Nikolai Belsky biography

Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky-Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky-Russian artist, beautiful portraitist and landscape painter, academician of painting, follower of the movement of the Wanderers, chairman of the Kuindzhi Society. He devoted his work to the village’s life, convincingly reflected the everyday life of the peasant children and vividly reflected the life of the rural pre -revolutionary school.

The artist was born on December 8 in the small village of Shitika of the Belsky district of the Smolensk province now Oleninsky district of the Tver region. Since the boy was born an extramarital son of a simple peasant woman, his surname was formed from the pseudonym - Bogdanov, and the names of his native county - Belsky. The second part of the surname was attached only in the year, when the artist received the title of academician.

Bogdanov -Belsky recalled this event: "The sovereign himself was ennobled by my common name, having inscribed it with his own hands in a diploma through a hyphen -" Belsky "." Childhood in the village took place in the poor, but peacefully: young Nikolai worked as a shepherd, loved to cut out animal figures from wood and draw on fences, studied at a parish school. The future artist was very lucky that his talent was noticed by the outstanding professor S.

Rachinsky, who came from Moscow, who at that time organized schools for peasant children in the province and played a large role in the fate of Bogdanov-Belsky. The professor was so impressed with his portrait, who was drawn by a homegrown artist that he determined the boy in his 4th class zemstvo school in the village of Tatev, and then, in the year, sent to the icon-painting workshop of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

All this time, the boy lived in the Rachinsky family as a member of the family. In the year, Bogdanov-Belsky goes to study at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, still on the content of Professor Rachinsky. The teachers of Bogdanov-Belsky were V. Polenov in the landscape class, I. Pryanishnikov-in the figure, to write from his nature E. Sorokin and V.

at the age of sixteen, in the year, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky returned to Tatevo, where he continued to devote the majority of painting, living in the house with Professor Rachinsky. At that time, he had already begun to participate in exhibitions and his work even began to be sold, such as a “spruce forest”, who was bought by a noble entrepreneur and a collector, V.

already at the school, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky showed himself as successful and worthy of attention of the painter: he received awards and praise of his teachers. The painting "Future monk", written in the year as a diploma work, brought the young artist not only a large silver medal and the title of "Cool Artist", but also the first glory. Bogdanov-Belsky was able to travel to Constantinople and carry out a pilgrimage to Athos thanks to the help of one Moldavian landowner in the year.

It was there that Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky met with Philip Malyavin, who worked in the icon-painting workshop in Athos. Bogdanov-Belsky worked a lot and enthusiastically at the monastery hotel, held conversations with the monks of the Holy Panteleimon Monastery and watched the nature of this amazing place. In the same year, when Bogdanov-Belsky began to participate in the exhibitions of the Wanderers, the artist’s diploma picture was shown by the artist and highly appreciated by the eminent critic V.

In general, being a regular participant in the exhibitions of the Wanderers, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky wrote very close in content and spirit to the partnership of mobile art exhibitions of work. Bogdanov-Belsky officially joined the Motra-Belsky Wanderers itself in the year. Later, the artist will write about his memoirs: "These exhibitions were a huge success.

There was complete harmony between society and us, the same interests, one ideology united us." In the year, the painting "Future Monk" was acquired by a large Moscow entrepreneur and owner of the art gallery K. Soldatenkov, and then, the picture passed to Empress Maria Fedorovna. Subsequently, Bogdanov-Belsky received many orders for the repetition of this canvas, including from M.

The artist continued to study after graduating from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture only in the Higher Art School at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts at the I.'s workshop for the first two years in the academy, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belovsky went to Paris to improve his skill in the studio in the studio F. Kolarossi and F. The artist also traveled and worked in Germany and Italy.

The reproductions of Bogdanov-Belsky canvases were published in the popular magazines Niva, “Artistic Hidness of Russia”, “The Capital and the Manor”. His paintings were bought by the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, as well as, art museums of such large cities as Almaty, Arkhangelsk, Nizhny Tagilsk, Omsk and Samara. Bogdanov-Belsky graduates from the Academy of Arts in the year, and in the year he is assigned the title of academician of painting.The glory of Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky as a portrait player spread so far that the sovereign Nicholas II ordered his portrait of the year from him, although he met with the artist only in the year, and the portrait was completed two more years later.

The emperor was extremely pleased with the result. He also acquired two paintings by the artist: "Game of Checkers" and "Reading in a rural school." In general, in the career of Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky there are portraits of many close tsarist court, as well as Empress Maria Fedorovna and Grand Duke Sergey Alexandrovich. In the year, Bogdanov-Belsky became a full member of the Academy of Arts.

The artist’s public life was quite active: he was elected chairman of the company A. Kuindzhi in the year and remained in this post up to a year. The collapse of the monarchy and the revolutionary situation had a strong influence on the artist’s life. He could not recover from this shock and adapt to a new way of life: in the fall of the year, the artist, at the invitation of his friend, Sergei Vinogradov, left for Latvia.

He continues to draw topics close to his heart and familiar motives: rural nature and peasant children. Bogdanov-Belsky spoke with warmth about his newfound house, and especially, about the eastern edge of Latgale, where he spent almost every summer: "Latvia is generally very picturesque, and especially Latgale.

Its nature reminds me of the northern part of the Smolensk province, where I was born and spent my childhood." In Latvia, seven personal exhibitions of the artist were held in the period from a year. The artist was in demand in Latvia, his work was well bought and often exhibited. The last lifetime exhibition, in which Bogdanov-Belsky participated in the year in Moscow, where the artist showed the painting "Shepherd Proshka", written in the year.

The artist, being seriously ill, was forced to leave Latvia in the year and go with his wife Antonina Maximilian Erhard, the Baltic German, to Germany, to be operated on in the Berlin clinic. Bogdanov-Belsky died in Berlin on February 19 during the bombing and was buried in the Russian Orthodox Tagel cemetery. Sources: Barsheva, I. Moscow: State publishing house of fine art.

Feigman, T. Russians in Latvia. Moscow: The White City Podushkov, D. Udomelskaya old. Local history almanac.