THE ARTIST WOULD REGULARLY REPEAT THE PHRASE, "I'M NO PORTRAITIST!", IN LETTERS TO HIS FRIENDS. ALWAYS DEMANDING OF HIMSELF AS AN ARTIST, NESTEROV BELIEVED THAT HIS PORTRAITS WERE NOT OF THE SAME CALIBRE AS THOSE OF HIS PREDECESSORS SUCH AS VASILY PEROV, IVAN KRAMSKOYOR ILYA REPIN; EVEN "THE GIRL WITH PEACHES" BY THE MUCH YOUNGER ARTIST VALENTIN SEROV, NESTEROV REGARDED AS REACHING AN UNATTAINABLE LEVEL OF ARTISTRY.

The Portraits of Mikhail Nesterov
"As a portraitist, I felt attracted to those people whose
life paths reflected their thoughts, feelings, acts."
Mikhail Nesterov. "My Bygone Days. Encounters and Memories"

Mikhail Nesterov's Family in His Art

Olga Ivanova

Article: 
EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2013 (38)

THERE ARE SOME ARTISTS WHOSE ART MAY BE EXAMINED WITHOUT MUCH STUDY OF THEIR BIO­GRAPHIES, OR REFERENCE TO THEIR LOVED ONES, WHILE WITH OTHERS THEIR WORK IS SO CLOSELY LINKED TO THEIR FAMILIES THAT IT BECOMES ESSENTIAL TO ANY ANALYSIS OF THEIR OEUVRE. MIK­HAIL NESTEROV (1862-1942) IS AMONG THE LATTER: THIS ARTICLE, WHICH INCLUDES MATERIALS, LET­TERS AND PHOTOGRAPHS FROM VARIOUS ARCHIVES, EXAMINES THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ARTIST'S FAMILY AND HIS WORK. THESE LETTERS HELP US SEE WHAT IS USUALLY HIDDEN FROM THE VIEWER'S EYES - THE DIFFERENT ROLES THAT AN ARTIST'S FAMILY PLAYS IN HIS LIFE. NESTEROV'S FAMILY MEMBERS OFTEN INSPIRED HIM TO CREATE HIS PAINTINGS, OR SERVED AS "PROTOTYPES" FOR THE SUBJECTS OF HIS LARGE-SCALE WORKS, EVEN FOR THE FRESCOES THAT THE ARTIST CREATED FOR VARIOUS CATHEDRALS. WITHOUT DOUBT, THIS WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE ARTIST; HE WROTE THAT "...IF THERE IS A FACE, THERE IS A PAINTING. IF THERE IS NO [FACE], NO EXPRESSION THAT I SEEK <...> - THERE WILL BE NO PAINTING. LIKE SEROV, IT IS THE HUMAN SOUL THAT I NEEDED FIRST AND FOREMOST." IN MAKING THE ACQUAINTANCE OF NESTEROV'S FAMILY MEMBERS IT IS NOT ONLY HIS LETTERS AND PAINTINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT, BUT ALSO THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT HAVE BEEN PRESERVED, WHICH SOMETIMES REFLECT MUCH ON NESTEROV'S CREATIVE PROCESS. THE LEGACY OF THE AR­TIST'S DESCENDANTS, WHOSE LIVES WERE PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCED BY THE PERSONALITY OF THEIR FATHER AND GRANDFATHER, IS ALSO REVEALING.

Mikhail Nesterov's Family in His Art

THERE ARE SOME ARTISTS WHOSE ART MAY BE EXAMINED WITHOUT MUCH STUDY OF THEIR BIO­GRAPHIES, OR REFERENCE TO THEIR LOVED ONES, WHILE WITH OTHERS THEIR WORK IS SO CLOSELY LINKED TO THEIR FAMILIES THAT IT BECOMES ESSENTIAL TO ANY ANALYSIS OF THEIR OEUVRE. MIK­HAIL NESTEROV (1862-1942) IS AMONG THE LATTER: THIS ARTICLE, WHICH INCLUDES MATERIALS, LET­TERS AND PHOTOGRAPHS FROM VARIOUS ARCHIVES, EXAMINES THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ARTIST'S FAMILY AND HIS WORK.

Mikhail Nesterov and Alexei Shchusev. Collaborate Unknown projects

Sergei Koluzakov

Article: 
EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2013 (38)

BY THE LAST YEARS OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY MIKHAIL NESTEROV AND ALEXEI SHCHUSEV WERE ALREADY FULLY-FLEDGED CULTURAL LUMINARIES IN RUSSIA. NESTEROV HAD WON ACCLAIM WITH HIS NATIONAL-ROMANTIC PAINTINGS SUCH AS "THE HERMIT", "THE VISION OF THE YOUNG BARTHOLOMEW", AND "THE MURDERED TSAREVICH DMITRY", WHILE SHCHUSEV'S DESIGN HAD BEEN CHOSEN FOR MOSCOW'S LARGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECT - THE KAZAN RAILWAY STATION IN MOSCOW. BOTH MEN WERE REGARDED BY THEIR CONTEMPORARIES AS VERY ORIGINAL FIGURES IN CHURCH PAINTING AND ARCHITECTURE. THIS ARTICLE'S FOCUS ON THEIR ARTISTIC COLLABORATION IS NATURAL, BECAUSE NESTEROV, AL¬WAYS DEMANDING OF HIMSELF, CONSIDERED THE CHURCH BUILDINGS DESIGNED BY SHCHUSEV IN COLLABORATION WITH HIM AS HIS GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS MADE "ON THE CHURCH SCAF¬FOLDING". MOREOVER, THE NATURE OF THIS COLLABORATION ARGUABLY INDICATES THAT THE TWO MASTERS INFLUENCED ONE ANOTHER. NOT SURPRISINGLY, AFTER THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLU¬TION THEIR CHURCH-RELATED PROJECTS WERE RARELY MENTIONED. IN THE COURSE OF THE PREPARATION FOR THE EXHIBITION "MIKHAIL NESTEROV. IN SEARCH OF HIS RUSSIA", I HAVE MAN¬AGED TO EXAMINE UNKNOWN EPISODES IN THE ARTIST'S CAREER, STUDYING THOSE OF HIS COM¬MISSIONED WORKS THAT EVEN EXPERTS KNOW LITTLE ABOUT, AND IDENTIFYING IMAGES AND DRAWINGS NEVER PREVIOUSLY PRINTED.

Mikhail Nesterov and Alexei Shchusev

BY THE LAST YEARS OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY MIKHAIL NESTEROV AND ALEXEI SHCHUSEV WERE ALREADY FULLY-FLEDGED CULTURAL LUMINARIES IN RUSSIA. NESTEROV HAD WON ACCLAIM WITH HIS NATIONAL-ROMANTIC PAINTINGS SUCH AS "THE HERMIT", "THE VISION OF THE YOUNG BARTHOLOMEW", AND "THE MURDERED TSAREVICH DMITRY", WHILE SHCHUSEV'S DESIGN HAD BEEN CHOSEN FOR MOSCOW'S LARGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECT - THE KAZAN RAILWAY STATION IN MOSCOW. BOTH MEN WERE REGARDED BY THEIR CONTEMPORARIES AS VERY ORIGINAL FIGURES IN CHURCH PAINTING AND ARCHITECTURE.

Mikhail Nesterov as Muralist and Icon Painter

Anastasia Bubchikova

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2013 (38)

CHURCH MURALS WERE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FIELDS OF MIKHAIL NESTEROV'S LIFE AS AN ARTIST. HAVING FIRST CLIMBED CATHEDRAL SCAFFOLDING WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG MAN OF 28, HE DEVOTED MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF HIS LIFE TO RELIGIOUS MURAL ART. BY 1890, HE HAD ALREADY CREATED "THE HERMIT" (1889) AND "THE VISION OF THE YOUNG BARTHOLOMEW" (1890), WHICH BRO­UGHT HIM FAME AND SECURED HIS PLACE AMONG THE GENERATION OF NEW PAINTERS EXPLORING NEW PATHS AND NEW IDEALS IN ART. WHEN HE WAS INVITED IN 1890 TO CREATE MURALS FOR THE ST. VLADIMIR (VOLODYMYR) CATHEDRAL IN KIEV, HE WAS AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY NOT ONLY TO TACKLE A FASCINATING ARTISTIC CHALLENGE BUT ALSO TO LEAVE A DISTINCTIVE MARK ON RELI­GIOUS ART, WHICH WAS SUFFERING A DEEP CRISIS ON THE EVE OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

Mikhail Nesterov as Muralist and Icon Painter

CHURCH MURALS WERE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FIELDS OF MIKHAIL NESTEROV'S LIFE AS AN ARTIST. HAVING FIRST CLIMBED CATHEDRAL SCAFFOLDING WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG MAN OF 28, HE DEVOTED MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF HIS LIFE TO RELIGIOUS MURAL ART. BY 1890, HE HAD ALREADY CREATED "THE HERMIT" (1889) AND "THE VISION OF THE YOUNG BARTHOLOMEW" (1890), WHICH BROUGHT HIM FAME AND SECURED HIS PLACE AMONG THE GENERATION OF NEW PAINTERS EXPLORING NEW PATHS AND NEW IDEALS IN ART. WHEN HE WAS INVITED IN 1890 TO CREATE MURALS FOR THE ST.

Nesterov and Ufa

Svetlana Ignatenko

Article: 
MUSEUMS OF RUSSIA
Magazine issue: 
#1 2013 (38)

THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF MIKHAIL NESTEROV (1862-1942) WAS CELEBRATED AS A SPECIAL OCCASION IN HIS NATIVE CITY OF UFA. A MEMORIAL PLAGUE WAS UNVEILED AT THE LOCATION WHERE THE NESTEROV FAMILY HOUSE WAS ONCE SITUATED. A NATIONAL EXHIBITION "MV NESTEROV'S ART FROM RUSSIAN MUSEUMS, GALLERIES AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS" WAS ORGANIZED WITH THE PARTICIPATION WITH 22 MUSEUMS AND TWO PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. A NATIONWIDE RESEARCH CONFERENCE "1ST NESTEROV FORUM" AND THE 1ST NESTEROV ALL-RUSSIA ART COMPETITION FOR CHILDREN TOOK PLACE. A PARK NAMED AFTER NESTEROV WAS OPENED. THIS EXTENSIVE CULTURAL PROGRAMME WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF A NATIONAL PROJECT TO COMMEMORATE THE GREAT ARTIST'S HERITAGE.

Nesterov and Ufa

THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF MIKHAIL NESTEROV (1862-1942) WAS CELEBRATED AS A SPECIAL OCCASION IN HIS NATIVE CITY OF UFA. A MEMORIAL PLAGUE WAS UNVEILED AT THE LOCATION WHERE THE NESTEROV FAMILY HOUSE WAS ONCE SITUATED. A NATIONAL EXHIBITION "MV NESTEROV'S ART FROM RUSSIAN MUSEUMS, GALLERIES AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS" WAS ORGANIZED WITH THE PARTICIPATION WITH 22 MUSEUMS AND TWO PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. A NATIONWIDE RESEARCH CONFERENCE "1ST NESTEROV FORUM" AND THE 1ST NESTEROV ALL-RUSSIA ART COMPETITION FOR CHILDREN TOOK PLACE.

An Artist's Journey

Galina Churak

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITION
Magazine issue: 
#1 2013 (38)

"THE MOST PRECIOUS PART OF ART IS THE GOD-GIVEN TALENT, AND IT SHOULD SERVE THE EXPRES¬SION OF KIND AND BEAUTIFUL FEELINGS, WHETHER BY MEANS OF PAINTING, MUSIC, OR ALL-EM¬BRACING POETRY."1 NESTEROV, WHO WROTE THESE WORDS IN 1898, REFERRED TO THEM AS HIS "CONFESSION", THE DECLARATION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE OF HIS ART - HIS DEEP DE¬SIRE TO AWAKEN THE BEST AND LOFTIEST FEELINGS IN PEOPLE. THROUGHOUT HIS LONG LIFE IN ART, HE SHARED HIS "GOD-GIVEN TALENT", WHICH NATURE BESTOWED ON HIM SO GENEROUSLY, WITH RUSSIAN ART, RUSSIA, AND THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE.

An Artist's Journey

"THE MOST PRECIOUS PART OF ART IS THE GOD-GIVEN TALENT, AND IT SHOULD SERVE THE EXPRESSION OF KIND AND BEAUTIFUL FEELINGS, WHETHER BY MEANS OF PAINTING, MUSIC, OR ALL-EMBRACING POETRY."1 NESTEROV, WHO WROTE THESE WORDS IN 1898, REFERRED TO THEM AS HIS "CONFESSION", THE DECLARATION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE OF HIS ART - HIS DEEP DESIRE TO AWAKEN THE BEST AND LOFTIEST FEELINGS IN PEOPLE.

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