Kustodiev's painting "Shrovetide": description

One of the most famous Russian artists Boris Kustodiev (1878-1927) has repeatedly addressed the theme of festivities in the Russian provinces. He was attracted by the breadth of the Russian people's soul, the rampant recklessness, the dizzying whirlwind of dancing and fisticuffs, the riding on threes and the mountain of treats on tables set right there among the snowdrifts. The artist wanted to display the entire color of the festival on the canvas, to permanently capture a bright event from the life of the Russian people.

Start

Painting Kustodiev "Shrovetide" - one of his works on the most fun holiday, which falls on the last week before the start of Lent. Shrovetide week, unrestrained fun became a story for a painting written in 1916. The artist himself during the period of work on "Pancake week" the mood was not festive, the illness got on the fronts of the First World War made itself felt.

What did the artist portray?

Description of the picture Kustodiev "Carnival" can begin with the fact that in the upper part of the canvas can be seen as winter retreats: in the sky clouds, painted in pastel cream color, which happens in the very beginning of spring. In the height - a pack of rooks, the birds flew in and are waiting for spring heat. In the center of the picture are painted sleds, harnessed by a pair of horses. A driver in festive clothes and a papakha with a crimson top pulls on the reins, behind him a young couple is sitting benevolently. In the sleigh strives to sit on the fly with a cadet with a friend, they are on the left. Towards another sleigh race, at a distance two teams are also trying to get ahead of each other. In the left part of the picture two carriages can be seen flying up the hill. They try to reach the team, which is in the center of the picture.

A bit further the children are riding on a sleigh with a steep hill, enjoying the last snowy dolts. Behind the mountain there was a booth, around which the people gathered in anticipation of the performance. Houses are covered with snow, churches with bell towers - in a solid white blanket.

Burning Scarecrow

Kustodiev's painting "Shrovetide" breathes the atmosphere of the holiday. At the bottom of the fair, we seem to hear a merry hubbub: there is a trade. Walking in full swing, however, if you look closely, the picture shows the elusive signs of the evening. Soon the birds will disappear, the sledge will leave, people will go home. The next day, the holiday will return to the city, then again. And so all the week until the time of the main ritual - the burning of the effigy of Winter. The description of Kustodiev's painting "Maslenitsa" can be ended with a bow in honor of the talented artist who was able to masterfully convey the essence of one of the most grandiose Russian holidays. The canvas is in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

Kustodiev, "Pancake week" (1919): description of the painting

Three years later Kustodiev again returns to the topic of Maslenitsa festivities. This time, the action takes place on the square of a small provincial town. In the rays of the winter sun, inclined towards sunset, the holiday is in full swing. A troika of horses is carried by a small cart on a runner. A steppe root stallion tries to restrain the fastidious pristyazhnyh - yes, there! Young horses carry a light sleigh, and the coachman whips them over with a whip. In the sleigh there are three: a lady in a white fox fur coat, next to her - a friend in a fox fur coat and opposite a boyfriend who, apparently, organized a fun trip.

Kustodiev's painting "Shrovetide" conveys the spirit of merchant provincialism. Two people came to the side of the road, they have common interests. Wives just a bit away, talking about their own. On the other side of the road - attractions, carousel and other entertainment. There is also a circus tent. Pierrot and Harlequin call the audience on the balcony. The circus is depicted under the sign "Theater". People crowd at the entrance, those who have already visited the show, do not rush to leave, the others wait their turn.

A lot of noise was created by the canvas, which Kustodiev created, - "Pancake week" (1919). The description of the picture by critics was ambiguous. Particularly shocking was the appearance of a masterpiece of Moscow and Petersburg artists. But each of them admitted that he would like to be in the place of Boris Kustodiev. Universal recognition has provided invaluable moral support to the painful artist, who in recent years has been chained to a wheelchair. And Boris Kustodiev began work on the third painting, dedicated to the Russian holiday.

Three branier

Painting Kustodiev "Shrovetide", written in 1920, was the third and last in the account of the artist's work on the theme of Russian festivities. Multi-figured compositions are placed in the center and along the edges of the picture. The artist gave the foreground to children riding on a roller coaster. The canvas gives a little popular folk art, but it does not spoil it. And again in the center of the picture sweep sled, harnessed by a troika of horse-drawn horses. Both the root and the crooks are ready to rush at full speed, but the coachman does not give: people are walking around. Sitting in the sleigh is a burly merchant, next to him is a puny merchant. For them, Shrovetide has just begun, all day - riding a triple, then on the merry-go-round, after the rides - a performance in the theater, and in the evening - to the table with pancakes and red caviar. All this is thought out when looking at the masterpiece Kustodiev, the third in the account on the theme of carnival.

"Autumn"

The artist's health deteriorated. He, as he could, resisted the disease, but the disease was stronger. At the end of his life, Boris Kustodiev was forced to paint pictures while lying in bed. The famous "Russian Venus" he finished with great difficulty, after working for several minutes, rested for two or three hours. Perseverance of the artist was rewarded, the picture is recognized as a world-class masterpiece. Cloth called "Autumn" Kustodiev repeatedly postponed, but, feeling a quick demise, yet tried to finish the work.

Shades and semitones

The first reproduction of Kustodiev's painting Maslenitsa was made in 1928, after the death of the artist. The master used the technique of the engraving machine by the method of multi-color copying. The result was far from the original, as the engraving transmits only the basic colors, and can not display halftones. Kustodiyev's paintings are rich in shades. "Pancake week" - a picture of the artist Kustodiev - bewitches with a delicate play of bluish-gray halftones. Snow drifts and hats on the branches of trees on the eve of the onset of spring, the snow-covered plain serve as a background for the plot filling the picture.

Kustodiev and Surikov

Another Russian artist, who masterfully mastered the technique of depicting the snow cover, is Vasily Surikov. His unique works - "Boyarina Morozova", "Suvorov's crossing the Alps", "Taking a snow town" - would have been impossible without a snowy background. But still the most skillful master of the image of a white cover is Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. The painting "Maslenitsa" in three versions is a confirmation.