Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky. The ending

The name of the outstanding Russian artist Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky was unjustly forgotten. But nevertheless, now it quite rightly stands alongside such names as Shishkin, Vasnetsov, Repin and others.
Often in his work, the artist touches on the theme of the peasantry. He paints the life of a simple peasant family, peasant children. The painting "New Masters" reflects the realities of those times when the nobles squandered their estates, and their former slaves became masters in them.
The artist painted the painting "New Owners" in the Udomel region, in the village of Ostrovno. And as a background for the depiction of events, the artist painted the hall of the estate of the former landowners of the Ushakovs. The events taking place in the picture take place everywhere and throughout Russia. Having gone bankrupt, the nobles sold the family estates to the wealthy merchants and peasants. The disappearing world of noble estates - this is the theme to which Bogdanov-Belsky addresses in his painting.
The interior carries in this picture huge meaning... The remains of the former luxury and splendor are depicted here: a picture in a heavy frame hanging on the wall, a large grandfather clock, expensive furniture - everything remains from the former owners of the estate. But now the owners here are simple peasants - in a place that once aroused them in awe. They are now the owners of the manor house, but they have not yet become accustomed to this situation.
In the picture we see a family of peasants drinking tea. They sit on mahogany chairs, behind round table... Their simple peasant clothing contrasts with the rich furnishings of the living room: exquisite furnishings, a painting in a gilded frame. Former peasants the whole family decorously settled down at the table. Everyone is drinking tea from a large samovar. Almost everyone holds a saucer in their hands, from which they loudly sip tea, which is poured into simple glasses. Only the youngest boy, drinking tea from an expensive porcelain cup. And right on the tablecloth lies a favorite delicacy of a peasant family - bagels.
Looking at the picture, you immediately notice how constrained the peasants are sitting at the table. Surely, they have not forgotten how not so long ago they entered this room only at the call of the master or mistress, stopping at the door in indecision. And through the window, uncovered with curtains, he looks with curiosity autumn garden, transparent air and bare tree trunks. It is the contrast of the interior of a noble estate with images of heroes in simple clothes that shows the viewer the essence of what is happening and helps to imagine life in this house.

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New tale. 1891

Lady with Roses, 1900s

Portrait of Prince A.K. Gorchakov. 1904

Portrait of Adjutant General P.P. Hesse

Over time, acquaintances began to have the feeling that Bogdanov-Belsky was known throughout St. Petersburg. When he passed along the Nevsky Prospekt, he constantly bowed and greeted someone. These were the customers and buyers of his paintings and portraits ...
But still Bogdanov-Belsky loved not the capital with its noise and splendor more, but his native places in the Belsky district. He set up a workshop for himself in the village of Tatevo, not far from the Rachinsky school, and lived here for a long time, not only fulfilling orders, but also doing creative work "for himself" ... And his main theme was and remained the village children.

Portrait of a girl. 1900s

Talent and admirer. 1910

Peasant boys. 1910

"I spent so many years in the village," the artist said, "I was so close to the village school, so often I watched peasant children, I loved them so much for their spontaneity and talent that they became the heroes of my paintings."

Village friends. 1912-1913

The artist's paintings are regularly purchased directly from exhibitions in largest collections, including in Tretyakov gallery... Bogdanov-Belsky became a Itinerant, participated in exhibitions of the Association of Itinerants until 1918, and in many other exhibitions in Russia and abroad, in Paris (1909), Rome (1911). His works are reproduced in the magazines "Niva", "Artistic Treasures of Russia", "Capital and Estate".
In 1903, Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky was elected to the academician of painting for his creative services. He is only 35 years old, and the main thing in life is yet to come ... He continues to work hard, and inIn 1914, at the age of 46, he became a full member of the Academy of Arts.

Visitors. 1913

For a book. 1915

Sometimes his paintings are distinguished by social themes fashionable at the beginning of the 20th century. For example, the painting "New Owners": a patriarchal family of wealthy peasants who bought a noble estate from ruined owners, arranged a tea party in the living room, settling in a new house.

New owners. 1914

But a war begins, followed by a revolution. Bogdanov-Belsky initially accepts changes in the country, although his life, adjusted at the cost of a lot of work, is practically crumbling.
On the canvas of 1918, we see a seemingly familiar picture of village children. But it immediately becomes clear that the children are surrounded by things looted from the manor house - a piano, a carved armchair, a mahogany mirror cabinet ... There is a rough basket on the floor, where "good" is somehow dumped - silver and expensive porcelain mixed with bottles of wine , and the painted cup with gilding from the master's service is already lying on the floor, broken ... And the children enthusiastically strum the keys of the instrument, which has now become "theirs" ...

At the piano. 1918

Civil war, general brutality, hunger, begged for new government rations with millet and rusty herring, persecution of "old-regime" artists ... All this made life unbearable. In 1921, at the invitation of his friend, the artist Sergei Vinogradov, Bogdanov-Belsky moved to "bourgeois" Riga. They know him here, remember him. Director Art Museum Purvit, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, helps Bogdanov to hold a solo exhibition. It is successful ... The life of the "reluctant emigrant" is beginning to improve. Custom-made portraits are still the main help for him, and portraits of village children are still painting for the soul. Both the children of Russia, whom the artist writes from memories, and Latvian children appear on his canvases. Bogdanov-Belsky performs the famous series of works "Children of Latgale".

Latgale girls. 1920s

Young musician. 1920s

Former defender of the homeland. 1924

At first, the artist tried to keep in touch with his homeland and even took part in the exhibition. Soviet artists in America in 1924. But the homeland is increasingly fenced off from the world, iron curtain is becoming stronger ... Bogdanov-Belsky is recognized all over the world, he regularly hosts personal exhibitions - in Paris, Prague, New York, Amsterdam, Berlin, Belgrade, in other cities, and of course, repeatedly in Riga, which has become second home ... But not in Leningrad and not in Moscow ...

Spring. Portrait of Mrs. Baumane

Still life with chrysanthemums. 1924

In 1928 N.P. Bogdanov-Belsky celebrates his 60th anniversary. Many congratulations from all over the world, and especially pleasant - from Repin from Finnish Kuokkala ... But not from the Soviet government.

Away. 1930s

In 1940, Latvia became part of the USSR, and Bogdanov-Belsky began to dream of returning to the artistic sites of his country. In the spring of 1941, he sent the painting "Shepherd Proshka" to an exhibition in Moscow, hoping that the theme of village children, as always, would find its admirers in Russia.

To school. 1941

But soon the war began, Latvia was quickly occupied german troops, and this was a terrible blow for the elderly artist. He was already over seventy, it was becoming more and more difficult to deal with troubles and hardships ... Immediately, the strength ran out, the inspiration went away, the diseases piled on. When Nikolai Petrovich needed a complex operation, there was nowhere to do it except in a German clinic. The wife takes the seriously ill artist to Berlin for treatment, from where it was no longer possible to return to Latvia in the conditions of the war - the Soviet troops went on the offensive. 19 February 1945 Bogdanov-Belsky dies in Berlin during the bombing ...

In the church. 1939

Bogdanov-Belsky chose interesting topic, which he revealed to the viewer on his canvas "New Hosts".
Shown here is a family sitting and drinking tea at a table.
A common picture, but there is something to think about if you look at it better.
So what makes the picture so special? What is my attitude to the events taking place here?

The family itself does not raise any questions.
We can say about them that they are peasants.
Here is a samovar on the table, and simple glasses in front of each of them, and ordinary bagels serve as a treat for tea.
But nevertheless it is felt that these are not ordinary people who drink in a rural manner aromatic drink from saucers.
The deep-seated fear that has settled in their eyes draws the attention of the viewer, who notices the inconsistencies.
Why are they so uncomfortable? The picture does not add up into a single whole.
These ordinary people sit on expensive custom-made chairs with quality materials.
And some of the items from the service, standing right there on the table, and these are porcelain cups and a teapot, say that they were not born and raised in this house.
Everything here is still alien and unfamiliar to them.
And the house itself somehow bears little resemblance to a peasant hut.
Columns, high ceilings, some items from the decoration of the house show that they are still guests here.
They may have acquired this estate from a bankrupt former owner, but they still do not feel comfortable in it.

The artist clearly emphasizes all the details that separate the tenants from the house in which they are now located.
Its white walls are still cold for them.
Time will pass and they will remake everything in their own way.
The head of the family, with his characteristic mastery vein, may start a grandiose renovation here, which everyone will be glad to see.
And then they will begin to get used to housing, and the house will "register" them as their owners.
Then the picture will sound harmonious.

The painter deliberately uses cold tones to show coolness and lack of comfort.
Yes, and on the faces he shows a kind of embarrassment.
This makes the picture appear believable.
I even want to come up with a continuation of the story, the plot of which the author begins to tell with his work.

Local lore at the origins of Russian culture

Definitely, the name of the artist Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky fell into oblivion, although many of his paintings: "Oral Account", "New Owners", "Composition" and others became textbooks, often reproduced and reproduced.
There are no serious studies or art albums on the life and work of Bogdanov-Belsky. Bogdanov-Belsky didn't even get into " encyclopedic Dictionary... Russian Artists "(St. Petersburg, 2000). Probably, such oblivion happened for several reasons. Until 1917, despite the fact that the artist wrote a lot on the life of the people and, above all, the Russian peasantry, liberal criticism (and the other practically was not) did not like him, because in his paintings there was no so-called “social protest.” In addition, Bogdanov-Belsky himself was a true an Orthodox person and did not hide his beliefs. Liberals and revolutionaries viewed the Russian peasant (and, of course, Orthodoxy) as a reactionary force, hampering the development of revolutionary processes with its traditional way of life and patience, and therefore creativity that poeticized rather than denounced the life of the Russian countryside was also considered reactionary. In addition, Bogdanov-Belsky was a truly successful salon artist, portraying many members of the imperial family and "high society". This also did not add to the sympathy of the "progressive public".
For the same reasons, even after the revolution, Bogdanov-Belsky fell out of favor with the new government and was forced to emigrate to Latvia. An emigrant for the Soviet state is a slice cut off. The streak of oblivion continued. And although some of his paintings were used by Soviet agitprop to denounce the "dark past" and were actively reproduced (the artist himself put a completely different meaning in them), others, which poeticized the peasant and the life of the Russian pre-revolutionary village, were excluded from the cultural circulation by the same agitprop. The long oblivion was probably influenced by the fact that last years the artist lived in the territories occupied by the Germans and in Germany itself, where he died and was buried in Berlin in 1945.
But oblivion continues today. First, because in previous periods, apparently, no primary biographical material secondly, by inertia, and thirdly, the agitprop of today's political system also completely ignores the creators who assert the national identity of the Russian people.
In this material, an attempt is made to bring together disparate biographical sources and outline the main (and primarily Udomlya) periods of the artist's life and work.
Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky was born on December 8, 1868 in the village of Shitiki, Velsky district, Smolensk province (today - Oleninsky district, Tver region). The surname contains a history of origin - God-given (illegitimate) son of a poor bean from the Velsky district. The artist received the second part of his surname when he became an academician in 1903:
"The sovereign himself (Nicholas II. - DP), as it were, ennobled my common surname, inscribing it with his own hand in the diploma through a hyphen - Velsky."
Bogdanov-Belsky began to learn to read and write at the bell ringer from church books, and continued at the 2-grade Shopotov primary school. Artistic ability began to manifest a boy from 6-7 years old. He was noticed by Sergei Alexandrovich Rachinsky, the founder of a public school in the village of Tatevo, and from the fall of 1878 to the spring of 1882 Bogdanov-Belsky attended this school.

Professor of botany at Moscow University Sergei Aleksandrovich Pachinsky (1833-1902) left the scientific department in 1867 and created a school for peasant children on his estate in Tatev. His mother was own sister poet E.A. Baratynsky and in her youth danced at balls with A.S. Pushkin.
Baroness Delvig, the sister of Pushkin's friend Anton Delvig, often came to visit the Rachinsky. Rachinsky was familiar with the composer P.I. Tchaikovsky, with the German teacher Humboldt, corresponded with Franz Liszt. Was best friend and was in long-term correspondence with the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod K.P. Pobedonostsev, who repeatedly petitioned Alexander III and Nicholas II for material support for Rachinsky's efforts. Great attention schools were devoted to the upbringing of children in the spirit of Orthodoxy.
In addition to 30 rural schools, in which about 1000 children studied, Rachinsky also supported a hospital for peasants at his own expense. "I owe many, if not all, to this family," Bogdanov-Belsky will write in the future. "All my upbringing passed under its cover."
In 1881, Rachinsky sent a thirteen-year-old boy to receive an initial art education to the icon-painting workshop at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where the boy studied for two years. In 1884 Bogdanov-Belsky entered, and in 1889 graduated from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where his teachers in the landscape department were the artists V.D. Polenov, V.E. Makovsky, I.M. Pryanishnikov.
At the age of 16, in 1884, Bogdanov-Belsky took part in the exhibition for the first time with the painting "Spruce Forest", which was praised by Polenov and Levitan. "In your picture, I am captivated by the simplicity and inner beauty of the landscape," Polenov commented on his impression. "Your forest lives and breathes. This is the main thing."
The picture was bought by the famous manufacturer and collector Shoemakers.
Already at the age of 18, Bogdanov-Belsky began to live by his own labor, although Rachinsky continued to send him 25 rubles a month.
The painting "The Future Monk" (1889) became my diploma work at the school: "Everything that I had lived with for many years of childhood and adolescence in the village resurrected in my soul ... Before the end of the work, I even fainted." While working on the painting in Tatevo (Great Lent was going on), an incident that shocked everyone occurred in the village.
After the service in the church, a peasant youth disappeared on the way home. There were severe frosts. They found him two weeks later deep in the forest, where he built a hut and ate only bread. He told those who found him that he wanted to become a hermit.
It should be noted that the choice of a theme for thesis, which took place with the direct participation of Rachinsky, was not accidental. Orthodoxy in general played a significant role in the life of Bogdanov-Belsky at all stages of life. Of course, this was also facilitated by the example of a mentor, in whose family they strictly observed religious rites, and spiritual education at school. The fact that Rachinsky was a close friend of Pobedonostsev also speaks volumes. Konstantin Petrovich possessed a true Christian consciousness, which enabled him to delve deeply into the essence of events taking place in Russia and foresee future social upheavals. The basis of the relationship between the two great people was, of course, the proximity of views on the difficult spiritual state of the Russian people and the ways to overcome it. Unfortunately for Russia, they were in the minority.
There is no doubt that Bogdanov-Belsky was a deeply religious person. Unlike many of his contemporaries, and especially the opposing so-called "creative intelligentsia", he never concealed his convictions. In the memoirs of contemporaries, which are published below, almost everyone notes his love for church singing, his ability, if necessary, to lead church service("could and for the deacon"), wrote icons for churches. All the artist's work is deeply imbued with the Orthodox consciousness - love for man, pacification, affirmation of beauty, harmony between man and nature. Orthodoxy and good mentors formed the true qualities of a Christian in Bogdanov-Belsky:
exceptional friendliness, willingness to help, ease and gentleness in communication, hospitality ...
In his persistent desire to write children, the world of childhood, where everything is truly without guile and falsehood, is also clearly visible: "If ... you are not like children, you will not enter the kingdom
heavenly "(Matthew 18.3). And those around them responded to this call.
Already being an accomplished master, Bogdanov-Belsky received a letter from one teacher: “You are the only one with us!
Many artists can write children, only you can write in defense of children ... "
For the painting "The Future Monk" Bogdanov-Belsky received at the end of the school the Great Silver Medal and the title " cool artist"Soldatenkov bought the painting for 300 rubles.
In 1890 she participated in the exhibition of the Association of the Itinerants and was highly appreciated by the famous critic and art historian V. V. Stasov: " Talented artist right from the school bench. "After the exhibition, the painting was assigned to Empress Maria Feodorovna. A repetition of the painting was performed for P. M. Tretyakov and V. V. Stasov.
After graduation, the artist traveled a lot, visited Moldova, the Middle East, Europe, Constantinople. In 1889, on Mount Athos in the Panteleimonov Monastery, Bogdanov-Belsky met Philip, the novice-"the painter", later the artist F. A. Malyavin.
In his letter to Rachinsky, Bogdanov-Belsky wrote that throughout the service from 6 pm to 6 am he stood in a daze and was shocked when in the middle of the monastery cathedral 60 elders-hieromonks with lighted candles came out for a litiya.
Working in the cold wind on the rocks of Athos, the artist fell seriously ill and seriously thought about taking monastic vows.
In 1894-95, Bogdanov-Belsky studied at the Higher Art School at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg in the studio of I.E. Repin, and later in the workshop of Carmona in Paris. In the 1890s, he created a series of paintings about Rachinsky's school: "Sunday Reading in a Country School" (1895), "Oral Count" (1896), "At the Doors of the School" (1897), "At the Sick Teacher" (1897), "Test of Voices" (1899), "Composition", "Between Lessons" (all 1903), etc. Apparently, during one of his visits to Tatevo, in between studies, Bogdanov-Belsky met and showed interest in the nurse of the Tatev hospital Olga Lvovna - goddaughter of Rachinsky's sister Varvara Alexandrovna. Varvara Alexandrovna, having learned about the relationship of her spiritual daughter with a rootless artist, was extremely outraged. After talking face to face, Bogdanov-Belsky left Tatevo. A serious blow was dealt to the artist's pride, and he stopped coming to the Rachinsky's. His next visit to Tatevo after a long break took place only on May 4, 1902, when Sergei Alexandrovich was buried. Later Olga Lvovna studied in France, became a doctor in St. Petersburg and married Efim Solomonovich Kantsel. As will be known below, Bogdanov-Belsky nevertheless continued to maintain relations with the Kantsel family, met with them in St. Petersburg, and they even came to him in Udomlya.
In 1898, Bogdanov-Belsky bought the Davydovo estate with the money he earned from the paintings 12 kilometers from Tatevo (according to another version, the estate was donated by Rachinsky to the mother of Bogdanov-Belsky).
In 1899, at the request of Empress Maria Feodorovna, the artist painted her portrait.
On October 27, 1903, Bogdanov-Belsky was awarded the title of academician. From 1907 to 1921, he headed the Kuindzhi society, which supported young artists. In St. Petersburg, Bogdanov-Belsky lived in the very center of the city near the Alexandria Theater and the monument to Catherine II and was, as they recall, a very hospitable host.

For the first time, Bogdanov-Belsky arrived in the Udomlya region in 1907 at the invitation of the artist A. V. Moravov, who in turn was invited by V. K. Byalynitsky-Birulya: great friendship with the artist Bogdanov-Belsky, Moravov wrote to him, colorfully describing the local places and wonderful conditions for work, so that Nikolai Petrovich and his wife Natalia Antonovna soon joined the group of artists who had gathered "(E. A. Birulya).
From the former students of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture A.S. Stepanov, N.P.Bogdanov-Belsky, V.K.Byalynitsky-Birul, A.V. Moravov and S. Yu. Zhukovsky, a close human and creative community arose. Initially, the artists lived with the Kolokoltsov nobles in a mustache. Voronikha on the lake. Kezadr, and Bogdanov-Belsky rented rooms with a mustache. Pozhinki at the St. Petersburg artist Ilya Savvich Galkin (from the "Crooked Mirror" theater) four kilometers from Voronikha.
“Alexander Viktorovich Moravov and Nikolai Petrovich were very sociable with the people,” Elena Alekseevna Birulya recalled from her husband’s words. “As soon as they appeared somewhere with their boxes of paints, they were immediately surrounded by people, starting with children and ending with old people.
A sincere conversation was struck up. "
Nikolai Petrovich arrived with his wife Natalya Antonovna (Totosha called her Bogdanov-Belsky, and she was his Petrovich) settled in the estate of the artist Galkin Ilya Savvich Pozhinka.
A distance of four versts (between Voronikha and Pozhinki) gave them the opportunity to often communicate with Moravov and Byalynitsky-Birulya, and most importantly, go hunting together.
Bogdanov-Belsky, or "Bogdasha", as his comrades called him, was a very kind and cheerful person. He especially devoted a lot of attention and love to peasant children, for whom there was always a large amount of candies and nuts in the deep pockets of his jacket. And the children, having gotten to know him better, greeted him especially warmly, asking: “When will we write, we are always happy to stand for you and can come to you in Pozhinki in new shirts. Mom sewed me a pink shirt, and Irishka - a blue sarafan, and my mother punished me not to get dirty, otherwise, they say, Nikolai Petrovich will certainly write off from you. "
Vitold Kaetanovich Byalynitsky-Birulya remembers that the first collection of strawberries was brought by the guys first of all to him, Nikolai Petrovich. Having good voice, Bogdanov-Belsky was very fond of singing, played well the balalaika and a little on the piano. Particularly good was the song "My green willow all night rustled", which Bogdanov-Belsky and Moravov performed in a duet and accompanied themselves on balalaikas (there is a photograph taken during the performance of such singing).
While living in Pozhinki, Nikolai Petrovich painted the interior "Summer" (a room with a window to the garden, a cat is lying on the windowsill), "Ustye Village". In addition, he painted sketches from village children and drew a lot.
Bogdanov-Belsky did not make a cult out of hunting, like Zhukovsky, besides, he was an average shooter.

Byalynitsky-Birulya admitted that "he (Bogdanov-Belsky) knew and understood nature better than all of us." This statement is very unexpected, considering that in addition to Byalynitsky-Birul himself, a master of lyrical landscape and a passionate hunter, the colony of artists also included one of the strongest Russian animal painters, Alexei Stepanovich Stepanov.
IN further artists began to stop in a mustache. Garusovo on Lake Udomlya. The estate belonged to Nadezhda Mikhailovna and Mikhail Mikhailovich Arakcheev, distant relatives of Count A.A.Arakcheev (1769-1834), who spent his childhood in Garusovo. In 1893-1895, I.I. Levitan (including over the painting "Above eternal rest"):" In the Garusov house, where the artists settled, there were eight rooms - six downstairs and two upstairs, in the mezzanine. Moravov settled on the mezzanine, Bogdanov-Belsky in the first room at the entrance to the house, the rest was occupied by Byalynitsky-Birulya with his family. In Garusovo, artists lived in the winters, usually came for the Christmas holidays, arranged a Christmas tree, which was attended by peasant children and adults "(E. A. Birulya).
But, judging by the paintings and their dating, already in his first visits, Bogdanov-Belsky worked with a mustache. Ushakovs on the lake. Ostrovno. And after Byalynitsky-Birulya built in 1912-1914. cottage "Seagull" on the shore of the lake. Udomlya, Bogdanov-Belsky began to stay in Ostrovno all the time.
Bogdanov-Belsky himself tells about the Udomlya period of his work as follows: “After Paris I became interested in“ plein airism. ”Air, figures in the landscape, light - this is what I began to devote my attention to since 1905. In the Tver province, in Vyshnevolotsky district, a whole colony artists like Zhukovsky, Stepanov, Byalynitsky-Birulya, Moravov, even earlier their Levitan, and at the end, in the October revolution, K. Korovin, I - from 1907 to 1920 - lived and worked together in nature, leaving the workshops. 1910 I painted the painting "The Teacher's Name Day" marked by the seal, and even more by the impressionist painters for the impressionist achievements that I achieved in it. The painting was at the world exhibition in Rome (1911) and Munich (sold to London) ".

In 1996, the author of these lines met the oldest resident of the village of Ostrovno, Agafya Nilovna Ivanova.
Agafya Nilovna was born in 1903 in the m. Zatishye on the lake. Moldino Vyshnevolotsk district (today Udomel district). Orphaned early, she was brought up in an orphanage at the Vyshnevolotsk women's Kazan monastery.

From there approx. In 1908 she was sent to live with the family of a priest of the Church of the Holy Martyrs. Dm. Solunsky village Ostrovno. OK. In 1909, a teacher of the parish school D.M. Benevolensky (1883-1937) came to Ostrovno, who in 1911 was ordained a priest. In the 1920s, Agafya Nilovna lived with the Benevolensky family.
Despite her venerable age, Agafya Nilovna well remembers the events of her childhood: "In the summer, artists came to Ostrovno. They rented rooms on the second floor of the estate of the landowners Ushakovs. Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky often wrote me. I remember painting a picture at night. I have a lantern. was keeping. Said: "Tonight we will work. Relax in the afternoon, be sure to rest. "He tied the lantern to a twig, I just raised my hand (painting" Girl with a lantern ", 1908 - DP) He felt sorry for me. We dined together. He was given a mowing for the cow. Professor of medicine Kantsel. He also wrote me and Anya Zolnikova near the pond, where they only took water for drinking, at the Ushakovs' house. She read a book, I embroidered. Nikolai Petrovich dressed us in Russian costumes - blue sundresses, white sweaters. Once I was walking from Kaskovo and Nikolai Petrovich came across, stopped me at the birches and began to write ("Girl among the birches", 1919 - DP).
The painting "The Teacher's Name Day" (1910) Nikolai Petrovich painted on the balcony of the Ushakovs' house. He told me: "Run to Klopinino (there was such a poor village), invite the kids to pose."
They dressed them in clean shirts. They gave me a note and money so that I could buy a donut for the children. Natalya Antonovna, the wife of Nikolai Petrovich, told me: "Gray is more like a samovar for the guys."
We all sat together at a round table, drank tea with bagels, so that later they would not be distracted from hunger. There were funny kids. Show your finger - they laugh. “At least you don’t make them laugh,” Nikolai Petrovich told me. (This picture also depicts Agafya Nilovna. - DP) ".
November 19, 1914 Bogdanov-Belsky became a full member Imperial Academy arts.
“Natalya Antonovna, the wife of Nikolai Petrovich,” Agafya Nilovna continues to recall, “took me to Moscow.
She gave a lot of outfits, altered from her own. They took cucumbers and apples from the priest Benevolensky.
Nikolai Petrovich was very friendly with the priest (in the family of D.S.Benevolensky, the priest's grandson, there are three paintings by Bogdanov-Belsky, including a half-length portrait of D.M.Benevolensky, a portrait youngest son artist, sketch - standing boy... - D.P.). Together with the teacher of the local school Nikolai Semenovich Zolnikov (1860-1917) they sang in the church. They sang very beautifully. He painted icons for the church.
He often went to Moravov in Garusovo to hunt. He was friends with Nikolai Anatolyevich Zvorykin (1872-1937, naturalist writer, was born and lived in the Udomel region, in the 1920s on Lake Ostrovno - DP).
For two years I served the Bogdanov-Belsky family - I looked after their cow (1919-1920 - D.P.). In 1920, the Velskys came to last time... They called me with them to Petrograd.
Once Nikolai Petrovich showed me a pack of "kerenoks" and said: "Now we have a new tsar. The old Nikolaev money is gone." And I had Nikolaev money. When they left they left me a cow and a lot of things. Benevolensky left a corduroy suit, a gun and paintings. I wanted to go back. "

At least in several of the artist's paintings one can with a high degree of certainty identify Agafya Nilovna Ivanova: "Virtuoso", "Village Friends" (1912-1913).
Memories of Bogdanov-Belsky were left by Nikolai Nikolaevich Zolnikov (1897-1977), teacher of the Ostrovensk school, son of NS Zolnikov: "Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky was the sweetest and kindest person, the children clung to him.
I often gave them gifts. Either he will bring lollipops, sweets, then he will buy a bagel and distribute to the kids. He often painted our school. On many canvases my father is also depicted, he was also a teacher. At our school he also had a favorite desk, behind which the children drew. The children called her that - Nikolai Petrovich's desk. The painting "Children in the Lesson" (1918) was painted at school - children listen to their father. At home we painted pictures of a girl on a sofa ("Village Friends", 1912-1913), and at the Ushakovs he painted "New Owners" (1913). It depicts villagers.
In the center, with a beard, the healthy one is Stepan Fedulaev, the thin one is Maxim Savelyev, and the extreme redhead is Dmitry Klementyev.
Nikolai Petrovich was an avid hunter, but a failure. Sometimes, he missed the gun and began to make excuses: then they pulled him by the arm, then the boat was rocked, then the dog barked at the wrong time.
He got angry, and the others laughed at him, well, they say, he missed again. This is what my father told me, who often went hunting with him. He sang well, you will listen. In our church he sang bass parts in the choir and could do the deacon. "

From time to time, the collector Kreitor came from Petrograd and bought paintings from the artists. The son of the artist Moravov, Alexey Alexandrovich (born around 1911), spent his entire childhood among artists.
His memoirs also add a few touches to the image of Bogdanov-Belsky: “Nikolai Petrovich also visited Garusovo more than once in the 1920s. He used to hunt in the wastelands located between Ostrovno, where he lived at that time, and Garusovo. There, near rather sparse fields, partridges were abundant, and there were black grouses in the birch and spruce copses.He usually came in the evening, always cheerful, in a somehow festive mood, did not refuse dinner, during which there were long conversations about hunting. local news, about creative plans. Imperceptibly night fell, he was persuaded to wait to go home until the moon rose. Father and mother accompanied him, going far into the wasteland. "
In Ostrovno, Nikolai Petrovich painted the painting "New Owners" (1913). It depicts the same Ostrovno hall as in the father's painting "The Old Hall. Ostrovno" (1912). Probably, a lot of his other paintings were written in the places closest to Ostrovno and Garusovo, he worked a lot then. In the Garusov house, he painted the painting "The Offering".
Young people, who know that time only from books, may seem deliberate in the long country shirts portrayed by Nikolai Petrovich, in large, as if on display, patches. But there was nothing deliberate about it, rather photographic accuracy. Udomlya peasants at that time wore homespun clothing and bark bast shoes made of sheep wool and linen. The so-called urban clothing was almost impossible to find in the villages at that time. The village children, whom Nikolai Petrovich often wrote, did not know T-shirts and other, usual for our time, children's clothes. Canvas, dyed with the paint obtained on the spot, long pants, a shirt also made of canvas (tochi) with long sleeves and an overstretch without a belt. An old burnt-out cap, that's all that was relied on for the summer. In winter, too, canvas pants, onuchi, bast shoes, some shabby, more patchwork, sheepskin jacket, a fur hat made from the skin of a hare killed in winter. All this was dilapidated, repaired many times, torn, multi-colored. In a short historical period, we have gone immeasurably far from the times of poverty and misery.
Therefore, many paintings by Bogdanov-Belsky now acquire special significance. Nikolai Petrovich's wife, Natalya Antonovna, was from Ukraine. She perfectly knew Ukrainian cuisine, was a good, tidy hostess. "

In 1918, Byalynitsky-Birulya and Bogdanov-Belsky, together with other artists, prepared and held a Traveling art exhibition... In the same year, art workshops were opened at the Chaika dacha, where children from the surrounding villages were taught crafts (from February 3 1919 State art workshops). Due to conflict with local residents Byalynitsky-Birulya left Udomlya,

and the artist V.V. Rozhdestvensky (1884-1963) was involved in the administrative work of organizing the workshops.
The teachers of the workshops included the artists Bogdanov-Belsky, Moravov, as well as K. A. Korovin and A. E. Arkhipov who arrived in the summer: "Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky neatly comes from Ostrovno," recalled Rozhdestvensky. "This is a tall, strong man of about fifty with a small, clean-shaven, winter-dressed. Greets everyone, his soft baritone voice is pleasant to hear. They say that in the past Nikolai Petrovich's baritone filled "The Seagull" with romances and charmed the ladies with Glinka's "Doubt." not pretty bald head. "

An interesting episode belongs to the same period.
MM Arakcheev, the owner of Garusovo, had a son, Vasily, born in 1907. Father died during the revolution, and Moravov, Byalynitsky-Birulya and Bogdanov-Belsky, fearing for the boy's fate, corrected his documents in Moscow to the name of Kremnev. Vasily Mikhailovich Kremnev died in 1943 on Velikaya Patriotic War... (A.E. Vasilieva).

According to the recollections of EA Popova-Kyandskaya, daughter of the inventor of radio A.S. Popov, who was a teacher at the school in Udomlya, in 1920 Nikolai Petrovich took part in an amateur concert dedicated to the first graduation of the school. The festivities on the occasion of the first graduation were held in the premises where the House of Culture is located in the old part of Udomlya. The stage was lit by kerosene lamps. Nikolai Petrovich came to the concert in a frock coat and patent leather boots and became an adornment of the evening, delighting everyone with his "excellent baritone". His young accompanist hid her feet in homemade shoes.
The younger sister of the writer N.A.Zvorykina Ksenia Anatolyevna (1886-1986) all the 1920s tried to save the mustache from destruction and looting. Ushakovs and create a museum in it. She was in the position of an agent of the Tver Museum for a number of years, and she succeeded. Through her efforts, the House of Creativity was established in the estate, where artists came from cities. In 1923, justifying the need to preserve the estate in front of the Tver Provincial Committee for the Protection of Art and Antiquities, she sent a "Report ..." to it, where she reported on the artists who worked in different time in the estate: "NP Bogdanov-Belsky lived in Ostrovno the longest, it seems from 1907, with interruptions, and then from 1910 constantly over the years, and from 1915 to 1921 without a break.
He painted 375 - 400 paintings here. "(It should be noted that in the recollections cited there is some confusion with the year of Bogdanov-Belsky's departure from Udomlya. Obviously, 1920 must be considered reliable, which the artist himself calls.)
In 1920 Bogdanov-Belsky left for Petrograd, and from there to Latvia. According to Aleksey Aleksandrovich Moravov, his wife persuaded Bogdanov-Belsky to go abroad. He left light, leaving most for storage of your belongings and paintings local residents... It is difficult to say whether Bogdanov-Belsky himself believed in his return, but the reasons that prompted him to leave his homeland were, of course, much deeper than the persuasions of his wife. In the 1920s, cultural policy in painting and in art in general in Soviet Russia defined by the supporters of formalism and abstractionism. The adherents of the realistic school of painting had a very, very difficult time, many artists note this in their memoirs.
And besides, the work of Bogdanov-Belsky was deeply national, which also did not find support, to put it mildly, at the rulers of the cultural process of the country changing before our eyes.
In his letter to Ilya Repin about the motives of his departure, the artist writes: “From what I wrote during these four years (1917-1921. - DP), nothing was exhibited in Russia. I managed to take this to Riga, where I have been living since September 15, 1921. "
From the very first days of his stay in Riga, Bogdanov-Belsky develops a vigorous activity. In a letter to Repin, he continues that three exhibitions of his paintings have already taken place in Riga: the first one is "exclusively from things painted in Russia"; the second - "half written in the Tver province and half new"; the third - "all of the new things written in Latvia" (quoted by I. Soloviev).
The artist worked a lot in the vicinity Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, which at that time was on the territory of Estonia.
As noted by Yu. Shumakov, who in childhood repeatedly posed for the artist, Bogdanov-Belsky talked with the model during the session and achieved the desired mood and facial expression.
The artist worked closely with the Russian émigré press, incl. with magazines "Slovo" and "Perezvony". In the last of them, in the second issue of 1925, an article by N. I. Misheev "Academician N. P. Bogdanov-Belsky" was published.
In 1928, Bogdanov-Belsky turned 60. His activity in promoting Russian art has not subsided. On his initiative and with the support of I.E. Repin, exhibitions of Russian painting were held in Copenhagen, Berlin, Stockholm, Prague, Oslo, Amsterdam, The Hague, Belgrade, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Hamburg, paintings at which Zhukovsky, Korovin, Malyavin, Bilibin and etc. There is no reason to talk about the creative stagnation of Bogdanov-Belsky during this period. He works a lot and with enthusiasm, his paintings are well bought. On the fiftieth anniversary creative activity(probably 1934) Bogdanov-Belsky was awarded the Latvian Order of the Three Stars of the third degree.
The artist's 70th birthday in 1938 was also marked by a personal exhibition and favorable press reviews.
Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky died in 1945 at the age of 77 in Germany and was buried at the Russian cemetery in Berlin at Wittenstrasse, 37 .

"Offering". 1908. Us. Arakcheevs in Garusovo. The whereabouts are unknown.
"Girl with a Lantern". 1908. Fig. A. N. Ivanova, witness. A. N. Ivanova. 67x49.5. NHMRB.
"The teacher's birthday." 1910. Us. Ushakovs in the village. Ostrovno.
"Village Friends". 1912-1913. House of the Zolnikovs in the village. Ostrovno, witness. N.N.Zolnikova.
"New owners". Study for the painting "New Owners" (1913).
123X87. Saratov state Hood. Museum them. A.N. Radishcheva.
"New owners". 1913. Us. Ushakovs in the village. Ostrovno.
79.5x98.7. Gosud. Museum of the Revolution, St. Petersburg, repetition -
Smolensk State obed. historical. and architect-artist museum-reserve.
"At the ferry". 1915. Study for the painting of the same name, transportation to the lake. Ostrovno between the village. Ostrovno and the village of Sorokino. 106.5x88.8.
NHMRB.
"At the ferry". 1915. Transportation on the lake. Ostrovno from the village. Ostrovno on the village of Sorokino. 139.5x160.5. TOKG.
"Portrait of Priest D. M. Benevolensky". OK. 1915. Is in the family of D. S. Benevolensky in Moscow.

1. Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky. M-L, 1962 (I. Barsheva, K. Sazonova), 20 p.
2. Rozhdestvensky V. V. "Notes of an artist". M., 1963, 219 p.
3. Katz L. I. "Artists in the Udomel Region". M., 1983, 144 p.
4. Sidorov V. M. "The edge of inspiration", L., 1986, 231 p.
5. Misheev NI "Academician NP Bogdanov-Belsky" // Chimes, 1925, No. 2. Cited from "Tverskaya Starina", 1994, No. 4.
6. Shumakov Yu. "The Singer of Russian Children" // Lenin's Way (Oleninsky District, Kalinin Region), 1968, No. 145, 146.
7. Shumakov Yu. D. "Peasant Son - Academician NP Bogdanov-Belsky" // Russian Telegraph. 1995, no. 34.
8. Soloviev I. "The fate of the shepherd boy" // Russian province, 1997, №2.
9. Byalynitskaya-Birulya E. A. "Udomlya and artists" // Udomlya antiquity, 1998, No. 8.
10. Moravov A. A. "Lake Udomlya" // Udomelskaya starina, 2002, No. 28.
11. Zolnikov N. N. "A house full of talents". Wrote down
V. Lobashov // Udomel newspaper, 15.10.1994.
12. Zvorykina K. A. "Report to the Tver Provincial Committee for the Protection of Monuments of Art and Antiquity on the Stay of Artists in Udomla". 10/10/1923. GATO. F.R. - Op. 5 D. 37 - L. 28-31. Published: Udomel antiquity 1997, No. 1.
13. Ivanova A. N. "Memories". Recorded by D.L. Podushkov // Udomel antiquity, 1998, No. 5.
14. Vasilyeva AE "Memories". Recorded by D.L. Podushkov // Assorted, 1998, No. 23.
15. Ushakova I. "Spiritual awakening of the artist" // Our life, no. 71.
16. Ushakova I. "The royal family in the life of Bogdanov-Belsky" // Our life. No. 72.
17. Ushakova I. "Bogdanov-Belsky in emigration" // Our life, no. 73.
18. Kyandskaya E. "They were the first" // Way of October, 12/11/1977, 20/06/1978.
19. Shtamov Yu. " Last address- Wittenstrasse, 37 "// Seven days, 1999-2000.
20. Tver region. Encyclopedic reference book. Tver, 1994.
21. Russian pre-revolutionary and soviet painting... In the collection of the NHMRB. The catalog is in two volumes. T. 1 (A-I), Minsk, 1995, 286 p.
22. Article by Bogdanov-Belsky. "Word". 1926. No. 137.1.5.

Composition based on the painting by NP Bogdanov-Belsky "New Owners".
N.P.Bogdanov-Belsky is one of the outstanding Russian artists. His name was unjustly forgotten. Now it is rightfully on a par with such names as I. Repin, I. Shishkin, V. Vasnetsov and others.
In his work N.P. Bogdanov-Belsky very often refers to the topic of the peasantry. He draws peasant children, the life of a peasant family. The painting "New Owners" is a reflection of the realities of the time when former slaves became the owners of the estates of squandered nobles.
The painting depicts a peasant family drinking tea. They sit at a round table on mahogany chairs. The rich decor of the living room contrasts with the clothes of the owners of the house. Expensive, exquisite furniture, a picture in a gilded frame, a clock on the wall - all this went to the new owners from the former owners of the estate. The new owners are dressed in simple peasant clothes: kosovorotki, simple trousers, cloth jackets.
The whole family settled down decorously at the table. They drink tea from a samovar. Almost everyone has saucers in their hands, from which they sip loudly tea, poured into simple glasses. Only the youngest boy on the left has tea poured into an expensive porcelain cup. Bagels lie right on the tablecloth - a favorite tea delicacy in a peasant family.
When you look at the picture, you notice that the peasants are sitting at the table somewhat constrained. It is probably still fresh in their memory how they entered this living room at the call of a lady or a master, stopped indecisively at the door. And the family of the landowner was sitting at the table. There were expensive silverware on the table.
Now the former owners are gone, and they - simple peasants - are sitting at this expensive table in a room that once thrilled them. They have not yet become accustomed to their position as owners of a landlord's estate. And the autumn garden looks out with curiosity through the unfinished window.

Description of the painting by NP Bogdanov-Belsky "New owners".
The name of the outstanding Russian artist Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky was unjustly forgotten. But nevertheless, now it quite rightly stands alongside such names as Shishkin, Vasnetsov, Repin and others.
Often in his work, the artist touches on the theme of the peasantry. He paints the life of a simple peasant family, peasant children. The painting "New Masters" reflects the realities of those times when the nobles squandered their estates, and their former slaves became masters in them.
The artist painted the painting "New Owners" in the Udomel region, in the village of Ostrovno. And as a background for the depiction of events, the artist painted the hall of the estate of the former landowners of the Ushakovs. The events taking place in the picture take place everywhere and throughout Russia. Having gone bankrupt, the nobles sold the family estates to the wealthy merchants and peasants. The disappearing world of noble estates - this is the theme to which Bogdanov-Belsky addresses in his painting.
The interior has a lot of meaning in this picture. The remains of the former luxury and splendor are depicted here: a picture in a heavy frame hanging on the wall, a large grandfather clock, expensive furniture - everything remains from the former owners of the estate. But now the owners here are simple peasants - in a place that once aroused them in awe. They are now the owners of the manor house, but they have not yet become accustomed to this situation.
In the picture we see a family of peasants drinking tea. They sit on mahogany chairs at a round table. Their simple peasant clothing contrasts with the rich furnishings of the living room: exquisite furnishings, a painting in a gilded frame. The former peasants with the whole family settled down decorously at the table. Everyone is drinking tea from a large samovar. Almost everyone holds a saucer in their hands, from which they loudly sip tea, which is poured into simple glasses. Only the youngest boy, drinking tea from an expensive porcelain cup. And right on the tablecloth lies a favorite delicacy of a peasant family - bagels.
Looking at the picture, you immediately notice how constrained the peasants are sitting at the table. Surely, they have not forgotten how not so long ago they entered this room only at the call of the master or mistress, stopping at the door in indecision. And through the window, uncovered by curtains, the autumn garden, transparent air and bare tree trunks peeks out with curiosity. It is the contrast of the interior of a noble estate with images of heroes in simple clothes that shows the viewer the essence of what is happening and helps to imagine life in this house.