Illustrator Yuri Vasnetsov: biography, creativity, paintings and illustrations. Yuri Alekseevich Vasnetsov - Soviet artist
In my opinion, there is no better illustrator of fairy tales than V. M. Vasnetsov, well, perhaps I. Bilibin. The next page is about him.
Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1848-1926) is one of the first Russian artists who pushed the boundaries of conventional genres and showed a fairy-tale world, illuminated by the poetic fantasy of the people. Vasnetsov was one of the first Russian artists to turn to recreating images of folk tales and epics in painting. His fate developed as if he was destined in advance to be the singer of a Russian fairy tale. He spent his childhood in the harsh, picturesque Vyatka region. The talkative cook, who tells children fairy tales and stories of wandering people who have seen a lot in their lifetime, according to the artist himself, “made me fall in love with the past and present of my people for the rest of my life, and largely determined my path.” Already at the beginning of his work, he created a number of illustrations for “The Little Humpbacked Horse” and “The Firebird”. In addition to fairy tales, he has works dedicated to the heroic images of epics. "The Knight at the Crossroads", "Three Heroes". The famous painting "Ivan Tsarevich on gray wolf" written on the plot of one of the most famous and widespread fairy tales, reproduced in popular prints of the 18th century.
"Princess Nesmeyana"
In the royal chambers, in the princely palaces, in the high tower, Princess Nesmeyana adorned herself. What a life she had, what freedom, what luxury! There is a lot of everything, everything the soul wants; but she never smiled, never laughed, as if her heart was not happy about anything.
There are merchants, boyars, foreign guests, storytellers, musicians, dancers, jesters and buffoons. They sing, clown around, laugh, strum the harp to their heart's content. And at the foot of the high tower there are ordinary people, also crowding, laughing, shouting. And all this buffoonery is for the princess, the only royal daughter. She sits sadly on a carved white throne by the window. “There is a lot of everything, there is everything that the soul wants; but she never smiled, never laughed, as if her heart was not happy about anything.” And, to be honest, what is there to be happy about if no one ever has a heart-to-heart talk with her, no one with a pure heart will approach her?! Everyone around is just making noise, aiming for suitors, trying to present themselves in the best light, but no one cares about the princess herself. That is why she is not laughing, until the one and only one, the long-awaited one, comes, who will give her a smile instead of buffoonery, warmth instead of indifference. And he will come, for sure, because that’s what the fairy tale says.
"Koschei the Immortal and the Beloved Beauty"
As soon as he managed to leave the yard, Koschey entered the yard: “Ah! - speaks. - It smells like Russian braid; I know you had Ivan Tsarevich.” - “What are you, Koschey the Immortal! Where can I see Ivan Tsarevich? He remained in dense forests, in sticky mud, and is still eaten by animals!” They began to have dinner; at dinner, the Beloved Beauty asks: “Tell me, Koschey the Immortal: where is your death?” - “What do you need, stupid woman? My death is tied up in a broom.”
Early in the morning Koschey leaves for the war. Ivan Tsarevich came to the Beloved Beauty, took that broom and brightly gilded it with pure gold. As soon as the prince had time to leave, Koschey entered the courtyard: “Ah! - speaks. - It smells like Russian braid; I know you had Ivan Tsarevich.” - “What are you, Koschey the Immortal! You flew around Rus' yourself, picked up the Russian spirit - you smell of the Russian spirit. Where can I see Ivan Tsarevich? He remained in dense forests, in sticky mud, and is still eaten by animals!” It's time for dinner; Beloved Beauty herself sat down on a chair, and sat him on a bench; he looked under the threshold - there was a gilded broom. “What is this?” - “Ah, Koschey the Immortal! You see for yourself how much I honor you; If you are dear to me, so is your death.” - “Stupid woman! I was joking, my death is sealed up in the oak meadow over there.”
"The Frog Princess"
Look at the reproduction of V. Vasnetsov’s painting “Feast” (p. 19 of the textbook).
If possible, it would be interesting to compare this picture with the illustration made for this episode of the fairy tale by I. Bilibin.
Bilibin’s illustrations framed by floral patterns very accurately reflect the content of the fairy tale. We can see the details of the heroes’ costumes, the expressions on the faces of the surprised boyars, and even the pattern on the kokoshniks of the daughters-in-law. Vasnetsov in his picture does not dwell on the details, but perfectly conveys the movement of Vasilisa, the enthusiasm of the musicians, who seem to be stamping their feet to the beat of a dance song. We can guess that the music to which Vasilisa dances is cheerful and mischievous. When you look at this picture you feel the character of a fairy tale.
- Why do people call Vasilisa the Wise? What qualities do the people glorify in the image of Vasilisa?
Painting by V. Vasnetsov creates generalized image beautiful princess: next to her are the guslars and the people. The illustration by I. Bilibin specifically depicts an episode of the feast: in the center is Vasilisa the Wise, at the wave of whose hand miracles occur; There are people around, amazed by what is happening. Possible here different types works:
1. Describe verbally what you see in each of the paintings (characters, setting, appearance surrounding people, their mood, prevailing colors).
2. Compare the image of Vasilisa the Wise by Vasnetsov and Bilibin. Is this what you imagine main character fairy tales?
"Magic carpet"
The imagination of the people created a fairy tale about a flying carpet. You see two paintings by Vasnetsov with this name - early and late. In the first of them, a proud young man looks from a flying carpet at the expanses of Russian land spreading below. The discreet northern nature served as the artist’s backdrop for the painting. Rivers and lakes sparkle, the forest stands like a dark wall, and huge birds accompany the carpet. The Firebird caught by the hero burns with a bright fire in a cage. This painting tells about the wisdom, strength, and dexterity of the people. The second picture is lighter and more colorful. The bright rays of the sunset, cutting through the veil of clouds, became a successful background to the picture. Nature through the clouds is seen as bright, lush greenery, perhaps because the heroes descended closer to it. And the girl and the boy in sparkling clothes embroidered with gold do not seem like strangers on the canvas. Their young faces are beautiful, they gently leaned towards each other, personifying fidelity and love.
Alyonushka, Snegurochka, Elena the Beautiful - these fictional images and portraits of women close to Vasnetsov “in spirit” - Elena Prakhova, Vera and Elizaveta Grigorievna Mamontov, portraits of his wife, daughter, niece from different sides highlight what is called the Russian female soul, which becomes for Vasnetsov is the personification of the Motherland, Russia.
Alkonost. In Byzantine and Russian medieval legends, a wonderful bird, a resident of Iria - the Slavic paradise. Her face is feminine, her body is birdlike, her voice is sweet, like love itself. Hearing Alkonost’s singing can forget everything in the world with delight, but there is no evil from her, unlike Sirin.
Alkonost lays eggs at the edge of the sea, but does not hatch them, but immerses them in the depths of the sea. At this time there is no wind for seven days. According to ancient Greek myth, Alcyone, Keik's wife, upon learning of the death of her husband, threw herself into the sea and was turned into a bird, named after her alcyone (kingfisher).
She is depicted in popular prints as a half-woman, half-bird with large multi-colored feathers and a girl’s head, overshadowed by a crown and a halo, in which a short inscription is sometimes placed. In addition to wings, Alkonos has hands in which she holds flowers of paradise or a package with an explanatory inscription. She lives in the tree of paradise, on the island of Buyan, together with the bird Sirin, and has a sweet voice, like love itself. When she sings, she doesn’t feel herself. He who hears her wonderful singing will forget everything in the world. With her songs she consoles and elevates future joy. This is the bird of joy.
But Sirin, a dark bird, a dark force, a messenger from the ruler of the underworld. From head to waist Sirin is a woman of incomparable beauty, and from the waist she is a bird. Whoever listens to her voice forgets about everything in the world and dies, and there is no strength to force him not to listen to Sirin’s voice, and death for him at this moment is true bliss. Dahl explained in the famous dictionary this way: “... mythical and church birds owls, or eagle owls, scarecrows; there are popular prints depicting birds of paradise with women's faces and breasts"(V. Dal" Dictionary living Great Russian language"). In Russian spiritual poems, the Sirin, descending from heaven to earth, enchants people with her singing. In Western European legends, the Sirin is the embodiment of an unfortunate soul. This is the bird of sadness.
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Designing a children's book has always been and will be the most serious test for illustrators because of the incorruptible honesty of little critics. And the highest assessment of the artists’ creativity becomes the recognition of their illustrations, which the memory will keep from childhood, when emotions and first impressions had not yet been erased life experience. April 4 marks the birthday of the artist who made the meeting with the book unforgettable for the child - Yuri Alekseevich Vasnetsov. Read about the work of the “fairy-tale” artist in our article.
The first day of April sets a major tone for the whole month—April Fool's Day. On April 2, the world celebrates International Children's Book Day - a holiday without an age limit (after all, “we all come from childhood”), with the obligatory smile, warmth in the chest and a heap of childhood memories. And April 4 marks the birthday of the artist, who made the meeting with the book unforgettable for the child— Yuri Alekseevich Vasnetsov(1900-1973). The creator of the magical world of fairy-tale images, so close and understandable to a child (after all, his drawings of animals and birds are so similar to toys), the artist was recognized as a classic in the field of children's books during his lifetime. Yuri Alekseevich, whose favorite reading until old age was fairy tales, defined the main task of his work as follows: “In my drawings I try to show a corner beautiful world native Russian fairy tale, instilling in children a deep love for the people, for our Motherland and its generous nature.”
Yu. A. Vasnetsov
"Fairytale" artist Yuri Alekseevich Vasnetsov born on April 4, 1900 in Vyatka in the family of a priest, where his grandfather and brothers were also of the clergy. Family Yuri Alekseevich was distantly related to the famous Russian painters Victor and Apollinarius Vasnetsov, and another relative, folklorist Alexander Vasnetsov, collected more than 350 folk songs of northern Russia. This fact says a lot - both about the atmosphere in the family and about its “genetic” talent.
Illustration for the fairy tale by P.P. Ershov “The Little Humpbacked Horse” Yu. Vasnetsov
The Vyatka province earned its fame, first of all, for its handicrafts: toy, lace, furniture and chest making. Maria Nikolaevna, the artist’s mother, was a famous embroiderer and lacemaker in Vyatka. Such a cultural family heritage, a folk, as the artist himself said, “bazaar” cultural environment became fertile ground for the development of his talent. And the talent was truly multifaceted (vector of activity Jura was defined by the word “interesting!”): the boy sewed boots, bound books, painted the walls of his room, the shutters and stoves of his neighbors with intricate patterns and fantastic animals characteristic of folk art. Already at that time, his source of inspiration was folk art and folklore traditions. Later, the honored artist admitted:
“I still live what I saw and remembered as a child.”
Illustration for the fairy tale “The Three Bears” Yu. Vasnetsov
To the delight of many generations of children, the love of drawing took over: young Yuri Vasnetsov decided to become a professional artist. Logic suggested what to do next: in 1921. Yuri Alekseevich came to Petrograd and entered the painting department of the State Art Museum, which he successfully graduated in 1926. This was a time when society generated new revolutionary ideas, and Petrograd became an incubator of revolutionary artistic ideas. Among the Petrograd teachers of the young Vasnetsova were: the Russian “Cezanist” Osip Braz, the Russian “impressionist” A. Karev, Alexander Savinov, the leaders of the Russian avant-garde—Mikhail Matyushin and the Suprematist Kazimir Malevich. The question of what has been achieved Yu. Vasnetsov in painting, remained open for a long time. The individual characteristics of the master’s pictorial language (the artist sought to revive the traditions of Russian primitivism) in his “formalistic” works of the 1920s testify to his extraordinary talent as a painter.
"Lady with a Mouse" Yu. Vasnetsov
The campaign against formalism that began then, Yuri Alekseevich quite rightly perceived it as a warning (ideological persecution had already affected his book graphics) and transferred painting to the category of a hobby, which he trusted only to his family and close artist friends. His works (mainly landscapes and still lifes) were practically unknown to anyone and only after the artist’s death received worthy recognition in the world. personal exhibition at the State Russian Museum in 1979
Book graphics have become a worthy alternative to painting. The young artist began to successfully collaborate with the department of children's and youth literature of the State Publishing House under the leadership of V.V. Lebedev. Yuri Alekseevich’s success was in his personal qualities, in his rich imagination, the direct consequence of which was a creative interpretation of the theme of images of Russian folklore—fairy tales. Already in the 1930s, Yu. Vasnetsov became a famous and recognizable illustrator of children's fairy tales by V. Bianki (“Swamp”), P. Ershov (“The Little Humpbacked Horse”), K. Chukovsky (“Confusion,” “Fifty Little Pigs”), L.N. Tolstoy (“Three Bears”) and the author of funny lithographic prints for children on the same fairy tale themes. A trip to the North in 1931 confirmed the correctness of the chosen path. An appeal to folk origins, the successful combination of refined painting with the traditions of folk art gave rise to the phenomenon of “fairytale” painting by Yu. Vasnetsov, when illustrations acquire paramount importance, subordinating the text.
Illustrations Yu. Vasnetsova
In illustrations Yu. Vasnetsova color plays the main role, and this is a find that still has no equal. Color becomes the first alphabet—“color”—which the child easily and joyfully masters: wolf—gray, fox—red, goose—white. And to create the emotional mood of the drawings and enhance the perception of images, the artist uses background color. This artistic device When color becomes the medium of the action taking place, it is called the “magic lantern principle”. Constantly focusing on his “Vyatka” world, the artist gave his fairy-tale characters special expressiveness, dressing them in the costumes of his northern region: the kind Mama Goat and Mama Cat in elegant colored skirts with lace, the offended Bunny “warmed up” with a warm jacket. And, helping the kids to place the accents correctly, he left the evil wolf, fox and bear without clothes.
Illustration for the fairy tale “Three Bears” by Yu. Vasnetsov
Book graphics, although his most beloved, constituted only one facet of his work. During the war years, first in Molotov, and then in Zagorsk, Yu.A.Vasnetsov was the chief artist of the Institute of Toys, taught at Leningrad school Fine arts, created costumes and scenery for performances based on A. Gorky's plays for Leningrad theaters. In 1971, the animated film “Terem-Teremok” was created based on drawings Yu. A. Vasnetsova. The artist's work was highly appreciated, he was awarded the titles: Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1946), People's Artist of the RSFSR (1966) and laureate of the USSR State Prize (1971).
But the artist’s highest reward remains the grateful memory of his descendants.
This artist has proven his skill by creating paintings, designing performances in theaters, and as a graphic artist. But still, it was the illustrations for Yuri Vasnetsov’s fairy tales that gained special love and recognition from young readers. This became the main business of his life. We, former children, readers of books, remember this now, in which looking at the illustrations created by this artist was no less exciting than sorting out our first texts back then.
What do we know about the biography of Yuri Vasnetsov?
The artist's youth
The future artist was born in 1900 in the Russian town of Vyatki, in the family of a priest who served in the local cathedral. Distant family ties connected this family with other Vasnetsovs - artists Victor and Apollinaris, as well as Alexander Vasnetsov, a famous folklorist and collector of folk songs. Of course, such a family legacy could not but affect the artist’s future work.
Yuri Vasnetsov spent his entire childhood in Vyatka. A large number of handicraft workshops and artels operated in this provincial town. The crafts were very different - furniture, chests, toys. And Yuri’s mother herself was known in the area as an excellent embroiderer and lacemaker. Childhood impressions are the most vivid and they influence the formation of our ideas about the world, the memories that remain with us until the end of our days. Towels with embroidered roosters, boxes and chests painted in the Russian folk spirit, bright wooden and clay toys - rams, bears, horses, dolls... All these images made their way onto the pages of books with Vasnetsov’s famous “fairy-tale” illustrations for a reason.
Young Yuri really wanted to become an artist - so in 1921 he entered the Petrograd State Free Art Workshops (abbreviated as GSAM) in the painting department. Among Vasnetsov's teachers are Osip Braz, Alexander Savinov and even Russian avant-garde artists Kazimir Malevich and Mikhail Matyushin.
Working in a publishing house
After training, the artist began to collaborate with the famous Detgiz, where, under the supervision of the painter and, by all accounts, an outstanding poster master, Vladimir Lebedev, he created his first masterpieces. Illustrations for the children's books “Swamp” and “The Little Humpbacked Horse,” as they say now, “made his name.” Following them, “Three Bears” by Leo Tolstoy, “Fables in Faces”, “Ladushki”, “Rainbow-Arc”, designed by Yuri Vasnetsov, were published. At the same time, he created a series of paintings created using the so-called “flat printing technique” - children's lithographic prints on traditional folklore themes.
After a trip to the North in 1931, the artist Yuri Vasnetsov finally became firmly established in his chosen path. Already possessing all the skills of a master painter, he approached the study of folk origins even more carefully.
The phenomenon of painting by Yuri Vasnetsov
Having traveled to the Russian northern regions, the artist began to master new subtleties of craftsmanship. Then they started talking about the “phenomenon of Vasnetsov’s painting.” Here, for example, is one of the still lifes, with a large fish depicted on it: on an oblong, red tray lies a large fish with silver scales. The painting is stylistically executed in such a way that it is unclear whether it is a heraldic sign, or just a rug from the wall of a peasant hut. Red, black and silver-gray tones are contrasted, but at the same time balance each other in the overall artistic plane of the still life.
Highly appreciating both folk “bazaar” art and the canons of refined painting, by 1934 Yuri Vasnetsov created such paintings as “Lady with a Mouse”, “Still Life with a Hat and a Bottle”, etc. However, fearing the persecution that affected the creative workers of that time In connection with the campaign against formalism that had begun, Vasnetsov painted what is called “on the table,” making this part of his painting a secret and showing the paintings only to close people.
Only after his death at exhibitions did the works of Yuri Alekseevich Vasnetsov fully gain their fans. Then it became clear how great this man’s gift was - being an outstanding “children’s” artist, he was also a remarkable master of painting of the 20th century.
Illustration images
It is no coincidence that the artist later wrote that he always lived by what he remembered from childhood.
And so, almost in the same way as Vyatka toys, the artist “dresses” his heroes in an elegant and festive manner. Cats and goats, mothers numerous families, in his illustrations they wear skirts decorated with frills and lace. That's how they manage things. But the Bunny, offended by the Fox, the artist, probably out of compassion, put on a warm blouse for him. Bears and wolves, according to a logic completely understandable to all children, were most often not supposed to have clothes, because they were dangerous and predatory enemies to all other animals.
And here is an unusually kind cat:
The cat bought a pie
The cat went to the street,
The cat bought a bun.
Do you have it yourself?
Or demolish Borenka?
I'll bite myself
Yes, I’ll demolish Borenka too.
In winter, the cat wears good-quality painted felt boots, a pink bow is tied around his neck, and the woman next to the walking cat noisily rejoices at his appearance, and the dog is in no hurry to bark. And even further away there are houses with snow-covered roofs, with burning windows, and smoke from the chimneys in a column straight into the sky - which means the weather is calm, windless, and clear.
How stupid it is to live in enmity! Here are two crows sitting, turned away from each other, ruffled, looking in different directions:
On the edge, on the barn
Two crows are sitting
Both look apart:
Because of a dead bug
We quarreled.
And the landscape surrounding these mean crows is not at all the same as in the other pictures. He is much more stingy with colors and there is clearly a lack of joy in him.
In the illustrations of Yuri Vasnetsov, a special world comes to life - cozy, kind, calm. And incredibly colorful. In such a world, any child, and maybe sometimes an adult, will want to linger longer, peering at its heroes, being charged with their spiritual generosity, living with them, albeit “gingerbread”, but such touching stories. At the same time, the animals drawn by Vasnetsov are not cloying, but mysterious. Some critics even believed that the artist painted “scary” pictures, scaring children.
And this is also very Russian: if you are scared, then you will tremble, if you are sad, then you will cry, and if you are happy, then it will certainly be a feast for the whole world.
Stylistics and color
The emotionality of Vasnetsov’s drawings is dictated primarily by color, which plays a decisive role in the perception of images. It is both decorative, which is generally characteristic of folk art, and poetic, which, in turn, distinguishes all the artist’s work.
Vasnetsov's illustrations are a color alphabet for a child. Everything is simple, like in a fairy tale: the wolf is gray, the bunny is white, the fox is red, etc. The artist actively uses the principle of what art critics call this technique, the “magic lantern.” The action takes place on a certain, necessarily festive, bright background color (red, yellow, blue, etc.). This environment in which the characters communicate is compositional in itself, and at the same time it is that new bright spot that is so necessary for children who turn the next page in anticipation of new impressions.
In conclusion
A book, especially in children's hands, is a cheap and perishable commodity. Who among us in childhood did not have “The Boat Sails and Sails”, illustrated by Konashevich? Or the famous "Baggage" with drawings by Lebedev? And Vasnetsov’s “Rainbow Arc” with wonderful animals is completely impossible to forget. But who has “survived” these books to this day? Probably only a very few. But these were well-made, beautifully designed, and presented in a convenient large format for children's books. And those who still have them know perfectly well how today’s children perceive them. Yes, just like adults did many years ago - with joy and admiration.
Several generations of young readers have already grown up on Vasnetsov’s bright, witty and entertaining illustrations, and the artist himself was called a classic of children’s book illustrations during his lifetime.
Biography
Yuri Alekseevich Vasnetsov (1900-1973) - Russian artist, illustrator, graphic artist and painter. Born into the family of a priest, there were many famous painters and artists in the family - Appolinary Vasnetsov, who depicts mainly in his canvases historical subjects, Viktor Vasnetsov - who hasn’t seen his famous “Bogatyrs”! — also, among distant relatives was Alexander Vasnetsov, a folklorist who collected and published more than 350 songs of the Russian people, mainly from northern Russia. Such a cultural family heritage could not but affect the descendant and was reflected in his further creativity, where folklore traditions, humor and the grotesque merged together.
From his youth, Yuri Vasnetsov connected his life with illustrating children's books. In 1928, he began collaborating with the magnificent publishing house “Detgiz”, which later reorganized into the no less famous “Children’s Literature”. He designed a large number of children's books - “Swamp”, “Cat House” and “Teremok”, “Stolen Sun” and “Confusion” and many others. In parallel with illustration, he taught at a Leningrad school fine arts, drew postcards, designed costumes and scenery for Leningrad theaters, and was engaged in painting. In 1971, based on his drawings, the animated film “Terem-Teremok” was shot.
When I was a child, my mother read all the books and fairy tales to me. And the nanny too. The fairy tale entered me...
The publishing house gives me the text. I take the one I like. And sometimes there is no fairy tale in it. It happens that it is only four or even two lines, and you can’t make a fairy tale out of them. And I’m looking for a fairy tale... I always remember who the book will be for.
Buy books with illustrations by Yuri Vasnetsov
Pictures
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Name Rainbow-arc
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Name Wolf and kids
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Name Ruff kids
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Name Spikelet
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Name Cat
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Name Never-before-seen
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Name Naughty kid
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Name Tom Thumb
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Name Fox and mouse
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Name Rainbow
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Name Swamp
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Conversations
“Neskuchny Garden”, 01.2008
Extremely generalized, condensed images were instantly recognized and accepted as family - by both children and adults. It was clear that these were our heroes, Russians from toe to toe. But not epic ones, but living somewhere nearby. Looking at us from under a bush the way the sad top looks at us from “The Tale of Tales” - sensitively and intently.
“Young Artist”, No. 12.1979
Rarely does anyone manage to carry childhood impressions throughout their lives the way Vasnetsov did. The artist has not lost his direct perception of nature over the years; remembered vividly folk holidays. “As if in reality I remember everything!.. I remember everything so, apparently, I looked at it for a reason - I penetrated into everything, and for a reason. But I regret that not everything remained in my memory, I didn’t look at everything carefully. I should have looked more... A lot of things were uniquely beautiful!” - in these words one can see the wisdom of the old master, the openness of his soul to the beauty of life. Happy man there was Yuri Alekseevich Vasnetsov, because he rejoiced in his childhood and brought this joy into his works; his joy and happiness became the property of other people - adults and children.
Events
17.03.2014
As part of the Children's Book Days, the exhibition “Artists of Pre-War DETGIZ” opens at the Library of Book Graphics in St. Petersburg on March 20 at 19.00. The exhibition presents illustrations, sketches, prints, lithographs, covers, and books by the masters of book graphics of the pre-war period.
Vasnetsov Yuri Alekseevich (1900-1973)- graphic artist, painter, folk artist RSFSR (1966). Studied at the Academy of Arts (1921-26) with A.E. Kareva, K.S. Petrova-Vodkina, N.A. Tyrsa.
Vasnetsov's work is inspired by the poetics of Russian folklore. The most famous are illustrations for Russian fairy tales, songs, riddles ("Three Bears" by L.N. Tolstoy, 1930; collection "Miracle Ring", 1947; "Fables in Faces", 1948; "Ladushki", 1964; "Rainbow- arc", 1969, State Ave. USSR, 1971). He created individual color lithographs ("Teremok", 1943; "Zaykina's hut", 1948).
After Vasnetsov's death, his exquisite pictorial stylizations in the spirit of the primitive became known ("Lady with a Mouse", "Still Life with a Hat and a Bottle", 1932-1934)
Word to the artist Vasnetsov Yu.A.
- “I am so grateful to Vyatka - my homeland, my childhood - I saw the beauty!” (Vasnetsov Yu.A.)
- “I remember spring in Vyatka. The streams are flowing, so stormy, like waterfalls, and we, guys, are launching boats... In the spring, a fun fair opened - Whistling. The fair is elegant and fun. And what not! Clay dishes, pots, jars, jugs. Homespun tablecloths with all sorts of patterns... I really loved Vyatka toys made of clay, wood, plaster horses, cockerels - everything was interesting in color. The carousels at the fair are all covered in beads, all in sparkles - geese, horses, strollers, and always an accordion plays" (Vasnetsov Yu.A.)
- “Draw, write what you love. Look around you more... You can’t explain everything terribly, or draw it out. When a lot of something has been done and drawn, then naturalism appears. Here, let's say, a flower. Take it, but rework it - let it be a flower, but different. Chamomile - and not chamomile. I like forget-me-nots for their blueness, with a yellow spot in the middle. Lilies of the valley... When I smell them, it seems to me that I am a king...” (Vasnetsov Yu.V. From advice to young artists)
- (Vasnetsov Yu.A.)
- “In my drawings I try to show a corner of the beautiful world of our native Russian fairy tale, which instills in children a deep love for the people, for our Motherland and its generous nature” (Vasnetsov Yu.A.)
- When asked what was the most expensive gift he received, the artist answered: “Life. Life given to me"
Yuri Vasnetsov was born on April 4, 1900 in the ancient city of Vyatka, in the family of a priest. Both his grandfather and his father’s brothers belonged to the clergy. Yu.A. Vasnetsov was distantly related to and. The large family of Father Alexy Vasnetsov lived in a two-story house next to the cathedral, in which the priest served. Yura loved this temple very much - the cast-iron tiles of its floor, rough so that the foot would not slip, the huge bell, the oak staircase that led to the top of the bell tower...
The artist absorbed his love for colorful folk culture in his old native Vyatka: “I still live by what I saw and remembered in childhood.”
The entire Vyatka province was famous for its handicrafts: furniture, chests, lace, and toys. And Mother Maria Nikolaevna herself was a noble lacemaker and embroiderer, famous in the city. Little Yura will remember for the rest of his life the towels embroidered with roosters, painted boxes, multi-colored clay and wooden horses, lambs in bright pants, lady dolls - “painted from the heart, from the soul.”
As a boy, he himself painted the walls of his room, shutters and stoves in his neighbors' houses with bright patterns, flowers, horses and fantastic animals and birds. Russian folk art he knew and loved, and this later helped him draw his amazing illustrations for fairy tales. And the costumes that were worn in his native northern regions, and the festive dresses of horses, and wooden carvings on windows and porches of huts, and painted spinning wheels and embroidery - everything that he saw from an early age was useful to him for fairy-tale drawings. Even as a child, he enjoyed all kinds of manual labor. He sewed boots and bound books, loved to skate and fly kites. Vasnetsov’s favorite word was “interesting.”
After the revolution, all families of priests, including the Vasnetsov family (mother, father and six children), were literally evicted to the streets. “... My father no longer served in the cathedral, which was closed... and he didn’t serve anywhere at all... He would have cheated and resigned his rank, but it was then that his meek firmness of spirit was revealed: he continued to walk in a cassock , with a pectoral cross and long hair,” recalled Yuri Alekseevich. The Vasnetsovs wandered around strange corners and soon bought a small house. Then we had to sell it, we lived in a former bathhouse...
Yuri went to seek his fortune in Petrograd in 1921. He dreamed of becoming an artist. Miraculously, he entered the painting department of the State Art Academy of Arts (later Vkhutemas); successfully completed his studies in 1926.
His teachers were the bustling capital Petrograd itself with its European palaces and the Hermitage full of world treasures. They were followed by a long line of many and varied teachers who opened the world of painting to the young provincial. Among them were the academically trained Osip Braz, Alexander Savinov, the leaders of the Russian avant-garde - the “flower artist” Mikhail Matyushin, the Suprematist Kazimir Malevich. And in the “formalistic” works of the 1920s, the individual characteristics of Vasnetsov’s pictorial language testified to the extraordinary talent of the novice artist.
In search of income, the young artist began to collaborate with the department of children's and youth literature of the State Publishing House, where, under the artistic direction of V.V. Lebedeva happily found himself in the interpretation of themes and images of Russian folklore - fairy tales in which his natural craving for humor, grotesque and good irony was best satisfied.
In the 1930s. The illustrations for the books “Swamp”, “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, “Fifty Little Pigs” by K.I. brought him fame. Chukovsky, “Three Bears” by L.I. Tolstoy. At the same time, he made excellent - elegant and fascinating - lithographic prints for children, based on the same plot motifs.
The artist made amazing illustrations for Leo Tolstoy’s fairy tale “The Three Bears”. The big, scary, enchanted forest and the bear's hut are too big for a little lost girl. And the shadows in the house are also dark and eerie. But then the girl ran away from the bears, and the forest immediately brightened in the drawing. This is how the artist conveyed a major mood with paints. It’s interesting to watch how Vasnetsov dresses his characters. Elegant and festive - the nurse mother-Goat, mother-Cat. He will definitely give them colorful skirts with frills and lace. And he will take pity on the bunny who was offended by the Fox and put on a warm jacket. The artist tried not to dress up the wolves, bears, and foxes that interfere with the lives of good animals: they did not deserve beautiful clothes.
Thus, continuing to search for his path, the artist entered the world of children's books. Purely formal searches gradually gave way to folk culture. The artist increasingly looked back into his “Vyatka” world.
A trip to the North in 1931 finally convinced him of the correctness of his chosen path. He turned to folk sources, already being experienced in the intricacies of modern pictorial language, which gave rise to the phenomenon that we can now call the phenomenon of Yuri Vasnetsov’s painting. The still life with a large fish fully demonstrates new bright trends in Vasnetsov’s works.
On a small red tray, crossing it diagonally, lies a large fish sparkling with silver scales. The unique composition of the painting is akin to a heraldic sign and at the same time a folk rug on the wall of a peasant hut. Using a dense viscous mass of paint, the artist achieves amazing persuasiveness and authenticity of the image. The external contrasts of the planes of red, ocher, black and silver-gray are tonally balanced and give the work the feeling of a monumental painting.
So, book illustrations constituted only one side of his work. The main goal of Vasnetsov’s life was always painting, and he pursued this goal with fanatical tenacity: he worked independently, studied under the guidance of K.S. Malevich in Ginkhuk, studied in graduate school at the All-Russian Academy of Arts.
In 1932-34. he finally created several works ("Lady with a Mouse", "Still Life with a Hat and a Bottle", etc.), in which he showed himself to be a very important master who successfully combined the refined pictorial culture of his time with the tradition of folk "bazaar" art, which he appreciated and loved. But this late self-discovery coincided with the campaign against formalism that began then. Fearing ideological persecution (which had already affected his book graphics), Vasnetsov made painting a secret activity and showed it only to close people. In his landscapes and still lifes, emphatically unpretentious in their motives and extremely sophisticated in their pictorial form, he achieved impressive results, uniquely reviving the traditions of Russian primitivism. But these works were practically unknown to anyone.
During the war years, spent first in Molotov (Perm), then in Zagorsk (Sergiev Posad), where he was the chief artist of the Toy Institute, Vasnetsov performed poetic illustrations for “English folk songs” by S.Ya. Marshak (1943), and then to his book "Cat's House" (1947). New success was brought to him by illustrations for the folklore collections “The Miracle Ring” (1947) and “Fables in Faces” (1948). Vasnetsov worked unusually intensively, varying the themes and images dear to him many times. A peculiar result of his many years of activity was the widespread famous collections"Ladushki" (1964) and "Rainbow-Arc" (1969).
In Vasnetsov’s bright, entertaining and witty drawings, Russian folklore found perhaps the most organic embodiment; more than one generation of young readers grew up on them, and during his lifetime he himself was recognized as a classic in the field of children’s books. In Russian folk tale everything is unexpected, unknown, incredible. If you're scared, then you'll tremble; if you're happy, it's a feast for the whole world. So the artist makes his drawings for the book “Rainbow-Arc” bright, festive - sometimes the page is blue with a bright rooster, sometimes it’s red, and on it is a brown bear with a birch staff.
The artist's difficult life left an indelible mark on his relationships with people. Usually trusting and gentle in character, already being married, he became unsociable. He never exhibited as an artist, never performed anywhere, citing the upbringing of two daughters, one of whom, the eldest, Elizaveta Yuryevna, would later become a famous artist.
Leaving home and family, even for a short time, was a tragedy for him. Any separation from the family was unbearable, and the day when they had to set off was a ruined day.
Before leaving the house, Yuri Alekseevich even shed a tear from grief and melancholy, but still did not forget to put some gift or cute trinket under everyone’s pillow. Even friends gave up on this homebody - a man for great art has disappeared!
Until his old age, Yuri Alekseevich’s favorite reading remained fairy tales. And my favorite pastime is writing oil paints still lifes, landscapes, illustrating fairy tales, and in the summer fishing on the river, always with a fishing rod.
Only a few years after the artist’s death, his paintings were shown to viewers at an exhibition at the State Russian Museum (1979), and it became clear that Vasnetsov was not only beautiful book chart, but also one of the outstanding Russian painters of the 20th century.
Vasnetsov Yuri Alekseevich
