“Maslenitsa” by Kustodiev. Three paintings for one subject. Winter creativity of Boris Kustodiev: holiday and flavor

Maslenitsa Kustodievskaya and not only... mamlas wrote in March 7th, 2016

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This year Maslenitsa fell on the second week of March, from the 7th to the 13th. It has long been customary in Rus' to celebrate this holiday widely and on a grand scale. The festivities lasted all week and were accompanied by numerous games and fun. Wall-to-wall fist fights, taking over a snowy town, triple-skiing and sledding, etc. More about


B. Kustodiev. Maslenitsa, 1916


Paintings by famous Russian artists allow us to imagine how the celebration of Maslenitsa took place more than a century ago. Maslenitsa week begins. To make Maslenitsa wider, you need to approach its celebration with all the breadth of your soul. Main meaning This holiday is a farewell to winter. A worthy send-off! So that winter does not have the opportunity to return. For this necessary do 7 things.


2. G. Perov. Wide Maslenitsa, 2005

3. V. Surikov. Capture of the snowy town, 1891

“Taking the Snow Town” is one of the most famous works V. Surikov, which depicts an ancient folk pastime: on the ice of the river, a fortress with towers and gates was built from snow, the participants were divided into defenders and attackers. They fought back with snowballs, twigs and brooms. The winner, who was the first to break into the fortress, faced a test - swimming in an ice hole. This ancient Cossack game has long been played in Siberia on Maslenitsa.


4. A. Brusilov. Maslenitsa, 1999


1. Celebrate Maslenitsa

The first day of Maslenitsa was called a meeting. The first pancake was not eaten on Monday, it was left for the souls of the departed; they carried him out onto the porch with the words “Our honorable dead, here is a pancake for your souls!” - or gave it to the poor so that they could pray for peace. On this day you also need to make a Maslenitsa effigy out of straw and put an old one on it. women's clothing, put him on a pole and, singing, carry him along the street on a sleigh.




5. B. Kustodiev. Maslenitsa, 1916


Troika and sleigh rides are another favorite pastime of the people during Maslenitsa week. B. Kustodiev dedicated several of his paintings to this topic. Modern critics call the indisputable advantage of Kustodiev’s works the elegant combination of the principles of lubok and Venetian painting Renaissance. But the artist’s contemporaries considered this a drawback: the purchase of “Maslenitsa” (1916) by the Academy of Arts was accompanied by a scandal - some members of the council spoke out against the acquisition of this “popular print that has nothing to do with art.”


6. F. Sychkov. Mountain skiing, 1937


2. Slide down the hill on a sleigh

The question is why? For a good harvest! According to the beliefs of our great-grandfathers, the further the sleigh rolls and the louder the noise and laughter over the ice slide, the better and longer the flax will grow. And not only linen. Therefore, we look for the highest slides and create noise.



7. B. Kustodiev. Maslenitsa, 1919

8. B. Kustodiev. Maslenitsa, 1920


Kustodiev explained his chosen style of writing as follows: “I consider diversity and brightness to be very typical of Russian life.” Painted sleighs, dashing troikas, folk theaters and booths, multi-colored carousels are the constant attributes of Kustodiev’s Maslenitsa. Village women in bright scarves and skirts, accordion players, hawkers, merchants and merchant women - regular participants holidays and the characters of his paintings.



9. P. Balod. Maslenitsa





10. B. Kustodiev. Village Maslenitsa (Harmonist), 1916


Kustodiev’s paintings were created in a difficult period both for the country and for the artist himself - 1916-1920, the time of revolution and Civil War. Kustodiev was seriously ill, he painted these paintings in wheelchair, overcoming the pain. The artist recreates the scenes of cheerful folk holidays from memory, as if contrasting them with troubles, bloodshed and disease.



11. I. Shurikhina. Maslenitsa


4. Go to your mother-in-law's for pancakes

On Wednesday we go to our mother-in-law for pancakes. It is not known for certain what this tradition is connected with. There is a version that the mother-in-law is a personalized winter that needs to be appeased. Dear sons-in-law! The main thing is to remember that it is necessary, according to tradition, to eat all the pancakes: otherwise, problems may arise with the end of winter.



12. P. Gruzinsky. Maslenitsa, 1889


13. V. Belykh. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Maslenitsa, 1908


The same plot - riding in troikas along snow-covered village streets - was depicted in the painting “Maslenitsa” by P. Gruzinsky. The paintings of V. Belykh and A. Stepanov are devoted to the same topic. And L. Solomatkin wrote a scene of riding on ice slide. To build a slide, they rolled snowballs and piled them up, compacted the snow and then filled the pile with cold water.


14. A. Cherkashina. Maslenitsa, 2002


5. Choose a suit

On Thursday, on Razgulay, it was customary to dress up in the most incredible costumes. An overseas guest, who, by the will of fate, turned out to be a witness to Razgulay, could get a nervous breakdown when he came face to face with Russian mummers. Halloween might seem like child's play... By the way, in the Maslenitsa tradition there are several “images” of mummers, so choose what is closest to your style:

Ancestors- “elders”, “dead man”, “tall old women”.
Strangers- “beggars”, “hunter”, “devil” (all black with horns).
Young- “bride and groom”, “pregnant woman”.
Animals- “Bull”, “Cow”, “Horse”, “Goat”, “Moose”, “Bear”, “Dogs”, “Wolves”.
Birds- “Goose”, “Gander”, “Crane”, “Duck”, “Chicken”.



15. A. Stepanov. Riding on Maslenitsa, 1910

16. L. Solomatkin. Maslenitsa


Another tradition that has existed in Rus' since ancient times is hand-to-hand combat. Wall-to-wall fist fights were a popular pastime during Maslenitsa - before Lent, people wanted to not only get plenty of drink and food, but also to give free rein to their fists. This was an imitation of a battle between two enemy units on a real battlefield. Spectators gathered at the site of the skirmishes, and with them - peddlers with goods and beaters with hot mead and beer. The battle opened with “bullying,” “flirting,” and “touching,” which often lasted more than an hour: the opponents were getting ready for a fight, shouting battle cries and taunting their opponent. In Moscow, battles took place on the ice-covered Moscow River near the Babyegorodskaya dam, near Simonov and Novodevichy Monastery and on the Sparrow Hills, in St. Petersburg - on the ice of the Neva and Fontanka.


17. A. Myrochkina. Maslenitsa, 1998


6. Take the "snow fortress"

The main event of Razgulay was the assault on the snowy town, which symbolizes winter. Our ancestors preferred to build a “town” on a river or on the square of a city or village. Usually the "fortress" consisted of two walls with a gate between them. Different figures were installed on the snow gates: most often they were a rooster, a bottle and a glass, but you can experiment with other images. The participants were divided into two teams - the besiegers and the besieged. The gates must be defended on foot and attacked on horseback. Taking the “town” means destroying it. The besieged can defend themselves with branches, brooms, and also use shovels to cover the attackers with snow. The first one to break through the gate was considered the winner. By the way, our ancestors had a tradition of “washing” the winner in the snow.




18. B. Kustodiev. Fist fight on the Moscow River, 1897


19. K. Makovsky. Folk festivities during Maslenitsa on Admiralteyskaya Square in St. Petersburg, 1869


They dedicate their works and contemporary artists. S. Kozhin depicted the farewell to Maslenitsa, which takes place on the last day of the holiday week and is accompanied by the burning of a straw effigy - a symbol of winter and death.


20. S. Kozhin. Maslenitsa. Seeing off. Russia, XVII century, 2001


21. E. Shtyrov. Maslenitsa. Farewell to winter


7. Burn the Maslenitsa effigy

On Forgiveness Sunday, according to the established Russian tradition, having bowed to each other from the depths of our hearts, we forgive each other mutual offenses and sins in order to begin fasting with a good soul. After this, you can move on to the culmination of the holiday - the burning of the Maslenitsa effigy. When Winter burns down, the final fun ends the holiday: jumping over the fire. This is how Maslenitsa ends.



22. T. Nazarenko. Farewell to winter, 1973


An essay based on Kustodiev’s painting “Maslenitsa” should begin with brief information about the artist himself. For example, the fact that Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev is one of the greatest Russians Soviet artists, who worked in different periods of Russian life: he was born in Russian Empire, but died in the Soviet Union. He was distinguished by his talent already in his early years and received many medals and awards during his studies and upon graduation from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Despite the fact that he was widely known as a portrait painter, his soul lay with everyday genre- combining a portrait with a landscape or interior. This is his painting “Maslenitsa”, painted in 1919.

Plan for writing an essay on the topic "Maslenitsa" based on a painting by Kustodiev

Like any other essay, this work should begin with a well-thought-out plan.

  1. The first point, as usual, is the introduction. An example introduction is at the beginning of this article; it can be expanded if necessary and other facts about the artist or painting can be introduced.
  2. Next, in an essay on the painting “Maslenitsa” by Kustodiev, you should describe the details of the picture: what is in the foreground and background, what objects or parts attract attention, consider color scheme And general mood works.
  3. After this, you need to describe your feelings and emotions caused by viewing the picture. You should also not skimp on assumptions about what might cause the emotions of the characters in the picture and its general mood.
  4. At the very end, it remains to draw a capacious conclusion that will summarize the entire essay as a whole.

Essay based on Kustodiev’s painting “Maslenitsa”

In this picture, the artist sought to convey the general cheerful and cheerful mood that is caused by the original Russian and long-awaited holiday - Maslenitsa. It is so long-awaited because people associate it with the aroma tasty food, with fairs, with the onset of spring and city festivities. On foreground In the paintings, the artist depicted harnessed horses with people briskly riding in sleighs, cheerful children next to a shop with cheeses and caviar, merchants leisurely having a conversation, a merchant behind a small shop and a lively crowd near the theater. The central object of the composition is an elegant troika of horses, which with difficulty overcome fluffy snowdrifts and carry wealthy ladies in a sleigh. Despite the fact that it is clearly frosty outside (all the characters are dressed in warm fur coats), the color scheme of the picture warms its viewer: a variety of warm brown, red and yellow shades in the foreground of the picture complements the overall mood of the work. In the background, the fun seems to have died down a little: a calm church glistens in the sun, birch trees covered with snow stand quietly, there don’t seem to be so many people.

Completion of an essay

In conclusion of the essay on the painting “Maslenitsa” by Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev, I would like to note that he was true master in creating such bright, festive household paintings, which will not allow Russian people to remain indifferent to them. Everyone will find themselves in his paintings, recognize the emotions that this artist tried to convey. talented artist. His paintings turned out so alive and truthful because he was close to the people and sincerely loved them.

(1878 - 1927)

This is, perhaps, the only case in the world when a person doomed to immobility and slow death created the most festive, most colorful and joyful creations. From thirty three years artist Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev I began to feel signs of a serious illness, which later turned out to be a spinal cord tumor. Five years later, in 1916, despite painful operations, his legs became paralyzed. And he, sometimes in a wheelchair, sometimes lying down, overcoming terrible pain, painted on canvases radiant with health, brightly dressed merchants, cheerful Maslenitsa, noisy taverns... Even knowing that death was very close, Boris Mikhailovich did not change his favorite holiday themes , did not make the palette darker and duller; it was then that he conceived a large series of works close to popular popular print and new ones for him in technology. The plots were taken from modern folk ditties which he carefully wrote down. He managed to make only two compositions: “To the sweet accordion” and “I robbed the strawberries.” How the names of these linocuts do not fit with the word “death”, which interrupted the artist’s work!

From the very beginning creative path Kustodiev declared himself not only as a writer of everyday life, but no less interestingly as a portrait painter. While still a student, in 1901 he painted a portrait of I. Ya. Bilibin. The beauty of the painting, the bold strokes, and the nobility of the image attracted everyone’s attention. At an exhibition in Munich, the young artist received a gold medal for this portrait.

With all his creativity, Kustodiev asserts that the Russian people are not a sad, suffering mass, that centuries of poverty, deprivation and severe social oppression could not kill the dreams of a happy life in the Russian people.

The painting “Maslenitsa” has a festive mood. The artist seems to be saying that great are the people who, after hard work, are able to have fun and enjoy life with all their hearts. Exploding the snowdrifts, well-fed horses race the sleigh. Diving among white hills and frost-covered bushes on the high slope of a ravine, sleigh owners strive to outdo each other with their prowess, speed, and the beauty of their horses and decorations. The arches are painted, the horse harness is decorated, and the backs of the sleigh are lined with colored fabric. Coachmen in bright blue caftans and hats with scarlet tops drive dashingly; people sitting in sleighs, wrapped in warm fur coats, in furs, covered with bright canopies, are smiling. On a nearby hillock, boys and girls have gathered, sitting on a log, talking, listening to an accordion, and on the other, boys are having a snowball fight and sledding. Clearly against the background of snow from above you can see booths, people crowding around, groups of people at intersections. Smoke swirls above the city roofs in the frosty darkness, colored domes and bell towers flaunt, bright and colorful close up and transparent and airy from a distance; and the whole city looks like a winter fairy-tale mirage, spread out in blue snow under a sky in pink, lemon-yellow and green tints.

The movement in the picture takes place as if in a huge spiral, and the center is a giant bell tower: as if all of Russia, cheerful, flushed with frost, decorated with frost, pink and blue snow, laughing and rejoicing, rushes along a huge carousel around the pink bell tower.

Russian artist - Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev

According to T. Savitskaya, V. Lebedeva

Dialogues about painting

Maslenitsa

The theme of Kustodiev’s painting “Maslenitsa” was the image of a folk festival. Against the backdrop of a winter landscape, people are depicted rushing to the main square of the town. They ride in a sleigh drawn by horses. A cheerful festive atmosphere reigns all around.

The central place is occupied by a pair of beautiful stately horses harnessed to a beautiful painted sleigh. One of them clearly shows a gilded patterned arc. Those sitting in the sleigh are also in a hurry to celebrate. It is clear that there are a lot of people there, including women. The man controls the horses.

Also, in the background there is a church surrounded by trees. Also visible in the picture are houses and other city buildings. And the further away their image is, the more they seem to merge with the snowy expanses visible in the distance.

The landscape itself is also interesting. The shades of the sky are golden with a barely noticeable pale blue tint and pink clouds in the center. Against this background of the winter sky, flocks of birds are visible, soaring upward. Snowdrifts in the picture it has a whitish-bluish tint with a slight pale pink sheen. Horse tracks are visible on them.

Trees silvery with snow stand around, showing off. On the left side of the central image of a sleigh with horses and people, close-up birch trees are depicted. They stand on a snow-covered hill, which below is cordoned off in a circle by small trees. Behind this hill you can see the carousel and the crowd of people.

On the right side are several more trees, which the artist highlighted from the general background, drawing them larger. There are several people near them. The remaining trees are drawn small. But it is clear that there are a lot of them. A sleigh emerges from behind the trees. There are also trees in the square where people are having fun. And, all over the town they are scattered in their winter outfits. They merge with the general landscape.

Essay based on the painting Maslenitsa Kustodiev

Maslenitsa in the artist’s work is the most common theme, one of his favorites. IN different years Kustodiev painted several paintings dedicated to this Russian holiday (from 1916 to 1920).

As you know, Maslenitsa is a traditional holiday Slavic peoples, preceding Easter and signaling the arrival of spring. From time immemorial, Maslenitsa was widely celebrated by the Russian people for a whole week, each day of which had its own traditions and customs. Kustodiev’s canvas depicts, presumably, the most vividly celebrated day - Thursday. The artist sets the goal of depicting a collective image of jubilant Russia, for the holiday has united all the townspeople, any boundaries and conventions are erased - here are wealthy merchants, and small merchants and grocers, and noisy children running after the frisky troikas with bells, and crowds of onlookers gathered at the theater waiting for the show to begin. Only the Russian soul, having cast aside all the hardships of a difficult life, can walk and rejoice so widely and carefree.

The symbols and attributes of the holiday are easily recognizable in the picture. If you mentally divide the canvas into three parts, you can find something meaningful in each. On the left is depicted everything that is associated with a meal: this is indicated on the buildings with signs with enticing names - “Bakery”, “Cheese and Caviar”, a tavern where tables laden with food can be seen through the windows. In literature, the symbolism of eating and feasts “for the whole world” is a fairly common phenomenon. The subtext of this author's move speaks for itself. Carnivals and festivities, where everyone does nothing but eat food, are nothing more than a distraction from surrounding events, which are not always positive (the picture was painted in 1919 - in the post-revolutionary period).

The next shot shows on the right a bright red “Theater” sign near a building whose roof resembles a circus dome, and an announcement on the wall with the clearly visible word “Struggle” in the title. Here the author already makes a reference to the tradition of organizing fights and performances during Maslenitsa week; it was believed that in this way you need to let off “steam,” get rid of all the negativity that has accumulated over the winter and open yourself to a new life. The culminating symbol of all this action is the church. The church in Rus' was of enormous importance; its absence was not allowed in any locality. This is a centripetal force, this is all that unites people in unshakable faith. The church stands on a hillock, as if watching, giving the go-ahead for the celebration. Maslenitsa is still a truly Christian holiday. And even something more - this is hope for the revival of life, this is purity of thoughts and aspirations, this is purification, both spiritual and physical, before the upcoming celebration of Great Easter.

Such holidays dedicated to farewell to winter are typical not only for Russians - and other nations have analogues. But you won’t find that love and that flavor that Kustodiev fully conveyed in “Maslenitsa” anywhere else.

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Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev several times in his work turned to holiday theme farewell to winter, revealing it each time with a feeling of joy from brightness and frosty freshness. One of these striking works, “Maslenitsa,” was written in 1916, subsequently continuing this creative theme, he creates two more colorful canvases in 1919 and 1920. Although some sketches and sketches of the Russian holiday were made by him earlier.


Maslenitsa. 1916
Canvas, oil. 61 x 123 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery,
Moscow

This is a difficult time for Russia, forced to take part in the First World War. Kustodiev is seriously ill and has not picked up his brushes for a long time. But after the operation, overcoming excruciating pain, being in a wheelchair, he begins work and creates works about provincial life. He writes “Maslenitsa”, full of cheerful frosty happiness, as if contrasting it with illness.

A traditional folk festival of the long-awaited welcome of spring, farewell to winter, various competitions, the best outfits are taken from chests, obligatory pancakes, the construction of a snow town, tug of war, pitched tents and sleigh rides. Shaggy earflaps, colorful scarves and shawls, bright mittens - all this flashes as if in a round dance.



Maslenitsa. 1916
Canvas, oil. 47 x 80 cm

Saint Petersburg

Maslenitsa 1916. The last evening rays illuminate the snow-covered city, high spiers and colorful domes of churches. And below, multi-colored swings and carousels creak and rotate, and the cheerful hubbub of the fair can be heard from afar. A brightly painted sleigh being raced by a pair of horses along the street. It is clear that there is a competition going on to see who is faster, louder, and more distant. Fun covers everyone. This is a fabulous reality, like a testament of a sick artist to always look at life with optimism and certainly believe that life itself is a holiday. The sun is nearing sunset, but its rays seem to linger to watch the fun festivities. The winter landscape, which served as the backdrop for Kustodiev’s work, creates a carnival atmosphere. Painted sleighs, birds soaring into the air, slides. The viewer seems to be watching the action from a bird's eye view. Fun, Russian prowess - all this is depicted by the painter in collective image - national holiday. The size of the canvas is 89 by 190.5 cm, 1916. The painting is located in the Russian Museum, in the city of St. Petersburg.



Maslenitsa1. 1916
Canvas, oil. 89x190.5 cm
State Russian Museum,
Saint Petersburg

Kustodiev’s painting “Maslenitsa” stands out significantly compared to the works of other Russian masters, with its unusual colorfulness of writing and a certain primitivism of painterly strokes, nevertheless, the perception of his colorful idyll of the holiday in the Russian province is very easy and understandable, which accordingly lifts the mood. Horseback riding, sledding down the mountains, burning a straw effigy, which was a symbol of the long cold winter... This is a whole week on the eve of Lent. The ancient Slavs celebrated the meeting of spring and farewell to winter in Russia back in pagan times. In the center of any settlement merry celebrations were held. Maslenitsa ended with the burning of a straw effigy, symbolizing winter.

Http://www.art-portrets.ru/art20veka/