Fyodor Alexandrovich Vasilyev (russian: Фёдор Александрович Васильев, 1850 – 1873) was a Russian Imperial
landscape
A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
painter
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
who introduced the
lyrical landscape style in Russian art.
Biography
Fyodor Vasilyev was born in
Gatchina
The town of Gatchina ( rus, Га́тчина, , ˈɡatːɕɪnə, links=y) serves as the administrative center of the Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies south-south-west of St. Petersburg, along the E95 highway which ...
to a low-level government official, Alexander Vasilyevich Vasilyev, and Olga Emelyanova Polyntseva on 22 February
N.S. 1850. His parents married four years later, so he was always considered an illegitimate child. Feodor had to earn his living from the age of 12 – he worked as a mailman, scribe, and assistant to a restorer of pictures. After his father’s death, he became the sole supporter of the family.
In 1863, he managed to enter the evening classes of the School of Painting at the Society for Promotion of Artists (russian: Школа Поощрения Художеств). While at school, Vasilyev got acquainted with many painters, who took care of him.
In 1866 famous landscape painter
Ivan Shishkin
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Ши́шкин; 25 January 1832 – 20 March 1898) was a Russian landscape painter closely associated with the Peredvizhniki movement.
Biography
Shishkin was born to a Russian m ...
fell in love with Feodor's sister Evgenia Vassilyev. Shishkin became acquainted with Feodor and started to teach him landscape painting. From July to November 1867 Shishkin and Vassilyev worked together on island of
Valaam
Valaam ( Russian: Валаам or Валаамский архипелаг, also known by the Finnish name Valamo) is an archipelago in the northern portion of Lake Ladoga, lying within the Republic of Karelia, Russian Federation. The total area ...
. Some places on Valaam were subjects of both artist's paintings. Later Shishkin introduced Feodor to
Ivan Kramskoi
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi (russian: Ива́н Никола́евич Крамско́й; June 8 (O.S. May 27), 1837, Ostrogozhsk – April 6 (O.S. March 24), 1887, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian painter and art critic. He was an intellectual l ...
,
Ilya Repin
Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...
, and art collectors
Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov and
Pavel Sergeyevich Stroganov
Count Pavel Sergeyevich Stroganov (russian: Па́вел Серге́евич Стро́ганов; 13 April 1823 - 17 December 1911) was an art collector, philanthropist, and cup-bearer at the Imperial Court.
Early life
Stroganov was born on 1 ...
. Later Vasilyev became a major competitor to Ivan Shishkin and the latter was often accused of using intrigues and administrative influence trying to win over Vasilyev on different art competitions.
In Vasilyev’s early works, such as ''After a Thunderstorm'' (1868), ''Near a Watering Place'' (1868) and others, one can feel the influence of the
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name f ...
; it affected his art but never resulted in a non-creative borrowing of the motifs. Though, at first, Vasilyev was somewhat inferior technically to the Barbizon painters, most critics agree that he eventually found his own way of handling the subject. ''After a Rain'' (1869) and ''After a Rain. Country Road'' exceed in many respects the Barbizon stormy scenes in their expressiveness and deeply national sound.
In 1870, Vasilyev traveled on the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
with
Ilya Repin
Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...
, the picture ''Volga View. Barges''(1870) was a great success. In 1870 he became a member of
Peredvizhniki
Peredvizhniki ( rus, Передви́жники, , pʲɪrʲɪˈdvʲiʐnʲɪkʲɪ), often called The Wanderers or The Itinerants in English, were a group of Russian realist artists who formed an artists' cooperative in protest of academic restr ...
movement (one of the original twenty members).
In 1871, Vasilyev painted ''Thaw'' (1871), which made him famous immediately. The
tzar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
family's (Prince Alexander, future
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...
), ordered a copy, and the Society for Promotion of Artists awarded him first prize. Later Prince Alexander's copy was exponated on the 1872
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
World Fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
and won a medal. Vasilyev was admitted, as an intern, to the
Imperial 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 ...
(which, among other things, gave him an exception from conscription to the Army).
The "boy genius", as he was called in the artistic circles of Russia, had no time to enjoy his popularity – he was diagnosed with
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
and had to leave St. Petersburg forever. He moved to
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
. The Society for Promotion of Artists sponsored his stay there, but he was obliged to pay with his paintings.
Vasilyev could not get used to the new scenery. He went on to paint the Russian plains; his works, such as his masterpiece ''Wet Meadow'' (1872), were done from memory, old sketches and his imagination. After some time Vasilyev started to draw Crimea, gradually beginning to feel the attraction to its mountain views. ''Mountains of Crimea'' (1873) was an outstanding work and the last work of the artist.
He died in
Yalta
Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...
on 6 October
N.S. 1873 at the age of 23. His posthumous exhibition in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
was a great success, and all his works were sold prior to the exhibition. His works had a strong influence on the next generation of Russian landscape painters.
Nikolai Ge
Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge (from his French ancestral surname "De Gay") (russian: Николай Николаевич Ге; – ) was a Russian realist painter and an early Russian symbolist. He was famous for his works on historical and religiou ...
said, ''He discovered for us the Sky''. Many art historians emphasize Fedor Vasilyev's influence on
Isaac Levitan
Isaac Ilyich Levitan (russian: Исаа́к Ильи́ч Левита́н; – ) was a classical Russian landscape painter who advanced the genre of the "mood landscape".
Life and work
Youth
Isaac Levitan was born in a shtetl of Kibarty ...
,
Valentin Serov
Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (russian: Валенти́н Алекса́ндрович Серо́в; 19 January 1865 – 5 December 1911) was a Russian painter and one of the premier portrait artists of his era.
Life and work
Youth and educ ...
,
Viktor Borisov-Musatov
Victor Elpidiforovich Borisov-Musatov (russian: Ви́ктор Эльпидифо́рович Бори́сов-Муса́тов), ( – ) was a Russian painter, prominent for his unique Post-Impressionistic style that mixed Symbolism, pure de ...
.
Works
File:Vassiliev Cloud.JPG, The Cloud, 1860s
File:Vasilyev church valaam.JPG, Near a Church. Valaam
Valaam ( Russian: Валаам or Валаамский архипелаг, also known by the Finnish name Valamo) is an archipelago in the northern portion of Lake Ladoga, lying within the Republic of Karelia, Russian Federation. The total area ...
. 1867
File:Vasilyev after rain.JPG, After a Rain. 1867
File:Feodor Vasilyev - The crowns of the trees.jpg, The Crowns of the Trees. 1867
File:Vasilyev before thunderstorm.jpg, Before a Thunderstorm. 1868
File:Vasilyev after thunderstorm.JPG, After a Thunderstorm. 1868
File:Vasilyev dawn spb.JPG, Dawn in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
File:Vasilyev illumination spb.JPG, Illumination in Saint Petersburg. 1869
File:Vasilyev logs.JPG, Logs By the Road. 1867-1869
File:Vasilyev barges on Volga.JPG, Barges on Volga 1870
File:Vasilyev after heavy rain.JPG, After a Heavy Rain. 1870
File:Fjodor Alexandrowitsch Wassiljew 002.jpg, Lakuna on Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
1870-1871
File:Fedor Vasilev - The Thaw.JPG, Thaw 1871
File:Vasilyev pond sunset.JPG, Pond at the Sunset. 1871
File:Vasilyev wet medow.JPG, Wet Meadow. 1872
File:Vasilyev4 poplars.jpg, Lombardy Poplars on the Bank of a Lake. Evening.
File:Vassiliev Swamp In the Forest.JPG, Swamp in the Forest, 1872
File:Vasilyev crimea mount.JPG, In the Mountains of the Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
. 1873
In philately
* In 1975, the USSR Post issued in honor of Vasiliev a series of six stamps and a block.
See also
*
List of Russian artists
References
* Rodionov, V. (2007). Masterpieces of the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow: Red Square Publishers.
External links
Online Vasilyev Gallery- in English
Biography- in Russian
- in Russian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasilyev, Fyodor
1850 births
1873 deaths
People from Gatchina
People from Tsarskoselsky Uyezd
19th-century painters from the Russian Empire
Russian male painters
Realist painters
Russian landscape painters
19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire