The painting ‘Land and People: Requiem’ by a famous Russian painter Yevgeny Konopkin was donated to the museum by a Tambov collector Yury Noskov in 2013. The artist’s name is listed among other Russian painters in the world directory. Konopkin’s paintings are stored in the Tambov and Morshansk local history museums, as well as in private collections. For example, the Nosov family collection includes 70 of his works.
Konopkin mainly painted portraits. According to his contemporaries, his paintings were profound, heartfelt, and sincere.
Konopkin worked on the ‘Land and People: Requiem’ for 20 years. It referred to the subject that mattered the most to him — people’s destiny and their place in the world.
The large painting depicts a terrace overlooking a field. There are seven different aged people — from a young boy to a grey-haired old woman. Every one of those people has their own background, character and attitude towards life. Konopkin pictured himself among them as well. The mood of the painting is melancholic, for the people miss their native settlement Gumny, which was taken down. The image of the village can be seen in the background. Konopkin intended for the painting to be a farewell to the places of his childhood and strove to render the love for his land and the people who lived there.
Yevgeny Konopkin was born on 25 February 1945, in the Gumny village, Morshansk district, Tambov Oblast. He started painting in early childhood. He studied at the Penza Art College named after Konstantin Savitsky and later worked in Moscow, Morshansk and Tambov. In the early years of his career, the painter dedicated most of his paintings to Orthodox churches. A large portion of the works of that period is stored in the church of the Goreloye village and the Morshansk clock tower.
Konopkin was the head of the regional branch of the Russian Union of Artists. His paintings were exhibited at many national, Moscow and oblast art shows. The painter died on August 28, 2010, in the Goreloye village of the Tambov Oblast, where he lived for 11 years.
Due to its large size — 2,2×3,3 meters — the painting “Land and People: Requiem” was stored in a rolled state for some time, which led to the paint coming off in a few places. A Tambov painter Vladimir Kudrayvtsev and his colleagues led the restoration work. Nowadays, the renewed painting is exhibited in one of the museum halls.
Konopkin mainly painted portraits. According to his contemporaries, his paintings were profound, heartfelt, and sincere.
Konopkin worked on the ‘Land and People: Requiem’ for 20 years. It referred to the subject that mattered the most to him — people’s destiny and their place in the world.
The large painting depicts a terrace overlooking a field. There are seven different aged people — from a young boy to a grey-haired old woman. Every one of those people has their own background, character and attitude towards life. Konopkin pictured himself among them as well. The mood of the painting is melancholic, for the people miss their native settlement Gumny, which was taken down. The image of the village can be seen in the background. Konopkin intended for the painting to be a farewell to the places of his childhood and strove to render the love for his land and the people who lived there.
Yevgeny Konopkin was born on 25 February 1945, in the Gumny village, Morshansk district, Tambov Oblast. He started painting in early childhood. He studied at the Penza Art College named after Konstantin Savitsky and later worked in Moscow, Morshansk and Tambov. In the early years of his career, the painter dedicated most of his paintings to Orthodox churches. A large portion of the works of that period is stored in the church of the Goreloye village and the Morshansk clock tower.
Konopkin was the head of the regional branch of the Russian Union of Artists. His paintings were exhibited at many national, Moscow and oblast art shows. The painter died on August 28, 2010, in the Goreloye village of the Tambov Oblast, where he lived for 11 years.
Due to its large size — 2,2×3,3 meters — the painting “Land and People: Requiem” was stored in a rolled state for some time, which led to the paint coming off in a few places. A Tambov painter Vladimir Kudrayvtsev and his colleagues led the restoration work. Nowadays, the renewed painting is exhibited in one of the museum halls.
