Boris Musatov is one of the most famous Russian Symbolist artists. His life path cannot be called simple. Due to childhood trauma, the artist remained hunchbacked, which, of course, influenced his state of mind and perception of the world around him. The poet Andrei Bely wrote about him: ‘the finest and gentle hunchback.’ Surprisingly, these very epithets characterize his pictorial heritage as accurately as possible.
Back in the 1890s, Borisov-Musatov began studying art in the studio of fine arts in his native Saratov, and then studied briefly at the Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, which he was forced to leave due to the unsuitable climate for poor health. Later, he visited the studio of Fernand Cormon in Paris, where were also Vincent Van Gogh and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Yet, the most significant influence on him was the work of the Symbolist painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, as well as the French Impressionists.
Borisov-Musatov’s works are imbued with subtle beauty, spirituality, and poetic fantasy. He managed to create on his canvases a different, more harmonious world that retains the features of the real one, but full of dreams. He was inspired by the theme of man against the background of nature, their mutual coexistence. Nevertheless, there was a place in his work also for landscapes. One of them is a small oil study “An oaklet” (The Dubok) from the collection of the Tarusa Art Gallery.
The artist settled in Tarusa after returning from Paris and remained here until the very end. He wrote about his voluntary imprisonment: “I am sitting in the wilderness, on the deserted bank of the Oka. I live in a world full of only dreams and various fantasies, among picturesque birch groves, quietly dozing in a dream inspired by autumn fogs.” In this unpretentious evening landscape, the artist managed to embody his vision for ideal nature. Despite the small size, the play of saturated shades of green creates the volume of the “oak” crown and the impression of its monumentality. The artist brings the feeling of the fluidity of the moment with wavy lines, with which he marks the rustling grass. The color of the evening sky seems to merge with the green of the tree crowns. Thus, the author emphasizes the unity and infinity of nature.
In Tarusa the artist created a large number of landscapes, here he died at the age of 35 and was buried on the high bank of the Oka. This place later became known as the Musatovsky slope.
Back in the 1890s, Borisov-Musatov began studying art in the studio of fine arts in his native Saratov, and then studied briefly at the Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, which he was forced to leave due to the unsuitable climate for poor health. Later, he visited the studio of Fernand Cormon in Paris, where were also Vincent Van Gogh and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Yet, the most significant influence on him was the work of the Symbolist painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, as well as the French Impressionists.
Borisov-Musatov’s works are imbued with subtle beauty, spirituality, and poetic fantasy. He managed to create on his canvases a different, more harmonious world that retains the features of the real one, but full of dreams. He was inspired by the theme of man against the background of nature, their mutual coexistence. Nevertheless, there was a place in his work also for landscapes. One of them is a small oil study “An oaklet” (The Dubok) from the collection of the Tarusa Art Gallery.
The artist settled in Tarusa after returning from Paris and remained here until the very end. He wrote about his voluntary imprisonment: “I am sitting in the wilderness, on the deserted bank of the Oka. I live in a world full of only dreams and various fantasies, among picturesque birch groves, quietly dozing in a dream inspired by autumn fogs.” In this unpretentious evening landscape, the artist managed to embody his vision for ideal nature. Despite the small size, the play of saturated shades of green creates the volume of the “oak” crown and the impression of its monumentality. The artist brings the feeling of the fluidity of the moment with wavy lines, with which he marks the rustling grass. The color of the evening sky seems to merge with the green of the tree crowns. Thus, the author emphasizes the unity and infinity of nature.
In Tarusa the artist created a large number of landscapes, here he died at the age of 35 and was buried on the high bank of the Oka. This place later became known as the Musatovsky slope.
