“Portrait of Marshal G. K. Zhukov” by Pavel Korin
Artists see the world in different ways, each depicting what he sees in his own way, conveying the many colors of nature and unusual characters. And sometimes they dream to express even something abstract: the life of the human spirit. Pavel Dmitrievich Korin sought to “reflect the disobedient, proud spirit of our people.” And he painted landscapes of his native Palekh, portraits of people unknown and famous, never tired of searching in their destinies, manifestations of the “spirit of the people”. Among these works, a special place is occupied by “Portrait of Marshal G. K. Zhukov”. Moreover, even the creation of the canvas is an instructive event. Continue reading
“Portrait of D. A. Furmanov” by Sergey Malyutin
Sergey Vasilyevich Malyutin – the oldest in age and creative experience of all Russian masters who came to the Soviet art. With the victory of the October Revolution, which the artist enthusiastically met, new heroes are included in his thematic repertoire.
“Portrait of D. A. Furmanov” is not only one of Malyutin’s most significant works, but also an important milestone in the history of Soviet painting. It was in this work, for the first time, with great depth and artistic expressiveness that the typical appearance and character of the person who made the socialist revolution and was formed by it was embodied. Continue reading
“The Adoration of the Magi” by Sandro Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci
In March 1481, the monks of the Florentine monastery of San Donato and Scopetto turned to the notary Pietro of Vinci with a request to find an artist who could write an altar painting for the cathedral. Pietro immediately offered the services of his son Leonardo, who recently graduated from Verrocchio. At the same time the contract was concluded, where the working conditions were determined. The artist was given the task of painting a 2.5×2.5 m size in oil on a blackboard in two – two and a half years. The plot of the Adoration of the Magi is one of the episodes of the Gospel legend. Continue reading
“Raft” Medusa “” Theodore Gericault
The artist Theodore Gericault, the founder of romanticism in France, became famous for a number of works, and especially the painting “The Jellyfish Raft”. She became no less well-known than Rembrandt’s Night Watch, The Oath of the Horatii of David, and Boyary Morozov of Surikov. The artist masterfully expressed in her deep thoughts about the fate of people, by force of circumstances set on the verge of death, could say weighty words about modernity. That is why the historian of the middle of the last century, Jules Michelet, recalling the picture, said the right words: “I said and repeat again: at that moment Gericault was France.” Continue reading
Panorama Petersburg “Alexei Zubov
There are works of art that vividly and fully express the social content of the historical period in the life of the country. They are rare, but precisely because they rise in a series of phenomena of artistic culture. One of them is the engraving “Panorama of Petersburg” (1716) by Alexei Fedorovich Zubov, expressing the spirit of Peter’s transformations.
This master is rightly considered to be the first daily recorder of St. Petersburg. His engravings depicting the new capital are numerous and varied. Suffice it to recall the sheet “Vasilyevsky Island”. Continue reading