Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy - realist artist of the second half of the XIX century

Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy, an artist of the second half of the 19th century, entered the history of Russian painting as the founder of the realistic trend in art. He actively developed the principle of critical realism in his work, as well as in articles devoted to the theory of art. Many of his paintings are recognized as classics of Russian painting. The author was a master of portrait, historical and genre scenes.

short biography

Kramskoy, the artist, famous for his realistic paintings, was born in 1837 in the Voronezh province in a middle-class family. He graduated from Ostrogorozhskoe real school, but because of poverty the family could not continue education in the gymnasium. Working in the local Duma, he was fascinated by the retouching of photographs. Soon his teacher was M. Tulinov, who taught him the basics of painting. A few years later, Kramskoy, the artist, best known for his portraits, moved to St. Petersburg, where his fruitful career began, continuing until his sudden death in 1887.

Studying at the academy

In 1857 he became a pupil of Academician A. Markov, who specialized in historical painting. During his studies he received several medals for his paintings, as well as for replicas of other painters' paintings on religious themes. The future famous painter received his small gold medal for the painting dedicated to the biblical story.

To receive the title of the artist with the right to receive a state pension, it was necessary to submit a work dedicated to the scene from the Scandinavian sagas. However, Kramskoy, an artist who aspired to a realistic depiction of events and freedom of creativity, along with the other thirteen students, asked the Academy management to withdraw them from the competition, having justified their desire by the fact that they want to write on topics that they themselves would prefer. After that, the young painters founded their artistic artel, which, incidentally, lasted for a short time, as its members very soon decided to switch to state content.

"Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions"

The artist Kramskoy, whose paintings already in the early period of his work became a landmark event in the cultural life of the empire, became one of the organizers and ideological inspirers of this organization. Its members defended the principles of realism in art, active public and civic position of artists. In his work, the author defended the principles of realism. He believed that the pictures should not only be believable, but also bear a moral and educational semantic load. Therefore, his works are particularly dramatic.

In the 1870s the author creates a number of remarkable portraits of his famous contemporaries: he writes images of Tolstoy, Nekrasov, Shishkin, Tretyakov and others. In this series, a special place belongs to the portrait of the artist Kramskoy, created by himself in 1867. This canvas is very realistic, like the rest of his works of this period.

Portrait of N. Nekrasov

Many of the portrait works of the author are written in the genre of genre paintings. The people depicted on them are represented in action, therefore the canvases represent scenes from life and everyday life.

Such is, for example, the famous work of the artist "Nekrasov in the period of" The Last Songs "» 1877-1878. In this picture, the artist set out to show the famous poet at work in the last period of his life. In general, in the artist's work a great role was played by the theme of the person's emotional experiences, his struggle with death or some kind of shock. In the master's works, this topic did not have a social coloring, as in the works of other painters. He always showed the struggle of the spirit with the ailment and was the most able to convey this idea in this picture.

Women's portraits

Perhaps the most famous work of the master is the picture "Stranger". The artist Kramskoy emphasized the beauty of his model. He stressed that she is a city fashionista, and therefore with special care prescribed her appearance: a rich coat, a flirty headdress, gorgeous jewelry and fabrics.

Indicative of the fact that the background on this canvas plays a secondary role: it is represented in the haze, as the author concentrates all his attention on the elegant young woman. Particularly liked to draw portraits of the artist Ivan Kramskoy. The author's paintings differ in different moods.

If the woman in the above picture is depicted in a proud confident position, then the model on the canvas "Girl with a loose braid", on the other hand, is shown in a difficult, even painful moment, when she seemed to have abandoned everything and completely immersed herself. Therefore, her face, unlike the appearance of a stranger, expresses a deep, concentrated thoughtfulness, sadness and light sadness.

"Unfortunate sorrow"

This painting was written in 1884 under the impression of a personal grief of the artist, who lost his son. Therefore, in the image of a woman depicted in a mourning dress, the features of the author's wife are guessed.

This canvas differs from other works of the author by the hopelessness with which it is imbued. In the center of the canvas is a middle-aged woman in a black dress. She is standing next to a box full of flowers. Her grief is expressed not in a pose that is quite natural and even free, but in the eyes and movement of the hand, which she presses the handkerchief to her mouth. This painting, perhaps, is one of the strongest in the work of the artist and Russian painting in general.