The painting A Burnt Forest by Vasily Polenov depicts the consequences of a recent forest fire. The burnt stumps and tree trunks are shown surrounded by brisk greenery that sprouted quickly in the area that had recently been affected by a wildfire. Despite its grim name, the picture is life-affirming as charred trunks are clearly giving way to the new greenery. This piece of art, done in 1876, was a study for a bigger and more elaborate painting with identical plot and title created in 1881 that is now in the State Tretyakov Gallery. It’s four times the length and three times the height of the present painting.
The plot, apparently, was composed by Polenov near the family estate in the Imochenitsa Manor. There, he created many works dedicated to the surroundings: The River Oyat, Northern Hut, Grandma’s Garden, Overgrown Pond and others.
Vasily Polenov is an outstanding Russian artist who left behind a remarkable legacy of the landscape painting. His work A Moscow Courtyard marks the beginning of the whole new direction of intimate landscapes, that is a portrayal of a private place hidden away from people’s gaze, rather than a public place open for everyone.
The artist showed himself no less vividly in genre painting. It was genre works, including those on biblical themes, that made him famous at the beginning of his career. The painting Christ Resurrects the Daughter of Jairus was awarded a large gold medal of the Imperial Academy of Arts. The canvas Christ and the Sinner was purchased by Emperor Alexander III right after it had been finished. And the painting dedicated to the arrest of Jacobine de Montebel, Countess d’Etremont brought Polenov the title of Academician.
Despite many years spent traveling in Europe and living in Italy and France, Polenov always believed that he should live and work in Russia. ‘No matter how good Europe is, it is a hundred thousand times nicer in the village, and besides, it’s simply vile to live in Europe, when you have to work in Russia, especially if your health allows you to, ’ said the artist.
Vasily Polenov, an artist, teacher, theater worker, was a man of rare talent. As a young man, while studying at the Academy of Arts, he managed to study at the Faculty of Law of the Imperial St. Petersburg University at the same time, to sing in the student choir and to compose music. He took music writing as serious as painting. In 1906, in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Vasily Polenov’s opera The Ghosts of Hellas was performed.
The plot, apparently, was composed by Polenov near the family estate in the Imochenitsa Manor. There, he created many works dedicated to the surroundings: The River Oyat, Northern Hut, Grandma’s Garden, Overgrown Pond and others.
Vasily Polenov is an outstanding Russian artist who left behind a remarkable legacy of the landscape painting. His work A Moscow Courtyard marks the beginning of the whole new direction of intimate landscapes, that is a portrayal of a private place hidden away from people’s gaze, rather than a public place open for everyone.
The artist showed himself no less vividly in genre painting. It was genre works, including those on biblical themes, that made him famous at the beginning of his career. The painting Christ Resurrects the Daughter of Jairus was awarded a large gold medal of the Imperial Academy of Arts. The canvas Christ and the Sinner was purchased by Emperor Alexander III right after it had been finished. And the painting dedicated to the arrest of Jacobine de Montebel, Countess d’Etremont brought Polenov the title of Academician.
Despite many years spent traveling in Europe and living in Italy and France, Polenov always believed that he should live and work in Russia. ‘No matter how good Europe is, it is a hundred thousand times nicer in the village, and besides, it’s simply vile to live in Europe, when you have to work in Russia, especially if your health allows you to, ’ said the artist.
Vasily Polenov, an artist, teacher, theater worker, was a man of rare talent. As a young man, while studying at the Academy of Arts, he managed to study at the Faculty of Law of the Imperial St. Petersburg University at the same time, to sing in the student choir and to compose music. He took music writing as serious as painting. In 1906, in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Vasily Polenov’s opera The Ghosts of Hellas was performed.
