In 1860's Polenov studied simultaneously at St. Petersburg University (physics and mathematics) and at the Academy of Arts. With the graduation from the Academy he was awarded a gold medal and a trip abroad to further improve his artistic skills.
He visited Moscow, where he could see a number of private collections of paintings, then there was Kiev, Vienna and Munich. He made trips to Venice, Florence, Naples. In Italy Polenov made friends with another important Russian artist Ilya Repin.
The Grandmother's Garden, 1878
Birch Alley, 1880In Paris Polenov was especially impressed with the artworks of the Barbizon School artists. On return to St.Petersburg he presented more than 50 paintings to the Council of the Academy of Arts as a record of his trip and received the title of Academician.
Soon he went to the Russian-Turkish war, where he was an official artist at the headquarters of the Crown Prince (later Emperor Alexander III). After the war he moved to Moscow and taught the art of painting at the Moscow College of Arts.
Overgrown Pond, 1879
Fall in Abramtsevo, 1898He was a man of great and beautiful mind. Polenov was adored by his students for being a great professor and just a nice and compassionate person, responsive to all their new and fresh ideas. His contemporaries were fascinated with his admiration of the beauty of the world, his enjoyment of the beauty of lines and colors.
The last years of his life Polenov spent in his manson on the Oka river. He continued working constantly, inspired by the views of the river and the valley, where he painted many of his landscapes.
The Pond in Abramtsevo, 1883
Pond in Park. Olshanka.
In a Park. Normandy. 1874
A Moscow's Yard, 1878
The Mill at the River Veulle
Klyazma River
Christ and the Sinner, 1888
A Shower
Burnt Woods
A Road near a Village
Monastery over a River
An Olive Tree in the Gephsiman Garden
Odalisque
The Arrest of a Huguenot
Beirut
The Railroad near the Tarussa Station
A Room in a Magic Castle
The Stairs to the Castle
In a Boat. Abramtsevo
Oka River. Evening
Parphenon. Athena's Temple
The Portrait of Ilya Repin
Early Snow
Oyat River
An Old Mill
Palace Front
Olshanka Park
hello, just want to say your blog is one of my favorite art blogs. you are doing a superb job putting it together. very well done. i just subscribed to you so as not to miss anything:) blessings, LL
ReplyDeleteThank you, lorilynn, I sincerely appreciate your feedback.
ReplyDeleteThank you for collecting all of these in one place. We lived in St. Petersburg, and grew to love Polenov's work from the Russian Museum. An artist friend of ours who had graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy did a replica for us of "Dreams on the Hill" or "Christ Looking Over Jerusalem."
ReplyDeletePolenov did two versions of this painting. One hangs in the Russian Museum, and the other in the Tretyakov gallery in Moscow. The St. Pete version (the one we have a replica of) has a little red flower. I have always been curious to know the significance of that, but have never found out anything from my research. Have you heard anything about that?