Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich

Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov is an outstanding Russian artist, master of landscape, historical painter, teacher and public figure. He is called the founder of the "intimate landscape" in Russian painting.

Biography

Born: May 20 (June 1), 1844 in St. Petersburg in a highly educated noble family.
Education: at the same time he studied at St. Petersburg University (graduated with the title of Candidate of Law in 1871) and at the Imperial Academy of Arts. He was a student of P. P. Chistyakov.
Awards: in 1871, he received the Academy's large gold medal for the painting "The Resurrection of Jairus' Daughter," which gave him the right to a retirement trip abroad.
Pedagogy: He taught for 12 years at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1882-1895). Among his students are I. I. Levitan, K. A. Korovin, I. S. Ostroukhov, A. E. Arkhipov.
Social activity: he was engaged in public education, built two schools in the surrounding villages near his estate.
Died: July 18, 1927, in the Borok estate (Tula region). He was buried at the rural cemetery in the village of Bekhovo on the banks of the Oka River.

Creation

Polenov worked in several genres, but is best known as a landscape painter and author of paintings on biblical subjects.

1. Landscape and "intimate landscape"

Vasily Dmitrievich was one of the first in Russia to master plein-air painting (drawing outdoors). He sought to convey the variability of nature and the play of light.

Landmark works:

The Moscow Courtyard (1878) is the artist's calling card and the standard of the "intimate landscape". The painting shows the daily life of old Moscow with a lyrical touch.
"Babushkin Garden" (1878) is a subtle, poetic image of a noble estate.
"The Overgrown Pond" (1879).
Golden Autumn (1893) is one of the most recognizable autumn landscapes in Russian painting.

2. The Bible Cycle

The artist has been working for many years on a series of paintings from the life of Christ, striving for historical authenticity. To do this, he traveled to the countries of the Middle East (Syria, Palestine, Egypt).

Key works:

"Christ and the Sinner" (1887) is a large—scale work that caused great resonance.
"On Lake Tiberias (Gennesaret)" (1888).
More than 50 sketches and paintings dedicated to biblical places.

3. Other genres

Historical paintings: "The Right of the master" ("Jus primae noctis"), "The Conspiracy of the Gezes".
Portraits and genre scenes: "The Dragonfly" ("The Red Summer sang ...") (1875-1876).
Scenery and set design: designed performances for the Russian private opera by S. I. Mamontov (for example, "Faust", "Falstaff").

Other talents
In addition to painting, Polenov was a composer (having no special education, he composed operas and romances) and a writer (he left diaries and travel notes).

Heritage

Title: in 1926 he became one of the first holders of the title "People's Artist of the Republic".
Museum: The V. D. Polenov State Memorial Historical, Artistic and Natural Museum-Reserve ("Polenovo") operates in the Tula region.
Works: are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Serpukhov History and Art Museum and other large collections.