Konstantin Yuon - biography and paintings of the artist in the genre of Impressionism, Social Realism - Art Challenge. Yuon Konstantin Fedorovich paintings What paintings did Yuon paint?
Konstantin Yuon (1875-1958) - Russian Soviet painter, master of landscape, theater artist, art theorist.
Biography of Konstantin Yuon
Born into the family of an insurance agent, a native of Switzerland. In 1894 he entered the MUZHVIZ, the architectural department. Soon he transferred to the painting department, studied with K. A. Savitsky, A. E. Arkhipov, L. O. Pasternak, and in 1899 worked in the studio of V. A. Serov.
From 1896 to the end of the 1900s, he repeatedly visited Paris, where he studied in private studios. From 1898 he gave private lessons. In 1900–1917 he headed the School of K. F. Yuon and I. O. Dudin in Moscow. I became interested in the culture of Ancient Rus'.
In the late 1890s - 1900s he repeatedly traveled to ancient Russian cities. He also visited Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. Lived in Moscow, Sergiev Posad (1903, 1911, 1918–1921), Tver province (1905–1906, 1916–1917), Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl.
He took part in exhibitions of the Moscow Association of Artists (1899, 1902), the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (1900), and the World of Art (1901, 1906). Since 1903 he was a permanent exhibitor of the Union of Russian Artists, and since 1904 he was a member of the Union Committee.
He worked primarily as a landscape painter, gaining “wide fame” among the Moscow and St. Petersburg public.
Yuon's creativity
In his early work, Yuon often turned to the motifs of the Russian village: the artist was interested in the state of nature, the change of seasons, the life of provincial towns and villages, and the architecture of ancient churches and monasteries.
His painting style was formed under the influence of the lessons of Korovin and Serov.
After the revolution, the artist’s individual style changed little; the range of subjects became somewhat different. In the 1920s - 1950s, he created a number of portraits and paintings on the history of the revolution and contemporary life, in which he adhered to the realistic tradition.
Landscapes of this time are close in the manner of execution to earlier works of the 1910s, in which elements of impressionism and “peredvizhniki realism” were closely intertwined.
Filled with subtle lyricism, they represent the greatest value in the entire creative heritage of the master.
Yuon as a theater decorator is much inferior to Yuon the painter. Most of his theatrical works lack the novelty and artistic imagination that characterized the scenography of many of his contemporaries.
Yuon's personal exhibitions were organized in 1926, 1945, 1955 at the State Tretyakov Gallery (timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary, 50th anniversary, 60th anniversary of his creative activity), 1931 - at the State Museum of Fine Arts, 1950 - at the USSR Academy of Arts.
Posthumous retrospectives of the master's works took place in 1962 and 1976 at the Tretyakov Gallery, and in 1976 at the Russian Museum. The artist's works are in the collections of many domestic museums, including the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum. A. S. Pushkin in Moscow, State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
Famous works of the artist
"Russian Winter. Ligachevo", 1947 Tretyakov Gallery
"To the Trinity. March", 1903, Tretyakov Gallery
“Spring Sunny Day”, 1910,
“Spring evening. Rostov the Great", 1906, Serpukhov Historical and Art Museum (SIHM)
“Sergievsky Posad”, 1911, Written from the window of the Old Lavra Hotel. In the collection of TsAK MPDA.
“Winter Sorceress”, 1912
"March Sun", 1915,
“Domes and Swallows”, 1921, Tretyakov Gallery
"New Planet", 1922,
“Youth near Moscow”, 1926;
“Before entering the Kremlin in 1917. Trinity Gate", 1927, State Museum of the Revolution of the USSR
“The first collective farmers. In the rays of the sun", 1928, Tretyakov Gallery
"Open Window", 1947
“Storm of the Kremlin in 1917” 1947, Tretyakov Gallery
“Parade on Red Square in Moscow on November 7, 1941”, 1949, Tretyakov Gallery
“Morning of Industrial Moscow”, 1949, Tretyakov Gallery
“End of winter. Noon", 1929
Painting is the most visual of all arts. It is a “song without words” and by its nature, it would seem, does not require any verbal additions or explanations. A skilled artist-author, through his art, can say anything and everything. Konstantin Fedorovich Yuon knew how to perceive and capture the living pulse of creative methods. And this gift of his, which endlessly developed and grew, represents the diverse and deep culture of Russian art.
Russian art is rich in talent. Each era of its development has left a great many names of excellent artists. But with special warmth we remember those masters who devoted their entire lives to chanting the beauty of their native land. These landscape painters include Konstantin Fedorovich Yuon. Throughout his creative life, the artist searched for a unique Russian folk style, typical colors and forms. Only in showing this characteristic uniqueness did Konstantin Fedorovich Yuon see true artistic truth, which is the most important value in his art.
The work of such an artist is always of exceptional interest. Its significance is comparable to the role of a self-portrait. An artist always, unconsciously or not, builds his perfect image, draws himself as he would like to be. He catches the threads of life to weave some new yarn from them, emphasizes other influences and influences, illuminates the familiar in a different way, because he sees and understands his own creativity from the inside in a completely different way than someone contemplating it from the outside.
Yuon as a representative of the most original Moscow school of painting, he was the son of immigrants from Switzerland, who became Russian in fact and in principle. Having long earned recognition and wide artistic and public popularity, he was one of the greatest masters of Russian art, whose activities became a link between the art of the “Silver Age” and Soviet artistic culture. The breadth of his talent and artistic interests allowed K.F. Yuon achieves amazing results both in easel painting and in the design of theatrical performances.
K. F. Yuon, born in 1875, a student of the Moscow school of painting, sculpture and architecture, who studied for a year with Serov, soon found his feet, a member of the best and most advanced associations of the Russian art world, the head of the most popular art school in Moscow, at the same time strangely eludes the possibility of giving it any lasting historical and artistic label. The time of his first speech and fruitful activity, the first twenty-fifth anniversary of the 20th century, was unusually eventful with influences, novelties, revolutions, disasters, and revivals of Russian painting.
K. F. Yuon’s position in this conglomerate of trends, clashes, partisanship and extremes was always special: maneuvering, central, non-partisan and lonely. He was a member of the "World of Art", but remained in its Moscow group after the breakup; became, perhaps, the most prominent member of the “Union of Russian Artists”, fundamentally sympathizing more with St. Petersburg residents.
The new aesthetics “World of Art” was a true revelation at that time and influenced even the artistic circles of Western Europe through its magazine. Many of the cultivated ideas have a truly permanent meaning, among which, first of all, although always “relative,” but in itself the undying idea of beauty. Beauty, as the principle of world harmony, always reflected by art, was hardly ever able to be eliminated.
At the same time, even the very first exhibitions of the “World of Art”, enchanting with their specific sharpness, their sophisticated intimate world, seemed like some kind of rare phenomenal toy, some kind of strange intoxicating flower in comparison with the ponderous, but sober, close to the surrounding, living prose life, the art of the Wanderers - and this impression somewhere in the depths of my soul left a bewildered and dissatisfied aftertaste. Yielding on one side to the call of the newly discovered and alluring beauties of the art of the artists of the “World of Art”, which is too armchair in nature, he vaguely protested against its isolation, in most cases, from living Russian life and from life in general, against the admixture of some kind of foreignness to this art - an alien note and regretted that art seemed to have moved away from the great style and from self-sufficient painting.
As a representative of the Union of Russian Artists, Yuon introduced novelty and freshness into the art of that time, developing a special plastic language in which he used the principle of impressionistic vision. This was reflected in the use of various impressionistic techniques: the creation of a sketch - a small-format painting, work in the open air, combining the landscape with an everyday genre, interior or still life, which is a typical expression of an impressionistic mixture of genres; used an asymmetrical structure of the composition, fragmentation, expressiveness of angles - all this gave rise to a feeling of randomness of an unexpectedly seen scene. Color became the main means of expression here - the artist actively worked in pure color, without mixing paint on the palette, used contrasts of additional tones, reflexes, which made it possible to create a real impression of bright sunlight, a feeling of the “breath” of nature.
Throughout his long career, K. F. Yuon turned to various types of activities in the field of art. In addition to his favorite painting, he was also involved in graphics and performance design, and was known as a major art critic and an excellent teacher.
He was a realist, an impressionist, a symbolist, a decorator and a draftsman to the end, and perhaps without being any of them. He was brought close to Levitan, and of course it is incorrect, because Yuon is not a lyricist, and does not have any need for “moods” in his painting. Levitan gave much more responses to the main themes of the impressionistic quest for air, light, and diffuse impressions. Painting forms Yuona too clear and sharp, too sharply noticed in their too random movement.
Nowadays the connection between Yuon and Serov is more clear, but Yuon is much more colorful, festive and at the same time everyday. There is no Serov’s Europeanism in him, and the mere fact that the picturesque portrait, Serov’s true kingdom, stands in the background for Yuon, absolutely does not allow him to be seen as Serov’s successor and successor. Yuon was initially a realist, retaining a certain strong yeast of Wandering until his membership in the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (AHRR).
The artist spent his entire life in Moscow, and he tried to choose apartments on quiet streets so that nothing would interfere with his creativity. Circumstances of life Yuona contributed to the formation and development of his talent, he did not have to endure any painful wanderings in search of his place in art, nor strong shocks. Inexhaustible optimism and a bright vision of the world left an imprint on all the master’s work.
Konstantin started drawing early. Being by nature a person of vigorous energy, purposeful and sociable, the eight-year-old boy did not give up on his hobby. During these years, his bright charisma manifested itself in the creation of an exciting “game of architecture”, with which he managed to captivate his peers. These were fabulous cities with unprecedented and fantastic architecture. It was his passion for architecture that brought him to the Moscow School of Painting, although soon, as Yuon recalls, “the colors were too much.” And the passion for architecture was colored by a special cosmic feeling, an impulse towards utopian extraordinary worlds.
Upon entering the school, Yuon finds himself in the atmosphere of innovation in Russian art. His mentors and favorite teachers, who became models of taste, were K.A. Korovin, K.A. Savitsky and A.E. Arkhipov. In 1898, after graduating from college, until 1900 Yuon studied in the workshop of Vladimir Serov. “Artistic youth,” recalled K.F. Yuon, seeking the truth and striving for the future, saw in Serov that figure, that “artistic conscience”, without which it was difficult to work, much less study. It seemed that he had in his hands the keys to resolving emerging conflicts and objections, intertwined with the traditions of the Wanderers, about the completely new aesthetics of a group of artists who rallied around the magazine “World of Art”, about the influence of the impressionist movement. V.A. I believed in Serov more than anyone else" during training Yuon While traveling around Europe, he gets acquainted with the works of Western European masters. Undoubtedly, the Impressionist technique influenced the young artist, although not so much as to dampen his inner aspirations and outer style. Yet the Russian landscape, inhabited by life-loving Russians, is the main theme of his canvases.
In search of national, original beauty, Yuon traveled a lot, stopping in villages and ancient Russian cities. During his apprenticeship, he painted many views of the Tver province: “ In the park. Petrovskoe. Tver province"(1897), " Birches. Petrovskoe. Tver province"(1899), "(1890).
Early 1900s Konstantin Fedorovich makes long trips to ancient Russian cities: Rostov Veliky, Nizhny Novgorod, Uglich, Torzhok, Pskov, Veliky Novgorod, Kostroma.
The depiction of market days in Russian cities finds a special place in the work of Konstantin Fedorovich. They are distinguished by exceptional festivity, spring hubbub and loudness: “ Red goods. Rostov the Great"(1905), "" (1906), "" (1916). Some decorativeness in the paintings only slightly emphasizes the unique atmosphere of the holiday.
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Konstantin Yuon could not imagine depicting architecture without everyday scenes unfolding at the foot of the monuments of ancient Russian architecture, for example, cathedrals, the fortress walls of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra or the Moscow Kremlin, as evidenced by the paintings “” (1903), “” (1904), “ "(1903).
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1903. Oil on canvas. 53 x 107 |
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The artist does not describe the faces of his characters: what is more important to him is the mass character of the action itself, which is bogged down in the community of a motley color spot.
Yuon can be called the discoverer of the unique artistic appearance of ancient Rus'. In the paintings “” (1906), “” (1914), “” (1913) and others, he introduces a special point of view into the development of landscape composition. In the everyday life of provincial cities and towns, the artist saw truly national beauty. The entire inner world of the modern, vibrant life of Central Russian cities, combined with ancient architecture and beautiful nature, acquired a new meaning in Yuon’s paintings and was lovingly embodied, with his characteristic clarity and artistry.
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In the painting “” (1906), the rich, body-colored brushstroke equally fully and visibly conveys the looseness of the melted snow, the reliable “flesh” of the old walls, and the shimmer of the sunset sky. All these contrasting motifs are parts of a single pictorial space. The artist’s favorite theme since the 1900s has been views of ancient Russian cities.
The solemn architectural images in his canvases are “enlivened” by the vigorous activity of staffed everyday scenes.
In each city, Yuon finds and accurately reproduces its own face, its unique identity. His works dedicated to the Russian province are dominated by the beauty and festivity of his worldview, and the artist’s delight in the nature and architecture of Russia. Contemporaries often called his works “carnival”, since in their richness and variety of colors they resemble folk festivals with their symphony of color. “The highest happiness of a painter is to sing with colors,” the artist himself said. Let us at least remember him " Domes and swallows», «», « End of winter. Noon».
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A large cycle of Yuon’s works is dedicated to Nizhny Novgorod. In these landscapes, the artist is drawn to the infinity of space. According to the famous Soviet art critic N. G. Mashkovtsev, the Volga interested the painter where “where it is least touching and majestic.” He depicted it “squeezed by weary sands, overwhelmed by the chaos of steamships, piers and barges.” As a rule, these are not very attractive places near Nizhny Novgorod, where the Oka flows into the Volga.
A striking example of such a landscape is the painting “” (1909). A sketch of it is available in the State Tretyakov Gallery. It belongs to Yuon’s favorite winter landscapes. For better visual coverage of the panorama of the Oka banks, the artist chooses the upper vantage point, and the main characters of his work are the gray cloudy sky and the flat snowy expanse with the silhouettes of city buildings on the horizon.
Horse-drawn carts and pedestrians scurry along the banks of the river and along the bridge across it. Life here is in full swing. Behind the external picturesque chaos of movement lies a special order of the long-established business bustle of the working river. Here we observe a combination, very characteristic of Yuon’s work, of the life of nature and the life of people on one canvas.
The artist remained faithful to the landscape until the end of his life. But in Soviet times, he, being very sensitive to the social life of his country, strives to introduce new features into his work. During these years, his thematic paintings appeared, reflecting the holidays and work of Soviet people, the difficult everyday life of war, and the joyful days of Victory.
Yuon purchased a house on the Ligachevo estate. The estate was located not far from the house of the parents of Claudia Alekseevna, the artist’s wife, whose acquaintance was the main page in the artist’s life. Back in 1900, while working on location, Yuon saw a young girl with a luxurious long braid, who was slowly climbing from the river to the mountain. The quick marriage brought the wrath of his father upon the artist, driving him out of the house.
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But this anger did not last long. The kindness and spiritual generosity of a peasant girl from the village of Ligachevo near Moscow softened all class prejudices, making her daughter-in-law beloved.
Here he wrote his best works. In 1915, Yuon painted his most famous landscape "". And much later, in 1947, he painted the landscape "".
The large-sized painting “” has a stunning impact on the viewing audience. Standing in front of a painting, you seem to feel the frosty air and the blueness of the sky and snow. The March sun, flooding everything around with a bright flame, broke through at sunset, lighting up the branches and trunks of the trees.
The image of winter occupies a special page in the work of Konstantin Fedorovich. Winter was one of his favorite topics. The artist admitted: “The whiteness of the snow covers of my native land gives me the most dear experiences and colors to me.” In the film “,” dedicated to winter, Konstantin Yuon appears as a true poet of Russian nature. Here he creates a clear and complete composition. The audience sees a picture of Russian life against the backdrop of a winter landscape.
The viewer observes soft and fluffy snow, a thick cover that covers the ground, a fabulous decoration of frost that decorates the branches of mighty trees, and the wrapping of all objects in a frosty haze. All this is conveyed using many subtle shades of cool colors, while the painting K.F. Yuona mostly colorful. As a result, the image of a real Russian “Mother Winter” is created.
In the 1910s, Yuon's work gained strong popularity among viewers. For him, a period of maturity of talent begins. Inclined to bring his artistic world into a coherent system, Yuon identifies its main elements: architecture, snow, sky, light, space, movement, body.
He has his own, rather unique palette: he loves bright colors and bright sun, as well as the fresh yellowness of wood or the ideal human body. But of all the painters of Yuon’s time, he is distinguished by his positive attitude towards the color white: be it snow or a wall, the sky or a sheet of paper.
In his watercolors and pencil drawings, Yuon again refutes any schemes. His portrait drawings endlessly interesting. He idealizes the upper part of his models' faces.
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His line is not clear, his graphics are not contrasting, and yet hardly anyone of his contemporaries understood the true charm of a self-sufficient pencil drawing, transparent or very saturated watercolor, lush lithograph or simply arabesque lace of black and white graphics as Yuon did.
Konstantin Yuon symbolically comprehended the fatal grandeur of revolutionary changes in “ Symphonies of action"(1920), where he presented the global cosmic scale of events: people are dying on the open earth and cities are being destroyed, and against the backdrop of the flaming sky, the vague outlines of the future, then unclear to anyone, appear. And in the revolutionary allegory “” (1921), the revolution is interpreted as an event on a universal scale: as a result of cosmic shifts and catastrophes, a new planet is born in the world, illuminating the earth with an alarming crimson-red light and causing enormous emotional turmoil among people writhing in fear.
This was the tragedy of the people who mistook the bloody moons of the underworld for the rising of a radiant star. An easily readable symbolic plot acquires a much wider semantic range in its pictorial execution. The human multitude, conventionally outlined by a “fan” of tiny silhouettes and personifying humanity, is shown before the fact of an inexplicable “doomsday” in a full range of different reactions: from exalted delight to confusion and horror. The earth's surface on which this multitude nests is tiny in comparison with the colossal scale of the cosmic world, conveyed through the abstract hyperbolism of huge planets and gigantic streams of light pouring from the heavens. And there is no doubt that this burning cosmos is capable of consuming the mortal vanity of an earthly home.
The sensational “section” of Yuon’s artistic life includes work in the theater. If in Konstantin Fedorovich’s paintings everything is very stable, very objective, then by becoming a theater decorator, Yuon does not sacrifice anything from this objective stability to the illusory conventions of the most unreal of all arts. It is not for nothing that the artist feels most at ease on the stage of the Academic Maly Theater.
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Work in the theater is one of the sparkling facets of the artist’s creativity. He made the scenery for twenty-five plays and operas. The main place in the artist’s work belongs to Russian drama: the works of M.P. Mussorgsky " Khovanshchina", A.N. Ostrovsky " Simplicity is enough for every wise man», « Guilty without guilt", N.V. Gogol " Auditor", A.M. Gorky " Foma Gordeev" The artist’s debut in the theater was sketches of the scenery for the opera by M.P. Mussorgsky " Boris Godunov" It was staged in Paris in 1913 as part of Diaghilev’s famous “Russian Seasons”.
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The artist was connected by especially deep friendship with the Moscow Maly Theater. This theater cannot be imagined without flowery costumes, picturesque interiors and scenic landscapes of Zamoskvorechye, made by Yuon for the plays of A.N. Ostrovsky " The heart is not a stone», « Mad money», Poverty is not a vice».
Konstantin Fedorovich Yuon belongs to those lucky artists who, during their lifetime, enjoyed well-deserved fame and love from the audience. So, in 1958, when, during the performance of one of Emil Braginsky’s plays in the theater, its heroine, seeing a reproduction of Yuon’s “Yuon” on the wall of the hero’s apartment, said: “Yuon... I love Yuon...” - the audience burst into applause . It was a tribute to the artist, admiration for his talent.
Russian artist, representative of symbolism and modernism, master of landscape. Born in Moscow on October 12 (24), 1875 in the family of a bank employee. In 1892 he entered the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where his mentors were K.A. Savitsky, A.E. Arkhipov and K.A. Korovin. After graduating from college (1898), he studied in the workshop of V.A. Serov (until 1900). He was a member of the World of Art, the Union of Russian Artists (one of the founders of the latter) and the Academy of Artists. Lived in Moscow.
Yuon’s symbolist poetics were most acutely manifested in the cycle of drawings The Creation of the World (1908–1909) - with nature and luminaries emerging from primordial chaos. Developing this theme, he later captured the revolution in the form of a formidable cosmic cataclysm (New Planet, 1921). But more typical for him are rural and architectural landscapes, clear in composition and dense in color, giving not a fleeting impression, but a stable image of an inhabited land or historical “soil”, famous or completely ordinary (To the Trinity, 1903; Spring Sunny Day, 1910; March Sun, 1915; Domes and Swallows, 1921; all works in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). A special place in his painting and graphics was occupied by motifs of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (in 1922 he published an album of lithographs of Sergiev Posad).
In the strict system of socialist realist exhibitions, Yuon’s landscapes, sometimes “thematic” (Storm of the Kremlin in 1917, 1947; ibid.), invariably attracted attention for their heartfelt historicism or simply sincere lyricism. He worked fruitfully as a theater artist (he was, in particular, the chief artist of the Maly Theater in 1945–1947) and teacher (since 1900 he taught in his own studio, and later at the Leningrad Academy of Arts and the Moscow Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov). He held the positions of director of the Research Institute of the USSR Academy of Arts (1948–1950) and first secretary of the board of the Union of Artists of the USSR (1956–1958).
. October 12, 1875 (Moscow) - April 11, 1958 (Moscow).
Painter, graphic artist, set designer. Born into the family of an insurance agent, a native of Switzerland. In 1894 he entered the MUZHVIZ, the architectural department. Soon he transferred to the painting department, studied with K. A. Savitsky, A. E. Arkhipov, L. O. Pasternak, and in 1899 worked in the studio of V. A. Serov.
From 1896 to the end of the 1900s, he repeatedly visited Paris, where he studied in private studios. From 1898 he gave private lessons. In 1900–1917 he headed the School of K. F. Yuon and I. O. Dudin in Moscow. I became interested in the culture of Ancient Rus'. In the late 1890s - 1900s he repeatedly traveled to ancient Russian cities. He also visited Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. Lived in Moscow, Sergiev Posad (1903, 1911, 1918–1921), Tver province (1905–1906, 1916–1917), Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl.
He took part in exhibitions of the Moscow Association of Artists (1899, 1902), the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (1900), and the World of Art (1901, 1906). Since 1903 he was a permanent exhibitor of the Union of Russian Artists, and since 1904 he was a member of the Union Committee. He worked primarily as a landscape painter, gaining “wide fame” among the Moscow and St. Petersburg public.
In the late 1900s - early 1910s he designed opera productions of S. P. Diaghilev's Russian seasons in Paris. Yuon’s undoubted success in the field of scenography was the design of M. P. Mussorgsky’s opera “Boris Godunov,” staged at the Champs-Elysees Theater in Paris in 1913. The sets and costumes revealed knowledge of Russian culture and history, which distinguished many of the master’s paintings.
Since 1910, the artist collaborated in the theaters of K. N. Nezlobin, the Opera Theater of S. I. Zimin, the Maly Theater, and the Moscow Art Theater. In 1916 he took part in the design of the literary and artistic collection “Half a Century for the Book: To the 50th Anniversary of I. D. Sytin’s Publishing Activity.”
After the revolution, he was one of the initiators of the creation of fine arts schools at the Moscow Department of Public Education. In 1920 he received first prize for his design of a curtain for the Bolshoi Theater. In 1921 he was elected a full member of the Russian Academy of Art Sciences. Since 1925 - member of the AHRR. In 1938–1939 he led a personal workshop at the All-Russian Academy of Arts in Leningrad.
In 1940 he completed sketches for the mosaic decoration of the Palace of the Soviets. In 1943 he was awarded the Stalin Prize, in 1947 he was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Arts. From 1943 to 1948 he worked as the chief artist of the Maly Theater. In 1950 he was awarded the title "People's Artist". In 1948–1950 he headed the Research Institute of History and Theory of Fine Arts of the USSR Academy of Arts. Doctor of Art History. In 1952–1955 he taught at the Moscow State Art Institute. V. I. Surikova, professor. Since 1957 - first secretary of the board of the Union of Artists of the USSR.
In his early work, Yuon often turned to the motifs of the Russian village: the artist was interested in the state of nature, the change of seasons, the life of provincial towns and villages, and the architecture of ancient churches and monasteries. His painting style was formed under the influence of the lessons of Korovin and Serov. After the revolution, the artist’s individual style changed little; the range of subjects became somewhat different. In the 1920s - 1950s, he created a number of portraits and paintings on the history of the revolution and contemporary life, in which he adhered to the realistic tradition. Landscapes of this time are close in the manner of execution to earlier works of the 1910s, in which elements of impressionism and “peredvizhniki realism” were closely intertwined. Filled with subtle lyricism, they represent the greatest value in the entire creative heritage of the master.
Yuon as a theater decorator is much inferior to Yuon the painter. Most of his theatrical works lack the novelty and artistic imagination that characterized the scenography of many of his contemporaries.
Yuon's personal exhibitions were organized in 1926, 1945, 1955 at the State Tretyakov Gallery (timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary, 50th anniversary, 60th anniversary of his creative activity), 1931 - at the State Museum of Fine Arts, 1950 - at the USSR Academy of Arts. Posthumous retrospectives of the master's works took place in 1962 and 1976 at the Tretyakov Gallery, and in 1976 at the Russian Museum.
The artist's works are in the collections of many domestic museums, including the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum. A. S. Pushkin in Moscow, State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. There is a memorial plaque on the house where Yuon lived and worked (Zemlyanoy Val Street, 14-16).
(This article uses information from the site artinvestment.ru)
 Birches Petrovskoe. 1899. X.M. |
 Holiday. 1903. Cardboard, tempera. 95.5x70. State Russian Museum |
Photos:
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Exhibitions:
Literature:
K. F. Yuon, Moscow in my work, M., 1958;
K. F. Yuon, About art, vol. 1 - 2, M., 1959.
A p u sh k i n Ya. V., K. F. Yuon, M., 1936;
Tretyakov N., K. F. Yuon, M., 1957;
K. F. Yuon. Man, artist, public figure. Teacher. [Catalogue collection], M., 1968;
[Romashkova L.], K. Yuon. [Album], M., 1973;
K. F. Yuon, Centenary of the birth, 1875 - 1975, M., 1976.
YuON Konstantin Fedorovich
1875, Moscow - 1958, ibid.
Fate favored K. F. Yuon in every possible way. He lived a long life. He had an extremely happy marriage. Those around him loved him. He never had to struggle with poverty. Success came to him very early and always accompanied him. After the revolution, honors, high awards, titles, leadership positions seemed to seek him out on their own.
There were fewer adversities - a quarrel for several years with his father (a bank employee) over Yuon's marriage to a peasant woman and the early death of one of his sons. In 1892, Yuon entered the MUZHVZ, where he studied with K. A. Savitsky, N. A. Kasatkin, A. E. Arkhipov, V. A. Serov.
The public noticed his paintings at student exhibitions and bought them up so willingly that student Yuon was able to travel around Russia and Europe. Subsequently, his paintings were always welcome at exhibitions of the Peredvizhniki, and at exhibitions of the World of Art and SRH (of which he was a member). Leading critics and art historians of his time wrote about him - AN. Benois, I.E. Grabar, P.P. Muratov, then A.M. Efros, D.E. Arkin... He himself acted as an art critic with works on the work of Russian artists, on painting techniques, on artistic education.
Soon after graduating from college, Yuon began teaching and was engaged in it all his life, earning great gratitude from his students, among whom were V. I. Mukhina, animal sculptor V. A. Vatagin and others.
Yuon left many works of different levels. He was a painter, graphic artist and theater designer. He tried himself in thematic painting, painted portraits of his contemporaries, but his true calling turned out to be landscape painting.
Like other SRKh masters, Yuon adopted some of the principles of the French impressionists, without breaking with the traditions of Russian realism of the second half of the 19th century, that is, without “dissolving” the form of objects in the environment. Like A.P. Ryabushkin and B.M. Kustodiev, he loved Russian antiquity, its decorativeness and colorfulness.
In his memory, the discovery of ancient Russian icon painting took place. Restorers began to clean the icons and discovered bright, pure colors. All this influenced the formation of Yuon’s manner. He loved joy and beauty in nature and life; most willingly depicted the sun, snow, bright folk clothes, monuments of ancient Russian architecture ("Trinity Lavra in Winter", "Spring Sunny Day", both 1910; "March Sun", 1915). His painting “Domes and Swallows. Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra” (1921) is very famous. This is a panoramic landscape painted from the bell tower of the cathedral on a clear summer evening, at sunset. The earth prospers under a gentle sky, and sunlit domes with golden patterned crosses shine in the foreground. The motif itself is not only very beautiful, but also bold for the era of the merciless struggle of the new government with the church.
Yuon also approaches historical themes - the revolution and the Patriotic War - through the landscape, and, in generalizing, strives to be extremely reliable ("Before entering the Kremlin. Nikolsky Gate November 2 (15), 1917", 1926; "Parade on Red Square in Moscow November 7, 1941", 1942).
Among Yuon’s later works, those painted in the village of Ligachevo near Moscow, where the artist had a house and where he worked from 1908 to 1958, stand out (“End of Winter. Midday”, 1929; “Russian Winter. Ligachevo”, “Open Window” . Ligachevo", both 1947), and those written from the memories of youth and associated with the poetic side of life and everyday life of old Moscow, which raised the artist ("Feeding pigeons on Red Square in 1890-1900", 1946).
(Based on materials from staratel.com)
Yuon, Konstantin Fedorovich
(born 1875) - famous painter. He studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1893-98), working for the last year in the class of D. Serov (see).
At the same time, Yu exhibited at student exhibitions and made several trips abroad.
In 1900, together with the artist Dudin, he opened an art school in Moscow, from which a number of major artists emerged (including Yakulov, Vatagin, the Vesnin brothers).
Since 1900, Yuri has taken part in exhibitions of the World of Art, 36, and then the Union of Russian Artists (until 1920). Member of the Paris Autumn Salon (since 1906); repeatedly exhibited abroad.
Yu's creativity is typical of the art of the heyday of industrialism. capitalism in Russia. With the reaction against academic “literaryism” and the complexity of the plot narrative of itinerant everyday life, interest in the very subject of the image arose, which, together with the new formal provisions proclaimed by French impressionism, created the conditions for the flourishing of landscape in Russian painting.
Strengthened Russian capitalism, which was acquiring European significance, sought national forms for its expression in art. The exponents of these aspirations were many major masters of the “Russian landscape,” including Yu. Yu willingly introduces people and things into his landscapes that emphasize the national, Russian character of nature. The influence of K. Korovin and Serov, who had already come close to the problem of plein air, had an effect.
In his work, on the other hand, he uses themes and techniques first touched upon by Ryabushkin. Not limiting himself to showing the endless distance, which is captured at first glance by a passive viewer, the artist places a number of three-dimensional objects in different plans, serving as milestones, sliding along which the eye most convincingly perceives the illusory depth of the depicted space ("March Sun", 1916). The same role is played by volumetric forms of architecture - an inevitable motif in Yu’s paintings. The plot of Yu is always plotless.
In the very emotional landscapes of Yu., the main feeling is not resolved in the action of the central person, but is directed to all elements of the picture equally. Gradually, this effective principle is localized in the figures that “revive” the landscape (an example of which is the “Dance of the Matchmakers”), which subsequently led to the unification of disparate figures into a single-minded crowd. This facilitated Yu's transition to a purely externally understood revolutionary theme and made it possible for him to join the AKhPP in 1925.
An example of works from the last period can be “Parade of the Red Army” (1923). Since 1912 Yu has been working in the theater. He designed the following performances: "Boris Godunov" at the Diaghilev Theater (Paris), "The Inspector General" at the Art Theater, a number of performances at the Nezlobin and Zimin Theater, and after the revolution - "Arakcheevshchina" at the Moscow Maly Theater, etc. In the field of decorative art, Yu. He also worked a lot in Mosselprom.
His “cosmic” paintings stand apart (the cycle “Co-creation of the world”, published in the magazine “Libra”, 1910, etc.). Since 1926 Yu - Honored Artist.
A large number of Yuon's works are in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Russian Museum in Leningrad.
E. Kronman.
In the mid-twentieth century, he held high positions in the Soviet artistic community, including being the first secretary of the board of the Union of Artists of the USSR. At the same time, he did not stop his creative search, creating works that have now become classics of Soviet painting. And although Konstantin Fedorovich Yuon did not leave any notes about his visit to the city of Kuibyshev and the region, he nevertheless maintained close ties with many creative people of our city (Fig. 1).
He was born on October 12 (new style 24), 1875 in Moscow, into a German-speaking Swiss family. His father worked as an employee of an insurance company, later as its director, and his mother was an amateur musician.
From 1892 to 1898, the young man studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (MUZHVZ). His teachers were such masters as K.A. Savitsky, A.E. Arkhipov, N.A. Kasatkin. After graduating from college, Yuon worked for two years in V.A.’s workshop. Serov, and then founded his own studio, in which he taught together with I.O. from 1900 to 1917. Dudin. His students were, in particular, A.V. Kuprin, V.A. Favorsky, V.I. Mukhina, Vesnin brothers, V.A. Vatagin, N.D. Colley, A.V. Grishchenko, M. G. Roiter.
In 1903, Yuon became one of the organizers of the Union of Russian Artists. He was also one of the participants in the World of Art association. Since 1907, he worked in the field of theatrical decoration, led an art studio at the Prechistensky working courses together with I.O. Dudin. One of his students at this time was Yu.A. Bakhrushin. At this time K.F. Yuon painted one of the most famous self-portraits (1912) (Fig. 2).
During the period of revolutionary events and the civil war in Russia, Yuon took the side of the Soviet regime, and in 1925 he joined the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (AHRR), although there is every reason to believe that, at least at first, he did not sympathize with Bolshevism.
In particular, in the painting “New Planet” he created in 1921-1922, the artist depicted a cosmic catastrophe, which symbolizes the October Revolution. In another “space” painting, “People” (1923), one can discern the contours of the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp (SLON) (Fig. 3, 4).
His painting “Domes and Swallows” is also very famous to this day. Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra" (1921). This is a panoramic landscape painted from the bell tower of the cathedral on a clear summer evening, at sunset. The earth prospers under a gentle sky, and sunlit domes with golden patterned crosses shine in the foreground. The motif itself is not only very effective, but also very bold for that era when the Soviet government waged a merciless fight against religion (Fig. 5).
In addition to working in the painting genre, he was actively involved in the design of theatrical productions (“Boris Godunov” at the Parisian Diaghilev Theater, “The Inspector General” at the Art Theater, “Arakcheevshchina”, etc.), as well as artistic graphics.
In 1943, K.F. Yuon became a laureate of the Stalin Prize of the first degree, in 1947 he was elected academician of the USSR Academy of Arts, and in 1950 he was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR. In 1951 K.F. Yuon joined the ranks of the CPSU.
From 1948 to 1950, the artist worked as director of the Research Institute of Theory and History of Fine Arts of the USSR Academy of Arts. From 1952 to 1955 K.F. Yuon taught as a professor at the Moscow Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov, as well as in a number of other educational institutions. In 1957, he was elected first secretary of the board of the USSR Union of Artists, and he held this post until his last days.
At the end of his life K.F. Yuon left memories of his fellow student, Samara artist V.A. Mikhailov. This is the entry.
“Mikhailov was my friend during the years of study at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. We were in the same group and moved from class to class together. He was a very witty person, the soul of a friendly environment, he joked endlessly, he had a lot of humor.
Every year during the Christmas holidays, the school organized student exhibitions, which were very popular among art lovers. Patrons always attended student exhibitions. They had a desire to guess the future master and buy as many of his things as possible.
With Mikhailov V.A. I had to be among the so-called managers of student exhibitions for two years in a row. I still have a photograph of a group of exhibition participants, including Mikhailov. The manager Mikhailov could not help but make a joke here and attached a label to his heart with the inscription “sold”.
I remember Mikhailov’s student work. He studied well. As an artist, Mikhailov wrote with great feeling. I have his Ural sketch - the pearlescent quality, the shimmer of morning colors turned out well.
Senior artists performed at our student exhibitions. Here Mikhailov could get acquainted with some of them; in particular, Byalynitsky and Zhukovsky still exhibited at the school’s exhibitions.
It seems that Gundobin also studied with me.
At the school, teaching was organized in such a way that from class to class you fell into new hands. In the first elementary class there was only one teacher - Kasatkin. In the second, main class, there were two teachers: Gorsky and a teacher in S.., I can’t remember the last name. In the third grade figure class, where they drew the human figure, teachers were Pasternak and Arkhipov. Later Arkhipov moved to the full-scale class. Serov and Arkhipov were with me. The next year, Serov received a personal workshop at the school, and he no longer taught in classes.
After graduating from college, Mikhailov moved to Samara and began teaching. At first we corresponded, and then each of us went our own way.”
These memories of K.F. Yuon “Study Companion” about V.A. Mikhailov are given according to a shorthand recording made from his words in 1958. Nowadays in the Samara Regional Art Museum there is a sketch by K.F. Yuon “Monastery” with a dedicatory inscription: “To dear V.A. Mikhailov. K. Yuon.” The sketch entered the museum’s collection as a gift from V.A. himself. Mikhailov (Fig. 6-8).
Currently, the Samara Regional Art Museum houses other works by K.F. Yuona (Fig. 9-11).
Konstantin Fedorovich Yuon died on April 11, 1958 and was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery (Fig. 12).
Bibliography
Apushkin Ya.V. K.F. Yuon. M., 1936.
Volodin V.I. From the history of the artistic life of the city of Kuibyshev. The end of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th century. M., Publishing house "Soviet Artist". 1979. 176 p.
Generalova S.V. 2003. The role of the regional department of culture in the preservation of cultural heritage in Samara. - On Sat. "Unknown Samara". Digest of articles. Materials of the city scientific conference of the Municipal Museum "Children's Art Gallery" of Samara. Samara. Published by Cultural Initiative LLC, pp. 3-4.