Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (1848 - 1916) - Russian painter, Siberian, a native of an old Cossack family. On his canvases, he depicted important episodes from the history of Russia. All his life he loved a single woman and left numerous and talented offspring.
Siberian origins of the biography of Vasily Surikov
The birthplace of Vasily Surikov is the city of Krasnoyarsk. His father, Ivan Vasilievich, served in the Krasnoyarsk district court, and his mother, Praskovya Fedorovna, ran the household. The family belonged to the class of the Yenisei Cossacks, who once came to the harsh Siberian regions from the southern Don. Surikov himself later used to say: "From all sides I am a natural Cossack … My Cossacks are more than 200 years old."
The family lost a breadwinner in 1859 when the boy was 11 years old. The mother was left with three children: Vasya, Katya and three-year-old Sasha. With the death of his father, material difficulties began. Praskovya Fedorovna was forced to rent out the 2nd floor of their house, built by her husband in the 1830s. This house made of the strongest Siberian larch survived, now it houses the artist's museum.
It is symbolic that the surname "Surikov" coincides with the name of the paint "red-orange" or red-yellow. And Vasya began to draw very early. At the age of 6, he managed to copy the portrait of Peter I. The earliest surviving known work of Surikov is the watercolor "Rafts on the Yenisei", which he painted at the age of 14. It is in the Krasnoyarsk Museum of the Artist.
Art education of Vasily Surikov
The first drawing lessons were given to Vasily by the teacher of the local school. Upon graduation, Surikov would like to continue his art education, but financial problems in the family did not allow. Therefore, Vasily goes to work as a scribe in the provincial administration.
Luckily, his drawings caught the eye of Governor Pavel Zamyatin, who introduced Surikov to the local gold miner and philanthropist Pyotr Kuznetsov. And he offered to pay for Surikov's painting training in St. Petersburg.
Surikov studied with the artist Pyotr Petrovich Chistyakov, a wonderful teacher who raised a whole galaxy of talented Russian painters: Serov, Kramskoy, Vrubel, Repin, Polenov.
The patron saint of young Surikov, Peter Kuznetsov, continues to help him. He acquires his painting "View of the Monument to Peter I on Senate Square in St. Petersburg", which he painted while studying at the Academy. During the summer holidays of 1873, he invites the ward to live in the mines belonging to him in Khakassia, neighboring Krasnoyarsk.
Vasily Surikov's creativity
In 1875 Vasily Ivanovich Surikov graduated from the Academy of Arts and began an independent creative life. He performs the first and last work to order - paintings for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. In the future, he independently determines what to write to him.
In 1877, Surikov left St. Petersburg and moved to the capital of the capital. In patriarchal Moscow, Surikov felt in his place. The appearance of the ancient city, the grandiose events that once took place in it, corresponded to its craving for historical subjects. He wrote:
This is how Vasily Surikov's first large-scale painting "The Morning of the Strelets' Execution" appeared. He worked on it for 3 years, and upon completion he joined the Association of the Wanderers.
Surikov continued to develop historical themes in his works. Although some critics accused the artist of the excessive multi-figuredness of his epic canvases, comparing them to multi-colored carpets, in fact, each of the heroes of his paintings is an individual psychological image. During his creative life, Surikov did not paint so many portraits, but in fact the characters of his historical paintings are just that. He searched for a long time and very carefully selected models for his canvases. So his aunt became the model of the boyar for the painting "Boyarynya Morozova", and for the eldest daughter of Alexander Menshikov Maria, his wife Elizaveta posed for the painting "Menshikov in Berezovo".
In 1883, the painting "Menshikov in Berezovo" was purchased for his gallery by the outstanding collector Pavel Tretyakov. With the money received from the sale of the painting, Surikov and his family set off on a trip to Europe. Vasily Ivanovich examined the magnificent art collections of the Dresden gallery and the Louvre. Elizaveta Avgustovna was able to improve her health on this trip to European countries with a milder climate..
Personal life and eminent descendants of Vasily Surikov
Vasily Ivanovich Surikov and Elizaveta Avgustovna Share (1858-1888) were married in 1878. We can say that they were introduced by Surikov's love for music. He saw his future wife in a Catholic church, where he came to listen to the organ. Elizabeth was half French, she was brought up in a French manner and spoke Russian with an accent. The couple had a daughter: Olga (1878-1958) and Elena (1880-1963).
The happy marriage ended after 10 years of marriage. Elizaveta Avgustovna, in poor health, could not cope with the disease and died in Moscow at the age of 30 after returning from a trip to her husband's homeland.
Vasily Ivanovich was very upset about the departure of his beloved wife and reproached himself for taking her on a journey to harsh Siberia. In those days, the road to Krasnoyarsk took about 1, 5–2 months, which turned out to be too difficult for a sickly woman. Surikov turned out to be monogamous. He never married again and raised children on his own.
Through the line of the eldest daughter Olga, the creative power of the artist Vasily Ivanovich Surikov was passed on to descendants, which continues to involve talented people from the field of art in her orbit. Olga married the Russian painter Pyotr Petrovich Konchalovsky. Their daughter, Surikov's granddaughter, Natalya Konchalovskaya, is a well-known children's writer, poet and translator. The husband of Natalya Petrovna was the poet Sergei Vladimirovich Mikhalkov. Their sons, Andrei Konchalovsky and Nikita Mikhalkov, became filmmakers. Many members of the extensive Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky dynasty realize themselves in the creative field.
Vasily Ivanovich Surikov died in Moscow on March 19 (new style), 1916 from heart disease. They say that his last words were the phrase: "I disappear." He was buried, as requested, at the Vagankovskoye cemetery next to his unforgettable wife.
Vasily Surikov's paintings
Vasily Surikov. Winter in Moscow. 1884-1887
Vasily Surikov. Portrait of Princess P. I. Shcherbatova. 1910
