The Peredvizhniki are painters of the realistic movement, members of the largest Russian progressive democratic association - the Association of Peredvizhniki art exhibitions(1870-1923). Created on the initiative of G.G. Myasoedova, N.N. Ge, V.G. Perov, the Partnership included in its composition the advanced forces of the Russian democratic artistic culture, in particular, a number of members of the Artel of Artists, which had already disintegrated by that time; it developed the best traditions of this association. The partnership was a fundamentally new, unique creative organization artists, the emergence of which, however, was prepared by the previous development of Russian realistic art and especially the art of the 50-60s of the 19th century. creativity realism itinerant
The Peredvizhniki set themselves the task of social and aesthetic education of the masses and sought to widely popularize their art. In this regard, starting from 1871, they organized 48 exhibitions in St. Petersburg and Moscow, which they then usually moved to Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa, Chisinau, Riga, Kazan, Orel and others big cities countries. This is where the name “Itinerants” came from.
Ideological and organizational leader of the Peredvizhniki long years was I.N. Kramskoy. Great importance for the development and popularization of the art of the Peredvizhniki, the activities of V.V. Stasov, in particular, his critical articles, who, although not formally a member of the Partnership, was, in essence, along with Kramskoy, the ideologist of this association.
The composition of the partnership in different time included A.M. and V.M. Vasnetsov, I.I. Levitan, V.E. Makovsky, V.M. Maksimov, V.D. Polenov, I.E. Repin, K.A. Savitsky, A.K. Savrasov, V.A. Serov, V.I. Surikov, I.I. Shishkin, N.A. Yaroshenko. M.M. took part in the exhibitions of the Peredvizhniki. Antokolsky, V.V. Vereshchagin, S.A. Korovin. Prominent Ukrainian, Armenian, Latvian, and Mordovian artists were also members of the Partnership: K.K. Kostandi, P.A. Levchenko, V.Ya. Surenyants, K.F. Goon.
In their work, the Wanderers, based on the realistic method, deeply and comprehensively reflected, first of all, the contemporary life of the working people of Russia. Truly folk everyday genre, the best examples of which were distinguished by combative journalism, was a leader in their work.
The art of portraiture, remarkable for its richness of socio-psychological characteristics, also occupied an important place among them. They depicted mainly leading cultural figures and representatives of the working people. Many of the works of the Peredvizhniki are dedicated to Russian history, in which their attention was especially attracted by the dramatic popular movements. These works were marked by the depth of historical knowledge of the past. In their landscape works, the Peredvizhniki turned to simple, ordinary motifs of their native nature, creating paintings imbued with a patriotic feeling and great social content. A significant number of works by the Wanderers reproduced images folk art and literature. Based on the materialistic aesthetics of V.G. Belinsky, N.A. Dobrolyubova and N.G. Chernyshevsky and expressing the ideas of the broad democratic movement of the 2nd half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Peredvizhniki created the art of critical realism.
Truthfully depicting events and scenes from life and following the requirements of revolutionary educational aesthetics, in their works they pronounced a verdict surrounding reality, exposed the barbarity and savagery of the autocratic serfdom, poverty, and cruel oppression of the people. At the same time, the Wanderers showed the heroic struggle of the people for social and national liberation, wisdom, beauty, strength of the working man, diversity and poetic charm of their native nature.
Defending and developing the principles of realism, nationality and folk art, the organization of the Wanderers very soon turned into the largest center artistic life Russia, into the stronghold of the new realistic direction in painting, and the Imperial Academy of Arts, although it remained the official governing body in the field of art, increasingly lost its authority and this role of the main center.
The Peredvizhniki fought both against the Academy of Arts, which cultivated abstract, idealized art, far from the needs and demands of the working people, and against all sorts of decadent, aesthetic movements that proclaimed the idealistic slogan “art for art’s sake.”
With their creativity and activities to popularize it, the Peredvizhniki actively participated in the broad general democratic movement of the era, in the struggle of progressive social forces against autocracy and the remnants of serfdom in Tsarist Russia. That is why the Itinerants were supported by the advanced part of society. At the same time, the Peredvizhniki were subjected to all sorts of restrictions from the official institutions of Tsarist Russia, direct harassment and persecution from the reactionary press.
Throughout the 70-80s of the 19th century, the work of the Itinerants deepened and improved. Their organization grew stronger, gaining more and more authority and popularity among the general public.
The Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (TPHV) was founded in 1870. The first exhibition opened in 1871. This event had its own background. In 1863, the so-called “revolt of 14” took place at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. A group of Academy graduates, led by I. N. Kramskoy, protested against the tradition according to which competitive program limited the freedom to choose the theme of the work. The demands of young artists expressed a desire to turn art to problems modern life. Having received a refusal from the Academy Council, the group defiantly left the Academy and organized an Artel of Artists similar to the workers’ commune described in N. G. Chernyshevsky’s novel “What is to be done?” So advanced Russian art freed from the official tutelage of the court Academy.
By the beginning of the 1870s. democratic art has firmly conquered the public platform. It has its own theorists and critics in the person of I. N. Kramskoy and V. V. Stasov, and is supported financially by P. M. Tretyakov, who at this time mainly acquired works of the new realistic school (see Tretyakov Gallery). Finally, it has its own exhibition organization - TPHV. The new art thus received a wider audience, which was mainly made up of commoners. The aesthetic views of the Peredvizhniki were formed in the previous decade in the context of public debate about the ways further development Russia, generated by dissatisfaction with the reforms of the 1860s.
The idea of the tasks of the art of the future Peredvizhniki was formed under the influence of the aesthetics of N. G. Chernyshevsky, who declared that “the generally interesting in life”, which was understood by artists, as a worthy object of art new school as a requirement for cutting-edge and topical topics.
The heyday of the TPHV activity was the 1870s - early 1890s. The program of national art put forward by the Wanderers was expressed in the artistic development of various aspects folk life- in the depiction of typical events of this life, often with a critical tendency (“The Zemstvo is having lunch” by G. G. Myasoedov, 1872, Tretyakov Gallery; “Meeting of an Icon” by K. A. Savitsky, 1878, Tretyakov Gallery).
However, characteristic of the art of the 1860s. critical pathos, focus on manifestations social evil gives way in the paintings of the Wanderers to a broader coverage of people's life, aimed at its positive aspects. The Wanderers show not only poverty, but also the beauty of people’s life (“The Arrival of a Sorcerer at a Peasant Wedding” by V. M. Maksimov, 1875, Tretyakov Gallery), not only suffering, but also perseverance in the face of life’s adversities, courage and strength of character (“Barge Haulers on Volga" by I. E. Repin, 1870-1873, Russian Russian Museum), the wealth and greatness of native nature (works by A. K. Savrasov, A. I. Kuindzhi, I. I. Levitan, I. I. Shishkin), heroic pages national history(the work of V. I. Surikov) and the revolutionary liberation movement (“Arrest of a propagandist”, “Refusal of Confession” by I. E. Repin). The desire to cover various aspects more widely public life, to reveal the complex interweaving of positive and negative phenomena of reality attracts the Wanderers to enrich the genre repertoire of painting: along with the everyday painting that dominated the previous decade, in the 1870s. The role of portraits and landscapes, and later of historical painting, increases significantly. The consequence of this process was the interaction of genres - in everyday painting the role of landscape is strengthened, the development of portrait enriches household painting depth of characterization, at the junction of portrait and household painting such an original phenomenon arises as a social and everyday portrait (“Woodman” by I. N. Kramskoy; “Stoker” and “Student” by N. A. Yaroshenko). Developing individual genres, the Wanderers, as an ideal to which art should strive, thought of unity, a synthesis of all genre components in the form of a “choral picture”, where the main thing actor a lot of people would show up. This synthesis was fully realized already in the 1880s. I. E. Repin and V. I. Surikov, whose work represents the pinnacle of peredvizhniki realism.
A special line in the art of the Wanderers is the work of N. N. Ge and I. N. Kramskoy, who resorted to the allegorical form of gospel stories to express complex issues modernity (“Christ in the desert” by I. N. Kramskoy, 1872, Tretyakov Gallery; “What is truth?”, 1890, Tretyakov Gallery and paintings of the gospel cycle by N. N. Ge of the 1890s). Active participants in traveling exhibitions were V. E. Makovsky, N. A. Yaroshenko, V. D. Polenov.
Remaining true to the basic precepts of the Peredvizhniki movement, participants of the TPHV from the new generation of masters are expanding the range of themes and plots designed to reflect the changes taking place in the traditional way of Russian life in turn of the 19th century and 20th centuries Such are the paintings by S. A. Korovin (“On the World,” 1893, Tretyakov Gallery), S. V. Ivanov (“On the Road. Death of a Migrant,” 1889, Tretyakov Gallery), A. E. Arkhipov, N. A. Kasatkina and others It is natural that the events and moods associated with the offensive were reflected in the works of the younger Wanderers. new era class battles on the eve of the revolution of 1905 (painting “Execution” by S. V. Ivanov, 1905, Museum of the USSR Revolution). Russian painting owes the discovery of themes related to the work and life of the working class to N. A. Kasatkin (the painting “Coal Miners. Shift”, 1895, Tretyakov Gallery).
The development of the traditions of peredvizhniki occurs already in Soviet time- in the activities of artists of the Association of Artists revolutionary Russia(AHRR). The last, 48th exhibition of the TPHV took place in 1923.
Wanderers' Partnership(“Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions”), the largest Russian artistic associations 19th century
An inspiring example for him was the “St. Petersburg Artel of Artists,” which was founded in 1863 by participants in the “revolt of the fourteen” (I.N. Kramskoy, A.I. Korzukhin, K.E. Makovsky, etc.) - graduates of the Academy of Arts, who defiantly left it after the Academy’s council prohibited them from writing a competition picture on a free plot instead of the officially proposed theme from Scandinavian mythology. Advocating for the ideological and economic freedom of creativity, the “artel workers” began to organize their own exhibitions, but by the turn of the 1860s–1870s their activities had practically disappeared. A new incentive was the appeal to the “Artel” (in 1869) by a group of Muscovite artists (L.L. Kamenev, G.G. Myasoedov, V.G. Perov, I.M. Pryanishnikov, A.K. Savrasov and V.O. .Sherwood) with a proposal to jointly organize a new “Partnership”, and in 1870 its charter was approved, signed by N.N. Ge, Kamenev, M.K. Klodt, M.P. Klodt, Korzukhin, Kramskoy, K.V. Lemokh , K.E. Makovsky, N.E. Makovsky, Myasoedov, Perov, Pryanishnikov, Savrasov, Shishkin and V.I. Yakobi. The charter set the goal of the association “to organize, with proper permission, traveling art exhibitions in all cities of the empire, in the following forms: a) providing residents of the provinces with the opportunity to get acquainted with Russian art and follow its successes; b) developing love for art in society; and c) making it easier for artists to market their works.” Thus, in fine arts For the first time in Russia (if you don’t count the Artel), a powerful art group arose, not just a friendly circle or a private school, but a large community of like-minded people, which intended (contrary to the dictates of the Academy of Arts) not only to express, but also to independently determine the process of development of artistic culture according to all over the country.
Theoretical origin creative ideas“Itinerants” (expressed in their correspondence, as well as in the criticism of that time - primarily in the texts of Kramskoy and the speeches of V.V. Stasov) was the aesthetics of philosophical romanticism. A new art, liberated from the canons of academic classics, “art in its highest manifestation,” was called upon to reveal to the world “what history will say about it (the world)” (Kramskoy, A look at historical painting), - actually open the very course of history, thereby effectively preparing the future in their images. For the “Itinerants”, such an artistic and historical “mirror” presented, first of all, modernity: the central place in the exhibitions was occupied by genre and everyday motifs, “the whole of Russia” in its many-sided everyday life. Genre beginning set the tone for portraits, landscapes, and even images of the past, as close as possible to the “spiritual needs of society.” In the later tradition, including the Soviet one, which tendentiously distorted the concept of “peredvizhnik realism,” the matter came down to social-critical, “revolutionary-democratic” subjects, of which there really were quite a few (and they caused constant nitpicking by the censor). It is more important to keep in mind the unprecedented analytical and even visionary role that was given here not so much to the notorious social “issues”, but to art as such, creating its own sovereign judgment over society and thereby separating itself into its own, ideally self-sufficient artistic kingdom. Such aesthetic sovereignty, which grew over the years, became the immediate threshold of Russian symbolism and modernism (at least in the works of such outstanding “Itinerants” as V.M. Vasnetsov, A.I. Kuindzhi, I.E. Repin, V.I. Surikov or the same Kramskoy).
The exhibitors of the “Partnership” included (in addition to the above artists) A.P. Bogolyubov, A.M. Vasnetsov, K.F. Gun, N.N. Dubovskoy, I.I. Levitan, V.M. Maksimov, N. V. Nevrev, I. S. Ostoukhov, V. D. Polenov, K. A. Savitsky, V. I. Surikov, N. A. Yaroshenko and many others. At regular exhibitions (48 in total), which were shown first in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and then in many other cities of the empire, from Warsaw to Kazan and from Novgorod to Astrakhan, over the years one could see more and more examples of not only romantic-“realistic” ", but also modernist (impressionism) stylistics. Difficult relations with the Academy eventually ended in a compromise, since by the end of the 19th century. (following the wish Alexandra III“stop the division between artists”), a significant part of the most authoritative “Itinerants” were included in the academic teaching staff.
At the beginning of the 20th century. Friction between innovators and traditionalists intensified in the Partnership. The “Peredvizhniki” had ceased to represent, as they themselves were accustomed to believe, everything that was artistically advanced in Russia, and modernist-minded youth made a choice in favor of other groups - starting with the “World of Art”. The face of the “Partnership” itself was now determined in its own way by skilled, but stylistically retrograde artists such as V.N. Baksheev, V.K. Byalynitsky-Biruli, N.P. Bogdanov-Belsky, N.A. Kasatkin, P.A. .Radimov, G.K.Savitsky. Society was rapidly losing its influence. In 1909 his provincial exhibitions ceased. The last significant surge of activity took place in 1922, when the society adopted a new declaration, expressing its desire to “reflect the way of life modern Russia", in order to "help the masses realize and remember the great historical process" However, the same tasks were soon set by the newly formed AHRR, with which the “peredvizhnichestvo” practically merged (the last chairman of the Partnership, Radimov, became one of the founders of the AHRR), so 1922 turned out to be its last.
Creativity of the Peredvizhniki artists
Plan.
1. a brief description of directions of the Itinerants.
2. V.A. Serov is an outstanding representative of the Itinerants.
3. The significance of the creativity of the Wanderers.
Literature.
The Peredvizhniki were painters of the realistic movement who were part of the largest Russian progressive democratic association - the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (1870-1923). Created on the initiative of G.G. Myasoedova, N.N. Ge, V.G. Perov, the Partnership included in its membership the leading forces of Russian democratic artistic culture, in particular a number of members of the Artel of Artists, which had already disintegrated by that time; it developed the best traditions of this association. The Partnership was a fundamentally new, unique creative organization of artists, the emergence of which, however, was prepared by the previous development of Russian realistic art and especially the art of the 50-60s of the 19th century.
The Peredvizhniki set themselves the task of social and aesthetic education of the masses and sought to widely popularize their art. In this regard, starting from 1871, they organized 48 exhibitions in St. Petersburg and Moscow, which they then usually moved to Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa, Chisinau, Riga, Kazan, Orel and other large cities of the country. This is where the name “Itinerants” came from.
The ideological and organizational leader of the Peredvizhniki for many years was I.N. Kramskoy. The activities of V.V. were of great importance for the development and popularization of the art of the Itinerants. Stasov, in particular, his critical articles, who, although not formally a member of the Partnership, was, in essence, along with Kramskoy, the ideologist of this association.
The partnership at various times included A.M. and V.M. Vasnetsov, I.I. Levitan, V.E. Makovsky, V.M. Maksimov, V.D. Polenov, I.E. Repin, K.A. Savitsky, A.K. Savrasov, V.A. Serov, V.I. Surikov, I.I. Shishkin, N.A. Yaroshenko. M.M. took part in the exhibitions of the Peredvizhniki. Antokolsky, V.V. Vereshchagin, S.A. Korovin. Prominent Ukrainian, Armenian, Latvian, and Mordovian artists were also members of the Partnership: K.K. Kostandi, P.A. Levchenko, V.Ya. Surenyants, K.F. Goon.
In their work, the Peredvizhniki, based on the realistic method, deeply and comprehensively reflected, first of all, the contemporary life of the working people of Russia. A truly folk everyday genre, the best examples of which were distinguished by militant journalism, was the leading one in their work. The art of portraiture, remarkable for its richness of socio-psychological characteristics, also occupied an important place among them. They depicted mainly leading cultural figures and representatives of the working people. Many of the works of the Peredvizhniki are dedicated to Russian history, in which their attention was especially attracted by the dramatic popular movements. These works were marked by the depth of historical knowledge of the past. In their landscape works, the Peredvizhniki turned to simple, ordinary motifs of their native nature, creating paintings imbued with a patriotic feeling and great social content. A significant number of works by the Peredvizhniki reproduced images of folk art and literature. Based on the materialistic aesthetics of V.G. Belinsky, N.A. Dobrolyubova and N.G. Chernyshevsky and expressing the ideas of the broad democratic movement of the 2nd half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Peredvizhniki created the art of critical realism.
Truthfully depicting events and scenes from life and following the requirements of revolutionary educational aesthetics, in their works they pronounced judgment on the surrounding reality, exposed the barbarity and savagery of the autocratic serfdom, poverty, and cruel oppression of the people. At the same time, the Wanderers showed the heroic struggle of the people for social and national liberation, wisdom, beauty, strength of the working man, diversity and poetic charm of their native nature.
Defending and developing the principles of realism, nationality and popular art, the organization of the Peredvizhniki very soon turned into the largest center of artistic life in Russia, into a stronghold of the new realistic direction in painting, and the Imperial Academy of Arts, although it remained the official governing body in the field of art, increasingly lost its authority and this role of the main center.
The Peredvizhniki fought both against the Academy of Arts, which cultivated abstract, idealized art, far from the needs and demands of the working people, and against all sorts of decadent, aesthetic movements that proclaimed the idealistic slogan “art for art’s sake.”
With their creativity and activities to popularize it, the Peredvizhniki actively participated in the broad general democratic movement of the era, in the struggle of progressive social forces against autocracy and the remnants of serfdom in Tsarist Russia. That is why the Itinerants were supported by the advanced part of society. At the same time, the Peredvizhniki were subjected to all sorts of restrictions from the official institutions of Tsarist Russia, direct harassment and persecution from the reactionary press.
Throughout the 70-80s of the 19th century, the work of the Itinerants deepened and improved. Their organization grew stronger, gaining more and more authority and popularity among the general public.
2. V.A. Serov is an outstanding representative of the Itinerants.
An outstanding representative of the Peredvizhniki is V.A. Serov, born in 1865 in St. Petersburg. From the age of 9 he was a student of I.E. Repin; Together with him, he made a trip to Zaporozhye in 1880, during which he worked next to the teacher, directly becoming acquainted with the life of the people.
In 1880-1885, Serov studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and went through a rigorous school of drawing and painting under the guidance of P.P. Chistyakova. The creative friendship that connected Serov with his teachers played an important role in the continuity of the development of the traditions of Russian realism.
Of great importance for Serov was his constant, thoughtful study of Russian and Western European museums. Democracy, truthfulness and sincerity, close attention to the person and native nature, a keen sense of modern life combined with deep exploration artistic heritage make up character traits creativity of Serov.
Already at the age of 22-23 he created classical works Russian painting: paintings “Girl with Peaches” (1887), “Girl Illuminated by the Sun” (1888), “Overgrown Pond. Domotkanovo" (1888). With these works, Serov, creatively developing the realistic achievements of his predecessors, opened new page in the history of Russian painting. “Girl with Peaches” and “Girl in the Sun” are poems about youth, imbued with the cheerful, optimistic attitude of the artist, who perceives the world in its colorful richness and diversity.
In the early period of his creativity (1880-90s), Serov loved to paint portraits in the sun, among nature, tracing the play of the sun's rays - a portrait of O.F. Serova “Summer”, (1895).
Landscapes early period- "Autumn evening. Domotkanovo”, “Winter in Abramtsevo” are distinguished by the accuracy and objectivity of observations, clarity of compositional structure, rich, finely developed range, and materiality of painting.
In 1894, Serov became a member of the Association of Itinerants. In the second half of the 90s, under the influence of the rise of revolutionary sentiment in the country, Serov created a number of truthful and sincere works dedicated to the Russian village: the paintings “October. Domotkanovo" (1895), "In Winter" (1898), pastel "In the Village. Woman with a Horse" (1898), "Woman in a Cart" (1899), watercolor "Gray Day" (1897), full of drama drawing "Horseless" (1899). Landscapes of the 90s, painted in a spare tonal range, are distinguished by their simplicity and typicality: these are images of peasant Russia, filled with deep mood, colored with harsh and sad lyricism. A direct response to the revolutionary events was the small painting “Meeting. The arrival of the wife to the exile" (1898). Also associated with this group of works, which clearly reveal Serov’s democratic tendencies, are the pastel “Pushkin in the Village” (1899) and the watercolor “Pushkin in the Park” (1899), recreating the heartfelt image of the great poet.
Late 1890-1900 - a period of new and diverse creative quests of the artist. He creates numerous portraits, deep in concept, different in genre - from intimate-lyrical to monumental, from sharp sketches to portrait-paintings. Serov appears at this time as a master of artistic typification and character identification. Each portrait for Serov, in his words, is “a whole disease” - with such creative passion he delves into the study of nature, looking for new means artistic expression, achieves a vivid disclosure of the socio-psychological essence of a person, strives to express his attitude towards him. Charming female portraits S. M. Lukomskaya (watercolor, 1999) and M.N. Akimova (1908), marked by the spirituality of the image, high skill in drawing and painting, conveying the finest shades state of mind. During this period, Serov willingly painted children, subtly noting the peculiarities of child psychology: “Children” (1899), “Mika Morozov” (1901).
A new rise in Serov’s creativity and social activity was caused by the revolution of 1905-1907. In 1905, Serov created a wonderful gallery of portraits of outstanding figures of Russian culture - M. Gorky, M.N. Ermolova, F.I. Shalyapin. During the same period, Serov showed interest in monumental classical art: he created panels, paintings on ancient themes, and sketches for murals based on the myth of Diana and Actaeon.
Systematically improving his skills in the field of drawing, Serov developed a unique individual style, distinguished by the accuracy and sharpness of recording phenomena, laconicism and expressiveness of the line. Serov painted with pencil, charcoal, watercolor, ink, and gouache. Serov's main works are stored in Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
On November 9, 1863, an event occurred at the Imperial Academy of Arts - a riot, a scandal - that gave birth to the world-famous "Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions." On this day, 14 of the best graduates of the Academy refused to participate in the competition dedicated to its centenary gold medal. According to the assignment, each of the 14 winners of the small gold medal “For success in drawing” was supposed to present a picture on the theme “Feast in Valhalla”, however, young rebels led by Ivan Kramskoy considered the German-Scandinavian plot to be arch-modern and divorced from reality. One after another, they left the academic audience, disrupting the anniversary competition and leaving papers with requests for the vice-president of the Academy, Prince Gagarin, to issue each of them a diploma “corresponding to the medals with which I was awarded.”
Standing up for realism and a highly social orientation of painting, breaking off relations with the Academy, Kramskoy’s supporters created the first Russian art an independent creative organization called "Artel of Artists". After some time, it was reborn into the “Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions” or the Itinerants movement.
The meaning of “Revolt of the Fourteen”: realism replacing academicism.
The photo shows participants in the “Revolt of the Fourteen,” 1860s.
Throughout the 19th century Imperial Academy arts had a kind of monopoly on any artistic activity however, many students and graduates of the Academy did not share the beliefs of its rectors and teachers - stories on biblical and mythological themes seemed outdated; The dominant role of form in relation to content was also questioned. However, before the “Revolt of the Fourteen,” few people stated this openly.
In fact, it was the “Revolt of the Fourteen” - the disruption of the anniversary competition of the Academy of Arts - that became the first prerequisite for the emergence of the Wanderers movement.
Art for the sake of people. Goals and charter of the partnership.
Nikolai Ge - “Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof”, 1871, the first exhibition of the Wanderers
No period in the history of Russian painting was marked by such a vehement rejection of academicism and the concept of “art for art’s sake” as the period that began in the 60s XIX century. Inspired by the ideas of democracy and dreams of universal freedom and prosperity, the Wanderers dreamed of art in the name of serving the people, their enlightenment and education. These aspirations were expressed in the charter of the partnership:
Ҥ 1. The Partnership has the goal of: organizing, with proper permission, traveling art exhibitions in all cities of the Empire, in the following forms (for):
a) providing residents of the provinces with the opportunity to get acquainted with Russian art and follow its successes;
b) developing love for art in society;
c) making it easier for artists to sell their works.
§ 2. For this purpose, the Partnership may organize exhibitions and make sales at them as works of art, and artistic products, as well as photographs...”
In addition to all this, the charter of the partnership stipulated the rules for managing its affairs and cash desk, as well as the conditions for admitting newcomers to its ranks.
First exhibition
Illarion Pryanishnikov - “Empty”, 1871, the first exhibition of the Wanderers.
“This year was marked by a very remarkable phenomenon for Russian art: some Moscow and St. Petersburg artists formed a partnership with the goal of organizing traveling art exhibitions in all Russian cities. Therefore, from now on, works of Russian art, hitherto confined to St. Petersburg alone, within the walls of the Academy of Arts, or buried in galleries and museums of private individuals, will become accessible to all ordinary people Russian Empire in general...", wrote Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin in the journal Otechestvennye zapiski.
The first exhibition of the Itinerants, which traveled around Russia for almost two months, opened on November 29, 1871 in St. Petersburg and also managed to visit Moscow, Kyiv and Kharkov. Among its participants were Mikhail Klodt, Grigory Myasoedov, Vasily Perov, Ivan Shishkin, Ge, Pryanishnikov, Kramskoy and Savrasov. The exhibition caused a wide public response, and the total income from it amounted to about 4,400 rubles. The money received was divided among all participants of the partnership in accordance with its charter; Not a single artist was left without a well-deserved income - and this situation could also be considered an absolute breakthrough. The fact is that the annual (!) income from all exhibitions of the Academy of Arts never exceeded 5,000 rubles, and the artists participating in them did not receive a penny - all the money was transferred to the treasury of the Ministry of the Imperial Household.
Economic policy of the Peredvizhniki.
Mikhail Klodt - “Volga near Simbirsk”, 1881.
The participants of the partnership demanded from each other strict adherence to the charter they adopted, and in particular that part of it that concerned financial issues- 5% of the cost of each painting sold, as well as all money received for tickets to one or another traveling exhibition, were sent to the cash desk of the partnership, the rest went “to the division between the exhibitors, in accordance with the assessment of their works made by the board.”
Perfect discipline in everything related to money and organizational issues, served the Wanderers well - their business flourished. By the mid-70s of the 19th century, most of the artists who exhibited their paintings at the Itinerant exhibitions moving from place to place gained all-Russian fame, and with it the long-awaited financial stability.
Confrontation with the Academy of Arts. Pavel Tretyakov.
Prince Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin - vice-president of the Academy of Arts from 1859 to 1872.
Soon after the fantastic success of the first exhibition of the Peredvizhniki, teachers of the Academy of Arts, led by its vice-president Grigory Gagarin, sounded the alarm. Former mentors decided that the new partnership under the leadership of Kramskoy and Myasoedov undermined the authority of the Academy and deprived its exhibitions of an interested public.
Thus began a long-term confrontation between the partnership and the Academy, which the famous philanthropist and collector of Russian art Pavel Tretyakov repeatedly tried to end. “Only time will tell who is really right,” he said.. “I don’t see much grace in the fight against the Academy, this also requires time, and there is so little of it,” he wrote to Ivan Kramskoy in 1879 - Close Circle best artists And good people, hard work and complete freedom and independence - this is grace!”
Tretyakov played a vital role in the life of the Peredvizhniki, providing both material and moral support. Many of the paintings of the Wanderers were painted by his order.
The decline of the Wandering movement
Nikolai Yaroshenko - “Conducted”, 1891.
The decline of the Wandering movement turned out to be as rapid as its rise. By the end of its existence, the partnership became one of the most influential departments of the Academy of Arts and adopted a number of monopolistic features characteristic of the Academy. For example, young Peredvizhniki were forbidden to exhibit anywhere except at exhibitions of the association; joining its ranks has also become a fairly formal procedure.
This is how the painter Leonid Pasternak recalled this moment in the history of the Peredvizhniki movement: “The older members of the Partnership were in sharp opposition to the younger ones. We, young artists, were contemptuously called “exhibitors”, since we did not have the rights of members of the society and therefore we were subject to the strictest jury, while the members of the society exhibited their paintings without a jury; We were generally treated in the strictest manner. It even got to the point (it seems incredible these days!) that Yaroshenko, this pillar of the traveling movement, sent out an official “circular” to the “exhibitors” with the most naive, to say the least, listing of stories that could be written to be sent to the traveling exhibition, with indicating especially “desirable” ones, even defining the manner and technique of execution... The main thing in the film was the plot. I just can’t believe that this directive paper, which defined “how to paint pictures and how not to paint them,” is reality and not a fictional fairy tale. This is a historical document late stage wanderings."
7 most important paintings of the Wanderers, stored in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Illarion Pryanishnikov - “Fire victims”, 1871.
1. Vasily Perov - “Hunters at a rest”, 1871.
2. Ilya Repin - “Religious procession in the Kursk province”, 1883.
3. Valentin Serov - “Girl with Peaches”, 1887.
4. Vasily Surikov - “Boyaryna Morozova”, 1887.
5. Nikolai Ge - “What is truth?”, 1890.
6. Mikhail Nesterov - “Vision to the youth Bartholomew”, 1890.
7. Isaac Levitan - “Quiet Abode”, 1891.