Artist Nikolai Terpsikhorov painted the ‘Kier-Boiling of Clothes’ in 1925. By that time he had already become known as a master of genre works and landscape. These often merged in his paintings: for example, he would paint scenes from peasant life on the background of beautiful nature. The ‘Kier-Boiling of Clothes’ is painted in this manner as well.
Kier-Boiling of Clothes
Creation period
1925
Dimensions
48x89 cm
Technique
Canvas, оil
Exhibition
1
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Terpsikhorov N.B.
Kier-Boiling of Clothes
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Plot and technique
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The artist depicted peasants in the process of kier-boiling clothes. ‘Kier-boiling’ is treatment of fabric in boiling soap. Big buckets, kiers, were put on a fire and clothes were boiled for an hour and half. In the past, in rural areas, that was the way they removed stains from clothes. They also used it to treat newly woven cotton and linen to remove impurities. Kier-boiling was often done on a river bank where they could get enough water for a kier and then rinse their laundry well.
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Terpsokhorov’s models were local peasants. His family also posed for him. The artist’s daughter Nataliya wrote that the villagers often ran up to the canvas to look at the study and compare it to the reality. He used to treat the posing youngsters to toffees and caramels.
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Despite the fact that avant-garde and its various trends were gaining popularity in those years, Terpsikhorov painted the picture in a realistic manner — he wanted his works to be understood by broad public. The fine strokes he used to paint the foreground show minute details of the villagers’ clothes. Nature is rendered in colour patches of different hues.
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Nikolai Terpsikhorov
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‘In Narcompross [People’s Committee for Education] where I went to offer my work, one of the senior executives told me that the government was not going to support realistic art. So I had to manage on my own’.
— Terpsikhorov wrote in his autobiography.
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To be able to buy new canvases and brushes, the artist worked as a “stenciller” and poster maker at poet Vladimir Mayakovsky’s ROSTA Windows.
Later, Nikolai Terpsikhorov joined the Association of Revolutionary Russia Artists formed back in 1922. He displayed his works at all the 12 exhibitions of the Association. The artist travelled a lot in Russia, visited a few cities and towns on the Volga and Oka rivers, got to Lake Baikal. There he was learning local lore and customs, painted interesting landscapes.
Later, Nikolai Terpsikhorov joined the Association of Revolutionary Russia Artists formed back in 1922. He displayed his works at all the 12 exhibitions of the Association. The artist travelled a lot in Russia, visited a few cities and towns on the Volga and Oka rivers, got to Lake Baikal. There he was learning local lore and customs, painted interesting landscapes.
In 1998, the ‘Kier-Boiling of Clothes’ was acquired by the Foundation of Generations of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District for its ‘Rarities and Artistic Valuables’ gallery. Thirteen years later, the gallery’s collection together with Nikolai Terpsikhorov’s canvas was handed over to the State Museum of Fine Arts of Khanty-Mansiysk.
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State Museum of Fine Arts of Khanty-Mansiysk
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Kier-Boiling of Clothes
Creation period
1925
Dimensions
48x89 cm
Technique
Canvas, оil
Exhibition
1
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