The big-sized canvas Bather from the collection of the Tyumen Museum and Educational Society was painted by the Russian painter Boris Kustodiev in 1922, but he executed it in the style that had came into being back in the 1910-s. Boris Kustodiev was born in 1878 in Astrakhan. In 1896 he began studies at the Higher School of Art under the Imperial Academy of Art and took classes from Ilya Repin. Together with his teacher the young painter worked on the large-scale canvas Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901.
Boris Kustodiev demonstrated his works at the exhibitions in various professional associations, he was a member of the Union of Russian Artists from 1907, then of the Mir Iskusstva (World of Art) from 1910.
Kustodiev’s own powerful creative personality transpired rather quickly. He created a special “kind of plastic art, ” based on professional competence, love for the Russian province, understanding the harmony of colour close to that of the people and on a special acute vision and perception of the world. It is a typical composition of Kustodiev”s where the natural and the composed are entwined together.
A large figure of a bather takes up almost the entire plane of the canvas where the background is a summer city landscape with genre motifs. The colouring is based on Kustodiev”favourite resonant combinations of colour: rose, blue, soft green, white, violet and their gradations. In the Bather these are left slightly unfinished.
In the diaries of the fine art expert and graphic artist Vsevolod V.Voinov, a friend of the Kustodievs, there is an entry dated January 19, 1922 which simultaneously explains this peculiarity of the picture and reveals the name of the customer:
Boris Kustodiev demonstrated his works at the exhibitions in various professional associations, he was a member of the Union of Russian Artists from 1907, then of the Mir Iskusstva (World of Art) from 1910.
Kustodiev’s own powerful creative personality transpired rather quickly. He created a special “kind of plastic art, ” based on professional competence, love for the Russian province, understanding the harmony of colour close to that of the people and on a special acute vision and perception of the world. It is a typical composition of Kustodiev”s where the natural and the composed are entwined together.
A large figure of a bather takes up almost the entire plane of the canvas where the background is a summer city landscape with genre motifs. The colouring is based on Kustodiev”favourite resonant combinations of colour: rose, blue, soft green, white, violet and their gradations. In the Bather these are left slightly unfinished.
In the diaries of the fine art expert and graphic artist Vsevolod V.Voinov, a friend of the Kustodievs, there is an entry dated January 19, 1922 which simultaneously explains this peculiarity of the picture and reveals the name of the customer:
