valentine     C E R O V       

 

                                                       

Free Art Publishing House

Library of illustrated monographs

Petrograd, 1916

                           

           Text by Vsevolod Dmitriev

                                                                WE DE N E

     Serov was readily acknowledged  c    All the competing trends of the Russian school of painting; it was considered one of the first and acceptable to all. This indicates a great life.  Serov's strength, but also his multifacetedness and complexity. Indeed, the living power of Serov’s creativity is felt by many people, and moreover, people in their tastes and outlook are decidedly different from each other, but we will try to ask these connoisseurs what and for what they love in this master, try to collect these answers, and we will get a full picture.    I don't think so. However,  There would have been no such vagabond if, indeed, Serov’s creativity had been so simple and straightforward as many people think. Here's an instructive example! As you know, Repin had the role of being the first mentor of Serov; for many Serov is kind precisely as the successor of the Repin testaments, and, indeed, does not it seem to us now the closest successor.  Repina Serov, and do we not observe in many portrait works of Serov,   down  In recent years, I have been looking back at the Quebec.  As in the later Repin paintings, we will find, perhaps, the fruits of looking forward, in our former student – Serov.

     Let us now listen to how Repin relates his impression of one of the last and greatest works of his beloved pupil in his recollections of meeting Serov at a Roman exhibition. (The Way, 1911, No. 2):

     At the wave of Serov’s short pen, the workers instantly put the box in the proper lighting condition, opened the lid, and, like Venus from the shell, appeared.  "Ida Rubinstein."..I thought it was the ceiling of our pinch.  The pavilion fell upon me and pressed me to the ground; I stood with my tongue stuck to my larynx. Finally, having mastered something of myself, I asked, and immediately felt that I asked stupidity like an idiot:

      - Whose is it?  job? Who is it?

       - I mean, Ida Rubinstein.

     “You know,” I continued, as in a dream, “if I had not now seen you and heard your voice clearly, I would not have believed you.”

     So,  "Ida Rubinstein."  It stunned Repin like a thunderous blow in the clear sky. One such example should make us think. Indeed, if the serenity and simplicity of Serov’s creativity turned out to be treacherously deceptive for some, why can they not deceive others – us? Aren't we logical? In any case, the legacy left to Russian art by Serov does not appear to me personally as a treasure simply handed over.

                              SOURCES   FOR   RESEARCH   SEROVA

     How do we approach this enchanted treasure? The most direct and reliable way to know any artist seems to us: to follow his instructions, to try to understand and love what he was looking for.  and loved the master himself, but here it should be remembered that the real  "Autobiography" - notes or letters Serov - we do not have or almost do not, because everything we know about words.  He came to us, to the reader, having already passed through one hand, and therefore already acquiring a certain color. I'm talking about the monograph.  I. Grabar about Serov  (Moscow, ed.  I. Knebel.  This book is now the only source for anyone who wants to study in detail the life and work of the artist, but meanwhile, this author, undoubtedly and ardently loving Serov and the book of which  First and foremost, according to the author.  "late wreath"  To the grave of this infinitely close and dear to my heart man is very, very far from impartiality. That is why, perhaps, the work of I. Grabar cannot be understood.  The unbiased study of Serov’s work, which his author sincerely and friendlyly loved the named artist, prevented I. Grabar from observing and seeing what was happening.  Actually, not just wanting it to be. It is no accident that I point to this damage of the Grabarev study, but because    p and c c c t and e   This is very remarkable, and would lead us if we were to trust all the instructions. n  I. Grabar, to extremely disappointing conclusions for Serov. Indeed, what is, in the opinion of I. Grabar, the highest achievement of Serov? The pages of the book mentioned above indicate very persistently and repeatedly what should be considered as such – The Girl with Peaches (1887).  The Girl Illuminated by the Sun (1888)  Nana  The whole book is based on this opinion, but is it possible to fully agree with it? And that opinion is not   e and n and n and n'  It is repeated in others, as it were, the hallmark of a whole group - a group of closest   (c) and (c) and (c)    Serov. Okay, another author.  P.M.  Serf.  (note), Sophia, 1914, No. 3,  calling himself  "younger contemporaries"  Serova, speaking out  It is even more definite and yet almost identical with the previous critic:  (at the posthumous exhibition of Serov's works)  You don’t feel individual things, but the overall level of creativity. Only a famous portrait rises above this level.  girls with peaches, work is early and lonely in the most fragility  of its coloristic elegance. No more characteristic were Serov’s work and the fall of the level; his art did not know, or rather did not know.  I loved failure. Something comes to terms with such obvious failures as  New Theatre Greece -  "The Abduction of Europe."

     So,  (c) and (c) and (c)   Serov, in order to reconcile his work with their art understanding, were forced to come themselves and force us to come to a very disappointing for Serov.  The conclusion is that the path of its development  was    I'm sorry.   path:  two  "Girls", written by an artist of twenty-two or three years, to obvious failure - "The Abduction of Europe".  But is that true?  Why then does the whole appearance of Serov not appear in our memory as dear and close, but already    And you're like  cute, but   I don't think so.   close but    and you and   Do we now see his youthful works - "Girls"?  Meanwhile, Serov is still perceived as alive and extremely  complex

     This one  The new example, like the above misunderstanding between Repin and Serov, makes us think even more. Isn't this a mistake? Couldn’t there also be such a common misunderstanding in the life of genuine artists – that Serov turned out to be farther away in his artistic development than was understandable and desirable?    c What's going on?

     However, to check with accuracy the information given by Serov's contemporaries about the personality and artistic aspirations of the artist, we now   no   Oh, yeah.  We have no material to compare. In addition to the book of Grabar, there are still in print the memoirs of Repin and the mother of the artist V.S. Serova, but these memories are fragmentary, scant.  They can’t fill the gaps... Consequently,    I'm not sure if I'm not.    material for the study of the personality of Serov, such material as   n and c m m , or at least  We do not have a significant number of memories (by checking some memories with others, we could get to the truth). Therefore, it seems, it is not superfluous to point out that persons who are in close contact with the artist, know about him or have  His letters are knowledge.    I'd rather not.   (especially)  It is clear that it has now been decided with certainty.  historicity  Serova  file  public domain.

                                                             Biography

     The scheme of life  Valentina Alexandrovich Serov is like this. He was born on January 7, 1865 in the family of a famous composer and music critic.  Alexander Nikolaevich Serov, author of Judith, Rogneda and Enemy Force. In 1864, being already 44 years old, Serov married his pupil Valentina Bergman, who also devoted herself entirely to her favorite art. The tendency to draw appeared in Serov early, and circumstances  The first years of life greatly contributed to the development of this attraction. The artist’s father, widely educated, knew and loved all the arts.  (particularly architecture)  and  He was a good painter. He especially loved drawing animals, and Serov inherited this passion for animals from his father. In the house of a famous music critic often gathered  not only from the music world; Serov could see Antokolsky, Ge  (who painted for a little artist his favorite horses)  And finally, since 1870,  Repin was writing his academic program at the time.

     In 1871, the artist’s father died, but this sad event did not adversely affect the boy’s artistic development. On the contrary,  tirelessly  The curiosity of Serov’s mother and her continuing passion for music, the artist had  the opportunity from an early age and completely surrender to his passion for painting and, moreover, thanks to foreign trips, to expand his artistic horizons.

     Since 1872.  The Serovs, mother and son, live in Munich; here the young artist meets Kepping, a skilled artist who later became famous for etchings and works in the field of applied art. Here the artistic attraction of the boy first attracted the serious attention of Serov’s mother, and from that time she began to do everything possible not only not to slow down her son’s studies, but, as much as possible, to facilitate them. Extremely successful  It is necessary to admit her idea to seek help from Repin - it was precisely the one and only master who could  beneficially influence development  young  gifts. In fulfillment of his excellent thought, V.S. Serova  He rushes to Paris to find Repin, who planned to leave soon.

     In the winter of 1874-1875, Serov took his first lessons from Repin in Paris.

      Since the age of ten.  Serov received the beginning of that exceptionally favorable interweaving of influences and acquaintances, which  It then affected, as a happy guiding star, the further life of the artist.

     Equally.  A successful and fraught with many good consequences for Serov was another step of his mother. Back in the day.  his in Munich  Serova went to Rome, where in the studio of Antokolsky  I met S.I. Mamontov, who was destined to play an important role in the fate of Serov. In the summer of 1875, the Serovs already visited Abramtsevo, and here Serov formed a strong friendship with the Mamontovs' house. If acquaintance with Repin predetermined Serov a significant role of the successor of the Repin testaments, the acquaintance with Mamontov weaved him into the heart of the ebullient activity of artistic Moscow.Serov only had to take advantage of the successful actions of his mother, and, admittedly, the artist managed to use them to the fullest.

     In the autumn of 1878, Serov studied at  Moscow progymnasium and at the same time takes lessons from Repin. But  The passion for painting captures everything.   The boy's thoughts, and here in 1873.  progymnasium rushes; Serov finally moves to Repin and lives with him as a family member.

     In 1880.  Repin finds Serov enough  prepared for admission to the Academy and sends his pupil to Chistyakov, whom he called  "our common and only teacher." under the age of sixteen years  Serov was admitted to the Academy, but only in 1882 his name is recorded in the list of students.

      However, in 1885, a turning point was made in Serov, and the artist voluntarily left the Academy (it is very possible that under the influence of leaving the Vrubel Academy, with whom he worked in close communication). From this  Serov is aware of himself as a ready-made master; his further and constant teaching is already taking place under the sign of free will.  choice and continuous hard work. Frequent trips abroad further broadened his horizons, and, speaking for a whole decade as one of the most active participants of traveling exhibitions,  The sulphur could quite consistently go into  "The world of art" to also take one of the first  However, this did not prevent the artist in recent years as if to outgrow and separate from the  "peacefulness."

     In 1889, the artist married Olga Fedorovna Trubnikova, whom he met while still an academician.

     Since 1897, Serov was a teacher at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture, from where he graduated a number of significant artists - but in general, he was a teacher.  He was busy teaching and left school in 1910.

     Serov died suddenly, in the midst of hard work, from a chest toad attack on November 22, 1911.

     Serov’s life, not rich in vivid facts, harbored a very interesting and complex inner path – one that is still waiting for its impartial and attentive investigator. Beyond that, this invisible path was expressed in the confused zigzags of his artistic instincts, in the sudden opening of his life.  thrust   then to Flanders, then to Paris, then to Italy, then to Greece, then to Russian antiquity.

     The somewhat confused trace left by Serov for those wishing to penetrate the caches of his artistic personality proves an extraordinary difference between themselves.  praise,   wholly  The artist was awarded by researchers of Serov creativity.

     So, Igor Grabar, as the highest praise  Serova, in the concluding lines of his monograph states:  In Serov left the last great portraitist of the old type ... left the last convinced  human singer.  On the contrary, N.E. Radlov, as one of the highest merits of Serov, indicates that he is absolutely    n   into  Russian art, which is one of the first, is the beginning of  They break with the past, and therefore they will not be included in the historical chain.  Finally,  Let’s give another praise, again sharply different:  Is this a painting by Serov? he asks.  Sergei Makovsky answered: - Lesson of Russian painting. So he went ahead and kept the best.  The legacy of the past years of our school”.

     Again, from this third example of ours, we must conclude that Serovsky  treasure  It is not in our hands that it is not easy to get it, on the contrary. It seems that the more we look for him, the more  It goes deeper and deeper into us.

     However, the last of the above  "praise."  It seems to me personally so lofty, and at the same time so indispensable to the significance of every Russian artist, that it is she alone who would like to crown Serov, and I think it is in the direction indicated by this work.  "Praise", will be further clarification of the value of Serov's achievements.     

                                          

                                                    "School"   SEROVA

    

The most impressive feature of Serov’s appearance, because of which the trace of his creative development seems so confused, but only thanks to the fact that he was a young man.  which he outgrown most of his Russian associates by many heads, this is the manner of Serov   You and I,  and  I have been learning, as we know, until the last few minutes.  his  a short life. However, why should I know – perhaps there was little left for the artist to make efforts to make all his accumulated multipersonal experience?  to bring down into a single and magnificent force.

     This manner of Serov to learn is not something deliberately contrived, but is an integral and huge part of his artistic essence, and was born together with the artist. She appeared immediately, at the first  The artistic endeavors of Serov... When  In 1879, young Serov was struck by Kepping, then the boy begged the artist to take him to sketches, and now,  Nine years old, Serov found what he needed.  learn  He studied all his life.  I'm sorry.    Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-w   about   camping   I don't think you're here.   p.   vol   Oh,  n   vol   n and c a l.  Serov did not need words or any theoretical ideological excitement; in every master he loved he was greedy.  He chose only the craft,          r  -  So I guess I took this one.   hand  at  Serov thought that he would steal his charm for himself. And he was amazingly successful, since Serov’s distinctive gift was the ability to absorb with extreme flexibility.  into  You're a stranger in art. So, it was enough for Serov for a short time.  "sitting" to Repin (precisely)  "Sit down," I emphasize. Cf. I. Grabar, p. 39: “Usually  he sat down  next to the teacher and painted in his album what he wrote, to give in 1880.  "Humpback" - with a pure Repin modeling of the face. What did Serov do?  He crept very cleverly into the very cache of the Repinskys. He had to appear before the teacher as the ideal of the student and the artist.  "Serub was one of the most complete individuals.  “A painter,” he says in his memoirs.  Repin.  The same.  The flexibility of the serum was then disarmed.  (1881-1883)  And the teacher seemed to be blinding. n  All ideals. Chistyakov often repeated that in  as far as  God’s grace was given to Serov, the all-fearing comprehension of art, he had not yet  I met someone else. Meanwhile,  Serov only managed to recreate and repeat in his  The very essence of Chistyakov’s art of understanding.

     However, Serov  He did not seek this easy glory from his teachers; it came to him unwittingly. It's  was   er  -  Flexible adaptability, but he used it only for the glory of art. He immediately cheated on his recent teacher when he was convinced that he had penetrated to the depths of his life.    I don't care.    mentor. Get in  It meant for Serov to realize himself the strongest and therefore to seek a new use for his gift and  strength. And this    c and c and c and n and    (c) or (e)    Serov's youth  He showed exceptional vigilance.

     Now that  Vrubel is a recognized master of the first magnitude, the fact  A significant influence of Vrubel on young Serov seems to be  boring necessity, but remember that the artist studied with Vrubel  No one knew when they were laughing at him. Given this, we recognize in Serov hobby Vrubel  scent  An artist, not a weakness. And let's stress it.  For the sake of barely testing himself, yet  uncertain  Serov betrays no one else, but the famous and experienced teacher - Chistyakov.  Already in the drawings  1887.  We're watching.  popping up  substitute  nervous  mannerism  precise-dried  and  mentality  Some sharp and bold touch, some unheard of  before  by  painter   C and C.  brilliance of the drawing. Imitation  Vrubel sometimes approached some kind of voluntary slavery.  painter  closely  "sitting down"  toward  And then there were things like  “Illustrations  to Lermontov (1891)  Serov, though.  moment  "plants"  closely  This meant that the cooling period was coming soon.  And, indeed, in those same years.   Serov found  The new teacher who helped him  loosen up  and subjective sharpness  vorubelevsky  spirit  -  piece  was  The cow.  It's been here again.  singular  Serov's sense. It should be said that, like Serov, Korovin began to perform at  Then he took one of the honorable places among the world-students and finally - at present -  lead  "Union of Russian Artists";  however  So far he has not been widely recognized, but he is a master.   exceptional   coloristic  talent and scenic power. Not exactly investigated yet.  influence  painter  I think it’s been a bit of an influence, but I think it was.  massively  beneficially  through Korovin.  he realized   t   and paint like  rubel  opened  him   c    drawing.  The "learning" went on and on.  Just as it was started.  Once at Kepping's. Sulfur greedily  swiftly   "Prodsell."  To the new power he has received, to this  The first Russian gourmet  The painting that took his receptions out of Paris.  And again, how  It was more than once, it came up.  (in 1894)  To the almost complete artistic rebirth of Serov (see Grabar, page 120): “Working all the time nearby, they began to think, feel and see alike to such an extent that, looking at their then sketches, it was not easy to guess who belonged to one or the other.”

     But how remarkable are the rapid and decisive changes in artistic  "I'm here" is the same, perhaps even more so.  remarkable indifference  Sery to  "the plot." He was never inspired by the topic itself, nor was he looking for a language for it, but he was always inspired by a language that someone had already found; so his content depended on form, not vice versa.  It's  It can be traced throughout Serov’s life. Stunned him in Holland by ancient masters, he and the plot is looking for an old one - "George the Victorious" (1885);  however  Saint himself and his struggle with the dragon  There is nothing to do with it - Serov only tries to speak on the deceiver.  "language." He thought about the small and the simple.  "movable"  letter,  he takes the subject  "mobile" -   Lineage from Moscow to Kuzminki (1892)  Showed herself to him.  pricey  The lyrical manner of Levitan is created.  October (1895)  Charmed Serov by Russian masters  XVIII  Ayeka, he's first and foremost.  Looks out for the very appearance of their work, up to the oval frame, and gives   smoothed   portrait  E.A.Korzinkina" (1905)  Is it under charm? n  of the savage, he thought,  "Christmas Christmas"  (1888), a skilful copy  The broken and shining shape of Vrubel, which at first sight we would probably recognize.  for the original However, only at first glance, since this imitation is not inspired by the very theme - "Christ's Nativity", and   only enthusiasm and delight  beforehand  "language"  Vrubel.

     And I want to ask: are all the creations of Serov not only inspired?  "tests."  To speak someone's language?

     Indeed,  Let us note that in  "October" is all Levitan, except for one, perhaps.  himself  essential, namely: “confessions  which Levitan invested in his landscapes; which in another case  Serf, perceiving    The normal achievements of Vrubel, remained  totally indifferent to him  "ideas";  that finally  Serf  could have gone  October.  toward  "The Abduction of Europe" and from Repin to Persia its curtain,  Sheherazade.

     Obviously not.  into  "Ideas", not in the confession of himself sought support and saw his meaning and power Serov. And, indeed, all the masters from whom he studied, seeking to reveal themselves in art and finding their face in a new refraction of form, in a new skill exclusively obtained by them, thereby closed themselves in a certain circle, as if growing into a shell that protected and distinguished them, but at the same time dragged behind them with a fatal load.  Serov did not close himself in such a circle, cleverly and sharply.  "stealing"  All of them were strong and filled with strength, always remaining free.  Still.   no    (c) (a) (b) (b)    his own    o o o o o o o o o    I'm not.

     It is noteworthy the testimony of I. Grabar about the portrait of Mrs. G. L. Girshman, begun shortly before Serov's death. After the first session, the witness said,  -  Serov gave his secret idea, saying about the first sketch: “a la Ingres".  In  One of the last sessions he thought it necessary to get better: No longer Ingres, but, perhaps, to Raphael himself.  Getting there.  Here we go.   What kind of teacher did the artist dream of? Well, we know from many examples that Serov always chose those teachers who really added new strength to his hand.  Maybe, and now he's not wrong.

     Persistently.  He knew how to penetrate into all forms with great flexibility and together always remain free. Truly the Raphael method, and thinking at the end of life,  "caught up."  Raphael, no closer.  whether  painter picked up     on  and  n    toward    What the hell?

     Serov was silent about  reserved   He only told us that he had told us that  "to know the craft,  You will not go out of your way.  But here   cl    serovsky   creativity? In any case, all the hard work of Serov's life certifies that he  -  leftover  heritage  complicated  -  himself  passionately  dream  straight  and   easy way,  "one you can't get away with."   I don't know. The craft  It's like a tradition from our ancestors, powerfully exciting for everyone. Of course.  There is no "manufacturer" that captures everyone in Russian art.  Serov dreamed  fetter  this  a necessary sword,   You're in me.    In fx.

 

                                                  "Teaching"   SEROVA

 

     If we agree without any reservations that Serov’s whole life was spent in stubborn apprenticeship, that all his labors were only  "tests."  to speak in someone's language,  how to understand  of its high importance in Russian art, as   eh   painting?  Similarly, if you agree without  There is no doubt that the highest achievements of Serov are two.  "Girls," written  in their youthful years, which later  He couldn't.  to achieve the same charm again, and  Some of his most recent things, like  "Nauzikaya," "Ida Rubiestein."  and  "The Abduction of Europe" must be counted as   "clear failures,"  piece  Is it possible to talk about      That's right.   Such an extremely uneven, even ultimately unsuccessful master?  Of course not,  and  You could talk about Serov as a teacher if you agreed.  with one of the above statements. No, we believe that Serov not only studied, but through a series of  and    on  eh   I don't know.   and   That's why we're here.   A number of disciples came closer and closer to his cherished goal, to his reserved word, which he persistently dreamed of saying. Okay.  -  as we see fit  -  Serf  It wasn't just something.  boundlessly greedy,  tirelessly absorbing  "only with the eye."  It would also close in a certain circle, only it would be a circle of extremely wide girth.  He is.  Like other artists,  into  his art  "confessing himself," he was inwardly whole, consistent, and   a master in his development, and  If it appears to us  “Twisted” if he listens to his dissent.  We get even more confused, who is to blame?  Isn't that just a sign that we're still here?   no    I don't know.    Looking at the Serov heritage, we still pay attention not to the most   What, being confused in the secondary, not being able to find the guiding thread in the Serov labyrinth, do we decide that it does not exist at all?  In a word,  all the confusion about Serov  not  Is it just a sign that the  still    no    I don't know.    Whoa, whoa.   at  Serov?

     By the way, Serov did not like to teach those who did not know how to learn, especially did not like to teach.   It's not. In  When he was a teacher at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture, he began his teaching: "I can't explain - that's how he started his teaching."  See how I write: Write the same, and do not want as you know.  themselves. Yeah, as we know,  apprenticeship other than  "sit down and write like that,"  Serov neither liked nor knew.  So, myself.  The artist did not help to solve it, and we have to try it ourselves.  Sit down.  toward  Or go away without learning anything.  However, if we take  base   and    His most famous works,   t.  e.  string  them  portraits, then we  We’ll get confused, at least in this way.  I was confused in my time.  In fact,  The basis of his work in Serov    I don't know.   his portraits and his large oil compositions,  We will not be able to determine    er   and    z    path  Serovskie  achievement. As I have said many times, some people believe that  such    er    is  Girl with Peaches, 1887.  And, indeed, in this distant and wonderful echo of Repinsky  We didn't.  so  unusually  speedily  spotlight  on the window frames, on the tablecloth, on the peaches, so exceptionally tender and together with the Vrubelian-island colorful shimmering of maiden hands... But how to reconcile this work with hard and contrived lines  "Ida Rubinstein" (1910), with a stingy, almost  netted  coloring this portrait?  We want to learn.  at    on  f     Serova, gather your own harvest  with    in    His hard life!  So we're not.  irreconcilable  through the picturesque, thoroughly imbued with admiration for color and flexibility stroke  Portrait of Imp. Nicholas P (1900)   on  flashy  contempt   strength, for the sake of the characteristic of the common spot in  Portrait of M.A.Morozov (1902)  So.  equally  After a while, or as they say,  "real"  persons  n. eagle  (1911) It seems to us dizzyingly unexpected  flat and flat mask of Europe  (Same 1910-1911). However, if  refer    and   Serov's life, then  We'll find  clue  surprise  It was influenced by Zorn, and here a trip to Paris, and here a trip to Greece, etc.  But we do.  Sit down.  to Serov simply,  without words, without any historical references.   U u u u    historical  Serov life and   That's right.   into  and with the R and y... When we say this, a significant number of Serov portraits will suddenly fade.  In our eyes, if we move back into the past, we will forget and it will seem strange to us that recently they appeared to us as the essence and the main stone.  Serov's achievements, and bypassing  long  Once again, we will be forced to repeat:  where  base  rod        Serov's achievements?  Although - I hasten to make a reservation - portrait and picture experience.  Sulphur, taken separately, can give  on n  Some results: so, we can say that the permanent goal of the artist was to learn  write  as much as possible   pr    and    I'm sorry.  “There are a hundred angels,” he liked to say.  or at least  I don't know.   It was easy and easy, because it was simple and easy for Serov.   monophonic  Powerful and beautiful. I insist that the purpose of Serov’s search was to write easily, to become a master of high quality.  In the sense of the word, otherwise, why was he so obstinate in pursuing a line, as if it were an accidental and easy line, as if drawn at once and so abandoned, a stroke, exactly preserving the first blow of the brush?

     From the earliest days  Serov wrote very contrivedly, restraining and counting every movement of his hand, but to the last.  Over the years, his ideal was defined. more decisively, he  studied    Oh, and you and I.  “Something needs to be emphasized, something needs to be emphasized.  To throw away, not to finish, but to make a mistake somewhere, without error is such a mischief that it is sickening to look.  once  Serov expressed his cherished idea. The hand in the portrait  V.O. Hirschman, back line  Ida Rubinstein, the sea  "The Abductions of Europe"  all  Mistakes, but mistakes that probably made Serov happy. So, in  long-term experience  Serf-like  as if teaching us    oh and b t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t , but how, where and when?  Did not the teacher stand on the ground extremely   Fragile and dangerous?  Indeed, Serovskaya    oh b oh  -   it  sort of  The last luxury is a gift from excess - rather  It's not even a mistake.  result  sharp-eyed   serov  "nature,"  -  one   I don't know.  I felt it was necessary to bring a heartfelt  The master, to justify his painfully long,  arduous    I don't think so.    into  nature. It's that victim, that one.  deliberately emphasized    It is a kind of voluntary blinding of oneself for a moment, which suddenly transforms the stubborn and black work on the subject.  "in kind" in a creative work. Notice how infinitely-scoop, with what careful calculation, even  He made such mistakes with fear. And he was right to be so afraid; he was too afraid to crush and cut off the precious nutrient nerve that had fed him all his life.  nature. That he at least in "Ida Rubinstein" to do not one  or  sharp  "erroneous"  traits  scour the whole picture. But the artist smelled that then he would break away from the precious nerve and fly.  where the end can only be  joyless  deadlock  Theoretically, instead of a beautiful mistake.  "from excess," we shall see -- and we shall see nothing but a dull canvas, except the historical record of one of the abstracts.  artistic theories.

      Such.    er    Serov's latest works.  However,  This lesson is very difficult, if not impossible. In fact.  to take over the Serovs  "mistakes," if I do not learn his hard work, it means to go into abstraction, i.e.  First of all, leave the covenants and spirit of Serov. We should probably forget about this.  We have a lot of fun in the past, and we will be much closer.  genuinely    And then there is the leftover offspring. In addition, we will not prove that the back line of I. Rubinstein or the sea.  "Europe" is not just   eh    as an excessive stroke of the portrait of I.S. Ostroukhov (1902)  timid  a statement of the person under Kramskoy - in  The Girl Illuminated by the Sun (1888)

     I would not speak for so long about the confusion and contradictions of Serov's legacy, nor would I point out many times that we should find out with all possible care what is in it.  "tribute of time" and what--  traits    oh   Serov, who kept his  and for the next generations, if I  never imagined    clearly  marked  that line, that main core of Serov's creativity, around which everything else is located with strict  and  in a consistent manner, revealing to us    n    Serova, as a striving difficult and tense to one cherished goal, as a conscious and continuous    c o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o e.  He does not love words, he does not ask.  No explanation, but it comes to all his guess, one silent and persistent.  "by planting," Serov.  He gave us little explanation of this.  paramount    Why?     toward  His work.  Maybe Serov, always loving.   Some mystery that likes to strike surprise  “I’m a badass at heart, and in fact, anyway,” he said with pleasure.  painter   blast  surprise and indignation around  Ida Rubnstein.  He even deliberately covered his tracks to add work to his future connoisseurs, but, on the other hand, these traces are in the form of drawings on scraps of paper, in the form of quick sketches or small size compositions.  They were tirelessly and caringly, like milestones placed on the path of his whole life.

     One comparison already.  Some of the facts of his biography suggest us. From Munich in 1885, he wrote to his fiancée.  In Amsterdam I am preparing another and very great pleasure: there is a beautiful, second after London, Zoological Garden. It's me, imagine.  It is almost as beautiful as the pictures in the galleries.” (Cf.  I. Grabar, pp. 253-267)

     Since 1896, Serov devotes all his free time to life.  wolves, bears, foxes, and especially crows, to which he felt some kind of tender affection. So, by the fortieth years of life Serov clearly  There are two aspects of creativity.  showy  He takes orders, competes with the best masters of the brush, gives successful responses to the demands of the hour, and    I don't know.   - where is he?  works inaudibly for anyone, but where he puts all the accumulated experience  from which, and where, in turn, he  carry on the most important work   successful search.  However, this division of work  It happened to Serov almost by accident. In 1895.  A.I. Mamontov  planner  to publish Krylov's fables with Serov's illustrations.  It was the first push, but soon  Serov’s drawings outgrown the usual illustration and became the favorite brainchild of the artist. However, even before this year, it is possible to plan, although perhaps not so much.   definitely, and  already   unconscious  On the part of the artist, the separation of his works. And  Always their most precious, strong and sincere  Serov trusts small works performed by the most diverse  technique, and pencil, and oil,  and coal, and sepia, pastels, gouache, finally watercolor, and in recent years also tempera. Here the most precious work of the artist takes place, in which he gives us his reserve.  u u u u u u u, whereas in the main  parade  work  Serf   secretive, cautious, and often so deeply imbued with the spirit of the times that it now seems to us  irrevocably departed  "in history."

     In total, Serov worked on drawings in the fables of Krylov  with minor interruptions for fifteen years, from 1895 to 1911. In the last two years of his life, he was very busy.  on  Fables, repeatedly recalcated them and searched for a line.  Finally  summer  1912  He was going to give all the fables...  Notable is the very reception of Serov’s work on his favorite creation:  “the old drawings he did not destroy, but, imposing on them a blank sheet of rather thin paper and having under it the former contour, boldly carried on it with a pencil, emphasizing the main thing and omitting the secondary. Some fables have survived.  So in five, six and even ten repetitions.  Despite the fact that they are almost identical, it is these repeated copies that make it possible to penetrate into the process of the artist’s work and reveal all of it.  desires and hidden desires ...  Indeed, if we delve into  at least two options  "Quartet" - one in 1898, and the other in 1911, suddenly it becomes quite clear to us what kind of    eh    on  with such love and indefatigability he sought Serov, and it will become as clear as  margin  beauty and strength  It has a line he found in 1911 in front of fractional and incorrect lines of the sketch.   1898.  In fact,  through  study  and the comparison between  Serovskie  Fables.  We are fully aware that  For Serov himself, and now for us,    Great height, for example, the portrait of Stanislavsky (1911)  before the portrait of at least Chaliapin  (1897)  It was an absolutely indisputable, mathematically precise quantity. Just by looking at how much  It was necessary for persistent observation, labor and inspirational calculation to  "The Lion and the Wolf" - as one  as if so simple and unnecessarily stingy  By bending the line to give a complete description of a wolf retreating with shame and fear, we will understand much more.  Just now.  named portraits of Chaliapin and Stanislavsky  Because it's basically the same subject -- a smile that stretches its lips a little bit and bends its cheek -- but the solution.  Infinitely different.  However,  path of one decision to another  Exactly the same as in fables... just like Serov put a smile on a smile here, one after another,  "Finding the line" - to finally  to give a portrait of Stanislavsky. For me personally, it seems indisputable that the whole artistic meaning of this drawing is in a line along the bend of the cheek from the nostrils to  The corner of the lips and that fracture of this line - if I only correctly understood Serov's reserved dream -  It should have pleased the artist as one of the best.  However, only in the drawings and in  favorite  fable  Serf  could  fearlessly  cherish  Ideally, because his contemporaries are here.    no    toward  It is a matter of time, and since these things seemed to contemporaries secondary, side effects in Serov’s work. In fact, a line found in fables or drawings  with such strength, flexibility and simplicity, did not surprise anyone with its novelty, and but only   approach   The same line in Ida Rubinstein.  It caused outrage in the camp of friends of the artist. From here.  - I repeat again -   such caution, uncertainty, lack of freedom of the artist in many    o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o    But I think I want to go through every job again and again.  -  "emphasize  The main thing and omitting the steppe to stop  finally  where  complication   "nature."   It would have been just a few of them.   "simple"  lines. It wouldn't be.  "Mistakes," no, that would be strange.    p.  -  too much  "simplified" to seem like a chip from nature, but too much    B and I,  lively  glamour n   thrilling  All of us, so that we may have the strength to turn away from it as from it.     No way.

     This seems to me the ultimate dream of Serov searches and in it.  "lesson" bequeathed to us by Serov.

 

                                                               Conclusion

 

     Serov admirers awarded the artist with all the most, in their opinion, magnificent laurels, called him the deepest psychologist, the narrator of the secrets of the human face, and a soulful historian, and a soulful lyricist, but of each of these clothes Serov is treacherously treacherous.  flexibly and quickly slipped. From Repin to Chistyakov, from Chistyakov to Vrubel, then to Velasquez, to Korovin, to Zorn, to Levitan, to Benoit, to Picasso, to Bakst, to Raphael, finally to animals.  and their birds  "Fables." But everywhere Serov only looked for precious grains for his  It's for a path that I've dreamed of never losing again. Yes, we can say, referring to the drawings and a number of    I don't know.    works of the artist that Serov never strayed from the intended path, but every year the living power of his gift, through a series of   "Treason" only grew, grew and grew.  Death interrupted Serov's search abruptly and suddenly. However, we believe that a violent break on the path is so pressing-the-road for further  The life of Russian creativity will be filled. Serfs don't seem to us.  "first" and not   "last": he  really  closest to us, and therefore with special force.   perceived   "a lesson in Russian painting." Many Russian talents have already fought over the same thing that was the cherished goal of Serov – to find a national canon.   beauty, its own, moved from generation to generation  craft. And I want to believe that the unspecified Serov    b b d d d e t    (e) that which is alive and extremely  We need what we smell in Serov,  b b d d d e t    And that's the point.  Not us, but those   They will begin their search where Serov’s achievements have stopped.

*  The text of this book - an extended edition of the monograph article  «The Image of Serov, in Apollo No. 6-7, 1914