Why did the famous socialist realist Heliy Korzhev begin to write mutant-turliks and paintings on biblical motifs
In recent years, in the world of art, interest in the work of Soviet artists has revived. And there was a time when their work was written off to a…

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Two brides for one groom: The riddle of a picturesque plot about the mystical betrothal of St. Catherine
The American artist Marilyn Sunderland covers her pumpkin sculptures with the plexus of leaves, flowers and berries, figures of fantastic fish, birds and butterflies, turning a regular vegetable grown in…

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Unknown portrait of Da Vinci’s brush: Did the great master really write “Princess Leonardo” and whom he portrayed
It may seem that the legacy of Leonardo da Vinci has many paintings - this artist, who died five hundred years ago, is mentioned too much and too often in…

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artistic geniuses

Beloved woman of Boris Kustodiev, in whose name he overcame hellish pain and created his best works

“Dear Yulik” – that’s what Boris Kustodiev called Yulia Proshinskaya, which was everything for the artist: a faithful and selfless wife, and the greatest love, and a devoted friend, and a muse-inspirer, and a guardian angel. She was an integral part of Boris himself, who, by the will of fate, ended up in a wheelchair. It was her courageous decision, when the question arose of what to keep her husband for life – arms or legs, allowed to extend for another 10 years the creative fate of the artist. And it was during this time that he created his best works, which were included in the golden fund of world art.

The talented painter fell not only great love, but also a difficult fate. Yes, and not only on himself, but also on the woman who walked a life path with him, despite the trials and troubles.

And today, in continuation of the theme of the wives of the great and famous masters of Russian painting – an amazing and heart-rending love story of the Kustodievs.

Fateful meeting Continue reading

Sentimental paintings about the village children of Frederick Morgan

Today, lovers of sentimental painting are given the opportunity to get acquainted with the magnificent gallery of genre paintings by the English artist Frederick Morgan, who worked at the turn of the last two centuries and created a number of paintings dedicated to rural children.

The theme of children in the 18th century was very winning. These paintings diverged from the collections of wealthy art lovers with enviable speed. How could you not admire the images of cute angels: blue eyes, a sugar smile, sincerity, the desire to imitate adults in everything. And the fact that the plot canvases depicting the children of an English painter were very popular during his lifetime was quite natural.

Frederick Morgan was born in London in 1847. His father John Morgan was also an artist. At one time he graduated from the school of design, and later becoming a member of the Society of British Artists, he painted paintings on historical and biblical themes. Continue reading

“Love Letter” by Jan Vermeer: Why the lute is central to the picture

Cristobal Balenciaga once said that “a good fashion designer should be an architect for patterns, a sculptor for form, an artist for design, a musician for harmony, and a philosopher for fit.” And it is not surprising that in the 20th century he ruled high fashion with innovative clothing inspired by unusually traditional Spanish sources. The Basque fashion designer took replicas from regional clothing, folk costumes, bullfights, flamenco dances, Catholicism and, of course, from the history of painting. And in the end, he created what conquered the world for centuries.

The Balenciaga collection is full of stocky silhouettes, stooped shoulders and neat trouser lines. But the fashion house today, under the leadership of Demna Gvasalia, represents a completely different aesthetic than what Cristobal himself did during his lifetime. “They cannot be compared,” explains Eloy Martinez de la Pera, curator of the new Balenciaga and Spanish Painting exhibition in Madrid, which combines ninety works of the Balenciaga couture with 56 masterpieces of Spanish painting that inspired the designer. “Balenciaga’s story ended when he stopped making clothes. His story was extremely personal, but today Balenciaga has a completely different story, and it is also worth telling. ” And in order to truly recognize Cristobal himself, it is important to know the key elements of Spanish art that shaped his aesthetic vision. Continue reading

How Peter Konchalovsky managed to avoid repression and why the artist was called the Soviet Cezanne
Not many painters who disobeyed the socialist regime in times of bloody repression managed to escape punishment. Today I would like to recall the name of one of them -…

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19th Century Girl Albums: Entertainment for Bored Aristocrats or a Separate Genre in Art?
The young ladies of the 19th century were not so different from the modern ones: they also needed attention, recognition, evidence of sympathy from friends and, of course, a cordial…

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Creativity for the Mentally Ill: A Book That Changed History
Sometimes you can hear such a statement that in order to create a masterpiece, you must be either a genius or a madman. Tarragon - the hero of the play…

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