Masterpieces of pastels from the funds of the Tretyakov Gallery

The word pastel (pastello) comes from the Italian pasta - pasta or dough. This is called the material for drawing technique, which employs an artist, and, finally, art, paint, pastel pencils.

Bed is crayons, pressed in the form of sticks of finely milled mixture, which consisted of three ingredients: a coloring pigment, mineral filler (chalk or a special kind of clay) and communications (in most cases - gum arabic). Pastel has over one thousand six hundred and fifty shades.

Bed appeared in art practice in the late XV century. A rare example of its use - in a sketch by Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Isabella d'Este in Mantua (1495), executed in black chalk, sanguine, and traversed in a few places with pastels for a light shadowing black figure. New technique called Leonardo colorire a secco (dry paint) and identifies with pastels. According to the artist, with this technique introduced him to French poet and court painter of Louis XII - Jean Perreal.

At the beginning of the XVI century pastel took its place in the artistic practice. Recall arisen at this time the French pencil portrait, a special type of bust à troi crayons (in three pencil - black chalk, sanguine and pastel), played from a nature in one or two sessions. In Italian is a combination of drawing materials called a pastello. For several centuries these techniques drawing withdrawing to the very origins of pastel techniques, remain stable.

Loose pastel poorly retained on the surface, so it requires a special rough framework. Sticks of pastel work on specific grades of paper, such as "torchon", emery, the loose, hairy cardboard, suede, parchment and canvas. Diverse and methods of work. Pastel strokes rubbed his fingers, palm, special rastushkami (from elderberry core), leather rollers, silk square brushes-brushes, soft tampons. Bed combines the possibility of painting and drawing. She can draw and write, work or shaded scenic spot, dry and wet brush.

Pastels gained wide popularity and reached its heyday in the XVIII century. However, the artist is constantly worried about the problem of preservation of works, which became the subject of many learned treatises. Invent different fixatives, but even the most committed of them changed the tone pastels, distorting its original range of colors and ruining its natural velvet and fluffy.

Even Diderot expressed famous pastel MK de Latour their fears that the flap has not leave anything for the glory of the great masters and the precious dust away from the surface, and part of it will dissipate in the air. Fortunately, his fears were not justified. Bed was quite a long time. This is confirmed stored in the museums of Europe the ancient pastels, still surprising freshness of their colors, like the famous "Chocolate" by J. E. Lyotard from the Dresden Gallery.

In the pastel portraits of the XVIII century is always a poignant note, the original flavor of doom, thanks to the fragility of the technology itself - a gentle, like pollen on the wings of a butterfly and an equally short-lived and vanishes from the careless touch. Easily destroyed pastel visibly embodies the idea of impermanence of human existence. It is no coincidence AR Mengs, a German painter and art theorist XVIII century, compared with a pastel butterfly in flower garden art.

In Russia, pastels appeared in the second half of XVIII century, but never reached such popularity as in Europe. The first known pastel were invited foreign masters - GA-F.Shmidt, V. Eriksen, Gagelgans, IL-G.Shmidt, I. Barda and their younger contemporary, K. Barda. Many of them have been a portrait painter. Their work performed on a good professional level, in the tradition of desk portraiture. They are typical of the picturesque decision, they carefully written out individual features, delicately modeled faces, powdered wigs, carefully transferred to clothing, a thin foam lace, a mysterious luster decorations, typical of the delicate shimmer of pastel shades. In these small, often paired, family portraits, once adorned the walls of Russian nobility nests appear before the audience live human faces, famous and unknown - a person who went down in history, but not non-existent, thanks to artists who have retained their image for posterity.

Many of the pastel portraits of Russian masters of the XVIII century have remained anonymous. Unknown to the authors, as well as the image of their face. Of the signed works of this time to name only a superb "Portrait of an Unknown", filled Stepan Yasnopolskim, the whole imagery of which, silver-pearl pastel range overlap with the works of F. Rokotov.

Among the pastels middle of the XVIII century attracted the attention of such curiosities as "Portrait of Empress Elizabeth, preparatory drawing, almost untouched by pastel color, the famous engraver, G. F.Shmidta," Allegory "rococo Austrian Gagelgansa and" Hundred Tsarskoselskaya obyvatelnitsa family "Dane B. Ericksen, we are very early example of the peasant genre in art.

In the era of Romanticism - in the first quarter of the XIX century - the bed again appears in the portrait, by becoming a favorite technique of many masters, in the works that make up a kind of cult of color. In the early pencil portraits OA Kiprensky bed sounds like a leading musical party. The intensity of its color pencil portrait makes a special emotional impact, revealing the delicate emotional state of its models. Bed in Kiprensky acts as a vehicle crayon, organically incorporated into the fabric pattern.

The most romantic artist of the era - AOOrlovsky - actively worked with pastels, including it as an important component in their energetic and vigorous work. His drawings, which combine rapid strokes of the Italian pencil outbreaks of lush colors, pastels sonorous, full of stormy passions and emotional outbursts.

In technology, clean pastels worked AG Venetsianov. No one knows who the artist accustomed to the soft pastel shades, but it is in this technique, he carried portraits during the first half of his career. Bed Venetsianov wrote a few conversations. For many years, the artist preferred to all other types of pastel painting, and she held a dominant place in his portrait practice. His portraits are constructed on soft overflow touches on the harmony of color, filled with wide, freely, boldly. Melting contours, subtle transitions of one color to another, generalized forms - all this gives models a quiet reverie and peacefulness. Professionally owning all the expressive means of pastels, Venetsianov transforming commonplace in high poetry, finding beauty in the "inelegant" nature. Portraying their neighbors by name, the artist recreated the image of the Russian provincial gentry, recognizable from "Eugene Onegin" and "Tales of Belkin Pushkin.

Following Venetsianov some artists turning in pastels by genre explanation (I.V.Bugaevsky-grateful "Kapitoshka, M. Terebenev" Nurse ", FG Toropov" Portrait of the son ").

In 1840-1850-ies widely replicated salon portrait. Along with Russian artists in this genre of work and foreign masters.

Time to make changes in the very manner of pastel letters. Sacrificing its lightness and airiness, it becomes denser, heavier, as if competing with oil painting (artist unknown "Portrait of an Unknown Woman in green dress, FA-ME-AO 'Connelly" Portrait of a child in a white cap ").

In the fifties - sixties of the XIX century pastel virtually disappears from the artistic goods. As the artists are deeply immersed in the problems of public life, and in Russian art of the fore won critical realism in painting found less and less multi-colored pastel.

The delicate, aristocratic art of pastel previous eras changed more democratic monochrome image sauce. Abandoning color variety, Kramskoy finds his special technique, similar in texture and kindred pastels. In the "Photographs" of his portraits, full of dry and wet sauce, the lines disappear in the soft haze modeling.

By the classical pastel technique is rarely treated, in those cases where you need to create the equivalent of painting. Pure pastel works P. Boklevskiy a copy of the picturesque "Self" VATropinin, finding in this technique possible to transfer the nuances and effects of oil painting.

Delicately worked pastel MA Zichy, following the tradition of Western portraiture, using the skills gained in years of study in Vienna with FI Waldmuller. The big "A profile of children Soldatenkova" artist combines soft watercolors with pastels, using it as an additional tool to create a decorative portrait of large format, essentially equivalent paintings.

At the end of XIX century pastel reborn. The art of pastel significantly expands its subjects, while discovering the diversity of individual style and distinction of temperaments of artists.

In the tradition of salon-academic art works KEMakovsky, pastel works which enjoyed enormous popularity with the public. In the sketches of decorative panels "Allegory of the Arts", to draw in the lush colors, brilliantly and effectively, with coloristic scope, with particular strength seen picturesque temperament of the artist.

An excellent master of pastels was I. Levitan. Passion artist pastel coincides with his first trip abroad. Written at this time "type around Bordighera", imbued with the bright spring sunshine, scented flowering trees, is striking in its radiant beauty. The artist uses a method of imposing long-color plane of the same color bars and other spots of pastel colors - sort of "tsvetopis", which combine painting and picture-start pastels. In these complex layers of color born landscape "spill", restrained in its harmonious tone, full of thoughtful and gentle lyricism. Research on its radiant saturation pastel "Autumn Landscape with a church, as if radiating golden glow of leaves.

It is in pastels is most clearly revealed the artist's love of the living beauty of the world, to the wealth of its forms and colors. Pastels Levitan 1890 - is an epoch in the history of Russian plein air painting, marked by a color special freshness, creative freedom and professional confidence, causing subtle spectator experience.


By the transfer of field experience, to fix the volatile nature of states have sought in their pastel landscapes of the 1890 MV Yakunchikova, ED Polenova, KA Somov.

In the work of Serov done in pastels of landscapes bit. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, "the woman with the horse" was written in crayons because in very cold weather, oil paint froze. However, it is clear that such a sonorous colors, which distinguishes him "Baba with a horse", Serov could only be achieved through the lush colorful pastel pencils. Only the possibility of using pastel painting techniques, Serov could convey poignant, intense yellowish glow of the evening sky in a landscape "Strigunov to water. In contrast to the paintings "village" Serov, pastel artist filled with the joy of life and lyricism.

In the pastel portraits by Serov largely retained stylistic parallels with his graphic works. They treat pastels, primarily, as an aristocratic instrument design.

The search for a new style agitating the artist, led him to bed "elegant grafizmu", which is dominated by the line in all its wealth of tonal possibilities pastel techniques. The softness of pastel pencil, use rastushovki, harping on the spots of dust, the delicate touch of pastel to paper, quiet color vibration - all are filled with tender feeling that meet the very essence of women's and children's images (portrait of Nina Khrushchev's portrait of children Kasyanov). In the portrait GL Girshman kruglyaschiesya line of exquisite color relationships pastels highlight the elegance and femininity of the model. Vigorous, thick lines in the pastel portrait KD Balmont in tune with the inner expressiveness of the poet, one of the "pioneers" of the Silver Age. Created by Serov appearance Balmont very well caught, and is characterized by his contemporary Boris Zaitsev: "slightly reddish, with quick eyes alive, his head held high, tall straight collars (l'époque), Charley, the type of combat <...> is something defiantly , always ready to boil, or harshness reply enthusiastically. If compared with the birds, it is a great chanticleer, welcoming the day, light, life (I am in this world come to see the sun).

In pastels Serov - primarily draftsman, by the way, as well as Ilya Repin. They resort to this technique due to new developments of time - a keen interest in the art of past centuries, familiarity with contemporary Western art, looking for a new visual language and a great style in art.

The turn of XIX - XX centuries - the era of intense artistic experiments. Pastels combines paintings and graphics capabilities - ease and improvisation with the picture coloristic richness, not only equal but superior to oil technology. Bed is a favorite material in the portrait genre, easily adapting to the requirements of both the ceremonial and the chamber of the portrait. This magical technique provided the artist a wide range of visual possibilities - from the sharp graphics arabesque (LS Bakst, BMKustodiev, I.S.Goryushkin-Sorokopudov) to the "scenic" multi-layered, subtle nuances of color and texture (SV . Malyutin, Mary Kozak, PP Trubetskoy, A. Golovin, VM Izmailovitch).

Large pastel legacy left SV Malyutin. He is credited with creating a new method of working with pastels. He manufactured pastel pencils, experimenting with additions, seeking a special depth and sonority of his tone palette, strength and beauty of the few low-key colors: black solemn nobility, silvery-white, orange-red, blue and green. Working with pastels on cardboard, Malyutin included his yellow or gray tone to the overall color range of portraits, playing on an uneven surface texture, thus inflicted on her pastel strokes creating vibrant scenic environment. In 1913-1915 years the artist creates a wonderful gallery of portraits of writers, artists, scientists, lovers of art, each of which - a precious link in the gallery of portraits of the Russian intelligentsia beginning of XX century.

Searching for pastels led to numerous copyright manners, including various options for mixed media. Bed was combined with watercolor, gouache, tempera, and even butter. Now between all these techniques are disappearing borders, erased a clear demarcation line between the craft of painting and craft painter.

Feeling "oil oppression", "heavy and intractability of oil paints, in the early 1890's, a fashionable pastels drawn LO Pasternak. "I painted portraits <...> combined technique - in tempera with pastel. <...> It is a technique I found a very convenient way to expedite the process works and for greater conservation in the manner of things free and quick drawing. <...> Most of these portraits were written not even on the canvas, and on special drawing paper roll (torchon), which is completely glued to the canvas stretched on a frame. Porous texture torchon more alike in these works with a fresco. Almost a decade the artist completely refuses to work with oil in favor of special, he developed hybrid technology.

In the work V.E.Borisova-Musatov use of pastels is very complex and diverse. He works a clean pastels, seeking a special sonority tones ( "Hand with Rose") or by reaching a clear effect of a dazzling golden yellow fall ( "Fall"), combines with oil pastels, gouache, watercolor, creating the effect of moving the vibrating colorful environment ( "hazel-bush" , "Portrait of a Lady"). Sometimes the technique has become one of Borisov-Musatov symbolic interpretation. In "Lady in the tapestry" bed mimics an old faded, faded tapestry, a fragment which seems to model itself is illustrated. In the "grounds without the words" pearl pastel colors like resurrecting the image of bygone era, they are weightless, as the dust of ages ", as" the rustle of antiquity, sliding past "(MA Voloshin).

Appeal MAVrubel to pastels was brief. During his stay in hospital, unable to work with oil, he performed a number of wax figures and pastel pencils. Upon leaving the hospital, he creates his famous pastel work - "Pearl" and "After the concert, where the magical play of colors combined with the verified architectonic design. "After the concert" - this is another portrait N.I.Zabely-Vrubel, wife of the artist. "In the portrait of his wife" - wrote Sergey Makovsky, - <...> and is scheduled to face just barely touched paint, which makes it strange and unreal. But with what love is drawn dress! Similarly, the feverish energy of the master himself would spend on these innumerable folds, capricious nervous break points covering figure prizrachnolikoy women. In these folds - an ambiguous gray-purple tones, a little touched with pink highlights and a bright flare in some places, though scattered them magical fire flower petals - all brilliant and rebellious at the same time, countries rationalism, the cold precision of his imagination. How much patience and wisdom invested by him in a bizarre clouds of female tissues, in every winding in every flicker of silk and natural gas! "Last and not the finished work -" Portrait of a Lady in Red "and" Self "- filled with crayons, but completely different manner. The figures portrayed as if show through dark haze background, the image is composed of individual strokes and patches of bright pastels. This is not portraits of real people, and resulting in the memory-images of vision.

"Echo of the past tense" sounds in the artist's "World of Art". Accessing pastels regarded as a revival of a forgotten technology. With styling elements and even simulate manners of the old masters meet in the works of Alexander Benois, Konstantin Somov, Z. Serebryakova.

ZE Serebryakova began working with pastels forced in 1921, when there were no other colors. It is easily and seamlessly transferred from the wrist to a pastel drawing with tempera, in which the dominant image, color line. At the same time, in a custom portrait artist in pastel works beautifully, frankly stylizing portrait images under Rosalba Carriera, Venetian artist of XVIII century. Creating a unique remakes "powdered" portraits of gallant century, Serebryakova relishes "the charm of <...> of the skin, youth, fleeting carnal life, a volatile light eyes, almost the same as the ebb of silk" (Mikhail Kuzmin).

Occupy a special place in St. Petersburg landscapes MVDobuzhinsky. Ephemeral, fragile pastels embody poetic metaphor Petersburg XX century - the fragility of its hazy atmosphere, anxious breath of the city, fading paint.

Sophisticated decorative pastels, accented by its effects, and the maestro is distinguished sketches of decorations A. Golovin, NN Sapunova, theatrical works and architectural landscapes of Nicholas Roerich, a special genre of theatrical portraits, which occupies an important place in the artist's "World of Art ( "Spanish Flu", "Portrait of EA Smirnova A. Golovin).

The experiments and the opening of the new French art - an interest in the rapid fixation of sensations, lighting effects, emphasized by the dynamics of colored strokes - were reflected in the work of KF Juon and M. Larionov, the artist's next generation of the future representative of the avant-garde. Several of his early pastels acquired IE Grabar for collection of the Tretyakov Gallery.

The creative search for artists of the XX century are reflected in the variability of pastels - a complication of its structural composition, the convergence of drawing and painting, the introduction of new techniques. In pastels included charcoal, gouache, tempera, watercolor, radically alter the emotional impact of pastels, give it unprecedented in the previous era of energy.