Toivo Rännel is an artist and poet, a native of the Finnish region of Savo and a real Siberian. Apparently, that is why his canvases are so picturesque and his poems sound so thoughtfully … Two lands fed him, gave him strength and inspiration for creativity, which now pleases people.
Biography
Ryannel Toivo Vasilievich was born in the Leningrad Region in 1921. His parents were originally from Finland, they came to the village of Tozerovo in search of a better life. The hardworking peasants took root in the new land and took root, but not for long - in the thirties, the Rianneles were dispossessed and sent to Siberia.
Toivo was then nine years old, and he well remembered the horror that was happening in his family - they were given two hours to pack up and leave for a foreign land for an eternal settlement. In Siberia, they lived in the Udereisky region, north of the Angara. But not the whole family survived: the younger brother died of tuberculosis, and the older one was shot for a poem about Stalin.
As a boy, Toivo helped his parents in any way he could: early in the morning he went to the river to fish for his father for breakfast. Or went to the forest to collect roots and nuts - fortunately, the Siberian land is generous with such gifts.
Riannel graduated from high school in Yuzhno-Yeniseisk. He managed to survive in that meat grinder and even enter the Omsk Art School, which he successfully graduated from. As soon as the young man realized that he had a talent for drawing, he fell in love with Siberia with all his soul. And he began to paint landscapes, in which he put all his feelings and admiration for this harsh beauty.
But before that there was a test of war and hard work. When the war broke out in 1941, he went home to support his parents. After working at school for a short time, the future artist got a job as a worker in a geological party. With paints and brushes in his backpack, he walked many kilometers through the taiga, making hundreds of sketches.
Artist career
Later, his canvases were called epic, and he simply put a piece of his soul and his attitude to his native Siberia into each work. His paintings "The Birth of the Yenisei", "Heart of the Sayan Mountains", "Mountain Cedars" and others became an artistic chronicle of the life of Siberians who conquered the harsh land.
In an interview, Toivo Vasilyevich told how he first came to the Tretyakov Gallery on a school trip and saw paintings by great masters. They made a stunning impression on him and he thought that he would never be able to convey what he sees in his native Siberia. The support of the school teacher helped to overcome this shock.
And now his canvases are displayed in various galleries, ranging from district and ending with the most famous state, as well as in private collections around the world. Now it is already a classic of Russian painting.
Ryannel's paintings took part in exhibitions throughout the Soviet Union, and his contribution to art was appreciated in 1948: Toivo Vasilyevich was admitted to the Union of Artists of the USSR.
Rehabilitation
In 1993, the Riannel family was completely rehabilitated, and Toivo was given the opportunity to travel to his historical homeland. Since then he has been living in Helsinki.
As for poetry, Riannel himself considers it only an addition to his life. He says that painting and poetry are like one whole for him. Although he is much better at expressing feelings with a brush and paints. And the words still need to be selected.
The artist Toivo Rännel lived for ninety years. He died in 2012 and is buried in the city of Vantaa.
