Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (1848 - 1916) - Russian painter, Siberian, native of an old Cossack family. On his canvases, he depicted important episodes from the history of Russia. All his life he loved a single woman and left numerous and talented offspring.
Siberian origins of the biography of Vasily Surikov
The birthplace of Vasily Surikov is the city of Krasnoyarsk. His father, Ivan Vasilievich, served in the county court of Krasnoyarsk, and his mother, Praskovya Fedorovna, was a housekeeper. The family belonged to the class of the Yenisei Cossacks, who once came to the harsh Siberian territories from the southern Don. Surikov himself subsequently used to say: "From all sides I am a natural Cossack … My Cossacks are more than 200 years old."
Vasily Surikov. Portrait of the artist's mother Praskovya Fedorovna, 1894
The family lost the breadwinner in 1859, when the boy was 11 years old. The mother was left with three children: Vasya, Katya and three-year-old Sasha. With the death of his father, material difficulties began. Praskovya Fedorovna was forced to rent the 2nd floor of their house, built by her husband in the 1830s. This house from the strongest Siberian larch survived, now it houses the museum of the artist.
Rooms in the museum-estate of Vasily Surikov in Krasnoyarsk
It is symbolic that the name "Surikov" coincides with the name of the paint "red" red-orange or red-yellow. And Vasya began to draw very early. At the age of 6, he managed to copy the portrait of Peter I. The earliest surviving known work of Surikov is the watercolor painting “Rafts on the Yenisei, ” which he painted at age 14. She is in the Krasnoyarsk Museum of the artist.
Art education of Vasily Surikov
The first drawing lessons were given to Vasily by the teacher at the local school. Upon its completion, Surikov would like to continue his artistic education, but financial problems in the family did not allow. Therefore, Vasily goes to work as a scribe in the provincial administration.
Fortunately, his drawings caught the eye of Governor Pavel Zamyatin, who introduced Surikov to the local gold producer and philanthropist Peter Kuznetsov. And he offered to pay Surikov painting training in St. Petersburg.
Surikov studied with the artist Pyotr Petrovich Chistyakov, a wonderful teacher who nurtured a galaxy of talented Russian painters: Serov, Kramskoy, Vrubel, Repin, Polenov.
The patron of the young Surikov, Peter Kuznetsov, continues to help him. He gets his painting "View of the monument to Peter I on Senate Square in St. Petersburg", which he painted while studying at the Academy. During the summer holidays of 1873, he invites the ward to live at his mines in neighboring Khakassia with Krasnoyarsk.
Vasily Surikov. View of the monument to Peter I on Senate Square in St. Petersburg. 1870
Creativity Vasily Surikov
In 1875, Vasily Surikov graduated from the Academy of Arts and began an independent creative life. He performs the first and last work on order - paintings for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. In the future, he independently determines what to write to him.
In 1877, Surikov left St. Petersburg and moved to the capital of the throne. In patriarchal Moscow, Surikov felt in place. The appearance of the ancient city, the grandiose events that once occurred in it, corresponded to its craving for historical subjects. He wrote:
So the first large-scale painting by Vasily Surikov, “Morning of the Archery Execution”, appeared. He worked on it for 3 years, and upon completion he joined the Association of Wanderers.
Surikov continued to develop historical themes in his works. Although some critics accused the artist of the excessive multi-figure of his epic paintings, comparing them with multi-colored carpets, in fact, each of the heroes of his paintings is an individual psychological image. During his creative life Surikov painted not so many portraits, but in fact the characters of his historical paintings are such. He searched for a long time and very carefully selected sitters for his canvases. Thus, his aunt became the model of the boyar for the canvas “Boyar Morozov”, and for the eldest daughter of Alexander Menshikov, Maria in the film “Menshikov in Beryozovo” was posed by his wife Elizabeth.
In 1883, an outstanding collector Pavel Tretyakov acquired the painting "Menshikov in Berezovo" for his gallery. With the money received from the sale of the painting, Surikov and his family go on a trip to Europe. Vasily Ivanovich inspected the magnificent art collections of the Dresden Gallery and the Louvre. Elizaveta Avgustovna was able to improve her health on this trip to European countries with milder climates..
Personal life and eminent descendants of Vasily Surikov
Vasily Ivanovich Surikov and Elizabeth Avgustovna Share (1858-1888) got married in 1878. We can say that they were introduced to Surikov's love of music. He saw his future wife in a Catholic church, where he came to listen to the organ. Elizabeth was half French, she was brought up in the French manner and spoke Russian with an accent. The couple had daughters: Olga (1878-1958) and Elena (1880-1963).
Elizaveta Avgustovna - wife of Vasily Surikov
A happy marriage ended after 10 years of marriage. Weak health Elizabeth Avgustovna could not cope with the disease and died in Moscow at the age of 30 after her husband returned from a trip to his homeland.
Vasily Ivanovich was very worried about the departure of his beloved wife and reproached himself for taking her on a trip to harsh Siberia. In those days, the trip to Krasnoyarsk took about 1.5–2 months, which was too difficult for a painful woman. Surikov turned out to be monogamous. He never married again and raised children on his own.
The creative power of the artist Vasily Ivanovich Surikov, which continues to attract talented people from the field of art, was transferred to the descendants along the line of Olga's eldest daughter. Olga married the Russian painter Pyotr Petrovich Konchalovsky. Their daughter, the granddaughter of Surikov, Natalya Konchalovskaya is a famous children's writer, poetess and translator. The husband of Natalia Petrovna was the poet Sergei Vladimirovich Mikhalkov. Their sons, Andrei Konchalovsky and Nikita Mikhalkov, became filmmakers. Many members of the vast Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky dynasty realize themselves in the creative field.
Vasily Ivanovich Surikov died in Moscow on March 19 (new style) in March 1916 from heart disease. They say that his last words were the phrase: "I disappear." He was buried, as requested, at the Vagankovsky cemetery next to his unforgettable wife.
Monument on the grave of the Surikovs. Cemetery Vagankovsky. Moscow.
