Over the years, the artist Vladimir Alexandrovich Serov has written many historical paintings. He fully and completely shared the ideology propagated in the Soviet Union, believed in socialism and communism, therefore he wrote a lot on this topic.
A special place in his work is occupied by canvases depicting the leader of the October Revolution, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Serov wrote in the manner of the so-called socialist realism.
Biography
Vladimir Alexandrovich Serov was born in 1910 in the village of Emmaus, Tver region. Before the revolution, the family lived well - Vladimir's grandfather was a priest and was held in high esteem by the villagers. His parents were teachers, and when the revolution began, they fully accepted its ideology and began to build socialism together with the whole society. Subsequently, Vladimir's mother became an Honored Teacher of the RSFSR and received the highest award of the Soviet Union - the Order of Lenin.
When the son grew up, the Serovs moved to the regional town of Vesyegonsk. There the future artist went to school, and there a significant event happened in his life: he met with the avant-garde artist Savely Shleifer. He had his own studio in Vesyegonsk, where he taught painting to those wishing to.
From the very first lessons Volodya realized how much he liked to draw. So the question of choosing a profession never stood before him - Serov always knew that he would become an artist.
Much later, during the war, Shleifer died in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Serov learned that the mentor bequeathed all his canvases to him as the best student. Now both these works and many paintings by Serov himself are in the artist's homeland in Emmaus, where a memorial art museum of the famous compatriot was created.
Contemporaries knew Vladimir Alexandrovich as the author of several canvases where Lenin was depicted - a sort of "Leniniana". He had this interest in the leader of the revolution from childhood, from his parents - convinced builders of socialism. As a child, he painted portraits of "Lenin's grandfather."
And when he entered the Academy of Arts in Petrograd, he took the painting "Lenin's Arrival in Petrograd in 1917" as his thesis. The head of the young painter's diploma was the artist Vasily Savinsky, who painted historical canvases and portraits superbly. Perhaps Vladimir took over from him his interest in the historical topic.
After the Academy of Arts, Serov entered graduate school and got to another talented artist - Isaac Brodsky became his director. In 1934, when he graduated from graduate school, Vladimir presented his graduation picture "Siberian Partisans".
Artist career
While still a graduate student, Serov began to participate in exhibitions with his works. In 1932, he first presented his works at an exhibition dedicated to the twentieth anniversary of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. His work was liked by the most severe critics, and since then he has become a regular participant in a variety of exhibitions.
The historical theme occupies a special place in his work. We can say that his canvases are historical and heroic. Their heroes are revolutionaries, soldiers and sailors, Lenin, and later participants of the Great Patriotic War. These are the paintings "Winter is taken!", "Walkers from Lenin" and others.
At all times, propaganda posters were popular in Soviet Russia. There is even such an expression as "poster war", because visibility is a weapon in the struggle for one or another ideology. In collectivization, Serov drew posters, urging to grow a high harvest and increase labor productivity.
In 1941, when the war began, artists paint posters of a different kind: they call for the fight against the enemy, ridicule the Nazis and raise patriotic feelings.
During the war, Serov remained in Leningrad and survived the horror of the blockade. At that time, he headed the Leningrad branch of the Union of Artists. Many painters then joined the "Battle Pencil" association, where they created anti-fascist posters, leaflets and drew illustrations for newspapers.
In addition, Vladimir Alexandrovich paints such pictures as "Battle on the Ice" and "Baltic landing". In the first picture, he pays tribute to the courage of Russian soldiers and appeals to the patriotic feelings of the audience, to the glorious history of Russia. And in the second, he glorifies the defenders of the fatherland who are fighting the Nazis.
The manner of socialist realism prevailed in the artist's works, however, lyrical motives were not alien to him either. This is especially noticeable in the portraits of his family and friends. This is a completely different style of writing - soft and precise, some kind of "lively".
In addition, Serov painted landscapes, drew illustrations for works of classical literature, and also worked in the caricature genre.
Vladimir Alexandrovich was awarded the title "People's Artist of the USSR", he had two Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Lenin and two Stalin prizes. At that time, all these awards were very significant.
Until the end of his life, Serov remained faithful to the ideas of socialist realism in painting. Since the sixties of the twentieth century, attacks began on him from some representatives of the creative intelligentsia - they denied this genre as outdated and unnecessary. However, he firmly defended his position.
The last six years of his life, Vladimir Alexandrovich was president of the Academy of Arts, Chairman of the Union of Artists of the USSR. He was also several times elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Serov passed away in January 1968, he was only fifty-seven years old. The artist was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.
Personal life
The artist's wife is Henrietta Grigorievna Serova. She was an art critic, wrote scientific works about the work of artists. The Serov family had two children: Yaroslav and Maria.
The attitude of the artist to his loved ones can be judged by their portraits. In Serov's paintings, his wife is tender, sensual, airy. Her portrait is completely different from the historical or heroic paintings of the artist.
He also painted children from their earliest years - one might say, from the first days of their lives. There is so much tenderness in these sketches, the lyrics are love in its purest form.
