Famous paintings by unknown authors. Mystical paintings by Russian artists

In this article, you will see paintings by an unknown artist that have not yet been published anywhere, and also learn about his difficult fate. Greatest Genius. With the help of a brush and paints, he could, no less, stop the moment of our mortal life and capture it in eternity.

His life was spent under the heavy burden of earning a livelihood. But perhaps it is the absence big money did not let the spark of genius in his heart die out, and he remained devoted to art until the end of his days. The Greatest Painter modernity, alas,left us in obscurity. Here you will see a collection of unique works of this artist. The memory of him and his paintings will forever live for centuriesfor us and for those who come after us. This man is my father. Let's start with his biography.

Life in Kazakhstan and the city of Karaganda in the post-war years

Karaganda is the largest center of the coal industry in Kazakhstan. Its coal deposits amounted to several billiontons. In the 40-50s of the last century, it was the third coal "stoker" of the country. Karaganda was second only to Donbass and Kuzbass.

Endless feather grass steppe and soot of factories. Countless deposits of coal and eternally black miners in helmets. post-war destruction and great amount mines. The rumble of mining enterprises and the notorious five-year plan for annual output, which must be fulfilled. This is what you could see in Karaganda after the war.

Moreover, in the 30s there was created Soviet power Karaganda camp for exiles and repressed. It lived inaccording to some sources, up to a million prisoners. Exiled and repressed, innocent people who fell into the millstones of Stalin's purges.

Literally thrown out of the train into the Kazakh steppes dispossessed peasants. That's who made up the majority of the population of Karaganda of those times.

Among these exiles was my father's family. He was born in 1945 in a family of repressed peasants. Actually, I don't know much about his childhood. And the only thing my dad told me was some snippets.

After the dispossessed peasants were thrown out of the train before the fierce Karaganda winter, they hastily built dugouts for their families. A howling blizzard, a piercing steppe wind and frost below minus 30. What would you do in such a situation?

A modern "civilized" person who sits in a warm armchair in front of the monitor, drinking another cup of coffee, and delights himself with all sorts of benefits scientific progress, is unlikely to understand what it means to live in a dugout without a floor in the winter in the Kazakh wilderness.

The cold twists the bones, the fire saves with difficulty, the door to the dugout due to the two-meterlayers of snow cannot be opened, and the unbearable howl of a blizzard drives you crazy. And the only thought in my head: "What will I eat tomorrow." Snow storms in the steppe and hurricane winds- it's not for you to play snowballs with friends under New Year. A person frozen to death and not reaching home was a common thing in those parts and at that time.

But the spark of the artist in my father's heart lit up already in early years. Under these conditions, he gave his strength not toto keep warm and find a piece of bread, but to draw and delight others with your creativity. He drew sketches with pencils.

My dad said that he could not find a place for himself from overflowing with joy when he was bought colored pencils. Now you can buy them in any stall. But then to find pencils in the wilderness of the steppe is the same asafter many months of washing tons of clay, find a grain of gold. We hardly understand what was going on in his heart.

The smell of the first colored pencils left, such an impression in the mind young painter that he told me about it more than once. I confess that it is difficult for me to evaluate his first impression of the smell of pencils. I don't think I'll ever appreciate it.

At night, he copied sketches from books found somewhere. These first sketches, unfortunately, have not been preserved. His father sometimes yelled at him and told him not to do any nonsense. My grandfather was very strict. I know for myself how difficult it is sometimes to convince parents that a new hobby is “correct”.

In 1971 my father graduated from the artschool in Alma-Ata. How does an ordinary Russian guy live with open heart among the native Kazakhs. In an environment where all posts are occupied the right people, all grades are pre-arranged, and any promotion, if you have the wrong nationality, is almost impossible? But my father was dedicated to his work to the end and did not give up.

This is where my dad met my mom. She later became an art teacher. Unfortunately, she is no longer with us. Her biography deserves a separate article. My dad often drew her, which, in principle, is natural. Her beauty and modesty could not but attract.

My dad was a candidate master of sports in freestyle wrestling. At all-Union competitions, he won the union champion with a score of 5: 0. But he himself in a vile way, against all the rules, broke my dad's eyebrow with his knee. And thus he got the victory.

Then he succeeded in the impossible. From the first time he entered the place where the best of the best are taken. Now my dad is a studentLeningrad (St. Petersburg) Academy of Arts named after E. I. Repin. He successfully completed it.

Yes, yes, friends, you heard right, this also happens. Now I'm proud to say my father - greatest artist modernity from Leningrad.

Contemporary artist from St. Petersburg and his paintings

You yourself saw how my dad turned from an ordinary provincial teenager into a great contemporary artist from Saint-Petersburg. And more precisely - Leningrad. It's time to see his paintings and find out his future fate.

In the years of the "dashing 90s" he had a very hard time, as, indeed, many then. Exhausted from hunger, with only one thought about a piece of bread and a hungry family, then I even had to collect bottles.

Further, in 1991. he became a member of the Leningrad Organization of the Union of Artists. Few people manage to get into this union.

He then worked as a portrait painter.in the State Museum-Reserve"Peterhof". Drawing 30-40 sketches and portraits a day for a measly pittance, he honed his craft to absolute perfection.

He could draw a sketch of a person in ... 5-7 minutes. If you are a professional artist, then you probably have your hair on end in amazement. What? Is it possible? Yes, I may have seen it with my own eyes.

Every day without any holidays or weekends, my dad drew sketches, drawings with crayons, pencil drawings, portraits in watercolor, gouache and oil. And all for some money. Two hundred, three hundred rubles, no more.

He was not looking for money, he was looking for joy in the eyes of people who were satisfied with his portraits. Hearing exclamations of genuine amazement and admiration, he was simply embarrassed to talk about the reward for his work at such moments.

Almost until the end of his days, he worked in Peterhof. But, alas, in May 2014 he suddenly died. He never managed to become famous.

Fame for real geniuses rarely comes during their lifetime. They are guided by the invisible muse of creativity, and not by petty and ephemeral honor. They communicate with fleeting impulses of inspiration, trying not to lose them, and not with pompous moneybags, wanting to win glory for themselves and fill the price of their creativity.

Van Gogh was a poor vagabond. Less than a century later, his paintings are estimated at millions of dollars at the most prestigious art auctions. What awaits this collection of paintings in a couple of hundred years? One can only guess.

Now my father's paintings are in my house, in a remote village in the Leningrad region. Merciless time is slowly destroying all that great heritage that has been preserved. I am not a professional artist and I have no idea how to handle works of art.

The paper gradually turns yellow and tears. Because of the wet St. Petersburgclimate, the hardboard, on which many oil paintings are painted, is stratified. Almost all paintings without glass and frames. Dust settles on paintings and it is impossible to remove it without damaging the paintings themselves.

Alas, I am not able to take care of the paintings alone. What should be done in such a situationDon't know.

If you have any wishes, suggestions, recommendations or any comments, you can write to me by mail [email protected]. You can tell your friends about these paintings by sharing with them a link to this article, leaving a comment under it, like itor somehow let others know that greatest works art is dying before our eyes. A little more delay and time and climate will destroy everything.

I visited the exhibition Unknown artist", which takes place in the Russian Museum ( Benois Corps). The exhibition presents works by artists whose authorship could not be determined.
I could not resist and bought a plump catalog. Spread some of the reproductions of paintings of the 19th century. Unfortunately, the color cannot be fully conveyed.

1. Young Artists (1800s). The portrait of the students junior group academy of arts.
Far right - looks like Harry Potter :)

2. Portrait of a musician (1830s). Here is such a troubadour of the 19th century :)
The album contains a comment about the guitar, which appeared in Russia at the end of the 17th century. Then the guitar was a six-string. Seven-string guitar became at the beginning of the 19th century, having received the name "Russian guitar".

A separate hall of the exhibition is devoted to portraits of artists.

3. Young artist(1840s). At first it seemed to me that this was a portrait of a doctor with a vial of medicine. No, this is an artist, and in a flask there is a varnish for covering paintings.

4. Portrait of the artist (1830s).

5. Portrait of an architect (1840-1850s). The name of the character in the picture could not be deciphered. The design of the building in the hands of the gentleman led to the assumption that he was an architect. But, perhaps, the portrait depicts the owner of the house, who ordered the project.

The exhibition includes portraits of famous historical figures.

6. Portrait of Boris Danzas (1850s). Brother of Konstantin Danzas (friend of A.S. Pushkin). Director of the Department of the Ministry of Justice, Chief Prosecutor of the Senate, Acting Privy Councilor.
The portrait is clear - a respectable person :)

7. Princess Obolenskaya-Neledinskaya-Meletskaya (1834), maid of honor to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (wife of Nicholas I).

8. Portrait of Nikolai Demidov (1828). A descendant of a famous family of industrialists. Privy Councilor, industrialist, philanthropist. The total amount of his donations to charity amounted to 720,000 rubles at that time.

The exhibition features very interesting family portraits.

9. Portrait of the Tarov family (1840s). The head of the family is a lieutenant of the 12th Army Infantry Division, awarded the Order of St. Anna, 3rd degree. In the 1840s came into use photographic images. The features of the faces are carefully drawn in the picture, the similarity of children and parents is noticeable.

10. Family portrait(1840s). Unfortunately, who is depicted in the portrait is not known. The portrait is made in pastel, the material is very fragile, crumbles quickly. I am glad that the painting has been preserved in excellent condition. The colors are juicy, reproduction cannot be conveyed.

11. Family portrait (1840s). The characters are unknown. The mother of the family in a mourning dress, presumably, the portrait was painted after the death of a close relative. An interesting detail is the fez hat of the father of the family, which was in fashion at home at the beginning of the 19th century.

The colorful portraits of old men and women attract attention.

12. Portrait of an old man with a book (1850s-1860s).

13. Grandmother and granddaughter (1830s). The strict grandmother resembles the famous princess - the Queen of Spades.

14. Woman in front of the icon. Presumably, the portrait was painted by someone from the family of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. Hand-painted paintings were traditional birthday gifts from relatives. All grand-ducal children were taught to draw.

15. male portrait(1840s-1850s).

And, of course, a lot of cute little children's portraits. Here are some of them.

16. Portrait of a peasant boy (1820s-1840s).

17. Portrait of children (1830s). Presumably children of the same family. Boy in the form of a marine cadet corps. The toy boat symbolizes his future naval service.

18. Girl feeding chickens (1820s-1840s). Plots about peasant children became widespread in the 19th century.

19. Portrait of a boy with a hoop (1820s-1840s). Presumably the picture is professional artist. Maybe a relative. In the hands of a child, a hoop and a wand. In those days, one of the favorite children's games was to roll a hoop, holding it with a stick.

20. Children releasing a bird. Another common peasant story.

And of course, lovely ladies and cavaliers :)

21. Portrait of Princess Anna Vielgorskaya (1850s). Great-granddaughter of Biron (favorite of Empress Anna Ioannovna). Nikolai Gogol asked for her hand, but was refused by the parents of the young lady, who married Prince Shakhovsky.

For many artists, the creation of works of art is not only a way of self-expression. It is also an opportunity to glorify your name, to link it with the current century forever, leaving your legacy in the treasury of culture.
But for some, anonymity means so much more, they are more than happy to take a backseat and let the work speak for itself.
The most famous of these anonymous artists is Banksy, his work is almost all priceless, but there are many more people who have walked or are following the same path.

For example.

Map master.

Arthur Meiger Hind (1880-1957) was a leading engraving historian, one of the most respected art historians of modern times. Keeper of prints and drawings british museum and professor visual arts at Oxford, he was the author of the most complete history etching and engraving. And he collected information on the history of engraving, and he has information about the "master playing cards- a carver who worked in the mid 1400s.

It is believed that he lived somewhere in the area of Cologne, Germany.

He has been called "The Playing Card Master" because a huge number of his works are early playing cards. There are quite a lot of them, more than 70 cards, beautifully, even brilliantly illustrated, with images of people and flowers, birds, deer and even dragons. He was a German (or presumably Swiss) engraver, "the first Master in the history of engraving".

The total is only known through his 106 engravings, which include a set of playing cards.
Another eighty-eight engravings are considered fairly close to his style, and are presumably made by his students.

The Queen of Flowers is one of the exceptionally beautiful and delicate prints created by the Master of Playing Cards, the first big figure in the history of engraving. And, unfortunately, anonymous.

The ecclesiastical decorations, which for so long illustrated the books of medieval education, show numerous examples of how decorative artists borrowed their compositions from plaster panels, harnesses, sculptures. The drawing below shows a carved dagger decoration in the choir stalls at Chester Cathedral, late 14th century.

Dede

Street art is new form art in many cities around the world. In Tel Aviv, it appeared relatively recently. For anonymous street artist Dede, the idea of painting on the walls of buildings is a way of preserving the purity of art without gallery interference or criticism. It is also a way to fully and freely express your thoughts.

Dede: In the reality we live in, Street art has a new life.
Today, people spend more time sitting in front of a computer than walking the streets. At current culture sharing and social networks, we may encounter street art that is currently on the other side of the planet!

This opens up new possibilities, concepts and statements, making street art even more relevant than ever before. The works that appear on the walls of houses reflect the state of the population, its pain, suffering, happiness, ....

Wireworm.

The story of the wireworm is sad and sad: he is unknown and would have been forgotten if not for the occasion. I wrote, by the way, about him, but remember again. In Philadelphia, a man named Robert Leitch worked as a garbage collector. One day, while waiting for a garbage truck, at some point in the late 1970s or early 1980s (details are obscure because Leitch's name only became known after his death), he saw a massive cache of objects on the curb.

They were stacked outside in a rather shady part of town; Leitch saw something special about them, though, and piled them into his car. Then Leitch realized that he had 1200 works. Each was wrapped in wire wrapping: from pocket items, pens and coins and nail files, there were containers for food products, toys, watches, tools.

A friend convinced him to give everything to art gallery. The gallery owner fell under the spell of these things. Allman - the owner of the gallery, immediately bought 650 of them, and then the rest.

When he first exhibited them in the 1980s, he was not sure of the interest of the public, "then it was still far from the fact that the art of self-taught became popular - as it is now."
Allman exhibited 50 of Wireworm's works, and to his surprise, they were all bought. Prices from $75 to $100 - not like now. Today, the Fleischer Ollman Gallery, still holds a number of Philadelphia Ironman's works, some of which are worth $9,000.

Fury Master

So little is known about the "Master Fury", and in general, his existence was not heard until 1970. Erwin Neumann, curator of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, began to collect mind-blowing drawings and ivory sculptures. After careful analysis, he determined that they were all the work of one man, whom he named "Master of Furies". The sculptures were made in the early 17th century in Austria. By the way, many of the sculptures of this artist are still may not be open.

Visual arts have always been considered closely related to the mystical realm. After all, any image is an energy imprint of the original, especially if we are talking about portraits. It is believed that they are able to influence not only those from whom they are written, but also other people. You don't have to look far for examples: let's turn to the Russian painting XIX- the beginning of the twentieth century.

The mysticism of the portrait of Maria Lopukhina

Delightful beauties, who stare at us from the canvases of great painters, will always remain just like that: young, charming and plump. vital energy. However, the true fate of beautiful models is not always as enviable as it might seem at first glance. This is very easy to verify with an example. famous portrait Maria Lopukhina, who came out from under the brush of Vladimir Borovikovsky.

Maria Lopukhina, descended from the count family of Tolstoy, immediately after own wedding(she was 18 years old) posed for Vladimir Borovikovsky. The portrait was commissioned by her husband. At the time of writing, Maria looked just great. Her face radiated so much charm, spirituality and dreaminess ... There could be no doubt that the charming model was waiting for a long and happy life. An incomprehensible fact, but Mary died of consumption when she was only 23 years old.

Much later, the poet Polonsky wrote "Borovikovsky saved her beauty ...". However, immediately after the death of the young beauty, not everyone would share this opinion. After all, at that time there was talk in Moscow that it was the unfortunate portrait that was to blame for the death of Maria Lopukhina.

From this picture began to shy away, as if from a ghost. It was believed that if a young lady looked at her, she would soon die. According to some information mysterious portrait killed about ten girls of marriageable age. They said that the father of Mary, famous mystic, after his daughter died, lured her spirit into this canvas.

However, after almost a hundred years, Pavel Tretyakov was not afraid and acquired this visual image for your own gallery. After that, the picture "pacified". But what was it - empty gossip, a strange coincidence, or is there something more behind the mysterious phenomenon? Unfortunately, we will most likely never know the answer to this question.

Ilya Repin - a storm of sitters?

It is unlikely that anyone will argue that Ilya Efimovich Repin is one of the greatest Russian painters. But there is one strange and tragic circumstance: many who had the honor of being his sitters soon died. Among them are Mussorgsky, Pisemsky, Pirogov, Italian actor Mercy d'Argento. As soon as the artist took up the portrait of Fyodor Tyutchev, he also died. Of course, in all cases for death there were objective reasons, - but here are the coincidences ... Even the hefty men who posed for Repin for the canvas “Barge Haulers on the Volga”, they say, prematurely gave their souls to God.

"Barge haulers on the Volga", 1870-1873

However, the most creepy story happened with the painting "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581", which in our time is better known as "Ivan the Terrible kills his son." Even balanced people, when looking at the canvas, felt uneasy: the scene of the murder was written too realistically, there was too much blood on the canvas, which seems real.

exhibited in Tretyakov Gallery the canvas made a strange impression on visitors. Some sobbed in front of the picture, others fell into a stupor, the third had hysterical seizures. And on January 16, 1913, the young icon painter Abram Balashov cut the canvas with a knife. He was sent to a mental hospital, where he died. The canvas has been restored.

"Ivan the Terrible kills his son", 1883-1885

It is known that Repin thought for a long time before taking on a picture of Ivan the Terrible. And not in vain. The artist Myasoedov, from whom the image of the tsar was painted, soon, in anger, almost killed his young son, who was also called Ivan, like the murdered prince. The image of the latter was written from the writer Vsevolod Garshin, who later went crazy and committed suicide by throwing himself into a flight of stairs ...

The Murder That Wasn't

The story that Ivan the Terrible is a son-killer is just a myth.

It is believed that Ivan the Terrible killed his son in a fit of anger by hitting his staff to the temple. The reasons for different researchers are called different: from domestic quarrels to political friction. Meanwhile, none of the sources directly states that the prince and heir to the throne was killed by his own father!

The Piskarevsky Chronicler says: “At 12 midnight in the summer of November 7090, on the 17th day ... the repose of Tsarevich John Ioannovich.” The Novgorod Fourth Chronicle reports: “The same (7090) year, Tsarevich John Ioannovich reposed at Matins in Sloboda.” The cause of death is not named.
In the 60s of the last century, the graves of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened. On the skull of the prince there were no injuries characteristic of a brain injury. Therefore, there was no sonicide? But where did the legend about him come from?

Antonio Possevino - representative of the Vatican in Russia during the times of Ivan the Terrible and the Great Troubles

Its author is the Jesuit monk Antony Possevin (Antonio Possevino), sent to Moscow as an ambassador from the Pope with a proposal Orthodox Church come under the authority of the Vatican. The idea did not meet with the support of the Russian tsar. Possevin, meanwhile, allegedly became an eyewitness to a family scandal. The sovereign was angry with his pregnant daughter-in-law, the wife of his son Ivan, for "obscene appearance" - either she forgot to put on a belt, or she put on only one shirt, while it was supposed to wear four. In a temper, the father-in-law began to beat the unfortunate staff. The prince stood up for his wife: before that, the father had already sent his two first wives to the monastery, who could not conceive from him. John Jr. was not unreasonably afraid that he would lose the third - his father would simply kill her. He rushed at the priest, who, in a fit of violence, struck with his staff and pierced his son's temple. However, apart from Possevin, not a single source confirms this version, although later other historians, Staden and Karamzin, willingly picked it up.

Modern researchers suggest that the Jesuit invented the legend in retaliation for the fact that he had to return to the papal court "without salt."

When exhumed in bone tissue prince, the remains of poisons were found. This may indicate that John the Younger died of poisoning (which is not uncommon for those times), and not at all from a blow with a hard object!

Nevertheless, in Repin's painting, we see precisely the version of sonicide. It is performed with such extraordinary plausibility that you involuntarily believe that everything actually happened. Hence, of course, the "deadly" energy.

And again Repin distinguished himself

Repin's self-portrait

Once Repin was ordered a huge monumental painting " Solemn meeting State Council". The painting was completed by the end of 1903. And in 1905, the first Russian revolution broke out, during which the heads of the officials depicted on the canvas flew. Some lost their posts and titles, others even paid with their lives: Minister V.K. Plehve and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the former governor-general of Moscow, were killed by terrorists.

In 1909, the artist, commissioned by the Saratov City Duma, painted a portrait. As soon as he finished the work, Stolypin was shot dead in Kyiv.

Who knows - maybe if Ilya Repin had not been so talented, tragedies might not have happened. Back in the 15th century, the scientist, philosopher, alchemist and magician Cornelius Agrippa Nettesheim wrote: "Beware of the painter's brush - his portrait may turn out to be more alive than the original."

P. A. Stolypin. Portrait by I. Repin (1910)

Mystical painting "Stranger" by Ivan Kramskoy

The painting miraculously survived two periods mass interest to yourself, and completely different eras. For the first time - after writing in 1883, it was considered the embodiment of aristocracy and was very popular with the sophisticated St. Petersburg public.

Unexpectedly, another surge of interest in the "Unknown" occurred already in the second half of the 20th century. The apartments were decorated with reproductions of Kramskoy's work cut out of magazines, and copies of The Unknown were one of the most popular commissions from artists of all levels. True, for some reason the picture was already known under the name "The Stranger", perhaps under the influence work of the same name Blok. Even sweets "Stranger" were created with a picture of Kramskoy on the box. So the erroneous title of the work finally "came into life."

Long-term studies of "who is depicted in Kramskoy's painting" did not yield results. According to one version, the prototype of the "symbol of aristocracy" was a peasant woman named Matryona, who married the nobleman Bestuzhev.

"The Stranger" by Ivan Kramskoy is one of the most mysterious masterpieces of Russian painting.

At first glance, there is nothing mystical in the portrait: the beauty is driving along Nevsky Prospekt in an open carriage.

Many considered the heroine of Kramskoy an aristocrat, but fashionable, trimmed with fur and blue satin ribbons a velvet coat and a stylish beret hat, coupled with scowling eyebrows, lipstick on her lips and a blush on her cheeks, betray her as a lady of the then demi-monde. Not a prostitute, but obviously the kept woman of some noble or rich person.

However, when the artist was asked if this woman exists in reality, he only grinned and shrugged his shoulders. In any case, no one has seen the original.
Meanwhile, Pavel Tretyakov refused to purchase a portrait for his gallery - perhaps he was afraid of the belief that portraits of beauties "suck strength" from living people.

Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy

"Stranger" began to travel to private collections. And very soon gained notoriety. Its first owner was abandoned by his wife, the house of the second burned down, the third went bankrupt. All these misfortunes were attributed to the fatal picture.

Kramskoy himself did not escape the curse. Less than a year after the creation of Unknown, two of his sons died one after the other.

The "damned" picture went abroad. They say that there she also caused all sorts of troubles to her owners. In 1925, "The Stranger" returned to Russia and yet took its place in the Tretyakov Gallery. Since then, no more incidents have occurred.

Maybe the whole point is that the portrait from the very beginning should have taken its rightful place?

Creators unsurpassed works art and rattling their names around the world, there have always been paintings by unknown artists. Artists whose works cause no less admiration than the works of eminent masters, but whose names are different reasons remained unknown.

Perhaps one of the nameless creators deliberately concealed his name, fearing evil criticism, or hid his social status and therefore could not name himself (the position in society could be both too high for such an occupation, and too insignificant to dare to create openly), and someone remained unknown due to the fault of the unfavorable time, who did not want to tell us about the author, but generously preserved his paintings.

Unknown artist from Italy (Florence, 1530). Allegorical portrait of Dante

Sometimes, some part of the veil of secrets still manages to be lifted. Sometimes, as a result of a detailed study of a painting by an unknown artist, the work finds its author. However, this complex attribution process requires many years of effort and is not always crowned with success. Many works never acquire authorship, and one can only hope that over time new facts will appear that make it possible to correct attribution.
One way or another, but even until the moment of establishing the authorship, the paintings of unknown artists do not lose their significance, their cultural value, and even vice versa, acquire a certain charm of mystery, riddles that you want to unravel, find the right answer. Although .. maybe you should not do this?