“Moonlit Night on the Dnieper”: the mystical power and tragic fate of Arkhip Kuindzhi’s painting. “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper” painting by Kuindzhi

The tragic fate of "Moonlit Night on the Dnieper" October 18th, 2016

« Moonlight night on the Dnieper" (1880) - one of the most famous paintings Arkhip Kuindzhi. This work created a real sensation and acquired mystical fame. Many did not believe that the light of the moon could be conveyed in this way only artistic means, and looked behind the canvas, looking for a lamp there. Many stood silently for hours in front of the painting, and then left in tears. Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich bought “Moonlit Night” for his personal collection and took it with him everywhere, which had tragic consequences.

Which? This is what we are about to find out...

In the summer and autumn of 1880, during the break with the Wanderers, A.I. Kuindzhi worked on new picture. By Russian capital Rumors spread about the enchanting beauty of “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper.” For two hours on Sundays, the artist opened the doors of his studio to everyone, and the St. Petersburg public began to besiege it long before the completion of the work. This painting gained truly legendary fame. I.S. Turgenev and Ya. Polonsky, I. Kramskoy and P. Chistyakov, D.I. Mendelev came to the workshop of A.I. Kuindzhi, and the famous publisher and collector K.T. Soldatenkov had an eye on the painting. Directly from the workshop, even before the exhibition, “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper” was bought by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich for huge money. And then the painting was exhibited in St. Petersburg. This was the first exhibition of one painting in Russia.

The work was exhibited in a separate hall of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists on Bolshaya Morskaya. The hall was not illuminated, only a bright electric beam fell on the picture. This deepened the image even more, and Moonlight became simply dazzling. And decades later, witnesses of this triumph continued to recall the shock experienced by the audience who “got” the picture. It is the “worthy ones” - in exhibition days Bolshaya Morskaya was tightly packed with carriages, and a long queue lined up at the doors to the building and people waited for hours to see this extraordinary work. To avoid crowding, the public was allowed into the hall in groups.

Roerich also found Maxim’s servant alive, who received rubles (!) from those who tried to get to the painting out of turn. Artist's performance with personal exhibition, and even consisting of only one small painting, was an unusual event. Moreover, this picture did not interpret some unusual historical plot, but a landscape of a very modest size. But A.I. Kuindzhi knew how to win. The success exceeded all expectations and turned into a real sensation.

A.I. Kuindzhi was always very attentive to the display of his paintings, placing them so that they were well lit, so that they were not disturbed by neighboring paintings. This time “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper” hung on the wall alone. Knowing that the effect of moonlight would be fully manifested under artificial lighting, the artist ordered the windows in the hall to be draped and the painting illuminated with a beam of electric light focused on it. Visitors entered the dimly lit hall and, spellbound, stood before the cold glow of moonlight. A wide space stretching into the distance opened up before the audience; The plain, crossed by a greenish ribbon of a quiet river, almost merges at the horizon with a dark sky covered with rows of light clouds. In the heights they parted slightly, and the moon looked through the resulting window, illuminating the Dnieper, the huts and the web of paths on the near bank.

And everything in nature fell silent, enchanted by the wonderful radiance of the sky and the Dnieper waters. The sparkling silver-greenish disk of the moon flooded the earth immersed in the peace of the night with its mysterious phosphorescent light. It was so strong that some of the spectators tried to look behind the picture to find a lantern or lamp. But there was no lamp, and the moon continued to emit its bewitching, mysterious light. The waters of the Dnieper reflect this light like a smooth mirror, and the walls of Ukrainian huts turn white from the velvety blue of the night. This majestic spectacle still immerses viewers in thoughts about eternity and the enduring beauty of the world. So, before A.I. Kuindzhi, only the great N.V. Gogol sang about nature. The number of sincere admirers of A.I. Kuindzhi’s talent grew, rare person could remain indifferent in front of this picture, which seemed like witchcraft.

A.I. Kuindzhi depicts the celestial sphere as majestic and eternal, striking viewers with the power of the Universe, its immensity and solemnity. Numerous attributes of the landscape - huts creeping along the slope, bushy trees, gnarled stems of tartar - are absorbed in darkness, their color is dissolved in a brown tone. The bright silver light of the moon is shaded by depth of blue color. With his phosphorescence, he transforms the traditional motif with the moon into one so rare, meaningful, attractive and mysterious that it transforms into poetically excited delight. There have even been suggestions about some unusual colors and even about strange ones artistic techniques, which the artist allegedly used. Rumors of a secret artistic method A.I. Kuindzhi, the secret of his colors was talked about even during the artist’s lifetime, some tried to catch him in tricks, even in connection with evil spirits. Perhaps this happened because A.I. Kuindzhi focused his efforts on the illusory transmission of the real the effect of lighting, in search of such a composition of the picture that would allow the most convincing expression of the feeling of broad spatiality.

Famous artist Arkhip Kuindzhi, 1907

And he coped with these tasks brilliantly. In addition, the artist defeated everyone in distinguishing the slightest changes in color and light relationships (for example, even during experiments with a special device that were carried out by D.I. Mendeleev and others). Some have claimed the use chemical compositions based on phosphorus. However, this is not entirely true. The unusual color structure of the canvas plays a decisive role in creating an impression. Applying in a painting additional colors, reinforcing each other, the artist achieves the incredible effect of the illusion of lunar color. True, it is known that experiments did take place. Kuindzhi intensively used bitumen paints, but did not use phosphorus. Unfortunately, due to the careless mixing of chemically incompatible paints, the canvas became very dark.

When creating this canvas, A.I. Kuindzhi used a complex painting technique. For example, he contrasted the warm reddish tone of the earth with cold silvery shades and thereby deepened the space, and small dark strokes in the illuminated areas created a feeling of vibrating light. All newspapers and magazines responded to the exhibition with enthusiastic articles, and reproductions of “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper” were sold in thousands of copies throughout Russia. The poet Ya. Polonsky, a friend of A.I. Kuindzhi, wrote then: “I positively don’t remember standing in front of any picture for so long... What is this? Picture or reality? In a gold frame or open window Have we seen this month, these clouds, this dark distance, these “trembling lights of sad villages” and these shimmers of light, this silvery reflection of the month in the streams of the Dnieper, skirting the distance, this poetic, quiet, majestic night? The poet K. Fofanov wrote the poem “Night on the Dnieper,” which was later set to music.

The audience was delighted by the illusion of natural moonlight, and people, according to I.E. Repin, standing in “prayerful silence” in front of the canvas by A.I. Kuindzhi, left the hall with tears in their eyes: “This is how the artist’s poetic charms acted on the chosen ones believers, and they lived in such moments with the best feelings of the soul and enjoyed the heavenly bliss of the art of painting.” The poet Ya. Polonsky was surprised: “I honestly don’t remember standing in front of any painting for so long... What is this? Picture or reality? And the poet K. Fofanov, impressed by this painting, wrote the poem “Night on the Dnieper,” which was later set to music.

I. Kramskoy foresaw the fate of the canvas: “Perhaps Kuindzhi combined together such colors that are in natural antagonism with each other and after a certain time will either go out, or change and decompose to the point that descendants will shrug their shoulders in bewilderment: why did they come to the delight of the good-natured spectators? So, in order to avoid such unfair treatment in the future, I would not mind drawing up, so to speak, a protocol that his “Night on the Dnieper” is all filled with real light and air, and the sky is real, bottomless, deep.”

Unfortunately, our contemporaries cannot fully appreciate the original effect of the painting, since it has survived to our times in a distorted form. And the reason for this is the special attitude towards the canvas of its owner, Grand Duke Constantine.

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, who bought the painting, did not want to part with the canvas, even going to trip around the world. I.S. Turgenev, who was in Paris at that time (in January 1881), was horrified by this thought, about which he indignantly wrote to the writer D.V. Grigorovich: “There is no doubt that the painting... will return completely ruined , thanks to the salty vapors of the air, etc.” He even visited the Grand Duke in Paris while his frigate was in the port of Cherbourg, and persuaded him to send the painting to Paris for a short time.

I.S. Turgenev hoped that he would be able to persuade him to leave the painting at the exhibition in the Zedelmeyer Gallery, but he failed to persuade the prince. The humid, salt-saturated sea air, of course, negatively affected the composition of the colors, and the landscape began to darken. But the lunar ripples on the river and the radiance of the moon itself are conveyed by the genius A.I. Kuindzhi with such power that, looking at the picture even now, viewers immediately fall under the power of the eternal and Divine.

In fairness, it should be noted that due to the enormous popularity of the painting, Kuindzhi created two more copies of Moonlight Night; the first painting is kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery, another is located in the Livadia Palace in Yalta and the third in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

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When I first saw this picture, I stood rooted to the spot at the entrance to the hall of the Russian Museum. I couldn’t take my eyes off the small painting on the wall, as if it was glowing and therefore alluring. People crowded around her and heatedly discussed the effect.

It seems like nothing special. The plot is like a plot. Night, river, moon, lunar path. But the same effect internal source The lights just drove me crazy. I couldn’t forget it for a long time, and a year ago, while in St. Petersburg, I spent a long time looking for it in the Russian Museum. And I found it in my native Moscow in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Reproduction or photographs will not give such an effect. You need to watch her live.

Yes, of course, we studied the work of this artist.

He lived in an era traveling exhibitions, even took part in one of the exhibitions, but from some point on he kept himself somewhat aloof. Having left the Partnership, but without spoiling relations with it, Kuindzhi organized in 1880 for the first time in Russia an exhibition of one artist, and, moreover, not yet a cycle of works, but only one painting. It was a bold, perhaps even daring, innovation. The much acclaimed “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper” was exhibited. Rumors circulated around the city even before the exhibition. At first, the painting could be seen in Kuindzhi’s workshop, where he allowed the public on Sundays for two hours. Then the painting was exhibited at the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, and all of enlightened St. Petersburg besieged its premises for days on end. It is difficult to imagine a greater triumph for the artist. Not only critics wrote about this picture, but also the scientist D.I. Mendeleev, poet Ya.P. Polonsky. “What a storm of delight Kuindzhi raised! Kramskoy. The canvas was purchased directly from the workshop by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich.

His student was Nicholas Roerich. Not surprising, right? The same style of local fills with color, the same internal mysticism of a seemingly simple plot.

In Markhi we studied another painting of his as one that most accurately conveys his style. This is "Birch Grove". And to this day, when I find myself among the birches on a bright sunny day, I see that picture in front of me. Tree trunks, a sunlit green lawn, a thin stream. Nothing special. But that’s where the magic lies when ordinary things Unusual phenomena begin to appear.

Let's go back ten years before the appearance of the painting with the mystical moon.

Kuindzhi was born in Mariupol into the family of a poor Greek shoemaker. Twice in the early 1860s he tried to enter the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, and he was not accepted. Only in 1868 he became an auditor

The influence of the great Aivazovsky marked Kuindzhi’s first works, many of which have not survived. Studying at the Academy of Arts, meeting I.N. Kramskoy and I.E. Repin laid the foundation for realistic perception. But in 1876, he dramatically changed his style, presenting the painting “Ukrainian Night,” in which he managed to convey the sensory perception of a southern summer night.

Numerous accusations of simplifying the canvas, clumsy colors - that’s what he faced. Like any creative person, following her own path.but the listener. The influence of the great Aivazovsky marked Kuindzhi’s first works, many of which have not survived. Studying at the Academy of Arts, meeting I.N. Kramskoy and I.E. Repin laid the foundation for realistic perception. But in 1876, he dramatically changed his style, presenting the painting “Ukrainian Night,” in which he managed to convey the sensory perception of a southern summer night.

In area life tasks Kuindzhi left important bequests to Russian artists. As an example throughout his life, Kuindzhi called for protecting oneself from any captivity, called to serve - as he himself served all his life - to free art, called to defend the freedom of creativity.

Information about Arkhip Kuindzhi’s childhood is very fragmentary and incomplete. Even the date of his birth is not known reliably. A few documents have survived, on the basis of which researchers of Kuindzhi’s biography call his birthday January 15, 1841. This event took place in a suburb of Mariupol called Karasu.

Talent and Poverty (1841-1854)

It is believed that the artist’s ancestors were Greeks who lived in Crimea in close proximity to the Tatars. There was a gradual interpenetration of cultures, erased language barrier, mixed marriages arose. Therefore, it is quite possible that there is Tatar blood in Kuindzhi’s family, although the artist himself always said that he considered himself Russian.

The surname “Kuindzhi” (in the original transcription Kuyumdzhi) in the Tatar language means the name of the craft: “goldsmith”. It is known that the artist’s grandfather was indeed a jeweler. Brother Arkhipa translated his surname into Russian and became Zolotarev.

The birth of a talented child in a poor family does not promise him any privileges. Kuindzhi's father, Ivan Khristoforovich, was a shoemaker and could not provide his children with prosperity. When Arkhip was three years old, his father suddenly died. The mother lived very short after this. The little orphans were left in the care of Father Kuindzhi’s brother and sister, who took turns taking care of them as best they could.

Thanks to the support of his relatives, the boy learned to read and write, studying with a familiar Greek teacher, and later briefly attended the local city school. He did not like studying there and found it very difficult. It was during this period that his drawing abilities first clearly manifested themselves. Getting carried away, the kid drew not only on random scraps of paper, but also on furniture or a fence. This activity brought him genuine joy.

Poverty forced him to work as a shepherd, as an assistant to a grain merchant, or as a brick counter during the construction of a church. But drawing was still his main passion. This continued until 1855, when one of the adults, noticing the boy’s talent, advised him to go and study drawing with Aivazovsky, in Feodosia. Arkhip Kuindzhi made this long journey on foot, since he had nothing to pay for the journey.

New turn (1855-1859)

Crimean landscapes captured the imagination of an impressionable teenager. Aivazovsky was absent at that time, so his copyist, Adolf Fessler, out of the kindness of his heart, took part in the fate of young Arkhip. He taught him his first real drawing lessons. For poor and shy Arkhip, this meant that he had hope of becoming an artist.

He stayed in Feodosia for several months. Aivazovsky’s daughter in her memoirs described him as a short, very curly-haired boy in a straw hat, very quiet and shy.

Aivazovsky himself, upon returning to Feodosia, failed to recognize Kuindzhi’s talent and did not begin to study with him. True, he entrusted him with mixing paints and painting his fence. Disappointed and depressed by this turn of events, the young man returns home.

Luck on the third try (1860-1868)

IN hometown Kuindzhi works for several months as a retoucher for a photographer, and later goes in search of work, first to Odessa, and from there to Taganrog. This city greeted him more welcomingly. Arkhip is hired into the photo studio of S.S. Isakovich, again as a retoucher. And he continues to draw.

Having finally realized that he would not be able to realize his dream in such conditions, Kuindzhi gave up everything and moved to St. Petersburg, where he tried to enter the Academy of Arts. However, fate gave him a new grimace - failure in the exams. The second attempt was also unsuccessful.

But talent and love for painting required an outlet and pushed me to overcome obstacles. Kuindzhi persistently painted and in 1868 exhibited his first painting entitled “Tatar hut in the Crimea.” This work gives him access to the Academy of Arts, where he is enrolled as a volunteer student.

During this fertile period, Kuindzhi creates incredibly poignant paintings “Autumn thaw”, “Forgotten village” and “Chumatsky tract in Mariupol”.

They are painted in an innovative manner. Carefully selected shades very accurately convey the gloom and dullness of the bleak landscapes. The unusual colors and special play of shadows greatly impressed the audience, but they received mixed assessment among artists.

"Northern" period (1869-1873)

Kuindzhi was very attracted to working on landscapes. He developed his own special technique for applying paints, which made it possible to create such unusual visual illusions that his friends called him a hoaxer behind his back.

Inspired by the views of northern nature, the artist in a short period created such masterpieces as “Lake Ladoga”, “Snow”, “On the Island of Valaam”, “ Saint Isaac's Cathedral under moonlight."

Again a turn and a meteoric rise (1874-1881)

In 1874, the life of Arkhip Kuindzhi received new content: the artist married Vera Leontyevna Ketcherdzhi. He was in love with her since teenage years. Previously, this marriage was impossible due to Kuindzhi’s extreme poverty and the rich origin of the bride.

Now the sale of paintings has made the artist a wealthy person. He was able to visit England, France, Austria, Switzerland and other countries to get acquainted with various schools of painting.

A new, more joyful period of life has arrived. And the artist’s paintings acquired a different tone. “Birch Grove”, “Dnieper in the Morning”, “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper”, “Ukrainian Night” written at that time made an incredible impression on the public.

Bright, almost decorative game the colors made the paintings simply glow. Some even tried to look behind the canvas to make sure there was no artificial moonlight. Kuindzhi's contemporary, poet Ya. Polonsky, looking at the paintings, wondered in bewilderment: is this a painting or a window frame, behind which a landscape of incomprehensible beauty opens?

Silence of a Genius (1882-1910)

After such a resounding success, Kuindzhi’s friends reasonably expected new paintings and subjects. But the artist has his own logic - he stopped exhibitions for 20 years. At this time, he continued to write, study literature, tutor students, and build a dacha in Crimea.

Despite his active and touchy character, Arkhip Kuindzhi was reputed to be very kind person. He constantly and free of charge supported his students with money and established prizes for the best young artists. His kindness also extended to animals and birds.

From the written memoirs of the artist’s contemporaries it is known that every day around noon he went out into the yard to feed the birds. Already accustomed to such a ritual, sparrows, crows, doves and other winged brethren flocked to him. The birds were not afraid of him at all, they sat on his hands, which only made the owner happy.

In 1901, Kuindzhi broke his “silence” by presenting new masterpieces to the discerning public: “Evening in Ukraine”, the theological plot “Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane” and new option"Birch Grove" They still excite and fascinate the viewer, captivating the eye for a long time.

He did not exhibit again and many of his paintings became known only after his death. Died genius artist July 11, 1910. The cause of death was a diseased heart.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. After the rain.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Sea. Crimea.

Brought this amazing picture Arkhip Ivanovich pafter a trip to Ukraine and exhibited one painting at a personal exhibition. People entered a darkened room where only the painting was illuminated. The moon was shining over the river! The audience could not understand where

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Dnieper in the morning.

The calmness of the azure waters of the painting “Lake Ladoga” was transmitted to the viewer, leaving an indelible impression.

The painting “The Forgotten Village,” despite the nagging feeling of seeing the hopeless Russian reality, still left a feeling of hope and faith that all this is temporary and will soon change for the better.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Rainbow.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Night.

Registration number 0222764 issued for the work:

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Portrait by I.E. Repina.

Arkhip Kuindzhi was born in Mariupol into a poor Greek familyshoemaker Having a passion for drawing, he went to Feodosia and triedbecame a student of Ivan Aivazovsky, but only rubbed paints with him for two months.Having changed several professions, Arkhip Kuindzhi came to St. Petersburg and after three unsuccessful attempts he was accepted into the Imperial Academy of Arts as a volunteer. But he was not a diligent student at the academy and often skipped classes. Having painted several interesting paintings, he was noticed by the Itinerant artistsIvan Repin and Ivan Kramskoy were invited to join the partnership of traveling exhibitions. Arkhip Kuindzhi left the academy. A paradox of fate: at first they did not want to admit him to the academy, but many years later the academy invited Arkhip Kuindzhi to join the ranks of its teachers.Arkhip Kuindzhi had a good time with the Itinerants for almost 10 years, his paintings were sold at very high prices, but then he had a conflict with Mikhail Klodt and he left the artel.Arkhip Kuindzhi was not a man of the best manners. He looked somewhat fierce. He was squat, his head was like that of Olympian Zeus with an aquiline nose. He came, sat down and unceremoniously, without asking, took other people’s cigarettes, for he never had his own, although by that time he was a professor at the Academy of Arts.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. After the rain.

His paintings sold well, and he was not a poor man. Visited Arkhip Ivanovichbusiness acumen. One day he bought a house for twenty thousand rubles, brought it into exemplary condition and resold it on the spot for sixty thousand rubles.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Ukrainian night.

But he and his wife spend an insignificant amount of fifty kopecks a day on food. Part of the money is spent in scanty amounts on paints, brushes and a workshop. But this was not stinginess. Arkhip Kuindzhi spent all his huge money on talented students, sending them to study abroad. He paid for sick people to travel to medical resorts. He helped free of charge anyone who was in trouble. Arkhip Ivanovich was a holy man, with a bright soul and a noble heart.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Sea. Crimea.

Having accumulated one hundred thousand rubles, Arkhip Ivanovich contributes them to the Academy so that the interest on this money can be used as a bonus for the most talented students.After one of his trips to the island of Valaam, Kuindzhi painted a wonderful pictureabout the magnificent nature of the north. The painting was purchased by Tretyakov for his gallery.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. On the island of Valaam.

The world around us is perceived and created by Kuindzhi as a grandiose creation of nature,giving, upon contemplation, sublime, colorful associations of the pleasures of perfectionand harmony. The pinnacle of Kuindzhi's creativity was amazing picture: “Moonlit night on the Dnieper.”

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Moonlit night on the Dnieper.

After a trip to Ukraine, Arkhip Ivanovich brought back an amazing painting - “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper”. It was a personal exhibition of one painting. People entered a darkened room where only the painting was illuminated. The moon was shining over the river! The audience could not understand wherethe moon on the canvas may have a glow. Some people looked behind the painting in the hope of seeing a backlight there. There was a huge line of people waiting to see the glowing moon.in the picture. Even the artists were amazed by the picture. No one could understand how Kuindzhi painted the moon and its reflection in the water. It seemed to everyone that it was a small but real moon, glowing with its light, hanging over the canvas.

His other Ukrainian painting“Dnieper in the Morning” pacified the audience at the next exhibition of the Itinerants with its space, breadth, and immense hazy distances.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Dnieper in the morning.

IN next picture the Chumatsky highway along which Arkhip got to Feodosia is presented. Along the sodden road, watered by rain, convoys of Chumaks moved to the melancholy howl of dogs.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Chumatsky tract.

The calm and tranquility of the painting “Lake Ladoga” was conveyed to the viewer, leaving an indelible impression.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Ladoga lake.

In the film “Autumn Thrush” Arkhip Kuindzhi managed to show realistic picture The main Russian problem is roads. Cover the entire vastness of Russia good roads– it’s almost impossible. Movement is especially difficult in rainy weather, when carts often get stuck in impassable mud up to their hubs, when pedestrians pull their legs out of the muddy mud with a champing sound, when such a road has already taken all their strength and it seems that this road has no end, and only forces them to move along it. cruel necessity.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Autumn thaw.

The approaching twilight in the painting “Steppe in the Evening” shaded the just sultry steppelandscape, a few houses and the calm, tranquil surface of the river, quietly carrying its waters. A little more and the darkness of the night will give coolness and sleep to this secluded, godforsaken land.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Steppe in the evening.

Arkhip Kuindzhi with a friend, working atCaucasus, witnessed the rarestmountain phenomenon – Brocken ghosts,

which delighted them. Rainbowthe artists' image appeared on the cloud.The low sun cast light from behind

artists on a foggy cloud, clearlyhighlighting two lonely figures on itartists, as if favorably encouraging

and inspiring them to create a masterpiece. And a masterpiecetook place! There was only one pity: thisthe mystical miracle of nature melted earlier,than they managed to transfer it to the canvas.

Brocken ghosts. (modern reconstruction).

The painting “Elbrus in the Evening” delighted viewers, fascinated by the grandeur and beauty of the Caucasus.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Elbrus in the evening.

The painting “The Forgotten Village,” despite the nagging feeling of seeing the hopeless Russian reality, still left a feeling of hope and faith that all this is temporary and will soon change for the better.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Forgotten village.

Arkhip Kuindzhi's paintings were most often sold out even before the exhibition. Collectors paid top dollar for some paintings. " Birch grove» millionaire from Kyiv bought for 7thousand rubles, while portraits of Ivan Kramskoy cost 800 - 900 hundred rubles, and the works of other artists cost even less.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Birch Grove.

The noble heart of Arkhip Ivanovich could not stand rudeness and injustice. When the Academy refused Isaac Brodsky a trip abroad as a Jew, Arkhip Ivanovich slammed his fist on the table and left the meeting in protest. At his own expense, he sent Brodsky to Italy, and with him 16 of his best students.

Kuindzhi wrote a lot beautiful paintings, but he was primarily a poet of the night landscape.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Daryal Gorge.

Arkhip Ivanovich was friends with Dmitry Mendeleev. The great chemist loved painting, artists, and once presented his device for measuring the sensitivity of the eye to the subtle nuances of color shades.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Evening in Little Russia.

Arkhip Kuindzhi broke all test records to perfect accuracy.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Rainbow.

Arkhip Ivanovich loved not only people, but also birds. This was the artist’s weakness, which was mocked by careless caricaturists. Exactly at noon, by the sound of an artillery gunPeter and Paul Fortress, Arkhip Ivanovich went out onto the roof of his house and fed the birds from his hands. Thousands of birds flocked from all over the area in advance, they covered their breadwinner from head to toe. It was impressive: a gray-haired man, beaming with happiness, shared with the chirping and croaking feathered brethren his daily bread, which he got through hard, backbreaking labor. Arkhip Ivanovich fed the birds, he took some of them in his hands, and they were not afraid of him at all, loving their benefactor and trusting him. From one hand this noble man Both huge crows and small birds pecked the food, and no one offended anyone. Quite a lot of money was spent on feeding the birds every day. white bread, cereals and meat for crows. Isn't this an example of God's attitude towards each other? He picked up sick and frozen crows, jackdaws and sparrows, dragged them into the house, warmed them up and, having cured them, released them into the wild. One day she flew into Kuindzhi's workshopa urticaria butterfly with a torn wing, so Arkhip Ivanovich taped up the butterfly’s wing and released it into the wild.

Arkhip Kuindzhi had a special love for nature. He was afraid to trample the grass, avoided accidentally crushing a beetle, a caterpillar, or even a barely noticeable ant. It was touching to see how the elderlyThe man, groaning, cleared the source and carefully transplanted a bunch of grass to another place.Arkhip Ivanovich was also kind to people, giving money to everyone in need. And he loved to do his good deeds in such a way that the recipient did not know where the help came from. The generosity of his soul knew no bounds. Acquired through backbreaking labor and personal hardshipsArkhip Ivanovich bequeathed his million-dollar fortune to the independent Society of Artists, which he created in last years life.

Arkhip Kuindzhi. Night.

But having reached the pinnacle of his fame, Kuindzhi suddenly stopped exhibiting, saying that he could no longer create anything significant. And he didn’t show anything to anyone for twenty years, although, as he said, he was working and looking for new approaches in painting, not wanting to repeat himself. And one day, friends, having gotten the great master drunk, persuaded him to show his work of the last twenty years. And in vain they gave me a drink - it was a complete disappointment. The author of Moonlit Night on the Dnieper really had nothing more to show. The impression was as if he had been crucified naked on a cross. And this was also the great merit of Arkhip Kuindzhi: if there are no worthy new paintings, then you must have the courage and not exhibit. Not everyone is capable of such a feat...

Target: Reveal the figurative and meaningful meaning of A. I. Kuindzhi’s painting “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper”

Lesson objectives:

• analyze one of the best paintings by the outstanding Russian artist A.I. Kuindzhi, highlight the originality of his work;
• developing children's analytical abilities expressive means landscape painting and compositional construction paintings, imaginative thinking;
• development of aesthetic taste and creativity students when perceiving works of art.

Methodical recommendations: This lesson is an integral part of the lessons devoted to the analysis and perception of works landscape painting. It is necessary to organize the work in the lesson in such a way that it is communication with art and true beauty. And this can only be done by using a variety of forms and methods of teaching and, of course, using ICT. The lesson is structured taking into account the use of ICT. When preparing for a lesson, it is appropriate (yes, probably necessary!) to use a m/m presentation. I believe that a presentation compiled in Power Point format incorporates everything: clarity, colorfulness, and accessibility. It allows you to analyze the painting in detail and follow the stages of the artist’s work. When preparing for the lesson, you can use the text and illustrative material from the disc “Masterpieces of Russian Painting.” If it is not possible to present this lesson using computer technology, then you can use illustrative material from the “Appendix” folder.

Lesson design: m/m Power presentation Point “The story of one painting. Master of wondrous light. A. Kuindzhi”, disc “Masterpieces of Russian Painting”, illustrative material.

Epigraph: “Kuindzhi is an artist of light. Light is charm, and the power of light, and its illusion were his goal. Of course, the whole essence of this phenomenon lay in Kuindzhi himself, in his phenomenality, personal innate originality. He listened only to his genius - the demon... "I. E. Repin

Teacher's opening speech

An artist cannot create if his soul is dead and his heart is cold. He will not be a painter or sculptor if his feelings do not perceive the colors of life, the harmony of nature, if he is not touched by the fate of people.

Leonardo da Vinci called painting “silent poetry.” The picture is silent. Sounds and words are only assumed by the viewer. The picture is motionless. A true artist does not copy reality, but reproduces and interprets it in its own way.

In Russia, nature has always been a muse, both for poets and artists.

Regardless of the artist’s style, his technique or imagination, a landscape painted from life by the hand of a master will always be more than just a frozen moment or a beautiful view - such work “lives” outside of time and place.

Why are great works of art so valued by people and never die? This is the question that you and I must answer during today's lesson.

1. Biography of the artist

On January 27, 1842, Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi was born in Mariupol into the family of a poor shoemaker, Greek by nationality. The surname Kuindzhi was given to him by his grandfather’s nickname, which in Tatar means “goldsmith.” It is curious that the artist’s elder brother actually Russified this surname and began to call himself Spiridon Zolotarev.

Having been orphaned early, the boy lived with relatives and worked for strangers.

His love for drawing manifested itself in childhood; he drew everywhere he could - on the walls of houses, fences, scraps of paper. In Feodosia he met Aivazovsky. According to the documents, Kuindzhi was listed as a “student of Aivazovsky’s school.” There is a certificate issued to “a student of Professor Aivazovsky’s school, Arkhip Kuindzhi, that for his good knowledge of landscape painting, the Academy Council ... recognized him as worthy of the title of free artist.”

Due to poor artistic preparation, he took exams twice and failed twice. In 1868, he presented the painting “Tatar Saklya” at an academic exhibition, for which he received the title of non-class artist. In the same year he was accepted as a volunteer student at the Academy.

The 1882 exhibition was the last for the artist. There followed many years of silence.

In 1898, Kuindzhi, at his own expense, organized a trip abroad for young artists (the childless Kuindzhi treated his students as his own children) and donated one hundred thousand rubles to the Academy for this purpose. When the students decided to create a Society named after A.I. Kuindzhi, the artist transferred into his ownership all the paintings he had and cash, as well as the lands belonging to him in Crimea.

One of his students, Nicholas Roerich, characterized the grandiose personality of his teacher: “The whole cultural Russia knew Kuindzhi. Even the attacks made this name even more significant. They know about Kuindzhi - a great, original artist. They know how, after unprecedented success, he stopped exhibiting; worked for myself. He is known as a friend of youth and a mourner for the disadvantaged. They know him as a glorious dreamer in an effort to embrace the great and reconcile everyone, who gave away his entire million-dollar fortune. They are known as a strict critic.”

Every great master, introducing the viewer to Beauty, puts certain ideas into his works, creates certain forms, in which these ideas are clothed.

What did Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi saturate his canvases with, what do his landscapes “say”?

Looking at the artist’s paintings, even a superficial viewer feels the unusualness of the light depicted in them. “The illusion of light was his god, and there was no artist equal to him in achieving this miracle of painting,” I.E. wrote about Kuindzhi. Repin.

Kuindzhi was extremely popular during his lifetime. Collectors, ready to pay any money for his paintings, literally hunted for them. Repin recalled: “There were those who, on their knees, begged the author to give them some painting or, finally, a sketch of his work. Let the artist take whatever he wants, they are not rich, but they will pay him in installments, how much he charges for his brushstroke, sketch or a sketch..." A special fate was in store for the painting "Moonlit Night on the Dnieper". (You can talk to the children about the first impression the painting made on them, and then begin to analyze the painting.)

2. Kuindzhi A. “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper.” Commentary on the analysis of the picture.

In the summer and autumn of 1880 A.I. Kuindzhi was working on a new painting. Rumors spread throughout the Russian capital about the enchanting beauty of “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper.” For two hours on Sundays, the artist opened the doors of his workshop to those who wished.

This picture has gained truly legendary fame.

To the workshop of A.I. Kuindzhi came to I.S. Turgenev and Y. Polonsky, I. Kramskoy and, D.I. Mendeleev. “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper” was sold while still smelling of fresh paint, right in the workshop. One Sunday someone inquired about its price. Marine officer. “Why do you need it? - Kuindzhi shrugged. “You won’t buy it anyway: it’s expensive.” - “But still?” “Yes, five thousand,” said Arkhip Ivanovich, an incredible amount for those times, almost a fantastic amount. And suddenly I heard in response: “Okay. I leave it behind.” And only after the officer left the artist learned that he had visited Grand Duke Konstantin.

He had been working towards this picture for a long time. I went to the Dnieper, perhaps, precisely for this story. For days, weeks, Kuindzhi almost did not leave the workshop. The work was so engrossing that even Vera Leontyevna, like a recluse, brought lunch upstairs. The intended picture, shimmering and alive, stood before the artist’s eyes. I worked on it throughout the fall and winter. In the spring I finished my unusual creation.

The memoirs of Kuindzhi’s wife are interesting: “Kuindzhi woke up at night. A thought like an insight: “What if... “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper” was shown in a dark room?!” He jumped up, lit the kerosene lamp and, shuffling with his slippers, ran up the stairs to the workshop. There he lit another lamp and placed them both on the floor at the edges of the picture. The effect was striking: the space in the picture expanded, the moon shone surrounded by a flickering radiance, the Dnieper played with its reflection. Everything is like in life, but more beautiful, more sublime.

Arkhip Ivanovich placed a chair at what he considered to be the right distance, sat down, leaned back and looked and looked until it was dawn outside the huge window. Amazed by the effect he found, he knew that he had to show “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper” in a dark hall, alone...”

The painting was exhibited on Bolshaya Morskaya Street in St. Petersburg. The artist’s performance with a personal exhibition, and even consisting of only one small painting, was an unusual event. Moreover, this picture did not interpret some unusual historical plot, but was a landscape of a very modest size (105 x 144).

Knowing that the effect of moonlight would be fully manifested under artificial lighting, the artist ordered the windows in the hall to be draped and the painting illuminated with a beam of electric light focused on it. Visitors entered the dimly lit hall and, as if enchanted, stood before the cold glow of moonlight. Kuindzhi knew how to win. Long lines lined the street and people waited for hours to see the painting. To avoid crowding, the public was allowed into the hall in groups. Arkhip Ivanovich restored order and established a queue. His non-Russian surname, thick black beard, and eyes glowing with happiness turned him into a mythical magician and sorcerer, dressed in a secular costume.

What was revealed to the audience? What fascinated them? What attracted their attention first? What adjectives can be chosen to describe the landscape? (calm, sad, wide)

A wide space stretching into the distance opened up before the audience; The plain, crossed by a greenish ribbon of a quiet river, almost merges at the horizon with a dark sky covered with rows of light clouds. In the heights they parted slightly, and the moon looked through the resulting window, illuminating the Dnieper and the huts. And everything in nature became silent, enchanted by the wonderful radiance of the sky and the Dnieper waters. The world was forgotten in a peaceful sleep. The mighty, full-flowing Dnieper flows mysteriously and shines like fish scales. The clouds are floating, as if the moon is floating with them. The sparkling silver-greenish disk of the moon flooded the earth immersed in the peace of night with its mysterious light. It was so strong that some of the spectators tried to look behind the picture to find a lantern or lamp! But there was no lamp, and the moon continued to emit its bewitching, mysterious light.

The waters of the Dnieper reflect this light like a smooth mirror; the walls of Ukrainian huts turn white from the velvety blue of the night. This majestic spectacle still immerses viewers in thoughts about eternity and the enduring beauty of the world. So until A.I. Kuindzhi sang about nature only the great N.V. Gogol: “Wonderful is the Dnieper in calm weather, when it rushes freely and smoothly through forests and mountains full waters its own, neither rustles nor thunders. You look and don’t know whether its majestic width is walking or not.”

Pushkin’s lines echo the general mood of the picture:

Quiet Ukrainian night.
The sky is transparent. The stars are shining.
Overcome your drowsiness
Doesn't want air...
The moon is calm from above
Shines over the White Church...
And quiet, quiet all around...

3. Analysis of the painting “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper”

Let's try to break the picture into scenes or episodes and analyze them.

What is interesting about moonlight? Why does he attract our attention? (You can quote from “The Master and Margarita”) Moonlight is the most amazing thing in this picture. Its extreme naturalness is determined by its multi-layered glaze and the ability to use light and color contrasts.

glaze(transparent).

What is the moon an archetype of? Why is it needed?

archetypes

No houses are visible, only silhouettes are visible. The velvet of the night lies in the sky, blowing out the lights in the houses with dreams.

The moon tries not to disappear in order to save the souls of sleeping people and prevent eternal darkness from entering their hearts.

Can we draw a parallel between the moon and time? (Children's answers may be the most unexpected. Time flows through the clouds and flows like the moon, tying together the human daily cycle. Foreshadowing the end of the night and the beginning of the day.)

4. Commentary on the analysis of the picture

The bright silvery light of the moon is offset by the depth of blue, transforming the traditional moon motif into an attractive and mysterious one. There were even suggestions about some unusual colors and even strange artistic techniques that the artist allegedly used. Rumors about the secret of A.I.’s artistic method Kuindzhi, the secret of his colors was discussed even during the artist’s lifetime; some tried to catch him playing tricks, even in connection with evil spirits.

He succeeds in combining colors in such a way that in the picture, with the dark tones of the shores and sky, creates a feeling of the glow of the Moon. By moonlight He painted the flooded shore more than once. (You can show early paintings). Now I wrote the Moon! Typically, painters leave it behind the edge of the picture or draped in clouds. Kuindzhi wrote it at the moment when the clouds cleared for a short time.

The unusually effective rendering of moonlight, color contrasts, and compositional decorativeness of Kuindzhi’s paintings broke the old principles of painting. And all this was the result of his intense search. Kuindzhi was keenly interested in the works of professors at St. Petersburg University, physicist F. F. Petrushevsky and chemist D. I. Mendeleev. Petrushevsky studied painting technology, the relationship between primary and secondary colors. He conveyed all this to the audience of the Academy of Arts. Kuindzhi’s book “Light and Color in themselves and in relation to painting,” published in 1883, aroused particular interest. He himself constantly experimented with paints in his own workshop. Even the term “Kuindzh’s spot” appeared. Artists sought to unravel the secret of it color effects, and the public greeted each new work as a special event.

Repin talked about the lessons that D. Mendeleev gave to artists. In class, Mendeleev talked about physical properties paints One day he demonstrated a device that measured the sensitivity of the eye to subtle nuances of tones and invited them to “check it out.” Kuindzhi had no equal!

The public was delighted by the illusion of natural moonlight, and people, according to I.E. Repin, standing in “prayerful silence” in front of the canvas by A.I. Kuindzhi left the hall with tears in their eyes. Poet Ya. Polonsky, friend of A.I. Kuindzhi wrote then: “Positively, I don’t remember standing in front of any picture for so long... What is it? A picture or reality? In a golden frame or through an open window we saw this month, these clouds, this dark distance, these “trembling lights of sad villages” and these shimmers of light, this silvery reflection of the month in the streams of the Dnieper, skirting the distance, this poetic, quiet, majestic night?

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, who bought the painting, did not want to part with the canvas, even when going on a trip around the world. I.S. Turgenev, who was in Paris at that time (in January 1881), was horrified by this thought, which he wrote indignantly to the writer D.V. Grigorovich: “There is no doubt that the painting... will return completely destroyed, thanks to the salty fumes of the air, etc.” He even visited the Grand Duke in Paris while his frigate was in the port of Cherbourg, and hoped that he would be able to persuade him to leave the painting on display in the gallery, but he could not persuade the prince.

The humid, salt-saturated sea air, of course, negatively affected the composition of the colors, and the landscape began to darken. But the lunar ripples on the river and the radiance of the moon itself were conveyed by the brilliant A.I. Kuindzhi with such power that, looking at the picture even now, viewers immediately fall under the power of the eternal and Divine. (It is advisable to show both versions of the painting, stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Russian Museum. The difference is obvious!).

5. Analysis of fragments of the picture. (It is best to show enlarged fragments of the picture here)

The sky can be perceived as independent picture. It is the main compositional link. It carries moonlight, which connects the earth and sky into a single whole.

A windmill is a typical sign of a Ukrainian village. The human world and the natural world merge in this work into a holistic image, distinguished by philosophical depth and compositional thoughtfulness.

The surface of the river sparkles and sways as if alive - and here Kuidzhiev’s illusionism is evident!

The whitewashed walls of peasant huts mirror the moonlight, and in this interaction the earthly and heavenly are firmly connected.

What organizes the whole picture? What archetype can we talk about here? (rivers)

The movement of the river organizes the picture; its smooth bends expand and deepen the space. Against the backdrop of a river sparkling with moonlight, a windmill dear to Kuindzhi’s heart. A close-up in the shade, in the second there are several whitewashed huts. Treeless hills slope down to the river. Everything is ordinary, non-picturesque according to the concepts of most landscape painters.

Working with the “Painting Composition” scheme (Slide)

How else can you interpret the composition of the painting? What does she look like? (Yes, this is our earthly home!)

The painting “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper” can be read in different ways. This picture looks like time. The illuminated part of the river is the present, something we are always sure of. Water flows - the present is constantly moving towards the future. The foreground is the past. It recalls individual details: houses, a mill, gardens. Beyond the river is the future. It is unclear, but not scary. It fascinates and beckons. The moon is a beacon and lights the way there.

Yes, indeed, the solemn color of “Moonlit Night” set the mood for a high style, inspired philosophical thoughts about life, about earthly existence, about the heavenly world, as if calmed down in the slow passage of time.

The artist's plastic novelty lies in achieving the ultimate illusion of light. This effect was achieved thanks to multi-layer glaze painting, light and color contrast. Kuindzhi also used additional colors in this painting. The warm color of the earth sets off the cold, emerald reflection of moonlight on the surface of the Dnieper. The entire image is built on calm parallels, only broken here and there by verticals. The extraordinary balance of the composition imparts a smooth flow to the color, as if bewitching a person in the languid outpouring of his soul.

The mood of the picture, its glaze imposed on us? (This picture creates an amazing, fantastic mood, anticipation of an adventure. This is not dawn or evening, but night, a moonlit night. The mill, the houses - everything is asleep. Everything is calm, only the moonlit path on the river creates a slightly anxious expectation of something Maybe the dawn of the next day, happiness. Or maybe future failures. But the mood of the picture is not sad).

Are there other visions of the picture?

It seems to me that every time you look at this picture, you see it differently. To a sad person it may seem sad, to a joyful person it may seem joyful. Everyone can see what they want here. Even looking at the lunar path, you see it either bright or dark green.

Is the picture alive or not: prove it. (Yes, she is alive, but peaceful.

There is no movement in this picture, but life is felt in everything. It seems that even the river does not flow. There is no wind. This gives the impression of a temporarily sleeping world.)

What did the moon turn the river into?

The stormy river seemed to turn into a baby, lulled by the moon and the cries of night birds; by the way, the picture is full of sounds. Let's try to listen...

The characters in the picture, name them? (moon, river, darkness)

The darkness is fascinating, it seems that you can touch it. It is like a fabric draped over the sky and gently flowing down. The dark shore is covered with it, and if it were not black, it would not be noticeable. (When I look at this sky, it surprises me, I feel silence and relaxation. When I look at this painting by Kuindzhi, I want to enter it, as if in open door and feel all the charm of the night and moonlight).

Moonlit night on the Dnieper" –paraphrase on the theme of his earliernocturnes.

Moonlit Night on the Dnieper" is also a Kuindzhev nocturne, one cannot but agree!

PARAPHRASE, or paraphrase

. (Here it would be appropriate to show slides with earlier paintings by Kuindzhi, which depict moonlight, for example, “Night”, etc.)

The French word “nocturne”, like the Italian “notturno”, literally means night. This term, used in various arts, appeared in music XVIII century. At that time, nocturnes were plays intended to be performed outdoors at night.

6. Conclusion. And Kuindzhi, who is eternal, like moonlight breaking through the thickness of time, will help us draw a conclusion.

He believed that “... An artist should perform at exhibitions while he, like a singer, has a voice. And as soon as the voice subsides, you must leave, not show yourself, so as not to be ridiculed. So I became Arkhip Ivanovich, known to everyone, well, that’s good, and then I saw that I couldn’t do that again, that my voice seemed to begin to subside. Well, they will say: Kuindzhi was there, and Kuindzhi was gone! So, I don’t want this, but for Kuindzhi to remain alone forever.” There is nothing more to add here!

Let's return to the beginning of the lesson to the question that Kuindzhi's student N. Roerich, Kuindzhi's student, asks and answers it himself. “Why are great works of art so valued by people and never die? Because they contain crystals of Light, placed into them by the hands of the creator of this work. The fiery spirit of the artist, sculptor, poet, composer, in the process of his creativity, saturates what he creates with elements of Light. And since the elements of Light are not subject to the usual destruction by time or oblivion, the life span of great works of art goes far beyond the life of ordinary things and objects.”

Questions and homework: Write a miniature essay “Me and Kuindzhi’s Moonlit Night”

Lesson vocabulary

Glazing is thin transparent or translucent layers of paints that are applied to dried or semi-dried paint layers in order to change the color, to enhance or weaken it.

Strokes can be opaque (opaque) and glaze(transparent).

(Archetype (Greek) - prototype, origin, sample. Its content consists of universal human prototypes - archetypes(for example, the image of mother earth, a hero, a wise old man, a demon, etc.), the dynamics of which underlie myths and symbolism artistic creativity, dreams, etc.)

Paraphrase, or paraphrase(Greek παράφρασις - retelling), - stylistic term; 1) retell in your own words literary work. This category of paraphrase also includes an abbreviated presentation of large works of art;

2) In music, common in the 19th century. designation of instrumental virtuoso fantasy, mainly for piano, on themes of popular songs, opera arias, etc..

The French word “nocturne”, like the Italian “notturno”, literally means night. This term, used in various arts, appeared in the music of the 18th century. At that time, nocturnes were plays intended to be performed outdoors at night.