Peasant:

1. A villager whose main occupation is cultivating the land.

Besseldeevka consisted of only twenty-two peasant souls. ( Turgenev. Tchertophanov and Nedopyuskin.)

2. Representative of the lower tax-paying class in pre-revolutionary Russia.

Dictionary of the Russian language. Moscow. " Russian word" 1982.

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The peasant of the 16th century was a free tiller who lived on someone else’s land under an agreement with the landowner; his freedom was expressed in a peasant exit or refusal, that is, in the right to leave one plot and move to another, from one landowner to another. Initially this right was not constrained by law; but the very nature of land relations imposed a mutual limitation both on this right of the peasant and on the arbitrariness of the landowner in relation to the peasant: the landowner, for example, could not drive the peasant off the land before the harvest, just as the peasant could not leave his plot without paying the owner at the end of the harvest. From these natural relationships Agriculture This resulted in the need for a uniform, legally established period for the peasants to leave, when both sides could pay each other. The code of law of Ivan III established one for this mandatory period- a week before Saint George's Day (November 26) and the week following this day. However, in the Pskov land in the 16th century there was another legal deadline for peasants to leave, namely Filippovo (November 14).

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Their own and foreign observers, marveling at the greatness of the deeds of the reformer [Peter I], were amazed at the vast expanses of uncultivated fertile land, the multitude of wastelands, cultivated somehow, on site, and not introduced into normal national economic circulation. People who thought about the reasons for this neglect explained it, firstly, by the loss of people from long war, and then by the oppression of officials and nobles, who discouraged the common people from any desire to put their hands to anything: the oppression of the spirit resulting from slavery, according to the same Weber, has darkened the meaning of the peasant to such an extent that he has ceased to understand his own benefit and only thinks about his daily meager food.

V. Klyuchevsky. Russian history. Moscow. "Exmo". 2000.

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Immediately after Peter’s death, the impatient Prosecutor General Yaguzhinsky, before anyone else, spoke about the plight of the peasants; then in the Supreme Privy Council there was lively talk about the need to alleviate this situation. “The poor peasantry” became a current government expression.

It was not the peasants themselves who were concerned, but their escapes, which robbed the government of recruits and tax payers. They fled not only in individual households, but also in entire villages; From some estates everyone fled without a trace; from 1719 to 1727 g

There were almost 200 thousand fugitives - official figure, usually lagging behind reality.
The very area of ​​flight expanded widely: previously the serfs ran from one landowner to another, but now they flocked to the Don, to the Urals and to distant Siberian cities, to the Bashkirs, to the schism, even abroad, to Poland and Moldova. In the Supreme Privy Council under Catherine I, they reasoned that if things went like this, then it would come to the point that there would be no taxes or recruits to take from anyone, and in the note of Menshikov and other dignitaries the indisputable truth was expressed that if without an army it is impossible for the state to stand , then it is necessary to take care of the peasants, because the soldier is connected with the peasant, like the soul with the body, and if there is no peasant, then there will be no soldier.
To prevent escapes, the capitation tax was reduced and arrears were added up; the fugitives were returned to their old places, first simply, and then with corporal punishment. But here’s the problem: the returned fugitives fled again with new comrades, who were persuaded by stories about a free life on the run, in the steppe or in Poland.
The escapes were accompanied by small peasant riots caused by the arbitrariness of the owners and their managers. Elizabeth's reign was full of local, silent disturbances among the peasants, especially those in the monasteries. Pacifying teams were sent to beat the rebels or to be beaten by them, depending on who took them. These were small test outbreaks, which 20-30 years later merged into the Pugachev fire.

V. Klyuchevsky. Russian history. Moscow. "Exmo". 2000.

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A. Smirnov.Vasilisa Kozhina - partisan, peasant woman of the Sychevsky district of the Smolensk province.1813.

A. Smirnov.Gerasim Kurin - leader of the peasant partisan detachment in 1812year.1813.

Adrian van Ostade.Peasant family.1647.

Peasant woman with cornflowers.

Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov.Peasant girl with a sickle in rye.

Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi.The head of a Ukrainian peasant in a straw hat.1890-1895.

Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov.Peasant yard in Finland.1902.

Vasily Grigorievich Perov.Peasant in the field.1876.

Vasily Grigorievich Perov.Return of peasants from funerals in winter.Early 1880s.

Vasily Maksimovich Maksimov.Peasant girl.1865.

Vasily Maksimovich Maksimov.The arrival of a sorcerer at a peasant wedding.1875.

Wenceslas Hollar.Peasant wedding. 1650.

Vladimir Makovsky.Peasant children.1890.

Evgraf Romanovich Reitern.A peasant woman from Willenshausen with a fallen child in her arms.1843.

I. Laminitis.Russian peasants.Engraving based on a drawing by E. Korneev.1812.

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin.Peasant woman with cows.1873.

Ivan Petrovich Argunov.Portrait unknown peasant woman in Russian costume.1784.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Two female figures(Hugging peasant women).1878.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Bearded peasant.1879.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Peasant yard.1879.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Two Ukrainian peasants.1880.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Peasant girl.1880.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Ukrainian peasant.1880.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Old peasant.1885.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Portrait of a peasant.1889.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Peasant's head.

Konstantin Makovsky.Peasant lunch in the field.

Mikhail Shibanov.Peasant lunch.1774.

Olga Kablukova.A hundred-year-old Tsarskoye Selo peasant woman with her family.1815.

Militiaman of 1812 in a peasant hut.Lubok painting.

Art of the Netherlands 16th century
Painting "Peasant Dance". In 1567–1569, Pieter Bruegel painted a number of paintings on the themes folk life(“Peasant Dance”, “Peasant Wedding” - both in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). Apparently, Bruegel managed to create one of his best genre works - “Peasant Dance”. Its plot does not contain allegory, but general character characterized by self-contained pathos and rigid rationality. The artist is interested not so much in the atmosphere of a peasant festival or the picturesqueness of individual groups, but in the peasants themselves - their appearance, facial features, habits, the nature of their gestures and manner of movement. The heavy and strong figures of the peasants are depicted on a large scale, unusual for Bruegel, creating the elements and natural power of nature. Each figure is placed in an iron system of compositional axes that permeates the entire picture. And each figure seems to be stopped - in a dance, an argument or a kiss. The figures seem to grow, exaggerated in their scale and significance. Gaining almost super-real persuasiveness, they are filled with rough, even ruthless, but inexorably impressive monumentality, and the scene as a whole is transformed into a kind of clot characteristic features the peasantry, its spontaneous, powerful force.

In this picture, the everyday peasant genre, specific in its method, is born. But, unlike later works Of this kind, Bruegel imparts exceptional power and social pathos to his images. When this picture was painted, a major uprising had just been suppressed. masses– iconoclasm. Bruegel's attitude towards him is unknown. But this movement was from beginning to end popular, it shocked contemporaries with the obviousness of its class character, and, presumably, Bruegel’s desire to concentrate the main, distinctive features people stands in direct connection with this fact (it is significant that before his death he destroyed some drawings that apparently had a political nature).

Another work by Bruegel, “The Peasant Wedding” (Vienna), is also associated with iconoclasm. Here is the sharpness of vision folk character increased even more, the main figures acquired even greater, but already somewhat exaggerated power, and the allegorical principle was revived in the artistic fabric of the picture. Three peasants look in horror or bewilderment at the wall supposed to be in front, outside the picture. Perhaps this is a hint at bible story about the feast of Belshazzar, when words appeared on the wall predicting the death of those who stole treasures from the temple and wished to get out of their insignificant state.

Let us recall that the rebel peasants who fought against Catholicism destroyed Catholic churches. The tinge of some idealization and softness unusual for Bruegel even has a taste of bitter regret and kind humanity - qualities that were not present in the clear and consistent “Peasant Dance”. Some departure from principles and ideas " Peasant dance“can also be found in the drawing “Summer” (Hamburg), at first glance close to the named painting. However, a complete departure from his previous hopes occurred a little later, when the master created a number of gloomy and cruel paintings (“The Misanthrope”, 1568, Naples; “The Cripples”, 1568, Louvre; “The Nest Destroyer”, 1568, Vienna, Museum), and in including the famous “Blind” (1568; Naples, Capodimonte Museum). They are indirectly connected with the first crisis in the development of the Dutch revolution.

How is the work of a Russian artist most often defined? sonorous surname Venetsianov? Paintings depicting genre scenes from peasant life, is called the beginning of the national everyday genre in painting, a phenomenon that would ultimately flourish in the era of the Itinerants.

But the magnitude artistic talent Venetsianov, the scale of his human personality had a huge impact on the development of Russian visual arts not only within one genre direction. This becomes especially noticeable when you look closely at his paintings.

"Portrait of a Mother" (1802)

Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov was born in 1780 into a Moscow merchant family whose ancestors came from Greece. They received the nickname Veneziano in Russia, which was later converted into a surname in the Russian way. When Alexey became interested in drawing, his activities did not seem something serious to his parents. Maybe that's why he didn't get regular art education. It is believed that he received his first knowledge about painting techniques from an “uncle” - a teacher, and main source The artistic education that Venetsianov received included paintings by old masters in museums and creations of modern painters in salons and galleries.

The main genre in Russian painting of that time was the portrait, which is why Venetsianov’s first painting experience known to us belongs to this genre. mother - Anna Lukinichna, nee Kalashnikova.

It is noticeable how the twenty-two-year-old young man still lacks painting skills, how difficult it is for him to convey volume, air and light. But something else is also visible - his ability to convey different textures of fabric, sufficient confidence in the drawing. And most importantly, he managed to convey the feelings of his model: some embarrassment and tension of the mother from an unusual role for her and his tender attitude towards her.

"Self-Portrait" (1811)

After 1802, Venetsianov moved to St. Petersburg, where he tried to make a name for himself and start making a living through painting. Soon he is forced to enter the service as a minor official in the post office. Lucky case allowed him to meet the famous portrait painter V.L. Borovikovsky (1757-1825), who highly appreciated Venetsianov’s paintings and became his mentor both in his profession and in life. Perhaps thanks to his influence, Venetsianov submitted a petition to the Academy of Arts to receive the official title of painter. According to the Academy's charter, the applicant had to present his work. For this purpose, Venetsianov paints a self-portrait.

Already visible in this picture high level technical skill of the artist. This is an accurate and truthful work of a true realist, devoid of any romantic touch or embellishment. The psychological depth of the image created by the artist was also highly appreciated. There is both attentive concentration on work and a clearly felt sense of self-worth.

Venetsianov was designated by the Council of the Academy of Arts as “designated” - one of the formal qualification levels of the artist, which made it possible to receive the title of academician after completing a task assigned by the Council. Venetsianov becomes an academician after painting the assigned portrait of K. I. Golovachevsky.

"The Barn" (1821)

Soon after receiving the title of academician of painting, Venetsianov unexpectedly left the capital and service and settled on his Safonkovo ​​estate in the Tver province. Here he creates his most significant works, dedicated to the poeticization of peasant life.

Before starting work on the painting “The Threshing Barn,” the artist ordered his serfs to dismantle the front wall in the large barn where the grain was stored. He set himself the task of conveying the depth, similar topics that amazed him in his paintings French painter Francois Granet. In addition to the image of the room receding into the distance, amazing for that time, what is impressive is the carefully calibrated composition of frozen different poses figures of peasants and animals. They are full of ancient significance and amazing poetry.

The painting was highly appreciated by Emperor Alexander I, who bought it from the artist and also gave the author a diamond ring. This made his financial situation a little easier.

“On the arable land. Spring" (1820s)

Many paintings by Alexei Gavrilovich Venetsianov are full of secrets and mysteries that are still beyond the control of professionals and art lovers. This is a small canvas (65 x 51 cm) with an almost Botticelli title and a poetic sound commensurate with greatest masterpieces Renaissance. It is believed that this painting is part of a cycle dedicated to the seasons.

The scene of peasant labor appears as an action full of sacred, cosmic meaning. The figure of a young woman who went out to hard work, wearing her best clothes, a child on the edge of a field, making the plot look like an icon of the Virgin Mary, the mirror figure of another peasant woman disappearing into the depths - everything is full of mysteries. The landscape against which these ordinary and at the same time majestic events take place is filled with significance and great simplicity. Alexey Venetsianov, whose paintings are difficult to attribute to a specific genre, is considered one of the founders of the Russian poetic landscape.

"The Reapers" (1820s)

But the main genre for Venetsianov remains the portrait, and the main task he solves is the expression of genuine interest and respect for those whom he portrays. High pictorial skill, combined with laconicism and sophistication of the composition, enhances the impression that Venetsianov has on the viewer. the contents of which can be contained in a few phrases, amaze with their depth and versatility, even if their heroes are simple peasants.

Two butterflies landed on the hand of the reaper, who stopped for a minute to rest. A boy looks at them from over his shoulder, captivated by their beauty. The artist painted almost a trompe l'oeil - it seems that now light wings will flutter and disappear in the summer heat. The main characters are just as real - their faces, hands, clothes. The feelings expressed by the young woman and child seem real, and most importantly, you can tangibly feel how Venetsianov admires them.

"Morning of the Landowner" (1823)

Venetsianov's role as the founder of genre diversity in Russian painting is undeniable. He was one of the first to try to draw attention to the special beauty of Russian nature, paving the way for future brilliant landscape painters - Levitan, Shishkin, Kuindzhi, Savrasov. In the portrait he showed completely unusual main characters - people from the people. But the poeticization of the everyday genre was a particularly innovative phenomenon.

It is believed that the master made his wife, Marfa Afanasyevna, and her serf girls the heroines of his painting. This explains the warm feeling that permeates this canvas. There is no confrontation between the mistress and her forced maids - it is more like a family scene in which the girls have their own dignity and calm beauty. An equally important role is played by the environment in the picture: the lovingly painted interior content and - what especially catches the eye - the soft, but filling light.

"Zakharka" (1825)

Peasant children are frequent subjects in portraits and genre paintings, which Venetsianov wrote. The paintings “The Sleeping Shepherd Boy”, “Here Are Father’s Dinner”, “The Shepherd Boy with a Horn” depict children not as ethereal cherubs from icons and classical paintings - they are full-fledged heroes with their own character, experiencing powerful emotions, which are part of the harmony of our world. Such is Zakharka - main character With titles and descriptions similar works The artist’s vocation as a teacher becomes clear, which left its mark on Russian painting.

He thought about the fate of talented children born as serfs when he saw a yard boy trying to draw something with chalk on a blackboard. Soon the “Venetsianov school” was born from this. In addition to teaching skills, he gave peasant children shelter, fed and watered them, and tried to redeem many to freedom. Among Venetsianov's students are the brilliant Grigory Soroka and about 70 artists, many of whom graduated from the capital's Academy of Arts. The school's activities proceeded in the face of opposition from official academicians, who did not honor Venetsianov with the title of teacher of painting.

“At the harvest. Summer" (182?)

His life cannot be called carefree; it was always filled with work and troubles. Its end was also tragic and unexpected - Alexey Gavrilovich died in 1847, when the horses harnessed to his cart suddenly got scared and bolted, and he, trying to stop them, fell onto the road.

Man on earth, the harmony of his relationships with nature, with the entire world around him - main topic artist Venetsianov, the main point and the value of his heritage, that is why his name is revered by connoisseurs and lovers of Russian painting. The painting depicting a reaper against the background of a recognizable Russian landscape, at the same time possessing cosmic significance, is one of the peaks of the work of the great Russian painter.

Nikolay Nevrev. "Bargaining. A scene from serf life." 1866
One landowner sells a serf girl to another. Imposingly shows the buyer five fingers - five hundred rubles. 500 rubles - the price of a Russian serf in the first half of the 19th century. The girl's seller is a European-educated nobleman. Pictures on the walls, books. The girl humbly awaits her fate, other slaves crowd at the door and watch how the bargaining will end. Yearning.

Vasily Perov. "Rural religious procession at Easter." 1861
Russian village of the 19th century. Orthodox Easter. Everyone is drunk as hell, including the priest. The guy in the center is carrying the icon upside down and is about to fall. Some have already fallen. Funny! The essence of the picture is that the Russian people’s commitment to Orthodoxy is exaggerated. Addiction to alcohol is clearly stronger. Perov was a recognized master of genre painting and portraiture. But this picture of him Tsarist Russia was prohibited from display or reproduction. Censorship!

Nikolay Nevrev. "Prododeacon proclaiming longevity at merchant name days." 1866
Merchants , for the most part, yesterday's peasants are having a walk. The priest is entertaining drunken guests. Apparently, the priest has already done the same. By the way, the guy on the left (with the bottle) has cool pants, the Cherkizon is resting.

Grigory Myasoedov. "The zemstvo is having lunch." 1872
Times of Alexander II. Serfdom cancelled. Local self-government - zemstvos - was introduced. Peasants were also chosen there. But between them and the higher classes there is an abyss. Therefore - dining apartheid. Gentlemen are in the house, with waiters, peasants are at the door.

Fedor Vasiliev. "Village". 1869
1869 The landscape is beautiful, but the village, if you look closely, is poor. Poor houses, leaky roofs, the road is buried in mud.

Jan Hendrik Verheyen. "Dutch village with figures of people." 1st half 19th century.
Well, that's it, for comparison :)

Alexey Korzukhin. "Return from the city." 1870
The situation in the house is poor, a child is crawling on the shabby floor, and for an older daughter, her father brought a modest gift from the city - a bunch of bagels. True, there are many children in the family - only in the picture there are three of them, plus perhaps another one in a homemade cradle.

Sergey Korovin. "On the World". 1893
This is already a village of the late 19th century. There are no more serfs, but a division has appeared - fists. At a village gathering there is some kind of dispute between a poor man and a kulak. For the poor man, the topic is apparently vitally important; he almost sobs. The rich fist laughs at him. The other fists in the background are also giggling at the loser beggar. But the comrade to the poor man’s right was imbued with his words. There are already two ready-made members of the committee; all that remains is to wait until 1917.

Vasily Maksimov. "Auction for arrears". 1881-82.
The tax office is furious. Tsarist officials auction samovars, cast iron pots and other peasant belongings. The heaviest taxes on peasants were redemption payments. Alexander II “the Liberator” actually freed the peasants for money - they were then obliged to pay their native state for many years for the plots of land that were given to them along with their will. In fact, the peasants had this land before; they used it for many generations while they were serfs. But when they became free, they were forced to pay for this land. Payment had to be made in installments, right up to 1932. In 1907, against the backdrop of the revolution, the authorities abolished these taxes.

Vladimir Makovsky. "On the boulevard." 1886-1887
At the end of the 19th century. Industrialization came to Russia. Young people go to the city. She's going crazy there. Their old life is no longer interesting to them. And this young hard worker is not even interested in his peasant wife, who came to him from the village. She's not advanced. The girl is terrified. The proletarian with an accordion doesn’t care.

Vladimir Makovsky. "Date". 1883
There is poverty in the village. The boy was given away to the public. Those. sent to the city to work for an owner who exploits child labor. The mother came to visit her son. Tom obviously has a hard life, his mother sees everything. The boy greedily eats the bread he brought.

And further Vladimir Makovsky. "Bank collapse." 1881
A crowd of defrauded depositors in a bank office. Everyone is in shock. The rogue banker (on the right) is quietly getting away with the dough. The policeman looks in the other direction, as if he doesn’t see him.

Pavel Fedotov. "Fresh Cavalier" 1846
The young official received his first order. They washed it all night. The next morning, putting the cross directly on his robe, he shows it to the cook. A crazy look full of arrogance. The cook, personifying the people, looks at him with irony. Fedotov was a master of such psychological paintings. The meaning of this: flashing lights are not on cars, but in heads.

More Pavel Fedotov. "Aristocrat's Breakfast". 1849-1850.
Morning, the impoverished nobleman was taken by surprise by unexpected guests. He hastily covers up his breakfast (a piece of black bread) with a French novel. Nobles (3% of the population) were a privileged class in old Russia. They owned a huge amount of land throughout the country, but they rarely made good farmers. Not a lord's business. The result is poverty, debt, everything is mortgaged and re-mortgaged in banks. In Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, the estate of the landowner Ranevskaya is sold for debts. Buyers (rich merchants) are destroying the estate, and one of them really needs a lordly The Cherry Orchard(to resell as dachas). The reason for the problems of the Ranevsky family is idleness over several generations. No one was taking care of the estate, and the owner herself had been living abroad for the last 5 years and wasting money.

Boris Kustodiev. "Merchant". 1918
Provincial merchants are Kustodiev’s favorite topic. While the nobles in Paris squandered their estates, these people rose from the bottom, making money in a huge country, where there was plenty of room to invest their hands and capital. It is noteworthy that the picture was painted in 1918, when the Kustodiev merchants and merchant women throughout the country were already being pushed to the wall by fighters against the bourgeoisie.

Ilya Repin. "Procession in Kursk province". 1880-1883.
Different layers of society come to the religious procession, and Repin depicted them all. They carry a lantern with candles in front, an icon behind it, then they walk the best people- officials in uniforms, priests in gold, merchants, nobles. On the sides there are guards (on horseback), then there are ordinary people. People on the side of the road periodically rake in order not to cut off the bosses and get into his lane. Tretyakov did not like the police officer in the picture (on the right, in white, beating someone from the crowd with all his might). He asked the artist to remove this cop chaos from the plot. But Repin refused. But Tretyakov bought the painting anyway. For 10,000 rubles, which was simply a colossal amount at that time.

Ilya Repin. "Gathering". 1883
But these young guys in another painting by Repin no longer go with the crowd to all sorts of events religious processions. They have their own way - terror. This is "People's Will", an underground organization of revolutionaries who killed Tsar Alexander II.

Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky. "Oral counting. In public school S.A.Rachinsky". 1895
Rural school. Peasant children in bast shoes. But there is a desire to learn. The teacher is in a European suit with a bow tie. This is a real person - Sergei Rachinsky. Mathematician, professor at Moscow University. On a voluntary basis he taught at a rural school in the village. Tatevo (now Tver region), where he had an estate. Great deal. According to the 1897 census, the literacy rate in Russia was only 21%.

Jan Matejko. "Chained Poland". 1863
According to the 1897 census, literate people in the country were 21%, and Great Russians - 44%. Empire! Interethnic relations the country has never been smooth. The painting by Polish artist Jan Matejko was written in memory of the anti-Russian uprising of 1863. Russian officers with angry faces shackle a girl (Poland), defeated, but not broken. Behind her sits another girl (blonde), who symbolizes Lithuania. She is groped dirty by another Russian. The Pole on the right, sitting facing the viewer, is the spitting image of Dzerzhinsky.

Nikolay Pimomenko. "Victim of fanaticism." 1899
The painting shows real case, which was in the city of Kremenets (Western Ukraine). A Jewish girl fell in love with a Ukrainian blacksmith. The newlyweds decided to get married with the bride converting to Christianity. This worried the local Jewish community. They behaved extremely intolerantly. The parents (on the right in the picture) disowned their daughter, and the girl was obstructed. The victim has a cross on his neck, in front of her is a rabbi with fists, behind him is a concerned public with clubs.

Franz Roubo. "Assault on the village of Gimry." 1891
Caucasian War of the 19th century. Hellish mix of Dags and Chechens tsarist army. The village of Gimry (Shamil’s ancestral village) fell on October 17, 1832. By the way, since 2007, a counter-terrorist operation regime has been in effect in the village of Gimry again. The last (at the time of writing this post) clearing by riot police was on April 11, 2013. The first is in the picture below:

Vasily Vereshchagin. "Opium eaters." 1868
The painting was painted by Vereshchagin in Tashkent during one of the Turkestan campaigns of the Russian army. middle Asia was then annexed to Russia. How the participants in the campaigns saw the ancestors of today's guest workers - Vereshchagin left paintings and memoirs about this. Dirt, poverty, drugs...

Venetsianov is called the singer of peasant life. The peasant theme did not correspond to the prevailing aesthetic views spectators of the time in which the artist lived. His predilection for the “low genre” caused misunderstanding. Best paintings found their audience only decades after the painter’s death.

Introducing children to Venetsianov’s work should begin with preschool age. I offer educational material for children about the biography and paintings of the artist.
Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov – creator new topic in Russian painting. His work was original, free and original. He created, obeying his mind, listening to his heart, and did not try to please anyone with his paintings.

A. G. Venetsianov was born in Moscow in 1780. His ancestors came from Greece. Gavrila Yurievich's father was a merchant and saw his successor in his son. Alexey s early years He copied pictures and wrote from life. It was pointless to fight his son’s hobby, so his father bought him the book “The Curious Artist and Craftsman.” From the memoirs of the artist’s nephew N. Venetsianov it is known that little Alexey there was a teacher, Pakhomych, who taught him to prepare paints, prime the canvas and stretch the canvas onto a stretcher. Venetsianov studied at a private boarding school, after which he worked in the Drawing Department.

Note!!!

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In 1802 the artist moved to St. Petersburg. In 1807 he entered the service of the Post Office. There Venetsianov met the famous portrait painter V.L. Borovikovsky. So the aspiring painter found himself in the center artistic life and among famous Russian writers and artists. In the same year, he began publishing the first humorous sheet in Russia, “The Journal of Caricatures for 1808 in Persons,” which was later banned by censorship for satire on officials.

In 1811, the artist received the title of “appointed” for a self-portrait submitted to the Academy of Arts. This level could be overcome by all those who did not study at the Academy. A year later, Venetsianov completed the program, receiving the title of “academician”. During Patriotic War In 1812, Venetsianov created a series of caricatures of the French and Gallomaniac nobles.

In 1815, the artist married a girl from a noble family, M. A. Azaryeva. A year later, daughter Alexandra was born, three years later - daughter Felitsata. In 1818, the Venetsianov family bought a small estate in the Tver region. From the memories of daughter Alexandra:

“Our peasants loved daddy very much, and he took care of them like a father. Our poorest peasant had two horses, but for the most part four and six..."

In Safonkovo, Venetsianov painted pictures of peasant life and portraits. These works, created from life, are among the new artistic direction, the basis of which was a truthful reflection of life. Here's what he wrote about the difficult path of the artist:

“The brush of a modern painter is often controlled by need and politeness, and he is forced to deviate from the truth and defile his virtues.”

In 1820, the artist began teaching talented peasant children the craft of painting. Over time, a group known as the “Venetsianov school” was formed. The teacher placed many of his students in the Academy of Arts. Venetsianov told his students:

“Talents then develop when they are guided along the paths to which nature has assigned them.”

He himself followed the path prescribed by nature.

In 1824, he exhibited “peasant” paintings at the Academy of Arts. The academic council rejected the artist’s sketches for a competition painting, which would have opened the way for him to the title of “painting advisor.”

In 1830, Venetsianov received the title of “artist to the Emperor”. He was given an annual salary of 3,000 rubles and awarded the Order of St. Vladimir 4th degree.

In 1831, his wife Marfa Afanasyevna died, leaving two young daughters to be raised by her father. In 1833, Gavrila Yuryevich’s father passed away. Maintaining the school required exorbitant expenses. Over 20 years, more than 70 students attended the school. Many students became famous artists: N.S. Krylov, L.K. Plakhov, A.V. Tyranov, A.A. Alekseev, G.V. Soroka...

Wanderers, monks, icon painters found shelter in Safonkovo... Venetsianov stopped exhibiting his paintings. He had to mortgage his estate and take on commissioned works: portraits and icons for churches. In recent years, he suffered from loss of strength and fainted. On December 4, 1847, the artist was transporting sketches of icons from Safonkovo ​​to Tver. On the way down the mountain, the horses skidded and he was thrown out of the sleigh. This trip ended in tragedy.

“Zakharka” 1825

Portrait of a peasant boy painted with real person. Zakharka was the son of the peasant Fedula Stepanov. In the image of Zakharka, the artist showed a little peasant worker. His clothes, hat, and mittens were not the right size. They didn't give him a job because of his age. The boy holds an ax on his shoulder.

Zakharka has been working since an early age and knows that the life of the whole family depends on his work. The boy’s eyes are averted to the side, but his concentrated gaze captivates him with simplicity, naturalness, and kindness. Soft facial features, plump lips, huge, thoughtful eyes, and a turn of the head create at the same time a feeling of naivety and apparent adulthood, harshness. Peering into the face of a peasant boy, the viewer understands that it is on such simple workers that the world rests.

Read and discuss with your child N. A. Nekrasov’s poem “A Little Man with a Marigold”

Once upon a time in the cold winter time,
I came out of the forest; it was bitterly cold.
I see it's slowly going uphill
A horse carrying a cart of brushwood.
And, walking importantly, in decorous calm.
A man leads a horse by the bridle
In big boots, in a short sheepskin coat,
In big mittens... and he's as small as a fingernail!
- Great, lad! - “Go past!”
- You’re too formidable, as I can see!
Where do the firewood come from? - “From the forest, of course;
Father, you hear, chops, and I take it away.”
(A woodcutter’s ax was heard in the forest.)
- What about my father? big family? -
“The family is big, but two people
Just men: my father and I..."
- So there it is! What's your name? -
"Vlas."
- How old are you? - “The sixth has passed...
Well, she’s dead!” - the little one shouted in a deep voice.
He pulled the reins and walked faster...

While discussing the poem, ask your child a few questions:

• Who does the poet Nekrasov talk about in his work? (About a boy)
• What's his name? How old is he?
• What is he doing in the forest? (Carrying brushwood)
• Why Vlas big boots and mittens? (Clothes were worn in poor peasant family everything in turn)
• How does Vlas behave? What is he like? (hardworking, important, formidable, responsible...)

Consider Venetsianov’s painting “Zakharka”. Ask your son (daughter) to answer the questions:

• Who is shown in this picture? How old is he? (7-9 years)
• What is he holding in his hand? (Tool)
• Where is he going? (He goes to work)
• Why is the boy working? (He lives in a peasant family. Peasant children helped their parents from an early age)
• What feelings do you have for the hero of the picture? What is he like? (Serious, thoughtful, strong, confident...)
• What do these two works have in common? (The main character of Nekrasov’s poem and Venetsianov’s painting is a village boy).
• How are Vlas and Zakharka similar? (Vlas and Zakharka know how to work. They are both from a peasant family, and, despite their young age, they work a lot and consider themselves adults).
• How do the poet Nekrasov and the artist Venetsianov feel about their heroes? (Nekrasov feels for his little hero pity and tenderness, calling the boy “a small man.” However, he admires his maturity and prudence: “It’s a big family, but two people. Just men: my father, and me...”. Venetsianov's feelings for Zakharka are conveyed in the very image of the hero. The portrait is full of emotions: the turn of the head and the boy’s habitual handling of the instrument speaks about the feeling of adulthood, childhood facial features and size of clothing give away).

At the end of the acquaintance with the picture, you can invite the child to learn Nekrasov’s poem.

« The Sleeping Shepherd" (between 1823-1826)

Summer day. The sun shines brightly, illuminating with its rays blue sky, a mirror-like river, green banks, wooded hills, distant arable land... Here stands a row of peasant houses with fenced gardens. A peasant woman carries water from the river. The village lives its own simple life, which is closely connected with nature.

In the foreground is a shepherd sleeping in a sweet sleep. He is wearing warm homespun clothes with a red belt and bast shoes with onuches on his feet. His right leg is extended forward, his arms are relaxed. In the image of the poor shepherd, the harmony of man and nature is visible.

Ask your child to describe the picture. Ask him a few questions:

• What time of year is shown in the picture?
• How is nature depicted?
• What mood does the artist convey to us, the audience?
• What is the boy doing? (sleeping)
• What does he do in his life? (grazing cows).
• What family is he from? What kind of clothes does he have? (He is dressed in a shirt, ports and an overcoat).
• What is he wearing? (in bast shoes with onuchas).

When considering the clothes and shoes of the hero of the picture, parents should pay attention to the development vocabulary child. It is necessary to explain to him the meaning old words, which have gone out of use today, such as armyak, ports, bast shoes, bast, bast, onucha...

Word "ports" means long narrow pants, Armenian- a peasant caftan made from Armenian. Kaftan– top men's clothing, similar to a robe. Armenian– wool fabric.

Lapti- a type of footwear that was used in every peasant family. They were woven from linden bast, willow and oak bark. Lyko- young bast, fibrous, fragile subbark from any tree. Lub- the inner part of the bark of young trees. Onucha- a piece of dense cloth, wrapped around the foot when wearing bast shoes or boots.

After discussing the picture, invite your son or daughter to draw up short story using old words.

The time of creation of the portrait is unknown.

A young girl looks at the world openly and timidly. Living eyes reflect a pure, innocent soul. A sincere look beckons with mystery. The lips froze in a slight smile. Her brown hair is combed smoothly. A blue scarf carefully frames a gentle face. She does not know evil and the hard lot of peasants, she believes in goodness, trusts people...

This is not a peasant woman exhausted by work, but a young beauty. Even in the way the girl holds her hand, there is nobility of manners and feelings. The artist depicted an image full of harmony and youthful charm. He is confident that the young peasant woman brings light to the world and deserves happiness in life.

"The Reapers" 1825

The painting shows a scene from peasant life, which the artist observed in the field, at harvest work. The heroes of the picture are peasant woman Anna Stepanovna and her son Zakharka. The reaper stopped to rest, and at that moment two butterflies landed on her hand. Her sad, tired appearance is striking. There is doom in the eyes, a half-smile on his face. Holding her hand in the air, she shows the arriving beauties to her son. The boy examines them with surprise and interest. He enjoys life. The main idea of ​​the picture is that the peasants are close to nature, admire its beauty, and are imbued with it.

For a deeper depiction of the difficult peasant lot, the artist uses individual details: a woman’s canvas shirt darkened from work, a sundress sewn from scraps, the heat appearing on the face of the reaper, exhausted tender hands holding a sickle, the weather-beaten fingers of a boy... No matter how cruel fate may be, the peasant woman strives to beauty. Her modest beads remind of this.

“On the arable land. Spring" 1820

Early morning. A young peasant woman in a red sundress and an elegant kokoshnik is harrowing arable land. The first day of plowing was a real holiday. The peasants went out into the fields in their best clothes. The picture is full of allegories. The goddess of spring is embodied in the image of a woman. She smoothly steps across the arable land bare feet. The horses pulling the plow obediently obey their mistress. On the outskirts of the field, a baby wearing only a shirt is playing. A young mother admires her firstborn, entrusting him to mother earth. A child represents the beginning of life. Greenery is visible in the plowed field. Here young trees grow next to a dried out gnarled stump. In the distance, as if in a circle, another peasant woman leads the horses. In that simple plot the eternal cycle of life appears: the renewal of nature in connection with the change of seasons, its birth and withering.

“At the harvest. Summer" 1820

The painting is a window into Big world peasant concerns. A rye field, harvested in places, stretches to the horizon. The yellow field glistens from the hot air of the sun. In the distance, female figures of reapers are visible. The harvest is taking its course - haystacks are being woven.

In the foreground sits a mother breastfeeding her baby. The older children brought him to feed him. There is a sickle next to the woman. The reaper looks at the ripe field, clutching the child to her heart. She has a job waiting for her that needs to be completed in a short time. In this picture, the artist showed an idyll - the beauty of peasant everyday life and the beauty of Russian nature, hiding all the hardships of peasant labor.

The main theme of Venetsianov’s work is man on earth and his connection with nature. The artist showed on his canvases the daily activities of peasants, their life, characters, relationships with the outside world. He played his first violin in painting masterfully. This is it true value artist A. G. Venetsianov.

Dear reader! I invite you to take a tour of the work of the Russian painter A. G. Venetsianov. I wish you and your children pleasant impressions and emotions!