THE ARTIST FYODOR VASILYEV

Fyodor Alexandrovich Vasilyev was born in Gatchina, February 22, 1850, and later the family moved to Petersburg. Father, a minor official, was a gambler, drank a lot. Small apartment on Vasilievsky island not left need. Twelve-year-old child, the future artist was in the post office, time for drawing found with difficulty, studied in the evenings and Sundays. After his father"s death in 1865, at the age of fifteen years he was the backbone of the family, left without any means. I chose the path of the artist, Vasiliev acts with the seriousness of an adult, already burdened by the cares of the family, and is subject to their decision the whole life. He gets to the restorer of the Academy of arts of P. K. Sokolov, and simultaneously enrolled in evening drawing school, which was run by the Society for the encouragement of artists. Among the teachers of the school was then not only enjoyed great love and authority of archaeology, but also other artists from the group of the fourteen Protestants, pointedly emerged from the Academy in 1863 and organized" Артель artists". The atmosphere of camaraderie, disputes, hot discussions all the new phenomena of art and life and, more importantly, the daily hard work — all this fascinated the young artist. By the time of graduation (1867) Vasilyev already met with a number of artists and became from their environment. Especially close were relations with V. I. Kramskoi, who took him under careful guardianship, and with Ivan Shishkin, with whom he constantly worked on location. Under the influence of I. I. Shishkina for eighteen years Vasilev was convinced by the artist: few artists so early was able to identify my calling.

Already in 1868, the artist has created quite Mature of his paintings.

" Возвращение стада".

" Деревенская street"

" Гумно"

" Близ red village"

" В the vicinity of St. Petersburg"

" В the Church. The old cemetery of Valamo монастыря."

the Beginning of his career Vasiliev coincides with the years of the rise of national realistic landscape. Already in the paintings of Perov nature is felt as a reflection of the thoughts and experiences of the hero. Shishkin, Savrasov, Korzukhin and other artists show in their works a peculiar charm of Russian landscape. Paintings Vasiliev immediately occupy a prominent place next to the works of advanced artists of the time. Repin recalled that when he first came to the workshop Vasiliev, the" удивился to full conferenece" not expecting from cocky boys (Vasiliev was twenty years old) is so sophisticated and Mature works. This meeting Vasilyeva with Repin occurred before their joint trip on the Volga, Repin, where he collected material for his" Бурлаков". Volga Vasiliev became an inexhaustible source of impressions. It is a lot of drawing, striking satellites perfection of their work. Even then, being seven years older Vasilyeva, and of course, more experienced than he was under the influence of the Junior companion." Мы race slavishly imitated Vasilyev and believed him. ... he was an excellent teacher". Picture

" Вид on the Volga. Barca" (1870) — the most important result of this trip.

Another great job" Волжские lagoon", which has attracted General interest artists on the posthumous exhibition of Vasiliev and was bought by P. M. Tretyakov .

On the Volga proved to be the accumulated and professional skills, and spiritual creativity." Успехи him at this time was huge, — later recalled Kramskoy. — He brought a lot of drawings, sketches, paintings started, and still more plans. Although of anything it was impossible to tell that"s-то, for example, is quite original, but the way the work was original"". The result of the trip to the Volga

steel paintings such as

" Берег of the Volga after a thunderstorm"

" Камни"

" Лодка"

" На the river. Windy day"

Vasilev knew the work not only Russian artists, but also French landscape" барбизонцев" and German masters. In 1871, Vasilyev writes one of his best works" Оттепель" where investing in the canvas not only the thoughts of the painter, a troubled spring, how much amount

impressions and reflections on the life of the Russian village.

the Picture was large, even huge for the young artist"s success. It was bought by P. M. Tretyakov. In a competition organized by the Society for the encouragement of arts," Оттепель" won the first prize, while" Печорский monastery" Savrasov, which Vasiliev could be considered one of their teachers, received a second. In the following year sent to London for the world exhibition" Оттепель" sparked a glowing article in the English of the reviewer. The appearance of the picture" Оттепель" in the year of opening the first traveling exhibition as if naturally introduced Vasiliev in the circle of friends he advanced artists. This picture is close and such works as

" Деревня. Thaw"

" Тополя"

" После rain. Road"

" Деревня"

" Летний hot day"

And this is the time when young, so sooner found himself master, begins to gain recognition in his life is unexpected serious illness — tuberculosis. Vasiliev forced to hastily leave Petersburg, where he was not destined to return. The society for the encouragement of arts gave him the money for the trip to the Crimea@the semicolon before leaving Vasiliev was enrolled as a volunteer student of the Academy of Arts and received the title of artist I-й degree with the condition to pass the examinations of the science course. But first he goes to Kharkiv, the estate of count Stroganov, patronize him. This

period of his creative life, his plein-air landscape

" Рожь",

as well as studies and sketches written by several later paintings

" Мокрый meadow",

" Заброшенная mill"

However, after a few months his health is getting so bad that the doctors insist on moving to the Crimea. The lush beauty of the Crimea for a long time did not touch Vasiliev. He writes in Petersburg sad letter, misses." В this case I want to depict morning over a swampy place, @he writes mdas archaeology 27 Dec 1871 — (However, do not think that it is a real swamp —, and there"s real-то front, and it is the only cooking). About the swamp, the swamp! If You knew how painful the heart of the heavy feeling. Well, if not I"ll be able to breathe again, this spaciousness, this life-giving force of the awakening over the steaming water in the morning? Because I"ll take everything, everything, if you take it. I, as an artist, will lose more than half!" Stock of memories of Russia begins to dry up along with the hope of returning home. His Crimean landscapes imbued with a sad thought and far removed from traditional ideas about" южных beauty". They created a series of small landscapes depicting mountains, hidden by a dense veil of rain clouds, recorded on the slopes with snow, as if filled with sadness of the coming evening, to settle the beauty of light and fluorescent colors.

" На Bank моря".

" В Crimea after дождя".

" Пейзаж. Крым".

" В Crimean mountains"

" Прибой волн".

during this period the artist often uses themes of Russian nature.

" Болото in the woods. Осень."

" Деревья"

" Перед дождем".
And most refined picture

" Рассвет",
and

" Утро", who is now in the State Russian Museum.

Vasiliev Contribution to Russian art is great: he left wonderful pictures of mother nature.Undoubted talent was recognized by his contemporaries: both artists and critics. Kramskoy compared it with a fabulous rich man, not knowing the accounts of their treasures and generously and recklessly throwing them anywhere. Before his canvas, especially when he wrote or rewrote the clouds in amazement stopped and Kramskoy and Repin. But released it was too little: in 1873, a twenty-three year old Fyodor Vasilyev, leaving behind remarkable examples of Russian landscape painting, departed to the other world.