Pictures of peasant life. The Wanderers and Others: Peasants in Russian Painting

Sergey Alexandrovich Lobovikov was born in 1870 in the village of Belaya, Glazovsky district, Vyatka province, in the family of a deacon. Graduated rural school, studied at the Glazov Theological School for two years. Orphaned at the age of 14. In 1885 he was given as a guardian to apprentice in the photography studio of Pyotr Grigoryevich Tikhonov in Vyatka. In 1892 he was taken to active military service (released in 1893 for health reasons). In 1893 he worked for a short time in photography by K. Bulla in St. Petersburg. In 1894 he returned to Vyatka and opened his own photo workshop (in 1904 he bought a house on the corner of Moskovskaya and Tsarevskaya streets, where his photograph was placed for 30 years). Since 1899, he participated in exhibitions in Russia and abroad, repeatedly received top honors. In 1900 he toured Europe, participated in the Paris world exhibition(bronze medal).

In 1908 he was elected chairman of the Vyatka Photographic Society, and received a gold medal for his photographs at the International Exhibition in Kyiv. In 1909 he made a second trip abroad, participated in an exhibition in Dresden. In 1909-1912. - chairman of Vyatsky artistic circle, did great job on the organization of an art and history museum in Vyatka (traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg to see artists and collectors, collected paintings). In 1909 he received the first prize at the competition of the Russian Photographic Society. In 1913-1914. - Vowel of the Vyatka City Duma. Since 1918 - as a member of the board of the Provincial sub-department for museums and the protection of monuments of art and antiquity. In 1918, many photo studios were nationalized, Lobovikova's teacher Tikhonov was arrested by the Cheka as a hostage and shot (at the age of 66). Lobovikov managed to avoid the nationalization of the workshop, in 1920 he received a safe-conduct from Lunacharsky. In 1921-26. Lobovikov participated in the assessment of seized church valuables, compiled a collection of 617 items of ancient utensils and asked to leave it in Vyatka (despite repeated petitions, the collection was taken to Moscow). In 1927 in Moscow took place personal exhibition Lobovikov in honor of the 40th anniversary of his photographic activity. In those same years, the work of old Russian photographers was criticized as "narrow aesthetic, divorced from Soviet reality." Since 1920, Lobovikov taught photography at the Vyatka Pedagogical Institute. In 1932, he donated his house and photo lab to the Pedagogical Institute. By decision of the institute's management, the laboratory was soon liquidated, and a student hostel was placed in the house (the photographer himself and his family had to huddle in a small part of the house). In 1934 he received an academic pension, moved to Leningrad, worked in the film and photo laboratory of the Academy of Sciences. He died in November 1941 in besieged Leningrad. In 1954, the photo archive of S.A. Lobovikov was transferred by his heirs as a gift to Kirovsky art museum. Lobovikov's house in Vyatka (Kirov) was demolished in the late 1950s.

A. Koltsov

What are you sleeping, man?
After all, spring is in the yard;
After all, your neighbors
They have been working for a long time.
Get up, wake up, get up
Look at yourself:
What were you? and what became?
And what do you have?
On the threshing floor - not a sheaf;
In the bins - not a grain;
In the yard, on the grass -
At least roll a ball.
From brownie cages
Rubbish dared with a broom;
And horses for debt
Divorced by neighbors.
And under the bench is a chest
Overturned lies;
And, bending over, the hut,
Like an old woman, she stands.
Remember your time
How did it roll
Through fields and meadows
Golden river!
From the yard and the threshing floor
Along the big path
Through villages, cities,
For trading people!
And how are the doors to him
Dissolved everywhere
And in the honorable corner
It was your place!
And now under the window
You sit with need
And all day on the stove
You lie without waking up.
And in the fields as an orphan
The bread is worthless.
The wind whittles the grain!
The bird is pecking at him!
What are you sleeping, man?
After all, the summer has passed
After all, autumn is in the yard
He looks through the curtain.
Winter follows her
In a warm coat goes
The path is covered with snow
It crunches under the sleigh.
All the neighbors are on them
Bread is being brought, sold,
Collect the treasury
They drink mash with a ladle.

Lobovikov's favorite filming location was the village of Fileyskoye, which stood near the city on the banks of the Vyatka River.

Lullaby

The sun is setting
And the day gets dark
Fell from the mountain
There is a shadow in the village.
Only the church dome
illuminated by the sun,
And the church is open
And the call goes on.
Bell for Vespers
Christians are calling;
Tomorrow is Sunday -
Rest from work.
And heard in the field
The bells are calling
Peasant to the village
Already drove the cows.
And in the village church
Already full of people
And sparkle with lights
Lots of candles.
Candles labor
Burning brighter than the stars
And people pray
They create in simplicity.

Ivan Nikitin
Grandfather

Bald, with a white beard,
Grandpa is sitting.
Cup with bread and water
It stands in front of him.
White as a harrier, wrinkles on the forehead,
With a tired face.
He saw a lot of trouble
For your lifetime.
Everything is gone; power is gone,
Dulled look;
Death laid in the grave
Children and grandchildren.
With him in a smoky hut
The cat lives alone.
He is also old, and sleeps the whole day,
It won't jump off the stove.
The old man needs a little:
Bast shoes to weave and sell -
Here is satiety. His consolation -
IN God's temple walk.
To the wall, near the threshold,
Will be there, groaning,
And glorifies God for sorrows,
God child.
He is glad to live, not averse to the grave -
To a dark corner.
Where did you get this power?
Poor guy?

Peasant:

1. Villager whose main occupation is tillage.

Besselendeevka consisted of only twenty-two souls of peasants. ( Turgenev. Chertop-hanov and Nedopyuskin.)

2. Representative of the lower taxable class in pre-revolutionary Russia.

Dictionary of the Russian language. Moscow. " Russian word". 1982.

* * *

The peasant of the 16th century was a free plowman who sat on foreign land under an agreement with the landowner; his freedom was expressed in the peasant exit or refusal, that is, in the right to leave one plot and move to another, from one landowner to another. Initially, this right was not restricted by law; but the very property of land relations imposed a mutual restriction both on this right of the peasant and on the arbitrariness of the landowner in relation to the peasant: the landowner, for example, could not drive the peasant off the land before harvesting, just as the peasant could not leave his plot without paying off the owner at the end of the harvest. From these natural relationships Agriculture there was a need for a uniform, statutory period for the peasant exit, when both parties could settle accounts with each other. The Sudebnik of Ivan III established one mandatory period- a week before St. George's Day in autumn (November 26) and the week following this day. However, in the Pskov land in the 16th century there was another legal period for the peasants to leave, namely the Filippovo conspiracy (November 14).

* * *

Their own and other observers, marveling at the greatness of the deeds of the reformer [Peter I], were amazed at the vast expanses of uncultivated fertile land, a lot of wastelands, cultivated somehow, by accident, not introduced into the normal national economic circulation. People who thought about the reasons for this neglect explained it, firstly, by the decline of the people from a long war, and then by the oppression of officials and nobles, who discouraged the common people from any desire to put their hands on something: the oppression of the spirit resulting from slavery, according to that Weber, however, has clouded every sense of the peasant to such an extent that he has ceased to understand his own benefit and thinks only about his daily meager subsistence.

V. Klyuchevsky. Russian history. Moscow. "Eksmo". 2000.

* * *

Immediately after the death of Peter, before others, he spoke about distress peasants, the impatient Prosecutor General Yaguzhinsky; then lively talk began in the Supreme Privy Council about the need to alleviate this situation. "Poor peasantry" has become a walking government expression.

In fact, it was not the peasants themselves who cared, but their shoots, who robbed the government of recruits and tax payers. They fled not only by individual households, but by entire villages; from some estates everyone fled without a trace; from 1719 to 1727

There were almost 200 thousand fugitives - the official figure, usually lagging behind reality.
The very area of ​​​​flight expanded widely: before the serfs ran from one landowner to another, but now they threw them to the Don, the Urals and to distant Siberian cities, to the Bashkirs, into a split, even abroad, to Poland and Moldova. In the Supreme Privy Council under Catherine I, they reasoned that if things went like this, it would come to the point that there would be no taxes or recruits to be taken from anyone, and the indisputable truth was expressed in a note by Menshikov and other dignitaries that if it was impossible for the state to stand without an army , then you also need to take care of the peasants, because the soldier is connected with the peasant, as the soul is with the body, and if there is no peasant, then there will be no soldier.
To prevent escapes, the poll tax was reduced, and arrears were added up; fugitives were returned to their old places, at first simply, and then with corporal punishment. But even here the trouble is: the returned fugitives fled again with new comrades, who were persuaded by stories about a free life on the run, in the steppe or in Poland.
Small peasant riots, caused by the arbitrariness of the owners and their managers, joined the escapes. The reign of Elizabeth was full of local silent indignations of the peasants, especially the monasteries. Sent pacifying teams that beat the rebels or were beaten by them, depending on whose one she took. These were trial small outbreaks, which merged into the Pugachev fire in 20-30 years.

V. Klyuchevsky. Russian history. Moscow. "Eksmo". 2000.

* * *

A. Smirnov.Vasilisa Kozhina - partisan, peasant woman of the Sychevsky district of the Smolensk province.1813.

A. Smirnov.Gerasim Kurin - leader of a peasant partisan detachment in 1812year.1813.

Adrian van Ostade.Peasant family.1647.

Peasant woman with cornflowers.

Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov.Peasant girl with a sickle in the rye.

Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi.The head of a peasant - a Ukrainian in a straw hat.1890-1895.

Valentin Alexandrovich Serov.Peasant courtyard in Finland.1902.

Vasily Grigorievich Perov.Peasant in the field.1876.

Vasily Grigorievich Perov.The return of the peasants from the funeral in the winter.Early 1880s.

Vasily Maksimovich Maksimov.Peasant girl.1865.

Vasily Maksimovich Maksimov.The arrival of a sorcerer at a peasant wedding.1875.

Wenceslas Hollar.Peasant wedding.1650.

Vladimir Makovsky.Peasant children.1890.

Evgraf Romanovich Reitern.A peasant woman from Willenshausen with a sleeping child in her arms.1843.

I. Laminitis.Russian peasants.Engraving after a drawing by E. Korneev.1812.

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin.Peasant woman with cows.1873.

Ivan Petrovich Argunov.Portrait unknown peasant woman in Russian costume.1784.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Two female figures(Embracing peasant women).1878.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Bearded peasant.1879.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Peasant courtyard.1879.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Two Ukrainian peasants.1880.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Peasant girl.1880.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Ukrainian peasant.1880.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Old peasant.1885.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Portrait of a peasant.1889.

Ilya Efimovich Repin.Peasant's head.

Konstantin Makovsky.Peasant lunch in field.

Mikhail Shibanov.Peasant lunch.1774.

Olga Kablukova.A hundred-year-old peasant woman from Tsarskoye Selo with her family.1815.

Militiaman in 1812 in a peasant's hut.Lubok picture.

How is the work of the Russian artist with the sonorous surname Venetsianov most often defined? Paintings depicting genre scenes from peasant life, is called the beginning of the domestic genre in painting, the phenomenon that will eventually flourish in the era of the Wanderers.

But the magnitude of Venetsianov's artistic talent, the scale of his human personality had a huge impact on the development of Russian fine art, not only within the framework of one genre direction. This becomes especially noticeable when looking closely at his canvases.

"Portrait of a mother" (1802)

Alexei Gavrilovich Venetsianov was born in 1780 into a Moscow merchant family with ancestors from Greece. In Russia, they received the nickname Veneziano, later converted into a Russian surname. When Alexei became interested in drawing, his studies did not seem like something serious parents. Maybe that's why he didn't get a regular art education. It is believed that he received the first knowledge about the technique of painting from the "uncle" - the educator, and main source artistic education that Venetsianov received - paintings by old masters in museums and creations contemporary painters in salons and galleries.

The main genre in Russian painting of that time was the portrait, and therefore the first painting experience of Venetsianov known to us belongs to this genre. mother - Anna Lukinichna, nee Kalashnikova.

It is noticeable how the twenty-two-year-old youth still lacks painting skills, how difficult it is for him to convey volume, air and light. But something else is also visible - his ability to convey different textures of fabric, sufficient confidence in the drawing. And most importantly, he managed to convey the feelings of his model: some embarrassment and tension of the mother from her unusual role and his tender attitude towards her.

"Self-portrait" (1811)

After 1802, Venetsianov moved to St. Petersburg, where he tried to make a name for himself and start earning a living through painting. Soon he was forced to enter the service of a minor official in the postal office. Lucky case allowed him to get acquainted with the famous portrait painter V. L. Borovikovsky (1757-1825), who highly appreciated the paintings of Venetsianov and became his mentor both in the profession and in life. Perhaps due to his influence, Venetsianov petitions the Academy of Arts for the official title of painter. According to the charter of the Academy, the applicant had to submit his work. To this end, Venetsianov paints a self-portrait.

In this picture you can already see high level technical skill of the artist. This is an accurate and truthful work of a true realist, devoid of romantic touch and embellishment. The psychological depth of the image created by the artist was also highly appreciated. Here and attentive focus on work, and a clearly felt sense of self-esteem.

Venetsianov was defined by the Council of the Academy of Arts as "appointed" - one of the formal qualification levels of the artist, which made it possible to obtain the title of academician after completing a task assigned by the Council. Venetsianov becomes an academician after writing a given portrait of K. I. Golovachevsky.

"Barn" (1821)

Soon after receiving the title of academician of painting, Venetsianov unexpectedly leaves the capital and service and settles in his estate Safonkovo ​​in the Tver province. Here he creates his most significant works, dedicated to the poeticization of peasant life.

Before starting work on the painting “The Barn”, the artist ordered his serfs to dismantle the front wall in a large barn where grain was stored. He set himself the task of conveying depth, similar to those that struck him in the paintings of the French painter Francois Granet. In addition to the image of a room receding into the distance, amazing for that time, the carefully verified composition of frozen in different poses figures of peasants and animals. They are full of ancient significance and amazing poetry.

The painting was highly appreciated by Emperor Alexander I, who bought it from the artist, and also presented the author with a diamond ring. This slightly eased his financial situation.

“On the arable land. Spring" (1820s)

Many paintings by Alexei Gavrilovich Venetsianov are full of secrets and mysteries that are still beyond the control of professionals and art lovers. Such is a small canvas (65 x 51 cm) with an almost Botticelli title and a poetic sound commensurate with greatest masterpieces Renaissance. It is believed that this picture is part of a cycle dedicated to the seasons.

The scene of peasant labor appears as an action full of sacred, cosmic meaning. The figure of a young woman who went to hard work, wearing her best clothes, a child on the edge of the field, making the plot look like an icon of the Virgin, the mirror figure of another peasant woman leaving in the depths - everything is full of mysteries. The landscape is filled with significance and great simplicity, against which these ordinary and at the same time majestic events take place. Alexei Venetsianov, whose paintings are difficult to attribute to certain genre, is considered one of the founders of the Russian poetic landscape.

"Reapers" (1820s)

But the main genre for Venetsianov remains the portrait, and the main task he solves is the expression of genuine interest and respect for those he portrays. High pictorial skill, combined with laconicism and sophistication of the composition, enhances the impression that Venetsianov has on the viewer. the contents of which can fit into a few phrases, amaze with depth and versatility, even if their heroes are simple peasants.

On the hand of the reaper, who stopped for a moment to rest, two butterflies sat down. A boy looks at them over his shoulder, mesmerized by their beauty. The artist painted almost a snag - it seems that now the light wings will flutter and disappear in the summer heat. The main characters are just as real - their faces, hands, clothes. The feelings expressed by the young woman and the child also seem real, and most importantly, one can feel how Venetsianov admires them.

"Morning of the landowner" (1823)

The role of Venetsianov as the founder of genre diversity in Russian painting is undeniable. One of the first he tried to draw attention to the special beauty of Russian nature, paving the way for future brilliant landscape painters - Levitan, Shishkin, Kuindzhi, Savrasov. In the portrait, he showed completely unusual main characters - people from the people. But the poeticization of the everyday genre was a particularly innovative phenomenon.

It is believed that the master made his wife, Marfa Afanasievna, and her serf girls the heroines of his painting. This explains the warm feeling that permeates this canvas. There is no confrontation between the hostess and her forced servants - it is more like a family scene in which the girls have their own dignity and calm beauty. Not less than important role the environment plays in the picture: the content of the interior is lovingly drawn out and - what is especially striking - soft, but all-filling light.

"Zakharka" (1825)

Peasant children - frequent characters portraits and genre paintings written by Venetsianov. Paintings "Sleeping Shepherd", "Here are those father's dinner”, “Shepherd with a horn” depict children not as incorporeal cherubs from icons and classical paintings - these are full-fledged heroes with their own character, experiencing powerful emotions that are part of the harmony of our world. Such is Zakharka - main character With names and descriptions similar works the artist becomes clear his vocation as a teacher, which left its mark on Russian painting.

He thought about the fate of talented children born as serfs when he saw a yard boy trying to draw something with chalk on a blackboard. Soon the “Venetsianov school” was born from this. In addition to teaching skills, he gave shelter to peasant children, fed and watered them, tried to redeem many of them to freedom. Among the students of Venetsianov - brilliant Gregory Forty and about 70 artists, many of whom graduated from the capital's Academy of Arts. The activities of the school proceeded in the face of opposition from official academicians, who did not honor Venetsianov with the title of teacher of painting.

“In the harvest. Summer" (182?)

His life cannot be called carefree, it has always been filled with work and trouble. Its end was also tragic and unexpected - Alexei Gavrilovich died in 1847, when the horses harnessed to his wagon suddenly got scared and carried away, and he, trying to stop them, fell onto the road.

Man on earth, the harmony of his relationship with nature, with the whole world around him is the main theme of the artist Venetsianov, main point and the value of his heritage, something for which his name is revered by connoisseurs and lovers of Russian painting. The picture depicting a reaper against the backdrop of a recognizable Russian landscape, which at the same time has cosmic significance, is one of the pinnacles of the great Russian painter's work.

Looking at the pictures of everyday life, I saw a strong contrast of life. In this post, I collected life in a village hut, empty log walls, dim light, a stove and a heavy table without a tablecloth - a picture of life in this space.

1. Felitsyn R. On the porch of the hut. 1855


Childhood is a carefree time, but looking at these girls doubt arises. Such a concentrated face of the older one, the younger one braiding the curls and the eyes of the second looking into the distance ...

2. Shibanov M Peasant dinner. 1774


In the dark space of the hut, a modest dinner, and the faces of these people read such different emotions! The nursing mother of her child is the only one in the world. A deep exhalation and the shoulders become heavy, and the beat of the heart is heard ...

3. Kulikov And Winter Evening


It's time field work completed in the winter, in the dim light of the window and in the evening of the torch, work of a different nature, needlework and homework, continues.

4. Maksimov V Poor dinner. 1879


And again the dark tones of the low ceiling of the hut and empty walls. There are no curtains in this house, everything is too heavy, tired faces, doom... And what a beautiful color men's shirts.

5. _Maksimov In Grandmother's Tales. 1867


Probably one of the most interesting moments life - grandmother's stories on a dark evening with a torch - this is both learning and knowledge and traditions and wisdom of life. How cozy...

6. Maksimov V Who is there. 1879


I remember when on a dark winter evening at my grandmother's, under the crackling of the stove and the sound of the wind in the wires, the snow suddenly crunched under someone's feet and there was a knock on the door ... from something it was always a little scary, while my grandmother went out into the corridor, I waited wary and here is someone's familiar voice and everything becomes cozy and safe again;)
The shadow on the wall reminded me of that feeling.

7. Maksimov V A sick husband. 1881


A terrible and sad scene... all that remains is to pray and wait...

8. Maksimov V Outlived the old woman. 1896

I can't find the words to express all the feelings that arise when looking at this story. Incredibly strong.

9. Maksimov V family section. 1876


And again low ceilings, I can only guess - from what the section comes from.

10. Shibanov M. Festival of the wedding contract. 1777


From the treat - a loaf on the table, and what elegant women! The meaning of "dowry" becomes clearer. The girl's outfit is hers spiritual world. You can't buy this...

11. Trutovsky K In the hayloft. 1872


The wonderful joys of life. Don't look without a smile ;)

12. Pelevin And The Firstborn. 1888

No matter how harsh the world outside the outskirts is, the happiness of the arrival of a baby illuminates the heart. So there is more light in the hut, and the white oven and the dishes shine and the touching kitten in the cradle, every detail is filled with joy.

13. Korovin P Christening. 1896

CHAPTER 2. THE IMAGE OF THE PEASANTRY IN RUSSIAN ART OF THE 18TH CENTURY

2.1. The image of the peasantry in painting

In the 18th century, secular art came to the fore in Russian art in Russian art. Several stages can be distinguished in the development of Russian painting of the 18th century. The first stage - the first third of the 18th century, the painters then depicted mainly people of high-ranking ranks. At this time, the peasants are practically not portrayed. popular genre is a portrait, a landscape. The next two stages are the middle of the 18th century and the second half of the 18th century. These two stages are of interest to us, since they are marked by the further flourishing of Russian national painting, which developed along the path of realism, but our theme can be traced more in the second half of the 18th century, so we will talk about this half.

The 18th century is rich in Russian portrait painters, but among them there are those who are interested in the theme of the peasantry. These include Vishnyakova A.I. , Shibanova M. , Ermeneva I.A. , Argunova I.P. . Through the paintings of these artists, we can see the life, holidays and life in general of the peasants.

Vishnyakov Alexander Ivanovich - son famous portrait painter Vishnyakova I.Ya. , not much is known about him, he was a genre painter. His painting "Peasants' Revel" (Fig 5) late 1760s - early 1770s. - one of the most early images peasant meals. Here we see the grotesque, characteristic of the depiction of rough nature, characteristic of the Dutch and Flemish paintings masters of the 17th century, that is, here we see the imitation of the Russian artist of these masters, which does not reflect the originality of the Russian people and the community of peasants.

Another artist Mikhail Shibanov - Russian artist second half of XVIII century, a painter from serfs, since 1783 - a "free painter". He can be called the initiator of the peasant everyday genre in Russian art. His paintings are unique for their time in terms of the subject matter depicted - in the 18th century in fine arts almost no artist depicted peasants. First of all, we are talking about two canvases depicting scenes from the life of peasants “Peasant Lunch” (Fig. 6) and “The Celebration of the Wedding Contract”.

Figure 5

In 1774, Mikhail Shibanov painted the canvas "Peasant Lunch". This work was published during the Pugachev uprising. This topic was new for Russian society, and works devoted to the peasantry were even considered scandalous. And although what Shibanov depicted is far from what the real life of the peasantry was, he depicted them this way not because he wanted to embellish the life and life of the peasants, but because this could offend the aristocracy. It can be said that Shibanov was placed in a certain framework and could not fully see his vision. Despite the festivity of clothing, one can see the love of a mother for a child, the thoughtfulness of a grandfather, the crying of the Russian soul, here a true peasant life is shown.

Figure 6

Another picture of this theme is “The Celebration of the Wedding Contract” (Fig. 6). The title refers to what is depicted in the picture. It really is a celebration. Some women in decorated dresses, the guests are happy and happy for the bride and groom, who are in the center of the composition. These scenes by Shibanov are depicted masterfully. His courage is also striking that he was not afraid to raise such an acute problem.

Argunov Ivan Petrovich Russian portrait painter. Argunov was not busy with this topic, but we can single out one painting from him “Portrait of an unknown peasant woman in a Russian costume” (Fig. 7) - one of his famous works. The portrait reflects the interest in the theme of the peasantry that has appeared in Russian society. Argunov, himself a native of the serfs of Count Sheremetyev, tried to show beauty and dignity in portraits, regardless of class.

Figure 7

The image of a peasant woman in this work Argunov is conveyed with truthfulness, sincerity and respect. Since the author dressed the girl in festive outfit, many believe that it was an actress. From an ethnographic point of view, we see how accurately the costume of a peasant woman in the Moscow province is conveyed. Also, belonging to the peasant class is easy to determine in this girl by the lack of mannerisms and ingenuity. The soft features of the girl, a slight smile, a calm pose indicate modesty, openness, kindness of a girl from the people.

Ermenev Ivan Alekseevich Russian painter, also considered a serf, he became friends with the future Grand Duke, to whom he was attached to serve. Known for his series of eight watercolors "Beggars", as well as watercolors "Lunch (Peasant Lunch)". Most often, he depicted two full-length figures against the sky: a beggar old woman and a child, a beggar and a guide, or a lonely figure of a beggar, but the “Peasant Lunch” (Fig. 8) falls out of this series.

Figure 8

Many researchers believe that this picture reflects formidable force ordinary people with such a difficult fate and life. Ermenev's paintings, especially the paintings on the theme of the peasantry, have a tragic meaning, show hopelessness and gloom, which we can see even in the colors chosen for the picture.

2.2. The image of the peasantry in literature

The literature of the 18th century prepared fertile ground for the development of the literature of the 19th century, so it cannot be said that the 18th century is oblivious. The writers of this time tried to solve the acute problems of their time. Of course, here many of them did not bypass the peasant question. As in painting, a number of authors who are interested in this problem can be distinguished, these include Bakhtin I. I., Lomonosov M. V., Radishcheva A. N., Fonvizina D. I., Karamzin N. M..

Ivan Ivanovich Bakhtin - public figure and a writer, his work was dominated by satirical themes. The most daring theme in Bakhtin's work was the peasant question. In the work "Satire on the cruelty of some nobles to their subjects" the author showed real features peasant life 18th century. In the tale "The Master and the Peasant Woman", the writer also showed sympathy for the peasants, like some others.

Fonvizin Denis Ivanovich is a Russian writer who also raised the theme of the peasantry in his work. First of all, we can trace this in his work "Undergrowth". In this work, Fonvizin, seeing the root of all evil in serfdom, ridicules the noble system and noble education. Moreover, this can be seen already by the surnames and names of the main characters, all these surnames tell us about the inner qualities of these people. Fonvizin in many works speaks of the nobility and ridicules their life.

Another writer who was interested in the peasant question was Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. In his work, we see the development of literature and an in-depth look at the relationship between the landowner and the peasant. These trends can be seen in Poor Lisa". With the conventionality of the figure of Liza, this is still an image of the individual experiences of a peasant girl, her personal dramatic fate, in terms of the author's emphatic sympathy and sympathy for her, which in itself was new and, of course, progressive literary fact. All this can be traced in an excerpt from the work "Poor Lisa":

“One Liza, who remained after her father of fifteen years, - one Liza, not sparing her tender youth, not sparing her rare beauty, worked day and night - weaved canvases, knitted stockings, picked flowers in the spring, and took berries in the summer - and sold them in Moscow. A sensitive, kind old woman, seeing her daughter’s indefatigability, often pressed her to her weakly beating heart, called her divine mercy, nurse, the joy of her old age and prayed to God to reward her for everything she does for her mother. ”We see the image of a hardworking, modest girl and how the author relates to her. Karamzin in his works tried to reflect not only the attitude towards the peasantry and draw real image peasantry, but also to show his attitude to the relationship between peasants and landowners, the author himself believed that relations should go in a different direction, and real relations are relics of the past.

Despite the fact that the above-mentioned authors were interested, spoke and considered the image of the peasantry and its place in Russian reality, but most of all, Radishchev Alexander Nikolaevich made a contribution to the study of this problem. This author was arrested for his views and exiled to Siberia. The image of the peasantry Radishchev reflected in the works "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow", "Liberty".

One of the most significant phenomena of Russian literature of the eighteenth century is the work of A. N. Radishchev "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow." It is written in the travel genre popular at the time. The main characters are the traveler and the Russian people. The traveler on his way met representatives of all classes and the picture that the traveler paints is unsightly, he speaks of the fall of Russian society. moral baseness and dirt are characteristic of all strata of society, but the peasants, as the most socially unprotected people, have the worst of it: "the peasant in law is dead." Indeed, the arbitrariness of the landlords goes beyond all moral limits, and ordinary people have to endure it. For example, in the chapter "Lyubani" the author meets a peasant plowing on Sunday - a holy day of rest for the Orthodox:

“- You, of course, are a schismatic, what do you plow on Sundays?

No, sir, I am baptized with a straight cross, - he said ... - in a week, sir, six days, and we go to corvee six times a week ...

How do you manage to get bread if you only have a free holiday?

Not only holidays, and our night. Do not be lazy, our brother, he will not die of hunger.

The traveler threatens the feudal lords with this. In addition, the author says that the traveler sees not only patience and hard life the oppressed peasantry, but also the dormant power of the people, which can wake up at any moment. For this work, the writer was exiled.

CHAPTER 3. THE IMAGE OF THE PEASANTRY IN RUSSIAN ART OF THE 19TH CENTURY

3.1. The image of the peasantry painting

The second chapter already spoke about the relevance of the topic of the peasantry in the 18th century and that many representatives of art began to raise this topic in their work, but still the topic was not the main one and not widespread. In the 19th century Russian art acquired a folk sound, in painting we see this in the transition from romanticism to realism. In Russian painting, the national accent in creativity was valued, which tells us that in this period the image of the peasantry can be traced in the most vivid form. The theme of the peasantry can be traced not only in more complex form, i.e., the authors of the works illuminate the problems in the acute form that actually existed in Russian society without censorship, but the number of authors writing about the peasant question has become many times larger, in addition, this topic has become new for Russian artists. All this is connected with the events that took place in connection with the reform of Russia and, first of all, this concerns the reform that canceled serfdom. Russian painters who were interested in this topic - A. G. Venetsianov, V. A. Tropinin, P. A. Fedotov - they are also artists of the first half of the 19th century. In the second half of the 19th century, this theme was reflected in the work of the Wanderers G.G. Myasoedova, I. E. Repina, V. M. Maksimova, S. A. Korovin, etc. .

The 19th century can be conditionally divided into 2 parts. The first part of the 19th century is represented in the works of such artists as A. G. Venetsianov, V. A. Tropinin, P. A. Fedotov - here is reflected peasant world before the abolition of serfdom, and the second part of the 19th century is represented mainly in the work of the Wanderers - here we see the peasant world after the abolition of serfdom. At the beginning of the 19th century, the theme of the peasantry and folk life was new. Venetsianov Alexei Gavrilovich is a master of genre scenes from peasant life, he not only made a huge contribution to culture with the help of his paintings, but also brought up many peasants, giving them education and a path to another life. Despite Venetsianov's talent for painting portraits, he still most famous brought not portraits, but writing peasant images. Although Venetsianov was not the first to depict peasants, he was the first to depict them in poetic form. The artist painted peasant children, peasant girls and, of course, the life of the peasant people. We see a number of paintings called “peasant woman” by the painter, which depict peasant girls engaged in one activity or another, on their faces we see fatigue and a sad gaze into the distance, their hands indicate a heavy daily work girls, but at the same time speaks of their diligence and modesty; in addition, of course, it is impossible not to single out some of his most famous paintings in this topic "Reapers" (Fig. 9) and "Barn". The artist was inspired to paint the painting “Reapers” by peasants who admired nature and a butterfly that sat on the hand of a peasant woman. This picture is one of those that reflects the significance of the image of the Russian peasantry. The theme of harvest in the work of Venetsianov can be traced throughout his artistic activity As for this picture, in it we see a peasant woman with her son, who admire nature, that is, butterflies crouched on the peasant woman's hand. Also, looking at the picture with the naked eye, we see that all the action takes place during the harvest, their clothes are yellowed from hard work and dust, and their hands are black from the work just done. No matter how strange the picture "Reapers" still did not bring such success as the work "Barn", which was completed for a huge amount of money. Here the theme of the harvest is again traced, but in the painting “Barn” we already see a composition that depicts many peasants either resting or preparing for hard work. The author emphasizes the importance of peasant labor and its difficult orientation.

Figure 9

Fedotov Pavel Andreevich made no less contribution to the transfer of the image of the Russian peasantry. Fedotov laid the foundations of critical realism in domestic genre, which was for him the main thing in creativity. But if Venetsianov showed the peasantry itself, then Fedotov showed the upper strata of society, showing their meaninglessness of existence, the emptiness they have inside. The artist, with the help of satire, shows the insignificance of some, and the significance of others. The work of Venetsianov and Fedotov was continued by the Wanderers, who were the color of the second half of the 19th century. Despite the fact that speaking about the beginning of realism and the transfer of the image of the Russian peasantry, we are talking about the names of Venetsianov and Fedotov, we must not forget to mention Tropinin. Tropinin Vasily Andreevich is a master of romantic and realistic portraits. He painted people of different classes, trying not to convey their belonging to a certain class, but to show a specific person typical of this society. In Tropinin’s work, we are interested in such works as “Lacemaker” (Fig. 10), “Golden Embroiderer”, where we see a heavy manual work peasant women. These pictures were well received by critics and audiences alike. The painting "Lacemaker" has become a real gem of Russian art. This picture, like "Golden Sewing", shows us a very sweet girl and unlike a serf peasant woman. The author of these works wanted to convey to the viewer the image of hard peasant work, and Tropinin shows that hard labour, happiness and dignity do not go against the grain. All this is demonstrated by the artist in his painting “The Lacemaker”. In the first half of the 19th century, the theme of the peasantry is new, but nevertheless the theme is much more pronounced in the second half of the 19th century. In the second half of the 19th century, “Wanderers” can be distinguished in painting, almost each of them contributed to the formation of the image of the peasantry. Myasoedov Grigory Grigorievich - the most bright representative Russian realism. The main topic addressed by Myasoedov is peasant life. The evolution of Myasoedov's creativity is visible in his works. One of the paintings reflecting the theme of the peasantry is “Zemstvo is having lunch” (Fig. 11). The picture was painted during the years of the abolition of serfdom. The peasants are next to the Zemstvo, apparently they were on some business, but they are forced to sit on the threshold. In the window you can see a servant who washed all the dishes, apparently the peasants decided that the ranks had a good lunch and their problem would not be of interest. The picture is visible new reality, which shows Russian society without embellishment.

Figure 10

In addition, in the picture we see a new technique of the author, expressing the theme, he is a critic who shows the truth of Russian society, and the author leaves some understatement, a question in his works, allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions. The main focus in this picture is on the peasants: their facial features are well drawn, which shows us the inner world of the peasants, who were hard to get along with the new free life and did not become happier from the reforms taken aside peasant question. Their facial expressions are unhappy and tired from hard work, which calls the viewer to the sympathy and pity of poor peasant husbands.

Figure 11

Unlike the previous painting “Mowers”, written even before “Zemstvo is having lunch”, shows us the lyricism of the image of the peasantry and speaks of their unity and good nature.

Another well-known itinerant artist, Maksimov Vasily Maksimovich, devoted all his work to the development of the theme of the peasantry. One of his main works, the work "The Witch Doctor on rustic wedding”Shows the true look of the Russian village, here the author is trying to reveal the charm of folk images, peasant life, but the author reflected not only the life of the peasant, but also described the image of the Russian peasantry, in such paintings as “Sick Husband”, “Family Division”, etc.

Contributed to the development of this theme and such an artist as Arkhipov Abram Efimovich. Not much is known about Arkhipov, but much has been said about his work. main topic Arkhipov's creativity is peasant. He painted many paintings about peasant life, such as “The Drunkard”, “Washerwomen” (Fig. 12), “Northern Village”, “On the Volga”, etc. can be attributed to them. All paintings show the true life of the peasants after the abolition of serfdom.

Figure 12

Each painting by Arkhipov shows a scene of peasant life. For example, "Washerwomen" canvas shows us exhausting, hard work. In this picture, we can trace the detail of the image, as well as social motives. Social motives can be traced in the image of fatigue from hard work and the hopelessness of their position as women, as well as spiritual longing, which is caused by a sense of hopelessness.

In considering this point, one should not forget such artists as Perov and Repin. Repin Ilya Efimovich - outstanding artist, the theme of the peasantry was not the main one for him, but his first painting on this topic became world famous. "Barge haulers on the Volga" (Fig. 13) is exactly the picture that we know from school, it emphasizes many literary works. Each of the haulers in the picture is individual, but they all show the oppression of the poor. The picture calls for mercy towards ordinary people. Repin showed his sentence with this work modern society and showed the oppression of the disenfranchised.

Figure 13

Like Repin, Perov wrote peasant stories, but unlike him, he paid attention to this topic. great value. He painted many canvases on the theme of peasant oppression and the difficult fate of the peasants. Vasily Perov, like Repin, painted a picture similar to "Barge haulers on the Volga", the picture "Troika". The meaning is similar, but in the second work, Perov does not talk about barge haulers, but about ordinary children who pull a barrel of water. Perov's painting tells us about the need of peasants and peasant children and their difficult path, the author emphasizes the latter, showing how cold it is, the water freezes on the street, so we can imagine how cold it is for children to carry such a burden.

Figure 14

The authors depicting the images of the Russian peasantry express national character Russian people. Artists depict in their paintings real life Russian society of the 19th century, but speaking about the Russian peasantry in art, one should not forget about the writers who tried to reach out to Russian society, raising the topical issue of enslavement.