Vsevolod Dmitriev. Bathing a red horse

Apollo, No. 3, 1915

 

                                Bathing  Red.  KONY    

 

  Vsevolod Dmitriev

 

There is no point in guessing the place occupied.  picture  Bathing a Red Horse in Creative Development  Petrov-Vodkin. All our conjectures can be overthrown at once by one movement, by one sudden change in the ways of his search. Yes.  Not just for us, but for the artist himself.  He's still on the road,  His future is almost unknown and mysterious. And this, perhaps, already contains one of the precious advantages.  Petrova-Vodkin  Other contemporary artists:  It's hard to talk about  "tomorrow"  Petrov-Vodkin, although today his appearance is cut into the memory very clearly, and some  We are modern masters with an equally certain appearance...  "tomorrow"  It was too much for them and us to expect.

However, this does not mean that we are obliged to believe that  The coming day of Petrov-Vodkin will deepen and expand his achievements. In our opinion, this master has already   l  something of Russian painting. Thus, further defining this   well   We shall deal with a phenomenon of the past, with an already accomplished fact of Russian artistic history, and, hence, decisively independent of whether or not Petrov-Vodkin will give  "tomorrow"  Something more important than this painting.  (Bathing a Red Horse)  or less significant, or even nothing at all.  It won't.

As you know, the painting, leaving the artist’s studio, begins to live a special life, it becomes a part of that strange mysterious process that we call:  art history. It happens that the path of this story passes through the entire artist.  Sometimes part of an artist’s work is historical; sometimes only one painting is historical.  It is the link of this mysterious process, and everything else made by the same master is dismissed as a surplus.  (For example, Savrasov - "Rooks have arrived").

Suppose now  (This will make the task of this article easier)  "Bathing a Red Horse"  This is exactly the picture that  He already lives a special life together with the whole life of Russian painting and regardless of the further activities of its author. Then this picture will be a certain historical monument, accessible as such.  calm  analysis.

But is that true? Is it true?  “Bathing”  red horse -  A necessary link in the chain of our artistic history?  Let's try to prove...

                                                               PP

 

If  "Bathing a Red Horse" stood in one place.  From the capital of our art repositories, our task would be easier. The very fact of accepting the painting in the museum with its authority would support us. But, unfortunately, this picture is not there. How do you explain that? Perhaps it can be explained by the method of gathering, legalized by our museums; they wait for the artist to decide.  I'll give you the most.  It's characteristic of him. Hence the unacceptable hesitation with the paintings of Vrubel, whose death seemed to be waiting to open the doors of museums to him. And how instructive.  in this respect the sharpness of P.M. Tretyakov, who, without loving or understanding  Ge  He acquired his paintings, seeing their significance in the historical perspective of the Russian school of painting.

From here,  Maybe something happened.  "Bathing a Red Horse"  Not in a museum, but in places of honor.  at least  "Ida Rubinstein."  and  "The Abduction of Europe." From  "painting"  He is the creator of his dreams.  household  "grayness"  of his studies to the fantastic  "holidays"  pictures, and before  "painting"  performance  Petrov-Vodkin, before his everyday scene, transformed into a picture,  -  perfectly  consistent  and  legal transition.[1]

Inconsistency  Our museum collectors can be explained in two ways:  either  "The Abduction of Europe"  It was taken only out of respect for the memory of the glorious artist, although lost in the  lifetime  and  It was natural to reject further development.  "delusions" begun  Serov), or - recognizing the importance of recent achievements of Serov, and  here  and    and so on.   significance  direct heir   "picture"  testament  Serova  Petrova-Vodkina, only  They wait,  according  tested  This is a tactic when this artist  determine  "finally."  And  Meanwhile,  "wait," in  essence,  no reason.  If the museum is not a separate collection of paintings,   determining  some artists, and  A consistent monument of the historical life of art, then each painting with already determined historical significance should be there.

 

                                                           Shh.

 

I think I would not be wrong to say that for the artists of the new generation, the generation whose performance is now on the line,  "Bathing a Red Horse" (remember that it was hanged)  over the front door, over the entire exhibition  The World of Art (1912) seemed like a flame.  The high banner around which you can rally seemed like the first blow.  close in Russian art fracture ...

When I first saw this work, I, amazed, involuntarily said:  There she is.  -  The painting that  We need what we expect, one of these artists told me. I suppose  what  generation  "Bathing a Red Horse"  played the same  a certain role, as in the past, the  "Girl with peaches" - it turned out to be a trait that separated   on   single  An artistic generation from another.  Then they said:  Here's the best of Repin.  " Not  waited  reconstructed  "artistic"  sculptural painting, but also  This painting is cleaned up here.  from  tasteless  mobile  It is more powerful and more beautiful. Now applying to the new  Circumstances, these words may be  Remake it like this:  into  "Bathing the Red Horse"  The best of the last Serovs has been preserved.  of thought, given that power, that transformation  "Natures" about which Serov powerlessly dreamed in his  "The Abduction of Europe" and here discarded  one   "artificial"  pleasantness, which prevented Serov from the intention of the decorative canvas to go to authenticity   I'm sorry.

How strong is the novelty trait  labor  Petrov-Vodkina shows at least that everyone who writes about this artist involuntarily becomes either his defender or his enemy. Pages posted here  A. Rostislavova - an example  clearly and consistently  outlined   Oh, and you. The same strong defense was all that was said about Petrov-Vodkin.  S. Makovsky.  The few words of A. Benois, scattered over his various articles in newspapers, are remarkably divided; the named critic is now among the artist’s friends, then closer to his enemies. Obviously,  Objectivity is still unattainable. Now there is not yet that environment, that calm and attentive viewer, relying on which and the critic.  I could easily analyze the work of Petrov-Vodkin.  But no.  only  "a quiet spectator,"  There is no peace of mind for Petrov-Vodkin and among artists. He's being treated negatively.  on the far right and on the far left.  Art camps" (words of A. Rostislavov).  Who's with him?

"Bathing a Red Horse"   We introduced ourselves first.  The banner, the first word of the impending era of Russian artistic life; however, the deeds of history show another.  Large    I don't know what I'm doing.   The strength and complexity of traditions that  Petrova-Vodkin  managed to forge unity  of his artistic form,  They were unacceptable both to those who could not afford the European power of the artist’s skill, and to those who  vaguely  was too Russian.  leaven  into  "European"  Petrov-Vodkin.  During the period of his apprenticeship, Petrov-Vodkin looked at  In many ways, however, he succeeded.  (Sleep)  and  picture discussed here  complexity  experience  twist into one tight knot.

Perhaps this one.    It's a precious thing.  In our view,  artist  and   I don't know.   introduced  into  work  Traditions have made it more alien.  young generations,  shattered in the paths of all  western  "isms."  From here.  (and so unexpectedly)  Petrov-Vodkin is one of the most consistent (traditional)  He was not at the head and not the head, but   in   of our artistic movements, as being too extreme for some  Too slow, too careful for others.  It's very revealing.  And an indicator of the sad, in our opinion, degree of self-consciousness of Russian artistic circles.

                                                            

                                                    1.

 

It always seemed to me that in order to understand later pictures,  and portraits of Serov, you need to know Petrov-Vodkin, as the last  He said just that,  What the first thought. Kozma Sergeevich recently passed  It's a detail of one.  recent meetings  He is with Serov (I have to say that).  Serf  large  attentively treated the works of Petrov-Vodkin; reviewing his preparatory sketches and sketches in the artist's workshop,  He said, “I’m amazed at how you get there.”    (a) and (c) and (c)

Become   This dream prompted Serov to look for complex, sophisticated plans in his portraits ("Kn. O.K. Orlova", "G. L. Girshman"), forced him to create such unpleasant and unexpected for the accustomed and loved ones.  "grayness"  Serov, "The Abduction of Europe" and "Navzikaya". “Unbelief” – that’s how I defined it.  Vrubel's fundamental lack of Serov  (“Serov has no onslaught of delight...”) But Vrubel wasn't quite right. If Serov was alien to an enthusiastic impulse  and religious pathos, so frequent in Vrubel, he was characterized by a different pathos - the pathos of intense effort and stubborn, stubborn searches.

Petrov-Vodkin doesn't either.  "onslaught"; his    I don't think so.   It is also achieved by persistent and slow work, long processing of nature, constant search for that magic.  “mistakes” that suddenly transform the everyday randomness of nature into the solemn accuracy of the picture.

Petrov-Vodkin began his red horse with an ordinary red horse (with one of those whom he loved so much and with such an excellent horse).  "Tolstoy"  Serov conveyed the horse convincingly; but the artist wanted to convey the horse as simply, clearly and as easily as possible.    And so his real horse was revealed to the viewer in flame-scarlet. Here is the clue to the credibility of the Red Horse and  "inconclusiveness"  Europe. Petrov-Vodkin believed in the authenticity of his horse.  "Europe" Serov was only the fruit of museum observations. In a word,  The whole difference lies in the same eternally unique value of artistic creations.  in the power of the inner burning of the artist, the only one who can raise everyday life  "nature"  before  "parade"  picture  (how much more important is the meaning of this)  “The Abduction of Europe” – Repin “Zaporozhets”  or Surikov  Ermak.

Painting by Petrov-Vodkin  "Sleep."  It's less exciting. Maybe the reason is--  heard here echoes of Hodler or  Puvi de Chavanna, or, what may be more true, the Western symbolism in general, so strong in our country in those years (1910).  Some literary  The complexity of the plot rather repels us; this literary meaning, unnecessary to us, precisely supersedes from our memory the artistic meaning, undoubtedly significant, given canvas.  In "Bathing"  It's not. The literary design here is petty, simple to absurdity, quite exhausted by the very name - the boy leads to bathe the horse, which is flame-red.  But, strange to say, looking at this picture, insistently want to talk about the importance of  Its meaning, its deep, even spiritual, deep meaning.  "content." But it’s not just my personal feeling. The artist himself appears in  “Bathing a red horse” is not only purely compositional and purely colorful, but also an ideological meaning. Kozma Sergeyevich pointed out to me that last year, at the beginning of the war, when Russia was experiencing an exciting hour of national unification, he suddenly flashed the thought: “So this is why I wrote Bathing a Red Horse.” For many.  It would seem incomprehensible what the connection between the war and this picture might be, and indeed, no matter how it seemed to me.  guesswork  painter And together,  confirming my own conjectures, but prove in words  The correctness of such a rapprochement is difficult...  First of all, of course, it has nothing to do with it.  plot  In this simple and imperious fire of the horse, in this clear and strong, next to the horse, the tone of the boy’s body flickered the coming change in Russian art, which is now (precisely through the war).  feel  "It is necessary," he said, "that force which can  "Pleasant" designs and  “Truthfulness” of household sketches pour into the solemn power of paintings, and  into  The growth of this power only seems possible to us the birth of art.  a rival to capture the beat of modern life.    

 

 

                                                           U

 

In addition, the collective power is also important.  "Bathing a Red Horse."

The integrity of this work arose from a tight plexus  many traditions, because it seemed the pledge, the beginning   I don't know.    Russian art in  single-minded  (Here’s another explanation of why you’re swimming.)  maybe  It seems to be the most resonant of modern paintings experienced by Russia at the end of last year.

And then there is the inheritance of the  The Red Horse can be used if desired.  deepen it very far, up to the Novgorod ancient icon painters. This is where we will find the forerunner of the red horse, and where also without regret forgotten about the plausibility, to one feature (at least a furrow across the cheek in the face of John the Baptist)  passion  and the power of image.[2]  Rostislavov mentions Venetsianov  ("Mother" - Petrov-Vodkina). It should also be called Ryabushkin.  "Parade"  Ryabushkina, his  "Going."  and  "Tea Party"  (as a close reflection)  Tea Party.  point out  "Old Man."  Petrov-Vodkin, together with Serov's attempts at parade, at the crossing of these two nearest  (Russian)  tradition and  "Bathing a Red Horse."

This picture is remarkable for the fact that in it the artist finally came into contact with his native soil after  "European"  period of his creativity.  I will not say, however, that he was disillusioned with the achievements he had found in his apprenticeship in Italy, in Paris, in Africa; on the contrary, everything he had found remained with him. That's the answer, I think.  ooh   "Bathing."  Him.   I'm sorry.   to link both the experience of the Western school and the new strong seizure of the Russian school, undoubtedly experienced by him after his return from the  borders, one tight knot. He did not look back with disbelief or even timidity at the West.  “Innovations,” as Repin or Serov looked back; he did not renounce them as sinful temptations like Surikov or Ryabushkin, but went the same way as Ivanov or Ge went. The return to his native soil was quite natural for him, the conclusion was necessary. n   oh   exercises.

It is difficult for me to imagine Petrov-Vodkin once again under the influence of any Western master.  (as he was under the influence of Gauguin)  As more and more persistent peering and penetration  The legacy of Russian painting by Ivanov seems to me quite  It is possible, if not the only way for the further fruitful development of this artist.  Particularly noteworthy in Petrov-Vodkin  that he was quite capable of Western painting science, and that at the same time  He did not lose the soil, as it was lost even by Bakst or Tarkhov, that this Western science only helped him to penetrate his native picturesque heritage, to penetrate it. All this seems to me to be a significant phenomenon in the Russian school of art ... perhaps a sign of its approach.   I'm not sure.

 

                                                          U1

 

The greatest capture of modernity and the greatest force of persuasiveness  -  This is the task now facing art.  "Bathing a Red Horse"  The year of his exhibition seemed to be the first bold attack on the cherished goal.  now  To many or some of those who greeted him, this picture seems almost an obstacle.  Indeed, her tongue is like  intentionally slow,  Stress-tight and indistinct. This lead-heaviness of tightly smeared canvas paints, these  "wrong"  poses and sleep movements of boys  -  All of this (so it seems now)  It can already be overcome. Of course, the historical necessity of Petrov-Vodkin’s painting and the value of his workshops are now so clearly understood.   oh   (at least errors in the anatomical arrangement of muscles on the boy's body or in the size of the horse's head, in comparison with the size of the body).  But I want to ask, at least in the form of a theoretical assumption,   Is Serov, proclaimed as the only way out of the impasse of everyday life, really obligatory and inevitable? Maybe,  "paradise"  and the power achieved by  "mistakes" - only a trace of temporary  and a painful change in the life of art, and now we will soon be able to see the body painted by the artist, not tense and frozen body.  "Sleep" and easy and fast and, together with even more  attractiveness  "untruthful," with even greater grip and brilliance    That's it.

 

In the design of his paintings  Petrov-Vodkin was guided, as A. Rostislavov points out (from the words of the artist himself).  next:  “The interaction of paint and shape must be such that the eye first feels the difference, the contrast, and not  “Petching combinations”; let the first impression of the picture be even stabbing. Intended by these  word-way    (c) In the case of    The picture seems to be correct.  "Collapsing."  must have arisen and arisen.  (and probably more)  It will be a sign of modernity for a long time.   And that's what it is.   painting as a protest against  “Transparents” that are enough  us  contemporary art exhibitions  (Except futuristic ones, where perhaps the most positive value was their comparative value)  "prickly."  Let's say even more decisively: those works of Petrov-Vodkin, where  pricklyness  descend  (At least in some of his recent work...)  “Mother” and “Mother of God” – the tenderness of evil hearts.  It seems less historical, less historical.  necessary for the life of domestic painting. All this is true, but still – pricklyness is an extreme, a fracture with which we should have been sick and sick.  to come someday to a new caressing harmony and fullness.

Perhaps – in the work of Petrov-Vodkin, so convex and strongly defined the facets of the modern fracture, we will find recovery. But this is a matter of the future.

Now all we have to do is fear.   fl    n and x   and   rushing  approaches  this way  Many are attractive, as easily achievable, ideal.

The clear definiteness and synthetic force of form, achieved by simple dexterity of technique, by the artifice of craft, without the same completeness.   n   It will only confuse the paths and distance the goal from us. Then, in the best case, we will observe that temporary  "stunned"  The spectator and the fruitless hype caused at one time synthetic attempts at at least Bryullov or Vasnetsov.  We must remember that   Oh, yeah.   future  "painting"  design  Russian painting depends entirely on the ability to absorb into one force the individual efforts of many, since in art, even for a miracle, long preparatory efforts and persistent, intense work are necessary. If we look at the challenges of our time in this way, if we recognize the gift of the b and the b as the first value.   and  We will not be able to deny Petrov-Vodkin the significance of even an exceptional one. Hence, perhaps, the path of this artist, too cautious and slow, too slow.  "smelling"  Hard and hard work, in the opinion of the “uninitiated”, will seem most directly leading to the goal, and even most quickly.

However, we repeat why we cannot talk, even in the form of a theoretical dream, about the possibility of achieving the goal even more quickly.  One bold and enthusiastic onslaught?