Artist Fedotov: pictures and their description

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov is the founder of a new genre in Russian painting - critical realism. A vivid representative of romanticism, he lived a short life, but the artistic heritage left by him allows us to speak of him as an outstanding Russian painter. Cloth "Matchmaking Major" is familiar if not for everyone, then for many residents of the CIS countries and art lovers around the world.

He always painted

Pavel Andreevich Fedotov (1815-1852) was a very gifted man, he managed a lot. Having graduated with honors from the First Moscow Cadet Corps, where he was determined at the age of 11 years, the future artist was already promoted to non-commissioned officers in 1830, two years later - to sergeant-major. Being a military man, he gave all his free time to drawing. In addition, he was fond of music, wrote good poetry, which he did not attach any importance to, and was, as they say, regimental bard - composed songs on topics from military life and performed them to grateful listeners. But the main hobby was still drawing.

Crucial moment

The artist Fedotov, whose paintings, sketches and caricatures were known to the whole Life Guards Regiment of Finland, was an amateur, but sharp attention, outstanding natural talent attracted the attention of colleagues. Very successful were the portraits of the favorite of the army, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. In one of the visits to the Prince of the Finland Regiment he was shown portraits made by Fedotov. He was so pleased with his image that he presented the artist with a diamond ring. In addition, the Grand Duke advised the Guardsman to leave the army for the sake of painting and said that he would provide him with certain content.

The beginning of the artist's career

At the age of 29 Pavel Andreevich, in the rank of captain, leaves the army and devotes himself to painting. But even after retiring, for a while the artist Fedotov dedicated his paintings to the army. And he takes lessons of mastery from Professor Zaurvejda, in order to learn how to professionally draw horses, so that the scenes depicted by him, in addition to infantry, also include cavalry. But best of all he managed genre scenes. And it was this painting that brought him fame and recognition, although as a portraitist he was also very good. The artist Fedotov, whose paintings were first exhibited thanks to K. Bryullov, who had an indisputable authority in the academy, immediately became popular. Three canvases, written from 1846 to 1848, after the exhibition brought the artist fame, little money, which he always had little, and the title of academician. At the vernissage of 1848, near the canvases "Picky Bride", "Fresh Cavalier" and "Matchmaking Major" was always a crowd of people.

The ancestor of the new trend

With such pictures admirers and connoisseurs of fine art got acquainted for the first time. A new word in painting was said by the artist Fedotov. The paintings laid the foundation for the genre that Perov and Makovsky later glorified.

In their spirit, the artist's most famous canvases resonate with the work of NV Gogol. Like the great writer, P. Fedotov possessed a fine sense of humor, was ironic, knew how to notice in people what is worthy of ridicule: swagger, unreasonable arrogance, conceit and so on. He could carry it to the canvas.

"Not at the time a guest"

The next picture, painted in 1849 by Fedotov, is "The Breakfast of an Aristocrat." In it, the artist refuses from the caricature of the image present in the "Fresh Cavalier." And the hero of the picture is not very worthy of ridicule. The canvas was written under the influence of a feuilleton, whose author, as it turned out, was I. Goncharov. In it, he spoke of the frequent inconsistency of the appearance of a person of his essence. He noted that much can be revealed if one takes him by surprise. Found, and what? It is a pity for the young man, frightened to death by the fact that now someone whose steps he hears will come in and find out that the aristocrat, in fact, is poor. The hero of the picture does not merge with luxurious surroundings, but confronts her, she remained to him from her ancestors, not at all poor people. Or maybe he would be glad to lose his surroundings and lead a healthier way of life, but the will does not allow.

The young man on the canvas does not cause irritation and desire to gloat, too well portrayed the true state of things Fedotov. "Breakfast of an aristocrat" does not show vanity vanity, but a possible collapse of what was successfully hidden, perhaps for a very long time. Perhaps it is the father of a rich, but not a noble girl, who is happy to give her away as a representative of a well-known aristocratic family, without assuming the true state of affairs.

A thin boy is pitiful. He does not look like a cynical person. The rich interior is written very carefully, down to every detail. Everything is beautiful, everything is exquisite, everything is designed for pleasure. Therefore, the elegant purse turned inside out looks so disarmingly - it screams about the scandalous poverty of the offspring of an aristocratic family that is not adapted to the difficult life.

The picture is 51 x 42 cm in the Tretyakov Gallery. Many believe that it was written under the strong influence of Karl Bryullov. The palette resonates with the canvases of a brilliant senior artist. And the beauty of the material world, superbly conveyed by Fedotov in this work, resembles Bryullov 's exquisite paintings.

The sequence of self-portraits

Pavel Fedotov painted a self-portrait many times. One depicts a very young cadet, on the other - a young handsome officer with a medal on his chest. A clever, ironic man in the prime of life looks at us from one of the canvases, and on the other - a gray-haired, elderly man, suffering from severe mental illness (although at the time of death, Fedotov was only 37 years old).

Known for his self-portrait, made with a pencil on paper. The figure of 29.2 x 20 cm is stored in the Russian Museum. It depicts an artist who propped his head with his fist. The face of an intelligent, thinking and talented person appears before us. The picture is from the year 1840.

The harbinger of a sad end

The last work of the artist "Players" - the picture is not at all unambiguous. Written in 1852, shortly before the death of P. Fedotov, in a state house for the mentally ill, she carries a premonition of a future misfortune. At first glance the picture is like a picture. Morning. Spent the whole night at a gambling table, three players knead the swollen parts of the body. With a closer look, you can see that there are empty frames on the walls. Two candles brought by a servant, illuminate the face of the loser, close to madness. Fixed posture of the central character, in which the author depicted himself, looks on the background of convulsively stretching figures wildly. Compounding the painful impression and double shadow cast by the hero, and eerie smile. In the role of a servant again, the faithful orderly Fedotov is depicted, who alone sincerely lamented the deceased. And in the picture the candles in the hands of Korshunov are reminiscent of funerary, and the lowered face looks tearful. This magnificent painting, in which the artist's skill has risen to a new level, is stored in Kiev, in the Russian Museum.

The fate of Pavel Fedotov is tragic. He died young. The artist is called the Russian Van Gogh, because both of them were found dead by beggars, abandoned in the houses of eternal sorrow.