Who has not seen such famous paintings as"Warriors" and "Alenushka"? And "Ivan the Terrible"? The legendary Russian artist, probably, is known not only by adults, but also by children, because the latter could see illustrations made by Vasnetsov, to Russian folk tales in children's books or magazines.
How did the artist live?
Meanwhile, he could not become an artist, because in thosesince the time he lived, there was a tradition that sons should follow in their father’s footsteps and inherit his profession. And his father, by the way, was a priest. Therefore, at 10 years old, little Victor was sent to study first at a special religious school, and then at a theological seminary located in Vyatka.
Vyatka Theological Seminary
You can say the biography of Vasnetsov as an artiststarted exactly here. In Vyatka province there were many local amateur artists and various craftsmen. All of them were engaged, who painted toys, furniture and dishes, who carved wood and beautiful embroidery.
There is no doubt that this has had a tremendousinfluence on the development of talent of a young man, as well as on his worldview. He was so carried away by drawing, that if a few free minutes appeared with him, he immediately began to draw something. Probably, then he could not have thought that soon it would become a matter of his life.
Although Vasnetsov’s biography does not includeonly information about him as an artist. It is authentically known that he was engaged in architecture and design, and also was a painter-muralist, theater artist and, as mentioned above, an illustrator of children's books.
Academy of Arts and School of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists
Духовную семинарию он так и не окончил:having left the last course, he decided to go to Petersburg, to enter the Academy of Arts. To do this, he writes two genre pictures, "Thrush" and "Reaper", sells them and goes to the Academy with the money received.
Next, the biography of Vasnetsov unfolds.in the following way. Arriving in St. Petersburg and reaching the cherished Academy, he passes the entrance exams and waits for notification of the results. But did not wait. But not because he did not act, but because an error occurred, and the notice was for some reason not delivered to him. In fact, he entered, but he found out about it only a year later.
Deciding to try againThe following year, he goes to school for the Society for the Promotion of Artists. There he improves his skills, and at the same time earns his living with illustrations for various books, magazines and even gives private lessons.
Artist Vasnetsov, whose biography containsmany interesting facts, wrote a large collection of paintings that are impressive for their realism and simplicity. He wrote many of them when he studied at the Academy, for example, such as “Tea drinking”, “The old woman feeds chickens”, “Beggars” and others.
After finishing his studies at the invitation of his friend and artist Repin, he went to Paris. There, he worked for a year, and in this country he painted the picture “Slaves in the vicinity of Paris”.
But, besides the amazing pictures, there are quite a fewportraits that Vasnetsov wrote. A brief biography, outlined in this article, has many unsaid points, such as, for example, the aforementioned hobby of Viktor Mikhailovich in architecture and design.
The house in which the artist lived, is decorated in a veryinteresting, intricate style. And the author of this project was, of course, Vasnetsov. On the second floor of this “tower” there was a workshop, in which many paintings were born, which later became a legend.
Personal life
Little is known about the artist’s family life. But the preserved portraits allow you to see the creator's wife, one of his daughter Tatiana and the sons of Vladimir and Boris.
Interesting facts from the life of the creator
According to his great-niece's niece, some interesting facts are known that Vasnetsov’s biography contains:
- Vladimir Cathedral, located in Kiev, Viktor Mikhailovich painted 10 years.
- Once when painting the temple, being at the verythe dome, Vasnetsov fell down. He was saved from trouble only by the fact that he caught his coat hook and hung in the air. Recalling this incident later, he said that the Lord had saved him then.
- Vasnetsov was very fond of the History of Russia.
- The painting "Alyonushka" was painted with the holy foolpeasant girls, who actually lived. The background is also a real place in Abramtsevo. Initially, the canvas was called "Fool Alyonushka" and had nothing to do with the fairy tale.
- In the evenings in the artist's family, the whole family read the Bible.
- Vasnetsov was acquainted with Nicholas II, and even attended his coronation.
- In life, he was a very economical man, never threw money to the wind and carried every penny into the family.
- Vasnetsov was a strict father, but at the same time he raised his children in an atmosphere of creativity.
- The artist's son received the profession of an astronomer, and the eldest daughter became an artist.
- Vasnetsov's wife had a medical profession, which she received one of the first (among women) in St. Petersburg.
The artist died in 1926, and his last words were: “Tell everyone who will ask how, they say, and that: I only lived in Russia ...”
