Alexey Isupov (1889-1957) was Russian painter, graduate of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. His teachers were Abram Arkhipov, Apollinary Vasnetsov (a native of the Vyatka province), Konstantin Korovin, Valentin Serov, and Sergey Malyutin.
Throughout his creative life, the artist created paintings of various genres. He was interested in literally everything. Among his works there are many portraits, still lifes, landscapes, paintings on everyday and genre themes, illustrations for books. He participated in exhibitions of the Association of the Itinerants and the Union of Russian Artists. He found themes for his paintings while traveling in the Urals, along the Volga and the Crimea, while at work in Tashkent and Turkestan. Since 1926, Isupov and his family lived in Italy, in Rome. He went there for health reasons, hoping for a speedy recovery. However, his stay in Rome dragged on for more than thirty years. Having become a recognized artist abroad, Isupov never lost touch with his Motherland, as well as with his small homeland. Before his forced move to Italy for health reasons, he actively participated in the formation of The Vasnetsov Brothers Art Museum collection in Vyatka. According to the will of Isupov, the artist’s widow after his death brought part of the heritage to Russia. About three hundred works were donated to the art museum of his hometown.
In Isupov’s landscapes, you can see some techniques of decorative painting. Working on the paintings, Isupov mastered the alla prima technique. The method became widespread in the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Using this technique, the artist paints a canvas quickly, without waiting for each layer of paint to dry, as they say – ‘in one sitting’. This method in painting was known for a very long time, but wide interest in it was caused by the appearance of the Impressionists. Claude Monet very successfully mastered this method.
The painting ‘The Monastery’ was painted using this technique. Depicting a sunny autumn day, the artist achieves a harmonious balance between the dark green of the earth and the white color of the monastery walls with bright green roofs. The work is literally flooded with sunlight. The artist, deeply feeling the joy and power of color, recreates the beauty of the world on his canvas. Even during his lifetime Isupov was beloved by the public for the ‘gentle colors’ that let him convey ‘truth and poetry.’
Throughout his creative life, the artist created paintings of various genres. He was interested in literally everything. Among his works there are many portraits, still lifes, landscapes, paintings on everyday and genre themes, illustrations for books. He participated in exhibitions of the Association of the Itinerants and the Union of Russian Artists. He found themes for his paintings while traveling in the Urals, along the Volga and the Crimea, while at work in Tashkent and Turkestan. Since 1926, Isupov and his family lived in Italy, in Rome. He went there for health reasons, hoping for a speedy recovery. However, his stay in Rome dragged on for more than thirty years. Having become a recognized artist abroad, Isupov never lost touch with his Motherland, as well as with his small homeland. Before his forced move to Italy for health reasons, he actively participated in the formation of The Vasnetsov Brothers Art Museum collection in Vyatka. According to the will of Isupov, the artist’s widow after his death brought part of the heritage to Russia. About three hundred works were donated to the art museum of his hometown.
In Isupov’s landscapes, you can see some techniques of decorative painting. Working on the paintings, Isupov mastered the alla prima technique. The method became widespread in the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Using this technique, the artist paints a canvas quickly, without waiting for each layer of paint to dry, as they say – ‘in one sitting’. This method in painting was known for a very long time, but wide interest in it was caused by the appearance of the Impressionists. Claude Monet very successfully mastered this method.
The painting ‘The Monastery’ was painted using this technique. Depicting a sunny autumn day, the artist achieves a harmonious balance between the dark green of the earth and the white color of the monastery walls with bright green roofs. The work is literally flooded with sunlight. The artist, deeply feeling the joy and power of color, recreates the beauty of the world on his canvas. Even during his lifetime Isupov was beloved by the public for the ‘gentle colors’ that let him convey ‘truth and poetry.’
