log in
Enter site
Login to use Arthive functionality to the maximum
Self-portrait
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel • Malerei, 1882, 12.5×8.6 cm
Bildbeschreibung «Self-portrait»
Watercolor "Self-portrait." - is one of Mikhail Vrubel's earliest known works. It refers to the time of his studies at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, where he began his studies in 1880. However, his path to painting was not a quick one.
Vrubel's inclinations for creativity made themselves felt at the age of ten: the boy was interested in drawing, as well as music and theatrical art. His interests were encouraged, and Mikhail engaged in private drawing lessons with a specially invited from Saratov gymnasium teacher.
In 1874 Vrubel entered the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University. During his studies he continued to practice painting and also worked part-time as a tutor and governess. This is how he came to the home of his fellow student, the Pampel family of sugar farmers. They are actively interested in art and contributed to the creative work Vrubel. He developed friendships with art students and even began to attend evening classes at the Academy.
After graduating from university Vrubel still could not abandon the in-depth study of painting and became a student at the Academy of Fine Arts. A significant influence on his author's style had the classes of Professor Petra Chistyakov. His students at different times were also Polenov and Repin, Surikov and Vasnetsov, Serov and other artists. Vrubel were consonant with the convictions of the professor. He wrote to his sister Anna in 1883: "When I started classes at Chistyakov, I liked his main provisions, because they were nothing like the formula of my living relationship to nature, which I invested".
Chistyakov preached the work of the artist primarily not with color, but with form. He taught to begin drawing with structural analysis of an object, dividing it into several plans (planes). Then to build its volume form with lines, having designated thus the geometry in space. Each individual stroke must transmit this or that aspect of form, and the junction of individual planes - their relationship with each other.
This approach formed the basis of Vrubel's creative method and in time evolved into his trademark "crystal-like" technique. Its rudiments can already be seen in an early self-portrait in 1882. He conveys the relief of the face and locks of hair with light brush strokes, leaving the lighter areas of the paper untouched. He also took watercolor classes in the studio Ilya RepinHowever, the student's artistic vision clashed with his teacher's fidelity to the ideas of realism.
In particular, the decisive moment was Vrubel's impression of Repin's paintingReligious procession in Kursk province" (1880 - 1883). In a letter to his sister, he said that it is cheating the public - "using its ignorance, steal that special pleasure, which distinguishes the state of mind in front of a work of art from the state in front of unfolded printed page. And continued to exercise in the transfer of images and forms with the help of decaying into separate structures of daubs, through which his paintings became unusually expressive and instantly recognizable.
Author: Natalia Azarenko
Vrubel's inclinations for creativity made themselves felt at the age of ten: the boy was interested in drawing, as well as music and theatrical art. His interests were encouraged, and Mikhail engaged in private drawing lessons with a specially invited from Saratov gymnasium teacher.
In 1874 Vrubel entered the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University. During his studies he continued to practice painting and also worked part-time as a tutor and governess. This is how he came to the home of his fellow student, the Pampel family of sugar farmers. They are actively interested in art and contributed to the creative work Vrubel. He developed friendships with art students and even began to attend evening classes at the Academy.
After graduating from university Vrubel still could not abandon the in-depth study of painting and became a student at the Academy of Fine Arts. A significant influence on his author's style had the classes of Professor Petra Chistyakov. His students at different times were also Polenov and Repin, Surikov and Vasnetsov, Serov and other artists. Vrubel were consonant with the convictions of the professor. He wrote to his sister Anna in 1883: "When I started classes at Chistyakov, I liked his main provisions, because they were nothing like the formula of my living relationship to nature, which I invested".
Chistyakov preached the work of the artist primarily not with color, but with form. He taught to begin drawing with structural analysis of an object, dividing it into several plans (planes). Then to build its volume form with lines, having designated thus the geometry in space. Each individual stroke must transmit this or that aspect of form, and the junction of individual planes - their relationship with each other.
This approach formed the basis of Vrubel's creative method and in time evolved into his trademark "crystal-like" technique. Its rudiments can already be seen in an early self-portrait in 1882. He conveys the relief of the face and locks of hair with light brush strokes, leaving the lighter areas of the paper untouched. He also took watercolor classes in the studio Ilya RepinHowever, the student's artistic vision clashed with his teacher's fidelity to the ideas of realism.
In particular, the decisive moment was Vrubel's impression of Repin's paintingReligious procession in Kursk province" (1880 - 1883). In a letter to his sister, he said that it is cheating the public - "using its ignorance, steal that special pleasure, which distinguishes the state of mind in front of a work of art from the state in front of unfolded printed page. And continued to exercise in the transfer of images and forms with the help of decaying into separate structures of daubs, through which his paintings became unusually expressive and instantly recognizable.
Author: Natalia Azarenko
