DOI issue:
Studio-Talk
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43452#0176
Studio-Talk
achieved as a painter of religious pictures in the
course of ten years, reference to which was made
at the time in these pages (see vol. 50, p. 79);
while quite lately he has in a collection of early and
recent works presented himself chiefly as a painter
of epic themes and as a portraitist. And as on the
previous occasion, so here the impression left by
the work displayed was that Vasnetzoff, who is now
sixty-five years old, is still at the height of his
powers, and in fact that he alone among the older
generation of modern Russian painters has com-
pletely retained his freshness and never ceased to
go forward. _
It is singular that of the four large canvases of an
epic character shown at this recent exhibition, the
weakest were those whose motives were derived
from the world of Russian myth and legend; these
certainly fell short of some earlier pictures of a
similar kind by this artist which are now in the
Tretiakoff Gallery. This criticism applies not only
to the Bayan exhibited at last year’s International
Exhibition in Rome and representing a Skald in
the midst of a group of warriors, and to the markedly
theatrical work, Three Princesses from the Nether
World, but also to the picture of Ivan the Kings
Son fighting a Monster, which, as regards com-
position, is not very happily constructed. What
is lacking in these pictures is the truly epic
conception and a really convincing fantasy; in
spite of the successful handling of details, they
strike one on the whole as distinctly illustrative.
Nor is the best of the four pictures wholly free
from this organic defect. Here the painter has
culled his material from Ossian, the scene being
that in which Kolma is bewailing on the seashore
the loss of her brother and lover, who have slain
one another in a duel; but here the general effect
is far more coherent, and
the artist has handled the
theme with an almost
youthful freshness. The
picture excites our admira-
tion by the beautiful and
broad manner in which the
sea has been painted, its
simple, effective composi-
tion, and its fine colour
harmony constituted by the
deep blue of Kolma’s dress,
the yellow of the armour
and the grey of the atmo-
sphere. It is interesting
to note that in this paint-
ing Vasnetzoff again reveals
that partiality for English
art of which traces are to
be found in many of his
works. _
In his portraits Vas-
netzoff shows himself a
very sympathetic limner
of humanity. The subjects
of most of them are his
near relations, nearly all of
whom are of that refined
blonde type which figures
so prominently in the
artist’s pictures. The
portraits are free from
affectation or conscious
pose and always painted
163
“kolma bewailing the death of her brother and lover” (from
OSSIAN). BY VICTOR VASNETZOFF
achieved as a painter of religious pictures in the
course of ten years, reference to which was made
at the time in these pages (see vol. 50, p. 79);
while quite lately he has in a collection of early and
recent works presented himself chiefly as a painter
of epic themes and as a portraitist. And as on the
previous occasion, so here the impression left by
the work displayed was that Vasnetzoff, who is now
sixty-five years old, is still at the height of his
powers, and in fact that he alone among the older
generation of modern Russian painters has com-
pletely retained his freshness and never ceased to
go forward. _
It is singular that of the four large canvases of an
epic character shown at this recent exhibition, the
weakest were those whose motives were derived
from the world of Russian myth and legend; these
certainly fell short of some earlier pictures of a
similar kind by this artist which are now in the
Tretiakoff Gallery. This criticism applies not only
to the Bayan exhibited at last year’s International
Exhibition in Rome and representing a Skald in
the midst of a group of warriors, and to the markedly
theatrical work, Three Princesses from the Nether
World, but also to the picture of Ivan the Kings
Son fighting a Monster, which, as regards com-
position, is not very happily constructed. What
is lacking in these pictures is the truly epic
conception and a really convincing fantasy; in
spite of the successful handling of details, they
strike one on the whole as distinctly illustrative.
Nor is the best of the four pictures wholly free
from this organic defect. Here the painter has
culled his material from Ossian, the scene being
that in which Kolma is bewailing on the seashore
the loss of her brother and lover, who have slain
one another in a duel; but here the general effect
is far more coherent, and
the artist has handled the
theme with an almost
youthful freshness. The
picture excites our admira-
tion by the beautiful and
broad manner in which the
sea has been painted, its
simple, effective composi-
tion, and its fine colour
harmony constituted by the
deep blue of Kolma’s dress,
the yellow of the armour
and the grey of the atmo-
sphere. It is interesting
to note that in this paint-
ing Vasnetzoff again reveals
that partiality for English
art of which traces are to
be found in many of his
works. _
In his portraits Vas-
netzoff shows himself a
very sympathetic limner
of humanity. The subjects
of most of them are his
near relations, nearly all of
whom are of that refined
blonde type which figures
so prominently in the
artist’s pictures. The
portraits are free from
affectation or conscious
pose and always painted
163
“kolma bewailing the death of her brother and lover” (from
OSSIAN). BY VICTOR VASNETZOFF