The museum exhibition contains a rich collection of objects related to the artist Vasily Surikov, who was born in Krasnoyarsk in 1848 and lived there until he was twenty years old. The photo depicts the artist’s brother Alexander and grandchildren Natasha and Misha Konchalovsky.
Surikov’s ancestors were Cossacks. The artist was very proud of his origin and liked to repeat: ‘From all sides, I am a natural Cossack. My Cossackdom is more than two hundred years old.’ Surikov’s father was originally a sotnik (lieutenant of Cossack troops), but soon changed his military service to civilian one and began working in the judicial chamber. Mother Praskovya Fyodorovna came from the Torgoshin family. It was her who had to carry the burden of raising children and running a household after the death of her husband.
Since childhood, Surikov leaned toward drawing. His first teacher was Nikolai Grebnev, a teacher of the Krasnoyarsk district specialized school. Thanks to the patronage of Pyotr Kuznetsov, Surikov left for St. Petersburg, where he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts. Upon graduation, he lived in Moscow. Throughout his life, the artist thought about returning to Krasnoyarsk for good. He lived in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but he allocated some money for the construction of a workshop in his native estate. It was supposed to be built near his father’s house. However, these plans were not destined to be realized. Surikov died in 1916 in Moscow.
The artist’s brother Alexander Surikov was his complete opposite. He spent all his life in Krasnoyarsk and worked in the provincial court in low-ranking positions. At the end of his career, he received the position of archivist. Alexander did not start his own family and devoted his life to taking care of his mother and maintaining the family estate.
With his brother, they shared warm feelings and always supported each other. During a difficult period in the artist’s life, when his beloved wife died in 1888, it was Alexander who became his anchor. Having arrived in Moscow (this was his first and only long-distance trip). Alexander persuaded Vasily to return with children to Krasnoyarsk to be surrounded by relatives and friends to cope with the grief.
The photo from the museum collection was taken against the background of the Surikov family house. It was taken by Vasily’s daughter Olga, who became the wife of another famous artist Pyotr Konchalovsky.
The house was built in the 1830s from the strongest kind of wood — larch. Vasily Surikov recalled: ‘At that time, my grandfather was still a sotnik. He collected the tribute there, then sent it to us. Our house was built with sable and fish.’ On the ground floor, there was a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and a bedroom, where the mother of Vasily and Alexander lived during their childhood. Later, the artist’s brother occupied the room.
There were four rooms on the second floor. In one of them — the largest one — in 1889 Vasily Surikov painted the picture ‘The Capture of the snow town’. Today, the Surikov family house is home to a museum estate of V. I. Surikov. It houses the third largest collection of the artist’s works.
Surikov’s ancestors were Cossacks. The artist was very proud of his origin and liked to repeat: ‘From all sides, I am a natural Cossack. My Cossackdom is more than two hundred years old.’ Surikov’s father was originally a sotnik (lieutenant of Cossack troops), but soon changed his military service to civilian one and began working in the judicial chamber. Mother Praskovya Fyodorovna came from the Torgoshin family. It was her who had to carry the burden of raising children and running a household after the death of her husband.
Since childhood, Surikov leaned toward drawing. His first teacher was Nikolai Grebnev, a teacher of the Krasnoyarsk district specialized school. Thanks to the patronage of Pyotr Kuznetsov, Surikov left for St. Petersburg, where he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts. Upon graduation, he lived in Moscow. Throughout his life, the artist thought about returning to Krasnoyarsk for good. He lived in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but he allocated some money for the construction of a workshop in his native estate. It was supposed to be built near his father’s house. However, these plans were not destined to be realized. Surikov died in 1916 in Moscow.
The artist’s brother Alexander Surikov was his complete opposite. He spent all his life in Krasnoyarsk and worked in the provincial court in low-ranking positions. At the end of his career, he received the position of archivist. Alexander did not start his own family and devoted his life to taking care of his mother and maintaining the family estate.
With his brother, they shared warm feelings and always supported each other. During a difficult period in the artist’s life, when his beloved wife died in 1888, it was Alexander who became his anchor. Having arrived in Moscow (this was his first and only long-distance trip). Alexander persuaded Vasily to return with children to Krasnoyarsk to be surrounded by relatives and friends to cope with the grief.
The photo from the museum collection was taken against the background of the Surikov family house. It was taken by Vasily’s daughter Olga, who became the wife of another famous artist Pyotr Konchalovsky.
The house was built in the 1830s from the strongest kind of wood — larch. Vasily Surikov recalled: ‘At that time, my grandfather was still a sotnik. He collected the tribute there, then sent it to us. Our house was built with sable and fish.’ On the ground floor, there was a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and a bedroom, where the mother of Vasily and Alexander lived during their childhood. Later, the artist’s brother occupied the room.
There were four rooms on the second floor. In one of them — the largest one — in 1889 Vasily Surikov painted the picture ‘The Capture of the snow town’. Today, the Surikov family house is home to a museum estate of V. I. Surikov. It houses the third largest collection of the artist’s works.
