13 Works, January 24th. is artist Vasily Ivanovich Surikov's day, his story, illustrated #024

Vasily Surikov, (1848–1916)

Cossacks in a boat
Oil on canvas

I have no further description, at this time

Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (24 January 1848 – 19 March 1916) was a Russian Realist history painter. Many of his works have become familiar to the general public through their use as illustrations.

He was born to an old Cossack family, descending from Don Cossacks that had settled in Siberia. His father was a Collegiate Registrar, a civil service rank that often served as postmasters. 

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Portrait Of Natalia Fedorovna Matveeva

Oil on canvas

92×74 cm

The Kharkiv art Museum, Kharkiv

Natalia Fedorovna Matveeva was an actress of Russian ballet. She is wearing a simple white shirt and a sundress with blue velvet roses. The fabric shimmers beautifully. Hair ballerina collected in a bun and tied with a silk ribbon. The neck of the model is decorated with two strands of a pearl necklace, and the head with a bandage with precious stones. The girl is sitting in a comfortable position. One hand rests on her lap, and the other rests on the table next to it. More on this painting

In 1859, his father died of tuberculosis so the family were forced to rent the second floor of their house to survive financially. Surikov began drawing while attending the district school and was encouraged by the local art teacher. His first formal work dates from 1862, but his family could not afford to continue his education and he became a clerk in a government office. This brought him into contact with Pavel Zamyatin, the Governor of Yenisei, who was able to find him a patron: Pyotr Kuznetsov, a local merchant who owned several small gold mines.

In 1868, he rode on horseback to Saint Petersburg, but was unable to qualify for admission to the Imperial Academy of Arts, so he studied at the drawing school of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. After a year there, he was allowed to audit classes at the Academy and became a full-time pupil toward the end of 1869.

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

View of the monument to Peter I on Senate Square in St. Petersburg, c. 1870 

Oil on canvas

Krasnoyarsk State Art Museum

His first significant work was the painting "View of the Monument to Peter the Great", in which he depicted an equestrian statue of the emperor against the background of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The canvas was created in 1870.

From 1869 to 1875, he studied with Pavel Chistyakov, Bogdan Willewalde and Pyotr Shamshin, winning several medals. His great attention to composition earned him a nickname, "The Composer". In 1875, he graduated with the title of Artist, first degree.

In 1877, he received a commission to paint murals at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and he moved to Moscow. In 1878, he married Elisabeth Charais (1858–1888).

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Morning of the Execution of the Streltsy, c.1881

Oil on canvas

Height: 218 cm (85.8 in); Width: 379 cm (12.4 ft)

Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

The Morning of the Streltsy Execution illustrates the public execution after the Streltsy's failed attempted uprising before the walls of the Kremlin, with the personal participation of Peter I. It shows the display of power the Russian government had during the late years of the 17th century. More on this painting

After that, he chose to remain in Moscow and began the series of historical paintings that would establish his reputation, starting with The Morning of the Streltsy Execution. In 1881, he had his first exhibition with the Peredvizhniki, an artists' cooperative. 

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Study for Menshikov in Berezovo, c. 1888

Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Study for Menshikov at Beriozov, 1882

Oil on canvas

12 1/2 by 9 3/4 in ; 31.8 by 24.9 cm 

Private collection

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Menshikov in Berezovo, c. 1888

Oil on canvas

Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov, (1673-1729), was a prominent Russian political figure during and after the reign of Peter I the Great. A gifted general and administrator, he eventually became the most powerful official in the empire, but his insatiable greed and ambition ultimately resulted in his downfall.

His enemies managed to turn Peter II against him, whereupon he was arrested, stripped of his rank and property, and sent to Siberia, where he died. More on Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov

In 1883, Menshikov in Beryozovo was bought by Pavel Tretyakov for a sum that allowed him to take a European tour. In 1887, he added portraits to his repertoire, beginning with one of his mother.

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Portrait of mother, c. 1894

Oil, canvas

29 x 23 cm

Krasnoyarsk Museum

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

The Capture of Snow Town, c. 1891

Oil on canvas

Height: 1,560 mm (61.41 in); Width: 2,820 mm (111.02 in)

Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Surikov depicts a crowd of peasants in bright attire, who are gazing in awe at the able horseman that seamlessly makes it over the snow wall on his horse. The artist had an immense attention to detail, especially when it came to his characters’ poses, facial expressions and outfits. 

In the painting you can see a game that has deep roots and, most likely, came to be prior to the Christianization of Kieven Rus’, when paganism was widely practiced in Rus’. People still play this game during Maslenitsa all across Russia! More on this painting

In 1888, his wife died, and he returned to Krasnoyarsk with his daughters for two years. There he painted his most lighthearted picture, The Capture of Snow Town. 

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Yermak's conquest of Siberia, c. 1895

Oil on canvas

5.99*2.85 m

 Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg

The Russian conquest of Siberia began in July 1580 when some 540 Cossacks under Yermak Timofeyevich invaded the territory of the Voguls, subjects to Küçüm, the Khan of Siberia. They were accompanied by some Lithuanian and German mercenaries and prisoners of war. Throughout 1581, this force traversed the territory known as Yugra and subdued Vogul and Ostyak towns. More on this painting

This was followed by a visit to his ancestral home in Siberia. There, on the Ob River, he made sketches for one of his most familiar works, The Conquest of Siberia by Yermak Timofeyevich; an event in which some of his ancestors had participated. This brought him a full membership in the Imperial Academy. 

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Suvorov Crossing the Alps in 1799, c. 1899

More on this painting

Height: 4,950 mm (16.2 ft); Width: 3,730 mm (12.2 ft)

 Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg

The Italian and Swiss expeditions of 1799 and 1800 were undertaken by a combined Austro-Russian army under overall command of the Russian General Alexander Suvorov against French forces in Piedmont, Lombardy and Switzerland as part of the Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars in general and the War of the Second Coalition in particular. More on this painting

In 1897, he visited Switzerland and painted Suvorov Crossing the Alps, which was purchased by Tsar Nicholas II.

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Study for the painting "Boyarynya Morozova", c. 1881-1884

Technology: Oil on canvas

46 × 35.5 cm

State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Boyarina Morozova, c. 1887

Oil on canvas

Height: 304 cm (119.6 in); Width: 587.5 cm (19.2 ft) 

Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia 

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Detail; Boyarina Morozova, c. 1887

Oil on canvas

Height: 304 cm (119.6 in); Width: 587.5 cm (19.2 ft) 

Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia 

Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the practices of the Russian Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, were called the Old Believers. These Christians were anathematized, producing a division in Eastern Europe between the Old Believers and those who followed the state church in its condemnation of the Old Rite.

The position of the two fingers is the blessing sign used by the Old Believers.

Boyarina Morozova, a wealthy woman, opposed the changes. To get Morozova out of the public eye, the Tsar exiled her to Borovsk.  The scene depicts her being dragged off in a crude sled to an underground dungeon in Borovsk.  There she and her sister were starved to death, and were buried inside the jail. More on Boyarina Morozova

In 1907, he joined the Union of Russian Artists. Three years later, he visited Spain, together with his son-in-law, Pyotr Konchalovsky. That same year, he and the architect Leonid Chernishyov opened an art school. Four years later, he had an extended stay in Krasnoyarsk, painting landscapes.

Vasily Surikov  (1848–1916)

Sten'ka Razin, c. 1906

Water color

 Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg

Stepan Timofeyevich Razin, known as Stenka Razin, was a Cossack leader who led a major uprising against the nobility and tsarist bureaucracy in southern Russia in 1670–1671

By this time, he was suffering from chronic coronary disease. A trip to Crimea for treatment in 1915 failed to ameliorate the problem and he died early the following year after returning to Moscow. He was buried at Vagankovo Cemetery, next to his wife. More on Vasily Surikov 

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