The artist Vladimir Igoshev often visited the North and Khanty-Mansi Autonomour Okrug in particular. Here he explored the local traditions, worked on his sketches and paintings. Igoshev worked in various genres (landscapes, genre paintings), but most frequently the artist painted the portraits of the Northern people, both children and adults. In his memoirs Igoshev wrote: ‘What’s been said is even more related to the world of happy childhood, which always brings me joy. It is filled with such spiritual purity and such naïve charm, so it can only fascinate me. I always passionately wanted to delve into the subtle child psychology, unspotted by conventionality of adulthood, to look at the surroundings with the wide eyes of boys and girls, to learn the sincere art of astonishment from them.’ The Northern girl with her innocent childish playfulness looks especially nice. The painter depicted the elements of the national clothing to frame the girl’s face and highlight her skin tone with the help of brushstrokes, rapid and precise at the same time. The hat with fluffy balls on the ends of its ties, the welt of malitsa and play of colours of its fur surface are shown with the help of the rich texture.
Vladimir Igoshev often painted en plain air. Working in the cold was very complicated, his hands got cold along with the paints, so the artist had to adapt. He wore special fur mittens and made a small fire under the palette. The artist recalled: ‘The fire left some burnt places on my palette. I had to warm up the paints while working on my sketches in the North. Once a journalist confused me in my studio. She paid attention to the mitten with a special hole made for the brush. She asked me about it. I said it was my “northern mitten”. In the freezing cold the palette knife freezes quickly, and the hand can still warm up the brush a little…’
Some of the portraits painted in the region were united in the series Taiga People. Igoshev won the State Prize of Russia named after I. E. Repin for it. The works by Igoshev are now in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum and other art museums and private collections.
Vladimir Igoshev often painted en plain air. Working in the cold was very complicated, his hands got cold along with the paints, so the artist had to adapt. He wore special fur mittens and made a small fire under the palette. The artist recalled: ‘The fire left some burnt places on my palette. I had to warm up the paints while working on my sketches in the North. Once a journalist confused me in my studio. She paid attention to the mitten with a special hole made for the brush. She asked me about it. I said it was my “northern mitten”. In the freezing cold the palette knife freezes quickly, and the hand can still warm up the brush a little…’
Some of the portraits painted in the region were united in the series Taiga People. Igoshev won the State Prize of Russia named after I. E. Repin for it. The works by Igoshev are now in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum and other art museums and private collections.
