Hello, my name is Liudmila. I was born in Lithuania, have family roots in Russia, but now I live in Norway:) I can't tell anything astonishing about myself... I'm not registered in the Guinness Book of Records, haven't invented the bicycle and wasn't elected as a president :D I'm an ordirary person with simple hobbies - love travelling, reading books, meeting my friends, I just love life as it is, with all advantages and disadvantages. I just have an interesting hobby - I collect bookmarks :) I'm a passionate bookmark collector and hope to find more collectors, exchange bookmarks with them, show my collection to others and have a look at other collections :) You can contact me, if you're interested in bookmark exchange :) Hope to find friends from all over the world :)

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Masterpieces of Russian painting. The State Tretyakov Gallery.



The State Tretyakov Gallery possesses a unique collection of Russian art which includes masterpieces which span a period of a thousand years.

The Gallery was founded by a Russian merchant and patron of the arts Pavel Tretyakov. He donated his collection to the city of Moscow in 1892. The State Tretyakov Gallery has since become a world-famous museum. Nowadays it contains more than 170,000 works by Russian artists from early religious paintings to modern art.

 The viewer is intrigued both by the model and her name. We see here depicted a young woman in a carriage against the background of the Anichkov Palace in St Petersburg. The woman is not particularly beautiful but she is impressive and “chic.” Her costume corresponds to the latest fashion of the time and indicates that she belonged to the “ladies of the demi-monde.” Not without reason the critics called her “the coquette in a carriage,” “the dear camellia” and “one of the offspring of big cities.” Kramskoi emphasizes a certain demonism in his heroine’s features - the sensuous lips; eyes that seem to be hazy, under a veil, thick eyebrows forming a broken arc. The topic of the beauty of sin became fashionable among the next generation of Russian artists. The painting is unusually bright, densely painted, and relaxed. Kramskoi clearly tried to shine with his outstanding painterly mastery.

Shishkin, Ivan Ivanovich
Morning in a Pine Wood
The Morning in a Pine Forest turned very popular, being reproduced on various items, including the "Clumsy Bear" chocolates by Krasny Oktyabr. According to one poll, the painting is the second most popular in Russia behind Bogatyrs by Viktor Vasnetsov. Shishkin's similar paintings are the Forest in Spring (1884) and The Sestroretsk Forest (1896).

Vasnetsov, Viktor Mikhaylovich
Heroes (Bogatyri)
Having revived the images of Old Russia's legendary defenders, mighty in their spiritual power, such as Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich, Vasnetsov attempted at the turn of the 20th century to bridge the heroic past of the Russian people and its great future. Concrete as the images might be, the heroes are seen as a mythical epitome of the creative power of the Russian land. Mighty figures on horseback rise like mountains or colossal trees. The hooves of the heroes's horses tread on fragile young growth of fir and pine trees: a metaphor for intergenerational continuity. By turning to a pictoral hyperbole, Vasnetsov imparts to his heroes true qualities of Russian nature. Ilya Muromets epitomizes solidity, wise deliberate ways and tapping of experience and traditions of the people. Proud fighting spirit and desire to defend the motherland are embodied in Dobrynya Nikitich. And the image of Alyosha Popovich reflects a poetical, contemplative streak of the Russian soul, sensitivity to all manifestations of beaut.

Serov, Valentin Aleksandrovich
The rape of Europa
 The rape of Europa is a popular theme in global art. The story is borrowed from Ancient Greek mythology. Europa is the daughter of Phoenician king Agenor. Having turned into a bull, the king of gods Zeus abducted beautiful Europa. The work is produced under the impression of the artist's trip to Greece. Serov turned to monuments of Crete-Mycenaean culture, introducing into the picture's imagery a vessel in the shape of a bull head from the smaller palace in Knossos on the island of Crete, fresco paintings from the Knossos palace with the motif of flying fish and other monuments of the archaic period. Serov draws a comparison between the academic image of antiquity and archaic Antiquity. A unique treatment is also evident in the interpretation of the theme: the rushing forward bull turns back against its will: the uncouth abductor of beauty has underrated her power. Serov's Europa, unlike the frightened heroines of works by old masters, is self-composed. She has a perfectly symmetrical face of Greek Persephone; she embodies the perfection triumphant. The bull's horns take on the shape of a lyre, whose invisible strings seem to give voice to the sky and the sea.

 Many thanks to my friend Inna :)



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