A relative of Mikhail Vrubel inherited his rebellious spirit, talent and mental illness. In times that required iron nerves and an unbending character, she was doomed.
Our heroine is one of the artists who created new art in a new country. Impressive nature could convey the world in unusual images and colors. She perceived all the tragedies as closely and, unable to bear them, she lost her mind.
Childhood
This girl had great people in her family. These were not aristocrats, generals or politicians, they were the most famous painters and actors of the Russian Empire. The mother of the child, Natalya Radlova-Kazanskaya, played on stage for a long time, and then taught and wrote textbooks on theatrical art. She was related to Mikhail Vrubel. Father Boris was engaged in philology.
St. Petersburg - the hometown of Maria Kazan
Masha’s date of birth is covered in mystery. According to some reports, she was born in 1912, according to others, it happened in 1914. In 1916 she had a sister, Tanya. Children at an early age became acquainted with art, but Maria surprised everyone. Already at 3 years old, she painted beautifully and stated that when she grows up, she will become an artist. At school, the girl studied well, and when she finished 9 classes, she began to realize her dreams.
Youth
The first master, to whom the schoolgirl decided to show her works, was Vladimir Lebedev. He noted the non-standard style of the author, advised Kazan to go to training with the avant-garde artist Vera Ermolaeva. Maria began to visit the workshop of this rebel from art in 1929. The mentor introduced her to Kazimir Malevich, Vladimir Sterligov and Konstantin Rozhdestvensky. In 1931, the girl entered the Academy of Arts in her native city.
Sketch. Artist Maria Kazanskaya
Among the people who linked their lives with creativity, Maria Kazanskaya met her future husband. His name was Nikolai Smirnov and he was almost 20 years older than his beloved. During the turbulent years of the Civil War, he drew propaganda posters and was engaged in design activities in theaters, and later published in the press as the author of political cartoons. At the time of meeting his future wife, he was known as an organizer of exhibitions. The wedding took place in 1933.
Confession
Spouses strictly observed the boundary between personal life and professional self-realization. Maria Kazanskaya held the first exhibition of her canvases in 1934 thanks to the support of her comrades. Her teacher Vera Ermolaeva listened to the advice of Vladimir Sterligov and turned her apartment into a gallery for several days, where paintings of talented youth were presented. Machine canvases stood out among others and attracted the attention of the public.
The work of Maria Kazan
The young artist was promised a brilliant career. She herself claimed that she adhered to the direction of pictorial-plastic realism. This trend in painting united a group of artists. They viewed canvas and paint manipulations as an attempt to strike a balance between self and surrounding reality.
The work of Maria Kazan
Tragedy
After the death of Sergei Kirov, arrests began in the country. Were subjected to repression and ministers of muses. In December 1934, our heroine and her comrades were arrested. Artists were accused of anti-communist propaganda. The case was far-fetched; none of the detainees was an enemy of the state. The biography of Maria Kazan was so clean and straightforward that it was clear to even the most biased judges that this person happened to be behind bars. In March of the following year, she was released. Interrogations and being in a cell for a sensitive soul did not go unnoticed.
In May1935, Kazimir Malevich died. At his funeral, Maria Kazanskaya looked crushed by misfortune. People who knew her well noted that the young woman had mental problems. Her grandmother, who was a cousin of Mikhail Vrubel, lost her mind in her old age. But Masha was still so young, she recently received an education, everyone hoped that she would recover from the shock and return to normal life. No miracle happened.
The funeral of Kazimir Malevich
