Portrait

The Call of the Future

Tatiana Plastova

Article: 
ARTISTIC DYNASTY
Magazine issue: 
#4 2012 (37)

For nearly 50 years the Chernyshev-Gorsky family has played a vital role in the Russian visual arts. In 1969 Dmitry Zhilinsky, a student and associate of Nikolai Chernyshev, painted "The Artist's Family. The Chernyshevs" (Russian Museum), and a year later "The Chernyshev Family" (Tretyakov Gallery), thus completing the family's image. He wrote of the works: "I imagined all the Chernyshevs walking in an autumnal forest. Nikolai Mikhailovich, in profile, against Antonina Alexandrovna, full-face; further on, young oak trees, branching out, and between them the trio: daughters Katerina and Natasha, and son-in-law Andrei Gorsky. To the left, grandson Kolenka hopping around like a grasshopper, daughter Polina to the right, behind the trees. The composition and the colour seem to have been decided. A golden autumnal background. Chernyshev in a light-coloured raincoat, nearly weightless. Behind him, Antonina Alexandrovna, serious and close to the earth, stands quietly, holding a bunch of autumnal flowers. He is narrow and light-coloured — an incarnation of spirit; she is wide, quiet, beautiful — his support." Many years later, in the picture "Paths of Childhood" by Nikolai Chernyshev's grandson Nikolai Gorsky-Chernyshev, this chain of times would be looped back: the boy (Kolenka from the Zhilinsky painting) running along the road to a church and Nikolai and Antonina, supporting each other as they walk behind him, embody that continuous, endless road of spiritual quest which the members of this admirable Russian family have been treading for a century.

The Call of the Future

Try not to live as a pretender,
But so to manage your affairs
That you are loved by wide expanses,
And hear the call of future years.

Boris Pasternak

The Face of Britain

Marina Vaizey

Article: 
WORLD MUSEUMS
Magazine issue: 
#4 2012 (37)

The world's largest collection of personalities and faces from the late Middle Ages to the present day, London's National Portrait Gallery is the oldest such institution in the world, founded in 1856 on a strong intellectual base which was a consensual attitude at the time: the 19th-century emphasis on the ways in which individuals influenced, and indeed led the events of history. One of its major supporters was the leading historian Thomas Carlyle, who also was an early trustee.

The Face of Britain

The world's largest collection of personalities and faces from the late Middle Ages to the present day, London's National Portrait Gallery is the oldest such institution in the world, founded in 1856 on a strong intellectual base which was a consensual attitude at the time: the 19th-century emphasis on the ways in which individuals influenced, and indeed led the events of history. One of its major supporters was the leading historian Thomas Carlyle, who also was an early trustee.

"An artist with wonderful talent and comfortable means..."

Lyudmila Markina

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#4 2012 (37)

On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Fyodor Moller

Thus the engraver Fyodor Iordan described his friend Fyodor Moller (born Otto Friedrich Theodor von Moller, 1812-1874). Born into a family of Baltic German nobility and later in life a professor of St. Petersburg's Academy of Arts, Moller lived a happy family and artistic life, gaining recognition in his lifetime, most notably for his portraits of Nikolai Gogol. Moller's name, however, was soon almost forgotten, and today he remains little more than a link between Russian and Estonian culture. A conference devoted to the bicentenary of the artist's birth took place in Kuressaare castle on the Estonian Island of Saaremaa in September 2012: it was there, in this small resort town, that Moller spent his summers from 1856 onwards. Moller lived a happy life with his young wife and children on his estate, by a lake not far from the unique Kaali field of meteorite craters, creating a number of well-known paintings and giving art lessons to enthusiasts. He is buried in the Lutheran cemetery nearby.

On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Fyodor Moller

On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Fyodor Moller

Pavel Korin's "Requiem". State Tretyakov Gallery

Natalya Alexandrova, Vera Golovina

Article: 
Notes on the history of "The Passing of Rus'"
Magazine issue: 
#2 2014 (43)

Biographical commentary to selected portraits

Pavel Korin's "Requiem"

 

Biographical commentary to selected portraits

 

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.

"Dies Irae". Pavel Korin's "Requiem" at the Tretyakov Gallery

Natalya Alexandrova, Vera Golovina

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

THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY HAS OPENED ITS EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO THE NEVER-COMPLETED COMPOSITION BY THE OUTSTANDING SOVIET ARTIST PAVEL KO-RIN AT ITS KRYMSKY VAL BUILDING. THE PROJECT, HOUSED IN THE MUSEUM'S 20TH-CENTURY ART SECTION, IS A CULTURAL EVENT ALMOST WITHOUT PRECEDENT IN THE MODERN ERA.

Pavel Korin's "Requiem" at the Tretyakov Gallery

THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY HAS OPENED ITS EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO THE NEVER-COMPLETED COMPOSITION BY THE OUTSTANDING SOVIET ARTIST PAVEL KO-RIN AT ITS KRYMSKY VAL BUILDING. THE PROJECT, HOUSED IN THE MUSEUM'S 20TH-CENTURY ART SECTION, IS A CULTURAL EVENT ALMOST WITHOUT PRECEDENT IN THE MODERN ERA.

Summer in Switzerland

Yekaterina Selezneva

Article: 
INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA
Magazine issue: 
Special issue. SWITZERLAND–RUSSIA: ON THE CROSSROADS OF CULTURES

Masterpieces from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art at Martigny
By lending 50 masterpieces of Western European art to the Fondation Pierre Gianadda the world-famous Metropolitan Museum is sending out a clear message: it trusts the foundation implicitly. The memory of the mysterious story (with a happy ending) when the collection of French paintings from Moscow's Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts was arrested after the closure of the exhibition remains fresh in the minds of many. At the time, some Russian journalists and museum officials said in no uncertain terms that the Swiss partner did not quite live up to the standards of the Pushkin museum.

Hans Holbein in Basel
From April  1 to July 2, the Kunstmuseum Basel hosted an exhibition dedicated to Hans  Holbein the Younger. There are many reasons why the exhibition occurred in  Basel: Holbein, born in the German town of Augsburg in 1497 (or 1498), moved to  the Swiss city-republic of Basel in 1514 with his brother Ambrosius, who was  also a painter. Erasmus of Rotterdam also lived in Basel; the city had a  university and excellent publishing houses.

Summer in Switzerland

 

Ferdinand Hodler - a symbolist vision

Article: 
INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA
Magazine issue: 
Special issue. SWITZERLAND–RUSSIA: ON THE CROSSROADS OF CULTURES

An unparalleled overview of Ferdinand Hodler's work opened on April 9 2008 in the old building of the Museum of Fine Arts in Bern, in rooms specially designed for the exhibition. This show is one of the most important and comprehensive of Hodler's exhibitions, with over 150 major works from all periods; it will remain there until August 10 2008. The exhibition was arranged in collaboration with the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, and offers a unique overview of Hodler's work, clearly establishing the international significance of this Swiss painter. His large symbolist figure paintings are shown alongside his best landscapes. The exhibition is rounded out with his unique group of works dealing with the sick and dying Valentine Gode-Darel, his mistress, and with a selection of self-portraits.

Ferdinand Hodler -a symbolist vision

An unparalleled overview of Ferdinand Hodler's work opened on April 9 2008 in the old building of the Museum of Fine Arts in Bern, in rooms specially designed for the exhibition. This show is one of the most important and comprehensive of Hodler's exhibitions, with over 150 major works from all periods; it will remain there until August 10 2008. The exhibition was arranged in collaboration with the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, and offers a unique overview of Hodler's work, clearly establishing the international significance of this Swiss painter.

More Than Romanticism

Lyudmila Markina

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2014 (42)

THE EXHIBITION "MORE THAN ROMANTICISM" WAS HELD FROM NOVEMBER 2013 TO JANUARY 2014 IN THE ENGINEERING WING OF THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY AS PART OF THE "EXCHANGE" YEAR OF CULTURAL COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND HOLLAND. FOR THE FIRST TIME THE MOSCOW PUBLIC COULD SEE WORKS FROM THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY ALONGSIDE PAINTINGS FROM THE TEYLERS MUSEUM IN HAARLEM AND THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF JEF RADEMAKERS FROM BRASSCHAAT, A PROVINCE OF ANTWERP. BEARING IN MIND THE UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE TWO COLLECTIONS, THE CURATORS TRIED TO HIGHLIGHT BOTH THEIR SHARED FEATURES AND THEIR DIFFERENCES, AS WELL AS THE EUROPEAN AND THE NATIONAL ELEMENTS OF RUSSIAN AND DUTCH FINE ART. THE NAMES OF GREAT PAINTERS SUCH AS REMBRANDT VAN RIJN AND FRANS HALS, WHOSE MASTERPIECES ARE IN THE HERMITAGE'S COLLECTION OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF DUTCH ART, ARE WELL KNOWN TO THE RUSSIAN PUBLIC. THANKS TO THE FAMOUS FILM, THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS FAMILIAR WITH JOHANNES VERMEER'S PAINTING "GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING" (1665). THE ART OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS OF THE 1800-1850S, HOWEVER, IS ONLY KNOWN TO A SMALL CIRCLE OF ART EXPERTS. MEANWHILE, THE PAINTING TRADITIONS OF THE GREAT AND "LESSER" DUTCH MASTERS WERE CARRIED ON INTO A NEW HISTORICAL ERA, THAT OF ROMANTICISM.

More Than Romanticism

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