Alexey
Fedorovich Afanasyev

(1850--1930) -- Illustrator and cartoonist, author of drawings for "Humpbacked Horse" P. P. Ershov's fairy tales of A. S. Pushkin, poems by A. K. Tolstoy etc. had also Created a number of genre paintings. In 1889--1918 he exhibited his works at the travelling exhibitions. After K. A. Savitsky was the Director of the Penza art school.

12 Dec 1850 in St. Petersburg, in the family of a Minister of the Imperial court, was born Aleksei Fedorovich Afanas'ev. He studied at a reformed school, and from 1868 he worked as a servant, a fireman, a footman at the court.

In 1872 he was admitted to the Academy of fine arts, volunteer art class, and after a year was transferred to the nature class. The incentive was awarded the silver medal for drawing from life.

In 1879, requested the Board of the Academy to allow him to entrance exams among the students, but the academic Council turned him down. In 1886, Afanasiev took the certificate of attendance in the classes of the Academy, and the following year he enrolled as a lecturer at the school of Drawing for an auditor.

He worked mainly in religious and everyday genres. So, for the Church of the Resurrection in St. Petersburg Afanasiev performed four cardboard for outdoor mosaics: "Saint. Paul", "Seraphim", "St. the Apostle Luke" and "Saints James, Efimov and Eustace" and eight cartoons for the mosaics of the interior: "the Saints. Varlaam of Khutyn and Alexander Svirsky", Saints Macarius of Egypt, and Moses Murin; Saints Andronicus and Apollos", "Martyrs Lucian and Agathodoros", "Martyrs Averky and porphyry", "the Apostles and Nicanor Flegont" and "the Apostles and Rodion URVAN". We wish to thank the site Issakievsky Cathedral for the information provided.

Alexei participated in the "Association of traveling art exhibitions", presenting his paintings "Cemetery" (1889) and "Before the feast" (1890), later bought by P. M. Tretyakov for his gallery.

He also worked in graphics, doing illustrations for "humpbacked Horse" P. Ershov, and also worked as a cartoonist in the magazine "Jester" and "Fragments".

In 1905 he was appointed acting Director of the Penza art College, four years later dismissed due to illness.

In the Saratov state art Museum named after A. N. Radishchev two works of A. F. Afanasiev.

The first of these "clerks gate", which is a sketch for the painting, located in the Tver art gallery. It is written based on the poem by A. K. Tolstoy "The clerks gate" 1857

Gate clerks from the people gathered

Densely;

Says the simplicity that is in his stomach

Empty.

"Fools! — said the clerk. You should be everyone

In the body:

In the Duma yesterday we hardly sturgeon

Ate!"

Winter. Russian village. Far-reaching series of wooden huts, the roofs of which are covered with snow. Writ hut, sturdily made of wood with strong gates and a high porch. Around her the crowd, consisting of the common people. Armani men caught by the belts, the women in headscarves, almost all in sandals. The communication with the clerk of the poet in the satirical vein is absent here. Illustrated in fact, with sufficient irony, what is apparent, of course, talent Afanasyeva-cartoonist only the first line of the poem.

Another work – "the old Man" - refers to the genre of domestic portraiture. The face of an old peasant with a gray beard and hair. He has a weathered face of a man accustomed to the constant physical labor on the air. In a confident impressionistic style written by his clothes – an old coat hanging on a skinny body. In the background is the summer field, fenced Hilo homemade fence – something that depicts people connected throughout his troubled life.

Both works demonstrate a level of artistry Afanasyev, its possession of a wide confident, easy style of writing.

Afanasyev died in 1920.

(the author of the text - Nadezhda Grishina)