Aleksandr Pavlovich Bubnov (russian: Алекса́ндр Па́влович Бу́бнов) (1908–1964) was a noted Soviet painter, best known for the portraits of Stalin and for a monumental canvas, "Morning on the Kulikovo Field". He was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1948, and became a corresponding member of the Soviet

Academy of Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

in 1954.

Biography

Early years

Aleksandr Pavlovich Bubnov was born on in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

(modern Georgia) in the family of a serviceman. When the service was over, the family returned to the Saratov Province, in the town of Atkarsk. With the beginning of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914, the father was again called up for service, and the mother and the boy lived for three years in the village of Bubnovka with his grandfather. His father came back sick and the family again moved to Atkarsk, where the boy began to study at a school. In parallel with his studies in a regular school, he went to an art studio for a while, but it was soon closed due to the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

. The young boy loved to draw and made sketches from life with pencil and charcoal. Fedorov, his teacher at an art studio, taught not only to draw, but also history and local history. His students participated in archaeological excavations near Atkarsk, where Bubnov also made sketches. In the group photo of graduates in 1926, he was taken with a pencil and an album for sketches. In 1926 or 1927 he moved to Moscow and entered the Higher Art and Technical Institute, ('' Vkhutein'') where Konstantin Istomin was his teacher. In 1930 ''Vkhutein'' was split up into six smaller trade-oriented schools and its heritage began to be described by the derogatory (and dangerous) word " formalistic". Bubnov was also criticized for his style and did not turn to

Socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

until the middle nineteen‐thirties.

Career

In 1929, Bubnov joined the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia ('' AKhRR'') and began to participate in its exhibitions but in 1930 he was sent to Kuznetsktstroy in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

as a junior architect, and his painting work was interrupted. In 1932 he returned to Moscow. According to his memoirs, "The first work ''Killed in Battle'' was presented at the exhibition '15 years of the Red Army', the second, ''

Whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

in the Town'', at the exhibition of young artists in 1934." In 1936, he painted the ''Oktyabriny'' ( Octobering), showing the newly-invented secular Soviet naming rite intended to replace

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

(''Krestiny'' in Russian). This painting was presented at the exhibition ''The Industry of Socialism''. In the painting ''Yablochko'' (1938), which depicts a famous dance, Bubnov tried to draw from life, though not completely. He took part in the creation of a huge panel of ''"Well Known People of the U.S.S.R."'' for the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

. In the same year he painted the picture ''Comrade Stalin Among Collective Farmers''. After the beginning of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

(Second World War), he drew

propaganda posters A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text ...

, painted pictures on military subjects, such as ''Dying, but did not Surrender'', ''To the Combat Position'', '' Borodino Field in 1942''. He also wrote a portrait of Alexander Matrosov. In 1943-1947 he produced his most famous work ''Morning on the Kulikovo Field'', dedicated to the epic battle of the 14th century, and in 1948 was awarded the Stalin Prize for it. After the war, Bubnov painted landscapes, genre scenes and pictures on mythological and historical themes; in particular, he created illustrations for Pushkin's ballad ''Song of the Wise Oleg''. In 1954 he became a corresponding member of the

USSR Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

, and was awarded the title Honored Artist of the RSFSR. In the last years of his life he painted illustrations for the books of Gogol and

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...

. His triptych ''Pugachev. Popular uprising'' remained unfinished. He died on 30 June 1964 and was buried at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...

in Moscow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bubnov, Alexander 1908 births 1964 deaths Artists from Tbilisi People from Tiflis Governorate 20th-century Russian painters Russian male painters Soviet painters Socialist realist artists Recipients of the Stalin Prize Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery