Returning from the city. 1914
Kulikov Ivan Semenovich Russian artist, painter, master of portraits and everyday scenes
My father was an outstanding builder, painter and roofer, and the leader of a small artel. The family did not break ties with the village, of which they remained peasants. Semyon Loginovich’s parents lived in the village; they had a house and an allotment of land. As a child, the future artist loved to spend time in the village, impressions of which he retained until the end of his life. These memories later served as themes for many of his works.
After graduating from college, Kulikov worked in his father’s artel, helping to draw up colors for painting work, as well as estimates and invoices. Continuing to work in the artel, the young man did not give up hope of being a real “artist or at least a painter (icon painter).”
A.I. In recent years, Morozov taught drawing at the St. Petersburg School of Law. Despite his great fame, he, burdened with a large family, was forced to produce custom watercolor portraits, miniatures and icons.
Having become acquainted with the young man’s works, at a meeting with his father, Alexander Ivanovich recommended sending his son to the St. Petersburg School for the Encouragement of Arts, which during these years was going through a period of reorganization in connection with the reform of 1893 and the adoption of a new charter. The new charter granted professors and workshop leaders the right to accept talented young people who do not have a gymnasium education as volunteers.
In the fall of 1893, Kulikov went to St. Petersburg and tried to enroll in the Drawing School, but was refused, after which he turned to Morozov for help, who offered him a job for a small fee as an assistant to carry out preparatory work on stretching and priming canvases.
In his free time, Kulikov visits the Hermitage, which was open to visitors at that time, and makes small copies of works Western European masters while acquiring artistic skills.
A few months later, Morozov instructs his student to paint icons for the iconostasis of one of the churches in Yekaterinburg.
The complex still life completed during the exam received not only a high mark, but also the first cash prize in his life.
Then Lipgart invited Kulikov to be his assistant to carry out preparatory work on depicting interiors, accessories, backgrounds, and clothing in portraits. It was an interesting and useful practice for the young artist. E.K. Lipgart trusted his student and assistant with increasingly complex and responsible work, believing that he had received sufficient art education and admission to the Academy is optional.
But, despite the knowledge acquired at school and the development of elementary techniques of painting technique. Kulikov’s ideal was Ilya Efimovich Repin, whom he idolized, considering him “the best teacher” at the Academy.
It is known that in the workshop of I.E. Repin studied with more than 50 students, some of whom already had an academic education.
Friendly and purposeful work was going on in the workshop, there was creative passion, competition, and the personal example of the teacher, who sometimes showed the virtuosity of his technique. This business environment appealed to the students; the teacher established close relationships with some of them, which later turned into long-term friendships.
Many of these students went down in the history of Russian fine art, and their names are very famous: D.N. Kardovsky, B.M. Kustodiev, I.S. Kulikov, K.A. Somov, I.I. Brodsky, K.K. Feshin, I.S. Goryushkin-Sorokopudov, D.F. Bogorodsky and others.
As Kulikov wrote in letters to his parents, classes at the Academy lasted almost 12 hours. “Classes started at 9 o’clock in the morning... you study until half past one... from four o’clock you go back to drawing until 6 o’clock.” Lectures and practical classes on anatomy, perspective, and art history, as a rule, were held in the evening hours and ended at 10 pm. “There’s a lot to do, I work on everything until 11-12 o’clock at night.” Albums on anatomy and descriptive geometry, made in ink, amaze with the highest level of execution, precision and skill. This is a difficult task, and how accomplished! I wish you never to descend from the artistic height at which this beautiful sketch was written. Your I.E. Repin."
The Academy still preserves the traditions of fundamental study of nature, created by the academic school of P.P. Chistyakov and D.N. Kardovsky. Kulikov studies the anatomy of the human body and studies movement. In combination with a pencil, he uses chalk, charcoal, sanguine, achieving expressiveness, even picturesqueness of the drawing, using paper of different colors and textures. Following the views of his teacher, he tries to achieve truthfulness in the depiction of nature, to see it characteristics. And if at first there is some timidity in Kulikov’s depictions, then after two or three months the sketches from nature become more perfect.
Studying at the Higher art school at the Academy gave me the opportunity to continue my education. “I could live comfortably in St. Petersburg, just to study,” Kulikov told his mother. “I study with great pleasure,” he writes in another letter.
During the summer holidays, having received a certificate from the Academy of Arts with permission to perform “ artwork from life and taking pictures of localities,” he writes numerous sketches, including small compositions from peasant life.
The artist was especially successful in two small compositions—the sketches Village Tailors and Dressed Up (1897), in which the artist overcame academic restraint and painted in Repin’s manner, which became characteristic of his subsequent work.
At the student’s reporting exhibition in the fall of 1898, one of these sketches—Village Tailors—was noticed by the famous Swedish artist Anders Zorn, who visited the exhibition at the Academy. He selected this work for an exhibition in Stockholm.
Kulikov together with his friends B.M. Kustodiev, who came from Astrakhan, and JI.B. Popov from Orenburg actively began to prepare for competitive exams. They rent a small room together, where in their free time they talk about painting, about artists, about the difficulties that await them after graduating from the Academy. All together they expect to finish their studies in the fall of 1901. They jointly choose topics for the competition.
Kustodiev was greatly impressed by the Murom bazaar during his visit to Murom during the summer holidays of 1899. Such bazaars were generally characteristic of provincial cities, and Kustodiev considered it timely to capture this feature. Kulikov decided to focus on a different topic - “Tea drinking in a peasant hut”, and in connection with this work numerous sketches and compositions appear in different techniques(painting, sanguine, pastel). For his competition work, Popov chooses the theme of depicting a group of young people called Meeting.
In parallel with work on their diploma, artists take part in various exhibitions. Popov participates in Traveling exhibition with the painting Meeting. Kustodiev presents several portraits and immediately gains popularity as a master portrait painting.
Simultaneously with the image of his loved ones, Kulikov paints portraits of artists, actors, writers, architects (V.V. Belyashin, L.V. Popov and B.M. Kustodiev, writer E.N. Chirikov, architect
V.A. Shchuko, pianist Gurvich and others). Unfortunately, some of them are known only from reproductions.
For Kulikov this was not an accident, because in parallel with his studies in the workshop of I.E. Repin visited the workshop of A.I. Kuindzhi, who highly appreciated the successes of the aspiring artist and even gave him his photograph with a dedicatory inscription.
The artists had to make more than 100 illustrations in a short time. Kulikov chose two works by M. Gorky - Konovalov and Twenty-six and one.
He was close to the images of Konovalov, “a tradesman from Murom,” and the proud and independent Tanya in the story Twenty-six and one. He met people like Konovalov on the Murom piers of the Kachkovs and Zvorykins.
The artists worked on the illustrations for almost three years, making numerous versions, studies and sketches, which is confirmed by correspondence between the publisher K.P. Pyatnitsky, I.E. Repin, D.F. Bogoslovsky.
I.E. Repin did not ignore and continued to be interested in the progress of his students’ work on illustrations, helping them with advice; Both Gorky and Pyatnitsky turned to Repin for advice. In one of his letters to Kulikov, Ilya Efimovich writes: “I saw your illustrations. I really liked them for their artistry and naturalness. Taken simply, clearly, it seems...".
When working on the illustrations, Kulikov conducted a deep analysis of the works of Konovalov and Twenty-six and one. In the illustrations Twenty-six and one, Kulikov depicts events against the backdrop of the buildings of his house. Apparently, someone close to him also posed for Tanya’s image. In the very first sketches of Konovalov’s illustrations, Kulikov gives Maxim a portrait resemblance to the writer.
It is possible that during conversations with M. Gorky when discussing illustrations, the artist managed to make sketches of his portrait, which were later used for illustrations in the final version.
Unfortunately, only in 1939, three years after the death of M. Gorky, Kulikov made his portrait.
Subsequently, Kulikov did not take part in publishing activities. At the same time, he recalled with great pleasure about this stage of his creative activity, about the famous writers of the “Knowledge” partnership, about meetings with one of the significant Russian nugget writers - E.N. Chirikov, with whom they were later connected by many years of friendship.
On the recommendation of Ilya Efimovich, the Council of the Academy of Arts granted Kulikov leave to travel to Murom.
The topic of the competition work was not chosen by chance, since tea drinking in late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century, for peasants with at least a small income, it was a kind of ritual.
Ilya Efimovich asked students to take part in working together above the canvas. The size of the canvas brought from Paris was so impressive (4.7 x 8.6 m) that the artist, even such a master as I.E. Repin, it was impossible to cope with the work alone.
At the request of Ilya Efimovich, the dates of the competitive exhibition were postponed for both students: Kulikov by one year (1902), Kustodiev by two years (1903).
State Council
The artists accepted Repin's offer, considering it honorable. Indeed, after the completion of this work they gained fame, if not as authors, then as assistants to the great artist. Moreover, according to the terms of the contract, with an initial fee of 30 thousand rubles, the assistants were to receive 3 thousand rubles each.
At the beginning of April 1901, Kustodiev informed Kulikov: “I visited Repin, and he said a lot of interesting things about the order he was talking about. This order took place, he wanted to find out about the time, size and general details this week.”
Before I.E. Repin and his assistants faced the difficult problem of creating a composition that would have a balance between the rich architecture of the hall and the color ensemble: multi-colored uniforms of dignitaries, gold aiguillettes and shoulder straps, shiny orders and bright order ribbons. All this had to be in the appropriate range and unity.
A significant part of the work had to be written from the stairs. Dignitaries were invited to pose strictly according to the schedule. No more than one and a half hours were allotted for each portrait. In order not to offend the high rank of the official, Kulikov and Kustodiev painted portraits from different sides.
The posing of the members of the State Council was clearly organized thanks to the Chamberlain and Assistant Secretary of State D.N. Lyubimov, seconded to Repin and his students. Ilya Efimovich inquired in detail about the character and habits of each dignitary in order to reflect the characteristic pose and habitual gestures in the portrait.
It is known that half of the portraits located in the foreground were made by students, and the rest (mostly in the center) were made by I.E. Repin. At the same time, Emperor Nicholas II did not pose; he was replaced by an adjutant. Many art historians note that Repin allegedly corrected portraits painted by his students with a brush. But, according to Kulikov’s recollections, Ilya Efimovich made amendments, made comments and suggestions orally with a desire to weaken or strengthen something somewhere.
According to the agreement concluded with Kulikov and Kustodiev, all sketches and portraits made during joint work were to be the property of Repin. Subsequently, Repin allowed the author’s signatures on the portraits of his students and their sale with payment of half the cost to Repin.
Along with constructing the perspective and interior of the meeting room, Kulikov made more than 23 portraits of dignitaries.
After receiving the fee, Kulikov’s financial situation improved significantly. Ivan Semenovich, who was distinguished by great modesty in life, could support his mother and the entire household in Murom, rent a furnished apartment in a house on Vasilyevsky Island near the Academy, visit the elite restaurant of the creative intelligentsia "Vienna", where you could dine for three rubles among writers, artists, artists.
Studying at the School for the Encouragement of the Arts, the Higher Art School of the Academy, constant communication with the creative intelligentsia had a positive impact beneficial influence for the education in Kulikovo of a contemporary intellectual of that time; He changed not only externally, but his inner spiritual world also changed. This happened to many people from the lower classes of Russia.
One of Kulikov’s closest friends was the writer E.N. Chirikov, whose portrait is considered one of the best painted by Kulikov. In 1901, Chirikov visited the artist in Murom, and in 1904 they visited the Nizhny Novgorod Fair together, where a portrait preserved in the Murom Museum was painted.
In the Vienna restaurant, Kulikov made portraits of F. Chaliapin, the artists Veshchilov, Dudin, and the owner of the restaurant Sokolov.
Artist-writer
The forced break in preparation for the competition, scheduled for the end of 1901, did not prevent the Kulikovs from searching for a more perfect composition and color scheme for a thesis.
Soon he finally settled on a painting called In a Peasant Hut, the composition of which was simple and close in spirit to the author. A bright light falls on the group from the window, creating contrasting illumination of the figures, some of which are located against the background of a golden log wall. WITH right side on the bench stands a shiny copper samovar with an orange glow from the red shirt of a man sitting with his back to the viewer.
When the painting was almost ready, in order for the figures to be better perceived and not block each other, the artist made some changes to the composition. The author's gaze is directed from a point raised above the floor. By the way, the artist later used this technique in many compositions.
On last stage Kulikov’s work was helped by the fact that his relatives posed for him, whom he could gather all together at any moment, applying the finishing touches. He informed I.E. about this. Repin. Ilya Efimovich reacted to this message with great interest: “I was happy to read in your letter that you are seating the entire group and correcting them from life. This is an incomparable artistic technique. Of course, you need to have strength great artist, to drive this complex chariot of art at once... Well, yes, God has rewarded you with strength, just drive more moderately, with great restraint, because if this seven carries you along ravines and ditches, then it will be a disaster. - Don’t yawn!... Sincerely loving you. I. Repin."
“I’m still in a hurry, mother, to tell you my joy that I have finally graduated from the Academy...” writes proudly the peasant son Ivan, who has become a personal honorary citizen.
By the end of the Academy, Kulikov came to the conclusion that he could only create in his homeland, in a city close to him. Despite changes in his views, in his external image, in his soul he remained a peasant son, a “man,” as the Murom inhabitants considered him. In Murom, in a house built by the artist’s father, lived his mother, a former serf of the Tolstoy landowners, whom he respected and idolized all his life until her old age, and listened to her advice.
He was inspired by the success of the competition painting In a Peasant Hut, which received the approval of the Academy Council and critics, who recognized the painting as one of the best competition works.
Having returned to Murom, having received a kind of energetic and creative charge, Kulikov works with great inspiration on creating genre works.
One of the remarkable sketches, written in the spirit of Repin and Zorn, was the sketch of the Washerwoman; The study of the Spinner was made in a similar spirit. At the same time, he is working on a large genre painting, The Spinner.
The Portrait of My Mother, which he exhibited at the Spring Exhibition of 1904, attracted the attention of art critics and collectors Sveshnikov and Tsvetkov. “The charming genre painting by the artist Kulikov Pryakha (which received a prize from the Society for the Encouragement of Artists) involuntarily attracts attention. The picture shows life and truth. Cheerful, healthy, cheerful painting, truthful tone. A group of peasant girls are busy with winter work. The simplicity of the plot does not detract from the picture at all, since with extensive virtuosic technique the author was able to convey not only the type of pretty peasant girls, but also the general picture of the inside of a peasant hut,” was the review in the newspaper.
In 1905, the Council of Professors granted Kulikov a trip as its pensioner to study the paintings of Renaissance masters, painters of France, Italy, and Germany. It is only known that in Paris he made a portrait of the philanthropist and collector Shchukin, with whom he later continued his acquaintance in Russia. After visiting what Shchukin created ethnographic museum In Moscow, Kulikov not only became interested in collecting folk items, but also collected a unique collection of clothing, shoes, and household utensils from the northern and central provinces. Later in his works he used these objects, which created the plausibility of images of rural life.
At the Spring exhibitions of 1905-1906, the artist exhibited a whole series of works, in which, along with portraits of dignitaries of the State Council, several works were exhibited, distinguished by the skill and high technique of painting acquired during his studies at the Academy.
One of the most characteristic works written by the artist after his trip abroad in 1905.
Painting-sketch With lanterns in the garden. The plot of the work is simple. Using a wide brush, the strokes are laid according to the shape of the dresses, creating contrasting illumination of the figures, moving from blue to orange. This entire scene is written against the backdrop of the dark greenery of the evening garden. Many viewers compared this picture with the works of Malyavin, who was distinguished by his virtuosity in painting and a certain “revelry” of colors.
One of the significant works created by Kulikov at this time, completing one of the stages of the artist’s work, is the sketch painting Grandma with Chickens. Having seen this picture at the XXXVI exhibition of the Wanderers, I.E. Repin made several comments to his former student.
“I looked with pleasure at your painting of the Old Woman with Birds in the Courtyard,” wrote I.E. Repin to Kulikov. “The only thing that stood out was the coldness of the tone, a lot of dull blue in the shadows, on nearby planes - this is harmful...”
As is known, at the beginning of the century, especially after the events of 1905, the number of genre works at the exhibitions of the Peredvizhniki decreased, although the veterans of the Partnership - Repin, Makovsky, Kasatkin, Myasoedov and some other artists - remained faithful successors of the ideas of the Russian school.
One of the wonderful paintings created in 1905 is the Dreamer, who embodies all the best feminine qualities. A girl is depicted almost in profile, whose figure seems to have stopped before flying towards the future, which is foreshadowed by the evening dawn across the river.
It is possible that the artist responded in this way to the events of 1905. And Kulikov’s friends at the Academy B. Kustodiev and L. Popov found themselves in the thick of revolutionary events. The first collaborated with the progressive magazines Zhupel and Hell's Mail, the second created a number of works reflecting revolutionary events.
Kulikov’s creative capabilities as an artist and writer of everyday life increased every year, with every exhibition. He gradually moves from portrait paintings to genre multi-figure compositions, creating generalized images of his contemporaries, mainly peasants close to him in spirit.
One of the best works in which the artist tried to reveal the characters of three village girls was the painting Three Girls, which depicts young peasant women in bright sundresses peeking out from under open fur coats. Depending on their character and taste, each of them is freely draped with multi-colored scarves.
Thanks to the dark color scheme of almost black fur coats, enlivened in some places by multi-colored patterns on scarves and sundresses, all the viewer’s attention is focused on the girls’ facial expressions. The girls sit decorously and calmly, as befits a gathering. But, despite their common features, their faces reflect their individual characters. On the face of the girl sitting on the left there is poise, respectively, in the center there is hidden expectation, on the far right there is dissatisfaction and, perhaps, sadness.
The young artist was, of course, flattered by such an offer.
Among his works and the images he created, the main ones were always simple people: peasants, workers. One of these works was a large canvas called Recruit Set (1912), created by the artist between the Russian-Japanese and the First World Wars.
The painting Seeing Off a Recruit depicts a festive crowd in which both joy and sorrow are visible at the same time. Young recruits, as befits Russians, are ready to go through thick and thin. About this work one of Kulikov’s friends P.L. Waxel, a great connoisseur of painting, wrote to Kulikov from Venice in July 1912: “I regretted that there was not your nice picture of Recruits Leaving the Village. At first glance, it also contains a joyful procession, but when you look closer, it’s just sadness.”
Bazaars. Trade fairs. festivities
He recalled his childhood, the days spent in the village with his grandfather Login, with great love and respect for the morals and customs of the peasants. He had a great impression of the village holidays in summer days, on Trinity, when the village youth, dressed in bright red shirts and colored chintz sundresses, danced in circles. The Saturday fairs on Market Square near the Nativity Cathedral and Nikolozaryadskaya Church were interesting, where sellers and buyers from all over the area gathered. On Peter's Day, before haymaking, an annual fair was held in the city, where merchants with goods from Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir, Kasimov and other cities gathered.
Artists came to the fair, performances were organized in booths, in the circus, and in the summer theater. Carousels and swings were very popular at the fair. The artist could not ignore all these childhood and youth memories. At many bazaars and annual fairs one could see an artist with a sketchbook.
The balance found between light and shadow creates a special flavor of the work, perhaps characteristic only of Kulikov. In the foreground there is a light canvas canopy-tent, along the perimeter of which bundles of Murom bagels and rolls are hung.
The fair in Murom is one of the most significant works everyday genre, which completed a series of paintings on the theme of Murom bazaars and fairs.
Only a few of these works could create fame and honor for any artist who left factual material of the culture and life of a provincial trading city of pre-revolutionary Russia for the study of history. Painted broadly and generally, the fair crowd fills the entire canvas. Sunlight slides from right to left, leaving the right side of the painting in shadow and illuminating bright light central and left parts. The composition of the painting is unusual. A narrow strip of sky, against which one can see the silhouette of the fairgrounds built on the city outskirts at the end of the 19th century.
What is unusual is that the fairground crowd is mainly located in the background, and in the foreground a line of blind beggars, led by guide boys, walks towards the viewer from left to right.
All attention is focused on the beggar in the foreground. His blind face is thoughtful and clouded with worries. An almost empty basket and a painted wooden cup confirm that the public at the fair is not very generous with alms, and, despite the fun, the bright festive clothes taken from grandmothers' chests show the impoverishment of the peasant masses after the Russo-Japanese War.
At the Murom fair in 1911, the famous artist-trainer Anatoly Durov, an acquaintance of Kulikov from St. Petersburg, was on tour. Durov's show with trained piglets and geese was very popular. The public especially admired the trained piglets dressed in gendarmerie uniforms, which led to the artist’s urgent eviction from Murom.
As a result, an unfinished portrait of the artist remained in the artist’s studio, which is one of the best portraits in its composition, color, and psychology.
Kulikov with early childhood admired not only the summer holidays in the village, but also the winter village landscapes.
The artist makes several winter studies, including Katalishche, which depicts sleigh rides during Maslenitsa, and the Murom monasteries, which became preparatory work for the artist’s painting Return from the City (1914).
One of the features of Kulikov’s work is the creation of compositions in which female images are central. For the most part, they are distinguished by lyricism and spiritual beauty, grace and tenderness. The artist glorified the beauty of the Russian peasant woman, who was “good in all outfits” - both in boyar attire and in simple peasant clothes. In female images, the artist conveyed the inherent love for art, beauty and grace in a person. He tried to reveal the inner world of peasant women, to show that each of them lives a complex life with their own experiences and aspirations.
The painting Return from the City (1914) with old Murom monasteries and cathedrals depicts a guy, apparently living in the city. He sees off his young wife who came to him from the village. A smartly dressed young man with a hat on one side, a bright red scarf with green stripes, and a mustache fashionable for urban philistines.
Memories of distant times
In the second half of the 19th century, a movement emerged among the Russian intelligentsia to study and preserve ancient monuments. The head of the Archaeological Society was the young and energetic son of the Minister of Education, Count A.S. Uvarov. He was later replaced by his wife P.S. Uvarov. The task of the society was to study and restore historical and cultural monuments. Many amateurs joined the society and, using private initiative, collected antiques and organized small private museums. One of the famous collectors was the antiquities lover Shchukin, whom Kulikov met in Paris in 1903. Two years later, Kulikov was able to see Shchukin’s colossal collection and was amazed at the richness and variety of the collected exhibits.
Starting with amateur activities to create a collection of Russian applied arts, in a short time Kulikov became the owner of one of the best collections of folk items, paying attention to rich clothing, utensils, hats, and jewelry of both wealthy and ordinary residents of Russian cities and villages.
Kulikov examined more than 20 burials, made sketches and proposals for restoration. Considering a large number of bronze jewelry, the expedition confirmed the high level of applied art of the Murom people.
Having learned about Kulikov’s collecting activities, I.E. Repin approved of this hobby of the artist. At the end of 1907, he wrote to him: “I was very glad that you are collecting Russian antiquities - this is a good, creative deed.”
By studying Russian antiquities, the artist wanted to achieve the verisimilitude of his works of art.
During the heyday of his creativity, Kulikov turned to the topic - scenes from the life of the boyars of the 16th-18th centuries. He does not recreate specific historical events on canvas, but limits himself to depicting scenes from their past, taking into account historical accuracy.
One of the artist’s first works was the canvas Winter evening, in which a kind of ethnographic setting was created in an ordinary wooden house with golden logs. The painting depicts three girls in ancient costumes sitting at a table in the red corner of the hut. One of them is spinning on a spinning wheel, the other two are talking. The girls are dressed in rich sweaters and sundresses, two of them are wearing gold-embroidered kokoshniks. In the foreground there is a boy in a red shirt, in the background there is a little girl in blue dress behind the spinning wheel.
In the center of the composition is a full-length depiction of the bride. She is attractive and beautiful. Her clothes shine, illuminated by the sun through the window, part of which is covered with a dark green velvet curtain, which contrasts with the wall upholstered in crimson damask.
One can only assume that both works—Gathering of the Bride and Dressing of the Bride—were painted by the artist almost simultaneously.
Despite the bright clothes and painted faces carefully designed by the artist, there is no diversity in the composition. A common color unites both the group of people and the interior of the tower.
Another, unfortunately, unfinished work from this cycle is In the Boyar's Chamber. On the right side, a small part of the canvas remains unfinished, although the main composition looks quite complete, painted in full force. Against the backdrop of the rich interior of the mansion, a group of girls examines expensive material. They are all dressed in brocade clothes embroidered with gold. Sitting on the right, apparently, is the mistress of the tower, wearing a shower warmer, shimmering with the shine of gold embroidery, and a green sundress, embroidered with bright flowers. On her head is a kokoshnik, over which is thrown a scarf that goes down to the floor. The richness of the mansion is emphasized by a wall covered with damask, as well as a stove made of colored tiles.
In 1911, Kulikov painted a small canvas entitled Happy Holidays (Zardelsa), which depicts a scene of congratulations on the holiday. A beauty, dressed in rich old clothes, wearing a high kokoshnik with a bright scarf thrown over it, receives a gift from her husband. She doesn't hide her joy. Her face turned bright red from embarrassment.
At the International Exhibition of Fine Arts in Venice in 1914, the attention of visitors was drawn to Kulikov’s painting entitled Boyars in the Garden, which depicts a group of girls on a green lawn, brightly lit by the spring sun. Sun glare through green foliage creates the impression of movement and cheerfulness.
At the heart of his work is the idea of creating an image in combination with the environment, which I.E. repeatedly reminded. Repin. “The liveliness of images, the charm of light and the depth of mood constitute the soul of art,” noted Ilya Efimovich in one of his conversations with artists.
From a letter written to Kulikov from the Venice exhibition in 1914, it is known that the Italian king asked to leave him the work of the Hawthorn in the garden, but the First World War began World War did not provide the opportunity to purchase this painting, which, unfortunately, remained in Italy.
Elizaveta Arkadyevna in her youth was a real Russian beauty.
The following were written at a high professional level: paintings-portraits, like In a Mordovian outfit, A girl with a basket, At the outskirts, and many other anonymous portraits that were very popular and were bought up at exhibitions by art lovers. Most of them are known only from exhibition catalogs and reproductions in magazines.
Master of Portraiture
Like most artists of the Repin school, Kulikov was a remarkable portrait painter of the early 20th century.
In his work, portraiture occupies, if not the first place, then, in any case, is on a par with genre, historical, landscape painting, of which he was considered a master.
In numerous portraits of relatives, artists, architects, performers, workers and peasants, shepherds and beggars, dignitaries for the painting The Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council in the pre-revolutionary period and contemporaries-communists, Komsomol members, Stakhanovites and shock workers, representatives of the new Soviet intelligentsia, he did not just achieve external resemblance, which impressed those around him. As a rule, for portraits he avoided people with complex, contradictory views. In almost all portraits there are no unnecessary gestures or any expression. Portraits of men are characterized by dignity and calm.
If in the first portraits of his father in 1895 and 1898 and his mother in 1896 one senses student timidity, the presence of unnecessary details and details, although very characteristic, then by the time he graduated from the Academy in 1902 he showed the talent and ability to create a characteristic portrait.
In portraits of his father (1895), mother (1896) and friends (L. Popov, B. Kustodiev), he initially achieves similarities without going into the depth of character and psychology. In subsequent years, mastering the brushwork style of his teacher, he painted portraits of the Murom artist Zaitsev and his father, in which some looseness and freer use of the brush appeared.
During his summer vacation in 1899, B. Kustodiev visited his friend in Murom. They wrote sketches together, got acquainted with Murom antiquities, and talked about art, without which they could not imagine life. Here, in Murom, they create portraits of each other. Kustodiev depicts Kulikov with a balalaika, and Kulikov depicts Kustodiev lying with a book on the sofa and making a sketch with Kustodiev in the garden.
Apparently, here, in Murom, Kustodiev had the idea to paint a competition picture on the theme of the Bazaar. Subsequently, there was quite a long correspondence between the friends with discussions about art, painting, and the fate of the artist-creator.
Kulikov spends the summer of 1900 at home. He had already finally settled on the theme of the competition work, which he tentatively called Tea Party in a Peasant Hut. He works hard on sketches, making portraits of his loved ones - his sister, niece, an elderly peasant.
Among these works, the most successful is the portrait of his niece Praskovya, which was called Parasha, acquired from the reporting exhibition of the same year by the Academy. This is perhaps the first work of a whole series of genre portrait paintings in which Kulikov depicted young peasant women against the backdrop of a rural landscape.
Subsequently, the artist created a large number of portraits of nameless peasant women in costumes, dresses, sundresses, scarves characteristic of that time, in various color combinations, but chosen with the great taste that distinguished village girls. Often these were portrait studies completed in one session.
Kulikov considered it possible to exhibit these portraits at many exhibitions along with complex multi-figure compositions.
In 1902, at a competitive exhibition, in addition to the composition In a Peasant Hut, which personifies a deep knowledge of peasant life, family life, and characteristic images of peasants, a portrait of the architect V.A. was presented. Shchuko, who entered and graduated from the Academy at the same time as Kulikov.
In the portrait of V.A. Shchuko, later a prominent Russian architect, Kulikov was attracted not only by his extraordinary appearance, sophistication, and artistry, but also by his exceptional talent and intelligence.
This portrait confirmed that the young artist international level recognized by the artistic community as one of the masters of the Russian realistic school of painting with his unique style.
Many of the portraits were made by Kulikov during his stay in Murom, where he came from St. Petersburg on summer days after the end of the Spring exhibitions, in which he, as a rule, took part annually.
The portrait of Sister Catherine, depicted in a blue dress against the background of a carpet, deserves attention. At the same time as the portrait of his sister, Kulikov made a portrait of his niece Nadezhda.
In 1908, he created a portrait of an elderly woman. He called the portrait painting Old Woman Daria from Prudishchi. It depicts an elderly peasant woman. A bright, crimson-colored jacket and a colorful apron are in contrast with a dark purple scarf with small flowers and the same sundress. The hunched figure, drooping arms, and wrinkled face really create the impression of both fatigue and old age.
Several excellent portraits were painted in the years 1910-1913. Among them, such paintings as Portrait of an Old Believer (Old Man Reading, 1911), Portrait of A.L. deserve attention. Durova (1911), Bird Cherry (1912), depicted against the background of blooming bird cherry, illuminated by bright spring sunlight.
The harmonious combination of a young woman in the prime of life with the delicate tones of blooming cherry trees, bright sun glare breaking through the foliage, subtle light and shadow effects of the plein air - all this creates a generalized image of the beauty of a Russian woman who personifies spring. It is no coincidence that at some exhibitions this work was exhibited under the name Spring.
In another work - At the outskirts (1913) - Kulikov portrays At the outskirts (1913), In Russian attire, Archaeologist A.S. Uvarov (1916). Each of them could create fame for any artist and call him a master of portraiture. All these works were written in the pre-revolutionary years.
The portrait-painting Shepherd (1909), located in the State Russian Museum, and the Shepherd (1909) in the Murom Historical and Art Museum are distinguished by their softness and delicacy. In the 1910s, Kulikov painted a large canvas, Haymaking. It is possible that both portraits were studies for his composition. Bright red shirts are depicted against the background of a green meadow. The artist is not afraid of combining complementary colors - red and green, blue and yellow, finding a balance between them.
The sketches The Shepherd and The Peasant Woman with a Rake are very close in their expressiveness. In 1911-1913, Kulikov created two wonderful portrait-paintings - Bird Chery and At the Outskirts. In them, Kulikov showed all his mastery of painting techniques, virtuosity of execution, and love for nature. In both paintings, his wife posed for the artist.
The painting Near the Outskirts made a great impression on art lovers and admirers of the artist. I.E. Repin enthusiastically accepted his student’s work. From a letter from P.L. Vaksel Kulikov knows that, having seen the painting At the Outskirts in the collection of the famous artist A.M. Somov, Ilya Efimovich exclaimed: “What a wonderful, talented thing! Yes, Kulikov is a great master, in no way inferior to Serov!”
Among the works of the 1910s, portraits occupy a special place famous artist A.L. Durov (1911), archaeologist A.S. Uvarov and his wife P.S. Uvarova (1916).
Portrait of A.L. Durov is written in the usual Repin style, freely, with masterly strokes. Against the background of the blue suit, the white frill, shirt sleeves and the artist’s face illuminated by bright light stand out, emphasizing his openness and sociability.
During the First World War, Kulikov appeared in St. Petersburg less and less, preferring creativity on the grateful land of Murom, taking part in the annual Spring exhibitions in Petrograd.
He continues the “terem theme”, depicting peasant girls in rich outfits. Most of these works were sold straight from exhibitions, and therefore are known only from reproductions published in magazines. The paintings Bride, In Mordovian attire, With a casket, Boyaryshna, Young noblewoman, Princess, Woman from Murom, Matchmaker, executed with great skill, aroused the admiration of the audience.
The French magazine Fine Arts also pays tribute to the talent of Ivan Semenovich. “Kulikov is the artist of the future,” the author concludes his article. - This great power, and his golden talent should be recognized as a major social value."
In those years, the artist did not forget the simple working people who were close to him in spirit. Among such works, Steering Wheel, Stepan, Plotnik (Egor Tereshkin) and others attract attention. These works at exhibitions were as popular as images of hawthorns.
One of the last genre paintings at the Spring Exhibition in 1914 was the composition On a Walk (1914), which was subsequently repeated by the artist in several versions.
One of the outstanding portraits, painted simultaneously with the portrait of the artist A.L. Durov, is a Portrait of an Old Believer (Old Man Reading), which was exhibited at the Spring Exhibition in 1913.
The figure of an old Old Believer occupies the entire canvas. He reads the Bible. All attention is focused on the old man’s gray head, illuminated by bright light, and the hand with which he moves along the lines of the book. A skillfully written hand attracts attention. The artist paid as much attention to her image as to her face. The Bible in the foreground is written in general terms, in several broad strokes.
Despite the fact that Kulikov never called himself a landscape painter and only once took part in a landscape exhibition in the city of Gorky in 1939, the image of nature occupies a fairly significant place in his work.
Visit to the landscape workshop of A.I. Kuindzhi at the Academy, genre works in which the landscape is perceived as a single whole with the theme of the work, a special vision of nature, the play of light and shadow, create an unforgettable impression of sunlight, about the presence of air flickering in the paintings.
In his memories, he always thought about the village, which created a joyful mood and festivity. “It was also interesting in winter, they also danced in circles, sang songs, danced,” the artist recalled. These impressions found their expression in many, if not most genre works, in which Landscape and nature in the artist’s work
the landscape was an integral part of the composition and at the same time was, as it were, the basis of the work.
Among the landscapes, noteworthy ones are the St. Nicholas Embankment Church, acquired by Countess Uvarova in 1916. The temple, located on the banks of the Oka, is depicted during the spring flood, when the water came close to the temple.
For Kulikov, working on a landscape was a kind of psychological relief, rest for the soul and body, an organic connection with nature. Kulikov wrote and whole line city landscapes depicting historical monuments. Such landscapes include the magnificent landscape of the Murom monasteries, painted as a study for the painting Return from the City (1914).
In recent years, the artist has paid tribute to nature and painted several wonderful still lifes depicting fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
Graphics in the artist's work
The Academy of Arts passed on the traditions of perfect mastery of drawing from generation to generation. Daily classes in the classrooms lasted 10-12 hours, including classes in the drawing class in the evening.
Much attention was paid plastic anatomy and mastery compositional techniques placement of nature on a sheet.
To make students more interested, drawing competitions with monetary awards were organized.
At the Academy, Kulikov not only mastered academic drawing, but created his own style, distinguished by soft lines in pencil graphics, picturesqueness in watercolors and pastel techniques. The collections of the Russian Museum contain more than 30 drawings by Kulikov, marked with high marks.
In correspondence with B. Kustodiev, they discussed what is more important for an artist - painting or drawing. And both came to the conclusion that the old masters “definitely knew how to draw, even those who wrote poorly.” Kulikov, like most of Repin’s students, considered mastering graphics to be perfect for every artist, and therefore he later took part in many exhibitions as a graphic artist.
Kulikov’s successes in graphics while studying at the Academy were so high that I.E. Repin, having received an order from M. Gorky, invited Kulikov, along with his other students, to illustrate his works.
Despite the heavy workload in connection with the upcoming competition, Kulikov took on the task of executing illustrations of two stories by M. Gorky - Konovalov and Twenty-six and one.
First of all, he studies the stories and makes sure that their plots are close to him, because in the story Twenty-six and one he saw the artel that his father had and in which he worked for four years. All events take place against the backdrop of the buildings of his house and yard.
To illustrate Konovalov’s story, Kulikov looks for images of tramps in Murom taverns, in which he finds collective image tramp Konovalov.
His watercolors were fresh and transparent, reminiscent of an architectural wash. Only in some places did Kulikov allow for corpus and in exceptional cases he used white.
As a rule, watercolors were done on Whatman paper, glued to thin and dense cardboard, which made it possible to wash it multiple times using a Greek sponge, achieving lightness and transparency.
With great love, the artist depicted his daughter wearing light cream scarves with bright flowers. These portraits are soft, gentle color relationships and airiness.
Kulikov approached any work with the conviction that the artist’s art is work to which the artist must devote all his strength, accumulated knowledge and experience. “Art is the most precious thing to me,” the artist wrote in one of his notebooks. “I promise myself to value time and use it more profitably.”
In graphics, Kulikov tries various equipment: pencil, ink, pastel, sanguine, gouache. He tries to achieve perfection in any technique.
For example, in 1903, simultaneously with a picturesque portrait of his mother, he “wrote” with charcoal, making it no less expressive than the picturesque version.
Subsequently, the artist created many similar works, including portraits famous personalities and just drawings.
For example, in several versions, a drawing of a boy accordion player was made against the background of a wooden hut, which was included in the composition of a Girl with an accordion player. A pencil drawing of the carpenter Tereshkin (1916) helped in the 1980s to identify the portrait acquired by the Ministry of Culture.
In the 1920s, Kulikov became interested in graphics using sanguine and Italian pencil. This combination creates the illusion of picturesqueness due to the warm shades of sanguine.
Portraits of E.G. Schwartz, journalist A.O. Menshikov, a little later his daughters, wives and numerous commissioned portraits from the time of the New Economic Policy confirm the artist’s desire for constant improvement.
Portrait of a Daughter (1927) and Portrait of E.A. Kulikova (1925) once again confirm that the artist achieved mastery in this technique. During these same years, he created a significant graphic work at the piano, made using the sanguine technique with Italian pencil, which depicts his daughter at the piano and his wife reading a book.
Before creating a portrait of his wife, Kulikov made several options, from which the most spectacular was chosen. The version of the portrait taken as a basis, inscribed in an oval, enriches the composition.
A charming portrait of a daughter with a cheerful face looking at the viewer, made with sanguine and Italian pencil, creates a lively image of a seven-year-old girl.
Using only two colors - sanguine and pencil - the artist creates a picturesque portrait through nuances and skillful use of technical means.
At the exhibition “Artists of the Older Generation of the RSFSR” (1939), the attention of painting lovers was attracted by several works made in gouache: Family portrait, still life Lilac, Pavlovsk handicraft (variant), Harvest. According to the author, the family portrait can be compared with the competition work In a peasant hut, where the family gathered in the evening at a table with a samovar, vases of fruit, berries and jam.
The Tretyakov Gallery offered to purchase this painting, but the artist kept it for his family.
Such paintings as Helmsman (1910) and genre scene Round dance of girls by the lake.
A new world in the artist’s work
Kulikov, like most representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, could not immediately navigate the political situation.
Many of the artist’s friends, including the writer E.N. Chirikov and student I.E. Repin Feshin, emigrated abroad.
Feshin, who lived in Kazan, invited Kulikov to emigrate together, but he categorically rejected this offer, citing the fact that he could not leave his elderly sick mother in Murom.
In Murom he found himself unclaimed as an artist and unemployed, like many residents of the city.
In Petrograd he is given a registration card as an unemployed “artist, painter-composer,” but, of course, it was almost impossible to find work in his specialty.
When visiting Petrograd in 1922-1923, he managed to take several portraits of his friends, including his student I.E. Repina I.I. Brodsky.
In 1918, the artist approached the Murom city administration with proposals to organize a local history and art museum and courses for the training of drawing and drawing teachers for schools in the city and region.
He took on the work of organizing the museum with great enthusiasm. In this he received invaluable help from the knowledge gained from studying the museums of St. Petersburg, Moscow and museums of Western Europe.
Already in January 1919, in one of the mansions of the first half of the 19th century, which belonged to the merchant of the first guild K.A. Zvorykin, a museum was opened, to the exhibition of which Kulikov donated several of his most famous works.
Kulikov devoted almost ten years social activities, which had a beneficial effect on the development of the city’s culture. The museum has become one of the most important cultural centers in the city and region.
The drawing school and courses for art teachers created conditions for introducing young people to the fine arts. Many students later devoted their lives to teaching or became professional artists, architects and sculptors.
However, from creative life the artist has practically erased an entire decade of the most mature age for an artist.
Maxim Gorky, who visited the exhibition and came to Moscow from Italy, approached Kulikov’s paintings and said: “Oh! People's Rus'..."
Participation in exhibitions made Kulikov again believe in his strength and creative capabilities. Returning to Murom, Kulikov decides to create a generalized portrait new Russia with a new generation of Komsomol members, still unfamiliar to him.
The artist's workshop becomes a kind of youth club, where Kulikov tries to create the image of a contemporary. The portrait-painting of the Sportswoman was not just a tribute to fashion, but was a symbol for the youth of the 1930s.
At the same exhibition, Kulikov exhibited the painting International Youth Day. This is perhaps the first painting that reflects one of the aspects of the life of the younger generation.
Two works of significant interest at this exhibition were the portraits of the Old Man with a Newspaper and the House Painter Shamilin.
Paintings Pioneer Leader, Pioneers by the fire, portraits of Stakhanovites, shock workers, doctors A.G. Mladova and N.N. Pechkin, artists V.V. Serov and A.V. Morozov were a kind of prelude to the realization of his dream of creating historical canvases reflecting a new life.
For several years the artist made sketches, and then painted canvases Komsomol in the village, Smychka of the city and village, Paramilitary Komsomol. In them, the artist talks about the arrival of a detachment of urban Komsomol members in the village to assist in organizing a collective farm.
Pavlovsk handicraftsman
Despite the success at the exhibitions of the Society named after I.E. Repin and the creative charge received after meeting with the artists of his generation Goryushkin-Sorokopudov, Shleyny, Sychkov, Ivan Semenovich could not be satisfied with the current situation due to the lack of orders for work.
With great enthusiasm, he responded to the proposal of the leadership of the republican association “Rosinstrument” from the city of Pavlovo-on-Oka to recreate through picturesque means the history of a group of industrial enterprises included in the association. The main task, as the artist defined it, “is to show the human worker and the conditions of his work and life in the past and present.”
In 1936-1938, Kulikov created several works - portraits, which each depicted Pavlov's story in their own way. Among them, the most characteristic are the paintings-portraits of Sobenshchik, Kuznets, Pavlovsky handicraftsman.
A colorful image was created by the artist in the small painting Pavlovsk Handicraftsman. In a small closet-workshop sits an elderly man, passionate about his work. The figure of an old man is painted in silhouette against the background of a window through which the light of a winter day penetrates. On the window and workbench there are pots of lemons, which Pavlovsk residents have been able to grow for centuries.
Just as in the old days, the peasants inspired the artist, so now the images of artisan workers were depicted by him with great love and respect for the working man.
As a genre artist, he drew attention to two aspects of life characteristic of the residents of Pavlov - the weekly purchase of handicrafts by buyers, to whom the craftsmen sometimes sold their products for next to nothing, and cockfights.
In a major genre work, Kulikov made an attempt to put together information about the night buying handicrafts, received from Pavlov’s old-timers, and from Pavlov’s essays by the famous writer V.G. Korolenko. As a basis, Kulikov chose a scene close to reality, depicting the purchase of Pavlovsk products on the former Nizhegorodskaya street, where trade usually took place.
For the future canvas, the artist made a large number of sketches made at night in winter under the light of kerosene lanterns. The students of the studio, which was headed by Kulikov at that time, posed for him with pleasure.
Many sketches were made with great skill, in the artist’s characteristic manner.
The second most important painting characterizing old Pavlovo was the painting Cockfight. The village of Pavlovo is perhaps the only place in Russia where residents staged cockfights.
The painting depicts an arena, in the center of which one of the moments of a rooster fight is shown.
While working in Pavlov, Kulikov came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create a museum that could be a visual aid for studying the history of the emergence of the handicraft industry in the central part of Russia.
With great care he studies historical materials at the State Historical Museum, meets one of the history experts, the author of the historical novel Kozma Minin, writer V. Kostylev.
Work on this painting coincided with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a few days after the start of which he wrote: “I hope that my work, igniting a patriotic feeling in the hearts of the people of our country, will serve the great cause of saving the Fatherland.”
Like most artists, Kulikov began his “creativity” with sketches of portraits of his closest relatives: father, mother, sisters, nieces, and later - friends from the School for the Encouragement of Arts and the Academy. These surviving portraits confirm that the future artist had the gift of a portrait painter who knew how to achieve resemblance and expressiveness in his works. Unfortunately, few such drawings have survived, but they surprise with their professionalism.
Especially the portraits of the mother, who became the permanent model in many of the artist’s works.
Of course, it would be possible to create a whole gallery of family portraits, which would include self-portraits along with portraits of close relatives. The first pictorial portraits of his father and mother, dating back to 1896, a portrait of his father in 1898, self-portraits of the artist in 1896.
If in the first portraits one can feel a student’s hand, which tries not to miss a single detail of the face and figure, then the portrait of his father in 1898, drawn by the artist after a year and a half of studying with I.E. Repin, made on high level portrait resemblance.
The portrait depicts a former serf from the village of Afanasovo, who through hard work achieved the pinnacle of his position. Remaining in the peasant class until the end of his life, thanks to his skill as a painter and roofer, he headed an artel of builders.
This portrait could well be compared with the painting-portrait of Parash, acquired by the Academy Council, and, of course, with the Portrait of my mother.
In 1901, Kulikov made two self-portraits. On them he portrays himself as a modern metropolitan youth. Short-haired, with a wheat-colored mustache, wearing a white shirt with the same elegantly tied white bow, he is no longer any different from the friends who study with him in Repin’s workshop. Now, after the Model, which Ilya Efimovich praised, no one blames him for his “Volodimir” pronunciation. Indeed, in 1901 Kulikov had already matured as an artist, whom I.E. It was no coincidence that Repin invited him to participate in the creation of the colossal canvas Meeting of the State Council as an assistant.
In 1900, Kulikov painted a rather unusual portrait of his sister, who is depicted almost in profile, with her hair flowing, hiding almost the entire figure. The hands, palms folded inward, are barely visible through the hair. Almost half of the canvas is untouched by the brush, and the white primer ties the composition together through the white sleeve of the blouse, covered by hair.
Kulikov, having already achieved mastery, in 1909 painted a portrait of his younger sister Ekaterina Kalinina. The sister is depicted full-length against the background of a carpet in a blue dress with white lace. Reddish hair frames a handsome face, very similar to his brother's.
For many of Kulikov’s genre compositions, his nieces, who were distinguished by their beauty and stateliness, posed. They were also good at the role of spinners and reapers, who knew how to handle different jobs, and brides whom the boyars hid in towers from the evil eye.
The most significant and famous portraits from the pre-revolutionary period are: Bird Cherry (1912), Girl with a Basket (1912), At the Outskirts (1913), In Russian Dress (1916), In Mordovian Dress (1914). His wife poses for these paintings for Kulikov. In them, the artist showed all his mastery of painting means and virtuosity of execution. Another work - At the Outskirts - depicts a peasant girl on the outskirts of the village against the backdrop of a rural landscape.
A life-size portrait of his daughter in oil against the backdrop of an open piano (1938) makes a great impression.
Unfortunately, the daughter, unlike her mother, did not like to pose, and therefore her portraits have hardly survived.
IN last period creativity in 1928-1941, Kulikov made two self-portraits: in 1928 - in a summer workshop, in which the artist depicted himself with a palette against the background of paintings and sketches, and a self-portrait in a fur coat, created in 1939.
Both self-portraits meet the highest standards of portraiture. Along with the similarities, they create a psychological profile of the artist, showing both a high level of creativity and some anxiety and sadness in the 1939 self-portrait.
Kulikov Ivan Semenovich (1875 - 1941) - Russian and Soviet artist, painter, teacher, author of works dedicated to Russian life. Born in the village of Afanasovo, Murom district, into a family of peasant origins. Like his father, Kulikov mastered the skills of a painter and roofer, and participated in the construction and restoration of many buildings and churches in Murom. While still a student at the district school, he became interested in
drawing, making copies from illustrated magazines, visiting icon-painting workshops. The first to notice the boy’s artistic talent was the teacher of drawing and drawing at the district school, N.A. Tovtsev, who in the summer of 1893 introduced Kulikov to the artist and academician of painting A.I. Morozov. In September 1893, I.S. Kulikov visited Moscow for the first time, visiting the Tretyakov Gallery and the Rumyantsev Museum. In November of the same year, he arrived in St. Petersburg, where he became an assistant in the workshop of A.I. Morozov, studying under his leadership the principles of perspective and composition, the basics of working with color. Thanks to the patronage of A.I. Morozov, in January 1894, Kulikov was admitted to the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, where N.I. Makarov, A.F. Afanasyev, E.K. Lipgart became his teachers. In the fall of 1896, Kulikov was enrolled as one of the 14 volunteer students of the Academy of Arts in the workshop of V.E. Makovsky. However, as a sensitive teacher, V.E. Makovsky, seeing the similarity in the painting style of the young artist and I.E. Repin, advised Kulikov to move to the workshop of Ilya Efimovich. In the spring of 1898, thanks to Repin’s petition, Kulikov was transferred from volunteer students to students at the Academy of Arts. At the end of 1900, Kulikov completed a number of illustrations for Maxim Gorky's stories "Konovalov" and "Twenty-six and one", which were never published and are currently kept in the A.M. Gorky Museum in Moscow. In 1901 - 1902, Ivan Semenovich, together with B. Kustodiev, took part in the work on I.E. Repin’s painting “Meeting of the State Council”. Kulikov was given the difficult task of constructing the perspective of the hall, as well as completing part of the portrait sketches of the dignitaries present in the picture. After graduating from the Academy on November 1, 1902, Kulikov settled in Murom, in a small house that he inherited. It was the Murom land that gave him subjects for genre paintings glorifying Russian life, nature and people. In 1903 - 1905 The artist, as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts, went abroad and visited Italy and France. The artist gained fame immediately after participating in the Spring Exhibition of 1904. For the next 14 years, he did not miss a single Spring Exhibition, presenting a total of 140 of his works. He participated in many foreign exhibitions - in Liege in 1905 (received the Great Silver Medal for the painting "Portrait of a Mother"), in Munich in 1909, in Rome in 1910 and 1912, in Venice in 1911 and 1914. For his paintings “On a Holiday” and “With Lanterns in the Garden,” Kulikov was awarded the Kuindzhi Prize. The high authority of Ivan Semenovich in the artistic community is evidenced by the fact that after Repin left the post of professor, he was included in the list of candidates for the position of professor-head of the painting workshop. The revolution and the First World War had no impact significant influence on the artist's creativity. He continued to turn to his favorite topics - scenes from Russian life, portraits, fairs and bazaars. At the beginning of 1919, on behalf of the department of public education, Kulikov began organizing the Murom Historical and Art Museum. In addition to the exhibits selected by Ivan Semenovich from the collection of Counts Uvarov, the museum’s collection includes items from the collection of Kulikov himself (paintings, ancient Russian clothing, shoes, jewelry, utensils). At the request of Kulikov, in 1918, a art school. Positive influence on artistic activity I.S. Kulikov was helped by the restoration of the activities of the I.E. Repin Society. If at the first exhibition he showed mainly the author's repetitions of paintings from previous years ("Fair", "old lady with chickens", "Shepherd"), then at the exhibition of 1929 works with themes new to Kulikov appeared - "Athletic Girl", "Jungsturm", "Pioneers". In January 1935, Ivan Semenovich became a member of the Gorky branch of the Union of Artists. Despite poor health, the artist continued to actively paint and exhibit. In 1938, Kulikov led a group of artists who painted the suburban hall of the Yaroslavl station in Moscow. To decorate the station, Kulikov completed several excellently painted still lifes with fruit. At the end of 1940 he began work on a large historical painting"The exit of the Nizhny Novgorod militia in 1612", which, unfortunately, did not have time to finish. On December 15, 1941, while transporting firewood from a fuel depot, I.S. Kulikov died. In 1947, in the house built by the artist’s father, in which the Kulikov family had lived since 1885, the Ivan Kulikov Memorial House-Museum was opened. In 2007, by decision of local authorities, the museum was closed, and all exhibits were transferred to the Murom Historical and Art Museum.
READ COMPLETELYArtist Ivan Semyonovich Kulikov.Ivan Semyonovich Kulikov (April 1, 1875, Murom - December 15, 1941, Murom) - an outstanding Russian artist, painter, master of portraits and everyday scenes.
Biography
Kulikov was born in the city of Murom into a family of peasants who came from the village of Afanasovo, Murom district, Semyon Loginovich Kulikov and Alexandra Semenovna Savinova. The artist's father was an outstanding specialist in roofing and painting. At the head of a small artel, he took part in the construction and repair of many buildings, churches and residential buildings in the city of Murom.
In the summer of 1893, on the recommendation of his former teacher While drawing and drawing at the district school of N.A. Tovtsev, Kulikov met the artist A.I. Morozov, who sometimes spent the summer in Murom, where he found subjects for his works. He drew attention to the young man’s abilities and recommended that his parents send him to the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts at the Academy in St. Petersburg.
In September 1893, Kulikov traveled to Moscow for the first time, visited the Tretyakov Gallery, Rumyantsev Museum, gets acquainted with the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In November 1893, he went to St. Petersburg and became an assistant in the workshop of A. I. Morozov, who at that time taught drawing at the St. Petersburg School of Law, simultaneously carrying out small orders for illustrations, icons, and portraits. In 1894, Kulikov was accepted into the school of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Under the guidance of teachers N.I. Makarov, A.F. Afanasyev, E.K. Lipgart, he masters the basics of graphics, painting, perspective and composition.
In the fall of 1896, Kulikov became a volunteer student at the Academy of Arts at the studio of the artist V. E. Makovsky. However, less than a month later he moved to I.E. Repin.
In the spring of 1898, at the request of his teacher, Kulikov became a student at the Academy of Arts. In 1901-1902, he took part in the work on I. E. Repin’s painting “Meeting of the State Council” together with B. M. Kustodiev. Kulikov made 17 full-scale portrait sketches, almost the bulk of them. In 1900-1901, Kulikov made about 20 illustrations for Maxim Gorky’s works “Konovalov” and “Twenty Six and One,” which are located in the A. M. Gorky Apartment Museum and the Murom Historical and Art Museum.
In November 1902, Kulikov graduated from the Academy of Arts. His competition work “Tea drinking in a peasant hut” (1902) was awarded the Big Gold Medal and gave him the right to be a personal honorary citizen and the right to travel abroad.
From 1903 to 1905, as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts, Kulikov made trips to Italy and France.
in 1905, at the World Exhibition in Liege, for “Portrait of a Mother” (1903), Kulikov was awarded the Great Silver Medal, and for the paintings “On a Holiday” (1906) and “With Lanterns in the Garden” (1906) he was awarded the Kuindzhi Prize. In 1915, for a series of paintings about Murom, Kulikov was awarded the title of academician of painting.
Since 1919, Kulikov worked at the Murom Museum, now one of the most significant in the Vladimir region. For a long time, Kulikov headed the art department. Ivan Semyonovich energetically collected paintings, drawings, sculptures, objects of applied art, archival documents, books, and historical relics from abandoned palaces and noble estates doomed to plunder and destruction. It is to him that our culture owes the salvation of the unique collections of Counts Uvarov in Karacharovo.
Over the years, among other works, Kulikov painted portraits of: pilot V. P. Chkalov (1940), writer Maxim Gorky (1939), artist A. L. Durov (1911), archaeologist A. S. Uvarov.
In 1947, in the house built by Kulikov’s father, where his family had lived since 1885, the artist’s memorial House-Museum was opened. In 2007, by decision of local authorities, the museum was closed, all exhibits were transported to the Murom Historical and Art Museum. The house is privately owned by the artist's descendants.Returning from the city. 1914
Pavlovsk artisan. 1937
Portrait of Alexander III
International Youth Day. 1929
Self-portrait. 1896
Old man. 1898
Peasant woman with a saucer. 1899
E.N. Chirikov, 1904
I thought about it. 1906
Italian women. 1905
dreamer.
Russian girl.
On a holiday, 1906.
"Fair in Murom" (1912)
Spring. 1912
Nikolo-Zaryadskaya Church. 1916
Lenin, 1924
Jungsturm. 1929
Girls. 1918
At the piano. 1938
Merchant's ball. 1899
Murom monasteries. 1914
V.P. Chkalov, 1940
M. Gorky, 1939
The largest and most famous group portrait in the Russian Museum, “The Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901,” was created by the great Russian artist I. Repin together with his “most significant students B. Kustodiev and I. Kulikov,” wrote the outstanding art critic V. Stasov . But the artist is famous not only for this work.
Even at the Murom Zemstvo School, the art teacher advised young Ivan to truly study art. However, the 14-year-old teenager, having graduated from college, had to help his father with painting work. But he still had the desire to learn. And thanks to a happy occasion, he prepared and entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts.
“I entered this building with trepidation,” wrote Ivan Semyonovich, already a mature artist, in his autobiography.
In 1898, at an exhibition of student works, Academy professor I. Repin liked Kulikov’s sketches, and Ilya Efimovich invited him to study in his workshop. It was a great honor.
On the recommendation of Repin in 1900-1903. For the publishing house "Znanie" Kulikov performed a number of illustrations for the story "Konovalov" and the poem "Twenty Six and One". So he became one of the first illustrators of the works of Maxim Gorky. The artist found types of Gorky tramps among the tramps of his native Murom. He drew them from life. These sketches are interesting as documentary material on the history of the pre-revolutionary city.
Murom also hosted preparatory work over the diploma painting "Tea drinking in a peasant hut". This topic was well known to the artist since childhood. He long time lived in his grandfather's house in the village of Afanasovo. The diplomat depicted a friendly peasant family seated around a table near a samovar. Everyone is united by gestures and glances. The picture is multicolored and joyful.
Repin admired her. The canvas was also noted by official criticism. Kulikov received a diploma from the Academy of Arts and gold medal“For excellent knowledge of painting and scientific subjects,” as well as a trip abroad at public expense to study the art of different European countries.
The artist worked a lot. In Murom, he painted the painting “Spinners,” which received a prize from the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, as well as “Portrait of a Mother,” for which he was awarded a large silver medal at the world exhibition. His “Girl at the Spinning Wheel” is also called a masterpiece. The painting talentedly depicts a barefoot peasant girl in a simple Russian folk colorful dress.
A significant event in the life of the realist artist was his active participation in the 36th exhibition of the Association of Itinerants in 1908. He presented eight works for it.
Ilya Repin highly valued the creative abilities of his favorite student. And when Ivan Semyonovich was offered the position of professor at the Academy of Arts, I. Repin gave him advice: “Don’t strive to become a professor. true artist... Your works breathe freshness and health.”
And Kulikov remained to live and work in Murom. He, like B. Kustodiev, created large gallery works on the themes of folk festivals, fairs and bazaars. The Murom fairs glorified in songs provided rich material. “It was noisy, fun and elegant,” the artist wrote about them in his memoirs, “merchants came with goods from Kasimov, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod and other places... And the city was filled with people for two summer weeks.”
In terms of the complexity of the compositions and the abundance of characters, two of his large paintings"Fair" (1910) and "Fair in Murom" (1912).
The artist's fame became more and more noticeable every year. And in 1915 he was awarded the highest title - academician of painting.
After the revolution, Ivan Kulikov's talent was unclaimed. His “Hawthorns”, “Fairs”, “Spinners” were no longer needed by anyone. And he himself, the “royal academician,” also became of no use to anyone. Communication with St. Petersburg and Moscow ceased. The money in the bank, with which he planned to build a workshop, “burst.” He could not escape abroad as a truly Russian person, and he did not try. The artist fell into despair. I was brought back to an active life by teaching drawing and painting at teacher courses and in the art studio. With pleasure, Ivan Semenovich took up the organization of the city Art Museum. He became its founder and first director, research fellow. The basis was made up of works of art stored in the Karacharovsky mansion of Countess Uvarova and other Murom collections. Now the artist lived among the paintings of great masters, whose works he had seen in the Hermitage and various European museums. As in his youth, he again began to study the great Italians Tiepolo and Dosso-Dossi, the Flemings and the Dutch. He was also interested in the works of Russian old masters.
For ten long years Kulikov did not create anything significant. The formation of the Society of Artists named after I. Repin caused him a creative upsurge. They exhibited paintings on youth themes.
In the thirties, the artist painted more than two hundred works for the museum in Pavlovo-on-Oka. His talent did not wane with age. In 1940, I. Kulikov began work on the largest and most meaningful painting, “Exit of the Nizhny Novgorod Militia in 1612.” The Great Patriotic War began. Work on historical picture acquired a military-patriotic character. But in December 1941, the artist died unexpectedly. The picture remained in sketches and drawings.
Kulikov dedicated his talent to life common people. More than 500 of his works were exhibited at numerous exhibitions in Russia and other countries. His paintings adorn 60 museums around the world. They are also in Vladimir. And, of course, in his house-museum and historical and artistic museum, which he himself founded.
In Russian attire, (Portrait of the wife of E.A. Kulikova), 1916.
Self-portrait of Kulikov Ivan Semenovich 1928
Family at the table.1938
Portrait of a Father, 1898
Kulikov. Portrait of My Mother (1903)
Portrait of E.A. Kulikova, 1925
Nadya (Portrait of a Sister), 1909
With lanterns in the garden, 1906
Portrait of a daughter, 1927
ALBINA ANUCHKINA, DIRECTOR, MUROM HISTORICAL AND ART MUSEUM:“Ivan Semenovich is one of the first employees of the museum. The man who donated his collections, ethnographic, everyday paintings, to our museum. This is a tribute to the memory of the great artist, master, the first museum worker of Murom.”
Here at the exhibition is a collection of decorative and applied art collected by Ivan Kulikov. The master needed all this for his work and detailed drawing. Painting is his life's work.
OLGA SUKHOVA, EMPLOYEE, SCIENTIFIC AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT, MUROM MUSEUM:“In the region, this is the only academician of painting who was awarded the title of academician of painting even before the revolution, before the October Revolution. This is a student of Repin, a friend of Kustodiev.”
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Thanks to the work of Russian artists of the 19th century, who were not indifferent to the culture of the ordinary Russian people, today we have an amazing gallery of portraits of Old Believers, we see the archetypes of the Old Testament Great Russian people. Usually, when people talk about paintings dedicated to the Old Believers, they remember Mikhail Nesterov. However, besides him, there were other painters who captured the faces of the Old Faith on their canvases. One of these was the Murom artist Ivan Kulikov.
One of the main themes in the artist’s work was the Russian historical village - portraits of ordinary people who made up the archetype of the Great Russian people, peasant life, life, customs, traditions of the Old Believers.
The childhood of the future painter
In the second half of the 19th century, the family of peasant Semyon Loginovich and Alexandra Semenovna Kulikov settled in the city of Murom. They came from the village of Afanasovo, Murom district, Kovarditsky volost. Semyon Loginovich Kulikov was a specialist in roofing and painting, and Alexandra Semenovna was a housewife. The Kulikov family had three daughters, and on April 13, 1875, a son was born, who was named Ivan.
Even before entering elementary school, Ivan mastered the craft of a painter and roofer, learned to paint like marble and deftly carve doors and floors to look like oak or ash. Then the boy entered the district school. His studies were very successful, in addition, he was fond of drawing, made copies of illustrations in magazines, visited icon-painting workshops, and tried to draw from life. The student’s hobbies were noticed by the teacher of drawing and drawing at the district school, the son of the Murom deacon N. A. Tovtsev. In 1889, Ivan Kulikov graduated from college and became a member of the artel, while helping his father in the roofing business, drawing up accounts, and estimates. He beautifully painted ceilings and walls with ornaments and drew from life. But alas, only some of his first sketches and drawings have survived.
Meet famous painters. Academy of Arts
Morozov sometimes spent the summer in Murom, where he took subjects for his works. He drew attention to the abilities of young Ivan and recommended that his parents send him to the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts at the Academy in St. Petersburg. Already in September 1893, Kulikov came to Moscow for the first time, where he visited the Tretyakov Gallery, the Rumyantsev Museum, and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In Moscow, Kulikov learned that the main artistic forces were concentrated in the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, that the Hermitage and the Mikhailovsky Palace housed wonderful collections of works of art by foreign and Russian masters.
In November of the same year, he left for St. Petersburg, where he became an assistant in the studio of the artist A. I. Morozov, who at that time taught drawing at the St. Petersburg School of Law, simultaneously fulfilling small orders for illustrations, icons, and portraits. In 1894, Ivan Kulikov was accepted into the school of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Under the guidance of teachers N.I. Makarova, A. F. Afanasyeva,E. K. Lipgart he masters the basics of graphics, painting, perspective and composition.
In the fall of 1896, Ivan Kulikov became a volunteer student at the Academy of Arts, at the artist’s workshop V. E. Makovsky. It is known that less than a month later he moved to I. E. Repin.
In the spring of 1898, at the request of I. E. Repin, Kulikov became a student at the Academy of Arts. B 1901-1902 he took part in the work on the painting by Ilya Efimovich “ State Council meeting"together with B.M. Kustodiev. Ivan Kulikov made seventeen full-scale portrait sketches.
In 1900-1901, Kulikov made about twenty illustrations for the works of Maxim Gorky " Konovalov" And " Twenty six and one", which are located in the Museum-Apartment of A.M. Gorky and in the historical and art museum of the city of Murom.
Academician of painting
In November 1902, Ivan Semenovich Kulikov graduated from the Academy of Arts. His competition entry " Tea drinking in a peasant hut"(1902) was awarded the Great Gold Medal and gave him the right to be a personal honorary citizen and the right to travel abroad.
From 1903 to 1905, as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts, Kulikov made trips to Italy and France. In 1905, at the World Exhibition in Liege for “ Portrait of a mother"(1903) Kulikov was awarded the Great Silver Medal, and for his paintings " On a holiday"(1906) and " With lanterns in the garden"(1906) received the A.I. Kuindzhi Prize. In 1915, for a series of paintings about Murom, Kulikov was awarded the title of academician of painting.
Old Believers on Kulikov's canvases
The Russian village is gradually becoming the main theme in the artist’s work: portraits of ordinary people who made up the archetype of the Great Russian people, peasant life, life, customs, and traditions of the Old Believers.
Extreme accuracy in depicting life and everyday life, brightness of colors, rich style, ability to control color, coloristic freshness, psychological depth of portraits, accurate depiction of Old Believer culture - these are the main advantages of Kulikov’s works.
No statements by the artist regarding the Old Believers were noted, but his spiritual aspiration to the world of the Old Faith is reflected in many of his paintings.
After 1917, Kulikov continues to depict the life of the Russian people. Ivan Semenovich always avoided any tragic, sad subjects. And he himself was a cheerful, friendly, open person who loved life.
Life and creativity in Murom
Around 1919, Ivan Semenovich returned to his native Murom. He worked at the Murom Museum; For a long time he headed the art department.
Ivan Kulikov enthusiastically collected paintings, drawings, sculptures, objects of decorative and applied art, archival documents, books and other evidence of a rich past from abandoned, doomed palaces and noble estates. It is to the painter Ivan Kulikov that our culture owes the salvation of the unique collections of Counts Uvarov in the village of Karacharovo (Murom Territory).
The artist's wife was Elizaveta Arkadyevna, née Sokolova. The wife of her mother’s brother was the niece of the famous inventor in the field of television V.K. Zvorykin. The families communicated a lot and carried on active correspondence. The image of his wife was captured by Kulikov on canvases “ In Russian attire», « At the outskirts», « Portrait of E. A. Kulikova"and others.
Over the years, among other works, Kulikov painted portraits of: pilot V.P. Chkalov (1940), writer Maxim Gorky (1939), artist A.L. Durov (1911), archaeologist A.S. Uvarov.
In his last years, Ivan Semenovich worked at his small homeland: from 1930 he taught at the Murom art studio, and there and in the village of Pavlovo he contributed to the founding of local history museums.
Memory
Ivan Semenovich Kulikov died on December 15, 1941 in Murom. In 1947, in the house built by Kulikov’s father, where his family had lived since 1885, the artist’s memorial House-Museum was opened. In 2007, by decision of local authorities, the museum was closed, all exhibits were transported to the Murom Historical and Art Museum. The house is privately owned by the artist's descendants.
The artist’s only daughter, Tatyana, a teacher of Russian language and literature, married N. A. Bespalov, an architect, watercolor artist, Honored Architect of the RSFSR. Tanya’s image is also reflected in the artist’s paintings “ Portrait of a daughter"and others. It is noteworthy that he made a pencil portrait of his future matchmaker, turner Andrei Nikolaevich Bespalov, back in 1934.
Gallery of paintings by I. S. Kulikov:
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