Polenov | The Tretyakov Gallery Magazine

Isaac Levitan and His Contemporaries

Olga Atroshchenko

Article:

HERITAGE

Magazine issue:

#3 2010 (28)

The life story of Isaac Levitan as an artist is in many respects similar to the life stories of other graduates of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Most of them offspring of peasants or bankrupt merchants, and very few from noble families, they usually came to Moscow from the remote provinces practically penniless, and often, after the loss of parents, like Levitan.

The life story of Isaac Levitan as an artist is in many respects similar to the life stories of other graduates of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Most of them offspring of peasants or bankrupt merchants, and very few from noble families, they usually came to Moscow from the remote provinces practically penniless, and often, after the loss of parents, like Levitan.

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Russia’s Artistic Orientalist History

Inessa Kuteinikova

Article:

INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA

Magazine issue:

#4 2010 (29)

The monumental exhibition of Russian Orientalist paintings from the principal museums of Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and Uzbekistan (with a small part from private collections in Moscow and London) continues the remarkable tradition of the Groningen Museum in the Netherlands in filling a longstanding gap - and filling it most satisfyingly - in researching lesser- known Russian themes and mounting a comprehensive and highly sophisticated exhibition. As we gaze at these impressive canvases in a European setting, we find ourselves confronted by an adapted genre brought back into the milieu of the original.

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Vasily Polenov: "I love the gospel tales beyond words…"

Eleonora Paston

Article:

HERITAGE

Magazine issue:

#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.

Vasily Polenov: “I love the gospel tales beyond words…”

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.

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THE PARIS CERAMICS WORKSHOP OF RUSSIAN ARTISTS

Eleonora Paston

Magazine issue:

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.

IN 1875, TWO YEARS BEFORE IVAN POKHITONOV'S ARRIVAL IN PARIS, A VENTURE CALLED THE “PARIS CERAMICS WORKSHOP OF RUSSIAN ARTISTS"¹ 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 PARIS², 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).

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"Your Work is Somehow True..." Alexander Golovin and Yelena Polenova

Yelena Terkel

Article:

EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS

Magazine issue:

#3 2014 (44)

WHEN WE LOOK AT PAINTINGS, WE OFTEN WONDER WHAT THE ARTIST WAS LIKE IN REAL LIFE, WHAT EXCITED HIM, WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE SURROUNDED HIM, WHAT INSPIRED HIM TO CREATE HIS MASTERPIECES. IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY TO FIND ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS, EITHER IN THE ARTIST'S WORKS OR IN EXPERT STuDIES Of HIS OR HER OEuVRE. MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDENCE SOMETIMES HELP US LIFT THE VEIL OF MYSTERY. ALEXANDER GOLOVIN'S OWN "ENCOUNTERS AND IMPRESSIONS", PUBLISHED BY ERICH GOLLERBAKH, OUTLINED THE EXPERIENCES OF THE ARTIST'S LIFE; HE FOCUSED ON CULTURAL EVENTS, ON HIS ASSESSMENT OF VARIOUS PERSONALITIES AND PHENOMENA, BUT MUCH LESS ON HIS REFLECTIONS ON ART. THE ARTIST'S INNER WORLD AND HIS CREATIVE PROCESS REMAIN ALMOST ALWAYS "OFF THE RECORD".

WHEN WE LOOK AT PAINTINGS, WE OFTEN WONDER WHAT THE ARTIST WAS LIKE IN REAL LIFE, WHAT EXCITED HIM, WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE SURROUNDED HIM, WHAT INSPIRED HIM TO CREATE HIS MASTERPIECES. IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY TO FIND ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS, EITHER IN THE ARTIST'S WORKS OR IN EXPERT STuDIES Of HIS OR HER OEuVRE. MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDENCE SOMETIMES HELP US LIFT THE VEIL OF MYSTERY.

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Isaac Levitan and His Contemporaries

Olga Atroshchenko

Article:

HERITAGE

Magazine issue:

Special issue. ISAAC LEVITAN

The life story of Isaac Levitan as an artist is in many respects similar to the life stories of other graduates of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Most of them offspring of peasants or bankrupt merchants, and very few from noble families, they usually came to Moscow from the remote provinces practically penniless, and often, after the loss of parents, like Levitan.

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The "Poetic Truth" of Moscow

Eleonora Paston

Article:

MASTERPIECES OF RUSSIAN ART

Magazine issue:

#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.

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.

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