The name of the Russian landscape painter Fyodor Alexandrovich Vasiliev is well known among artists, although he was able to paint only for an extremely short period of time — only for about seven years. However, this was enough to bring him fame and leave a significant mark in the history of painting.
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy called him “a brilliant boy.” Although Fyodor Vasiliev did not have time to receive a sufficient art education, his rare talent developed very quickly. The artist matured early and at the age of 15 became the main breadwinner of his family. At the same time, the future artist put the main goal of his life above all.
Fyodor Alexandrovich worked for the restorer of the Academy of Arts and studied at the evening drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists. This helped Vasiliev to actively engage in artistic life. In many ways, the acquaintance and friendship with Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin played a decisive role in choosing the genre and mastering the skills of working with nature and wildlife. In June 1867, the artist took 17-year-old Fyodor Vasiliev with him to Valaam.
In the village of Konstantinovka near Krasnoe Selo outside St. Petersburg in 1868, Vasiliev again worked with his older friend and mentor Ivan Shishkin. Probably, his painting “Road” from the collection of the Lipetsk Regional Museum of Local Lore belongs to this time. This motif became the main one for the young artist.
The influence of a mentor is felt in his works, but at the same time, the search for one’s own style is also apparent. In the “Road”, most of the canvas is occupied by a gloomy sky with swirling clouds. It dominates the earth, which intensifies the state of inner anxiety.
In Vasiliev’s early works, there is no landscape as such; everywhere is also a genre motif that reveals the spiritual unity of man with the natural world. The same is true for this canvas: a road washed out by rain with a lone traveler and a pair of horses go into the distance and disappear over the horizon.
Fyodor Alexandrovich included a bridge over a swamp, a dog, and a village, which is barely visible in the distance on the horizon. Ordinary atmosphere, elements of the rural landscape match the mystery and grandeur of nature.
Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy called him “a brilliant boy.” Although Fyodor Vasiliev did not have time to receive a sufficient art education, his rare talent developed very quickly. The artist matured early and at the age of 15 became the main breadwinner of his family. At the same time, the future artist put the main goal of his life above all.
Fyodor Alexandrovich worked for the restorer of the Academy of Arts and studied at the evening drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists. This helped Vasiliev to actively engage in artistic life. In many ways, the acquaintance and friendship with Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin played a decisive role in choosing the genre and mastering the skills of working with nature and wildlife. In June 1867, the artist took 17-year-old Fyodor Vasiliev with him to Valaam.
In the village of Konstantinovka near Krasnoe Selo outside St. Petersburg in 1868, Vasiliev again worked with his older friend and mentor Ivan Shishkin. Probably, his painting “Road” from the collection of the Lipetsk Regional Museum of Local Lore belongs to this time. This motif became the main one for the young artist.
The influence of a mentor is felt in his works, but at the same time, the search for one’s own style is also apparent. In the “Road”, most of the canvas is occupied by a gloomy sky with swirling clouds. It dominates the earth, which intensifies the state of inner anxiety.
In Vasiliev’s early works, there is no landscape as such; everywhere is also a genre motif that reveals the spiritual unity of man with the natural world. The same is true for this canvas: a road washed out by rain with a lone traveler and a pair of horses go into the distance and disappear over the horizon.
Fyodor Alexandrovich included a bridge over a swamp, a dog, and a village, which is barely visible in the distance on the horizon. Ordinary atmosphere, elements of the rural landscape match the mystery and grandeur of nature.
