Artist Konstantin Vasiliev. Goy, you are Russia, my dear ...

May 6, 2012, 20:24

Konstantin Vasiliev was born in Maykop on September 3, 1942 during the occupation. He grew up in the village of Vasilyevo near Kazan. In 1954 the newspaper TVNZ"posted an announcement that the Moscow Secondary Art School at the Institute named after V. I. Surikov accepts children gifted in the field of drawing. Konstantin Vasiliev was enrolled in this school, and in 1961 he graduated with honors from the Kazan Art College. He could write in any manner, even had surrealism. The artist left behind about 400 paintings, most of his creative heritage - 82 canvases - was kept in the museum. It is difficult to envy the fate of the artist. Unrecognized and persecuted during his lifetime, he painted like a man possessed, as if he felt that he would soon leave. If an extravagant buyer suddenly appeared, interested in unrecognized genius, the artist simply measured his work diagonally with a school ruler and took a ruble per centimeter from the dumbfounded collector. And only many years later, people will notice that Vasiliev’s paintings give rise to the so-called “Italian syndrome” and visitors to exhibitions and museums will lose consciousness from the crazy energy that the master put into his canvases. His paintings are incredibly popular and are valued at many millions of dollars. For 20 years, more than fifty solo exhibitions have taken place in the cities of Russia, as well as in Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia, and Spain. "Expectation" "Meeting"
"At someone else's window"
"Reaper" "Northern Eagle"
"Divination" "Spring" "The Man with the Owl", the last work of the artist written shortly before his death. Konstantin Vasiliev passed away at the age of 34, as if confirming the ominous theory about the connection between genius and the inevitable early death. The artist died strangely, even four versions of his death were counted: on October 29, 1976, he was beaten by hooligans in an empty train, thrown out of the train on the move, hacked to death with an ax, and was hit by a train at the Antropshino station. The prosecutor's office did not initiate a criminal case, there was no investigation, and the circumstances and reasons for the death of Konstantin Vasiliev will probably remain a secret. self-portrait The museum in Moscow, where 82 paintings by the artist were kept, was created with big love admirers of Vasiliev's work. These are real Russian patriots led by Anatoly Ivanovich Doronin, loving creativity Konstantin Vasiliev and devoted to their work. To create a museum, the thresholds of the Moscow government were upholstered for three years. Finally, they rented a ruined mansion, from which only three walls remained. Then, for almost ten years, they restored it, with their own hands, with their own money. And so, in 1998, the museum opened. But, land in Moscow - tasty, many who want to take it away, in this area where the museum is located, it was planned to build 2 high-rise buildings. Since 2005, attacks on the museum began - raider raids, courts, forged documents, signatures ... In the end, the paintings were taken out by fraud, supposedly for examination and not returned, their fate is unknown. That same night, the museum was set on fire. What else could be expected? Museums in our country have almost no rights, how can they stand up for themselves?! The satirist Mikhail Zadornov, who was one of the museum's trustees, said this after learning about the tragedy: ... - This museum was created with great love by fans of Vasiliev's work. This is a special caste of people. And the artist himself is an iconic figure. Because he knew our true story, not history. History is only written by the chroniclers, by the people. And what really happened, not everyone knows. Konstantin Vasiliev knew. But now is trading time. Konstantin Vasiliev and traders are incompatible, like a philharmonic society and a meat-packing plant. And, of course, they wanted to grab this tidbit. There is land, there night club can be built. I hate to even talk about it... Those who love the work of Konstantin Vasilyev, think in the old way. They cannot and do not know how to defend themselves, and, of course, all this will be taken away from them. This could happen, only in an indifferent society ruled by the golden calf, we must not forget that if there is no spiritual connection with the past of the country, then the people have no future either. "Evpraksia" "Lament of Yaroslavna" "Knight" "Valkyrie" "Scandinavian Warrior" "Volga" This is the main meaning and task of museums - to remember history and prepare people for a worthy future, they give the meaning of existence to mankind. There was news in the press that the mayor of Kazan, Ilsur Metshin, ordered to provide a new building in the city center for Vasiliev's art gallery. Ilsur Metshin believes that the name of Konstantin Vasilyev should be one of the cultural brands, "which must be treated with care and which should be accessible to tourists and citizens." I would like to say many thanks and low bow to you, Ilsur, at least something will be saved for posterity. This exposition will include 96 paintings by the artist, these are the paintings that were in the museums of Kazan. Sincere people with a pure consciousness, freed from all preliminary installations, are drawn to Vasiliev's work. Such people perceive art directly and at the very first glance at Vasiliev's paintings they feel that they have seen something special and very important for them. The work of Konstantin Vasiliev is multifaceted. In his youth, he experimented a lot in various areas of pictorial modernism, especially in surrealism and abstract expressionism. Later he would call these his hobbies the mistakes of youth. This hobby led him to a creative dead end, after which he did not pick up a pencil and brushes for almost 3 years. Konstantin was brought back to life by nature and the books of Dostoevsky, Alexei Tolstoy, Leskov, Gogol and other classics, as well as the music of Shostakovich. The classics inspired in him a sense of belonging to the life of the people. He realized that a really strong support for his creativity can be found in the centuries-old tradition of our people, in the great culture he created, in folk myths full of wisdom and heroism, in the solemn and powerful beauty of nature. That's why he created so many famous works on epic and mythological themes. "Mermaid" "Swan geese" "Birth of the Danube" "Sadko and the Lord of the Sea" "Alyosha Popovich and the beautiful girl" "Kite fight" "Ilya Muromets" "Vasily Buslaev" "Volga and Mikula" A child of war, Konstantin was born in 1942, he painted a lot of paintings of the battle genre, which amaze with their piercing pain and determination to win. "Burning, Burning Fires"
"Invasion" "Farewell Slav"
"Parade in 1941" In the sky over Berlin "Marshal Zhukov" In addition, he created a whole gallery of wonderful portraits, and in landscape painting, he managed to convey the harsh beauty of northern nature. "Northern Legend" "Over the Volga" "Coast" "Sviyazhsk" "Twilight" "Bend" "Abandoned Mill" "Autumn" "By still water" "Fatherland"

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Man with an owl

On the Kalinov bridge

Volga and Mikula

Fight with the Serpent

Ilya Muromets and Gol tavern

Sadko and the Lord of the Sea

Semargl

Eupraxia

starry sky

Alyosha Popovich and the beautiful girl

Russian knight

Fight Dobrynya with a snake

Avdotya Ryazanochka

fires are burning

Ilya Muromsets, shooting at churches

northern eagle

Crying Yaroslavna

Unexpected meeting

Mermaid

Farewell Slav

Sviyazhsk

Konstantin Vasiliev was born on September 3, 1942 in Maykop Krasnodar Territory. His father Alexei Alekseevich was born in St. Petersburg, a participant in three wars (World War I, civil - fought in the Chapaev division, World War II - partisan, communist), engineer, great connoisseur and lover of nature, a fan of literature.

Mother Claudia Parmenovna Shishkina - on the line of her mother from the Saratov peasants.

On August 8, 1942, Maikop was occupied by the Nazis, and my father joined the partisans. But already in February 1943 the city was liberated, the father returned. In 1946, the family moved to Kazan, then to Vasilyevo, thirty kilometers from the city, opposite the place where the Sviyaga flows into the Volga. Virgin forests, river open spaces... Together with his father, Kostya goes hunting and fishing. These were, apparently, unforgettable moments when the soul is open to everything wonderful in the world. He started drawing early. Mother said about him: "He was born with a pencil in his hands." Parents seriously thought about the further development of the talent given by fate to their son.

Having passed the exams perfectly, Konstantin Vasilyev becomes a student of the Moscow Art Boarding School at the Institute. Surikov Academy of Arts of the USSR. From 1954 to 1957 he lived and studied in Moscow. These years are filled with impressions from the fine arts, music, theaters.

Studied in Kazan art school(1957-1961). He worked as a teacher of drawing and drawing in a secondary school, as a graphic designer. Vasiliev's creative heritage is extensive: paintings, drawings, sketches, illustrations, sketches of the church mural in Omsk. Works of the early 1960s marked by the influence of surrealism and abstract expressionism ("String", 1963; "Abstract compositions", 1963). In the late 1960s. abandoned formalistic searches, worked in a realistic manner.

Vasiliev turned to folk art: Russian songs, epics, fairy tales, Scandinavian and Irish sagas, to "Eddic poetry". He created works on mythological subjects, heroic themes of the Slavic and Scandinavian epics, about the Great Patriotic War.

Konstantin Vasilyev left at the age of 34, as if confirming the sinister theory about the connection between genius and inevitable early death. The artist died strangely, even four versions of his death were counted: on October 29, 1976, he was beaten by hooligans in an empty train, thrown out of the train on the move, hacked to death with an ax, and was hit by a train at the Antropshino station. The prosecutor's office did not initiate a criminal case, there was no investigation, and the circumstances and reasons for the death of Konstantin Vasiliev will probably remain a secret.

The artist left behind about 400 paintings, most of his creative heritage - 82 canvases - was kept in the museum. It is difficult to envy the fate of the artist. Unrecognized and persecuted during his lifetime, he painted like a man possessed, as if he felt that he would soon leave. If an extravagant buyer suddenly appeared, interested in an unrecognized genius, the artist simply measured his work diagonally with a school ruler and took a ruble per centimeter from the dumbfounded collector. And only many years later people will notice that Vasiliev's paintings give rise to the so-called "Stendhal Syndrome" , and visitors to exhibitions and the museum will lose consciousness from the crazy energy that the master put into his canvases. His paintings are incredibly popular and are valued in many millions of dollars. For 20 years, more than fifty solo exhibitions have taken place in the cities of Russia, as well as in Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia, and Spain.

In 1988, Konstantin Vasiliev was posthumously awarded the Komsomol Prize of Tatarstan. Musa Jalil for a series of paintings about the Great Patriotic War.

In 1996 and 1998 two museums were opened and Picture gallery Konstantin Vasiliev.

The museum in Moscow, where 82 paintings by the artist were kept, was created with great love by fans of Vasiliev's work. These are real Russian patriots, led by Anatoly Ivanovich Doronin, who love the work of Konstantin Vasiliev and are dedicated to their work.

To create a museum, the thresholds of the Moscow government were upholstered for three years. Finally, they rented a ruined mansion, from which only three walls remained. Then, for almost ten years, they restored it, with their own hands, with their own money. And so, in 1998, the museum opened. But the land in Moscow is a tasty morsel, there are many who want to take it away, on this territory where the museum is located, it was planned to build 2 high-rise buildings. Since 2005, attacks on the museum began - raider raids, courts, forged documents, signatures ...

Before 15 paintings from the Konstantin Vasiliev Museum were to be transferred to the ownership of the artist's sister, the Club meeting decided to examine all the paintings to determine their authenticity. A certain law firm "Private Law" offered its assistance in transporting and placing paintings on the territory of the closed regime enterprise "Voskhod". But then the pictures strangely disappeared.

That same night, the museum was set on fire. On the night of September 21-21, 2009, a fire broke out in the building of the Vasiliev Museum.

At about 10 p.m., one of the two watchmen in the building woke up and smelled gasoline. A few minutes later, the room began to fill with smoke. The gas boiler room was on fire. He woke up the second guard and they, having called firefighters, tried to put out the fire on their own. However, the fire spread through the ventilation system to the attic. Arriving firefighters were able to quickly put out the fire.

As a result of the fire, the roof and part of the premises burned down. The rest were badly damaged by water during the extinguishing. Fortunately, there were no paintings in the building, but now the museum is in need of a major overhaul.

Burnt car tires and wooden fragments were found at the site of the fire. Even after several hours, there was a strong smell of gasoline, which makes it possible to suspect deliberate arson.

Only a year later, the paintings were found and returned to the now new owner, the artist's sister, Valentina Vasilyeva. Paintings by the artist Konstantin Vasilyev, which, according to the decision of the Butyrsky court, should be transferred to his sister Valentina Vasilyeva, were found in cultural center FSB!

As Irina Lakhouzova, a representative of the Moscow Department of the Bailiff Service, said: “The paintings were found in the cultural center of the FSB, in this situation, an FSB officer was involved, who was involved in the transportation of paintings. Subsequently, they disappeared, thanks to the bailiff service, they received information that the paintings were in the cultural center of the FSB. They informed the investigation, the investigation had already seized directly."

In October 2010, an exhibition of the missing paintings was held in Moscow.

However, Vasilyeva did not have to dispose of the collection - the same company of swindlers that started the whole story presented her with a huge bill for the costs and payment of court decisions in her favor. Therefore, she had to give the paintings at their disposal. In a conversation with the director of the museum A.I. Doronin, these people said that the contract for the disposal of the collection was drawn up in such a way that the paintings by Valentin Vasilyev would never be received.

After the museum building was set on fire, the K. Vasiliev Art Lovers Club was involved in numerous lawsuits with the above-mentioned legal form. And yet, after winning over 30 wrongful claims, the Club reopened the museum to visitors on March 31, 2012.

Paintings by Konstantin Vasiliev, of course, can be considered national treasure. And certainly - a common cultural value. And for all admirers of the artist's work, by and large, it doesn't matter who exactly will keep the paintings, the main thing is that they are properly taken care of, and they are available to the general public. Will it be state or private museum- doesn't matter. This is of fundamental importance only for those who see in the paintings of Vasiliev, first of all, 90 million rubles, and not works of art.

The work of a highly gifted artist, who passed away early under unclear circumstances, causes fierce controversy. Art historians dismiss his works, and the public that visits his museum in Moscow in Lianozovsky Park has a completely different opinion: the paintings of Konstantin Vasilyev bewitch and enchant, plunging into completely different worlds.

Creativity K. Vasiliev

The legacy of the artist, who worked for only fifteen years, has preserved more than four hundred works. We can distinguish the main areas that affect the soul:

• Paintings by Konstantin Vasilyev about the Patriotic War.
• Themes of Russian epics, songs, fairy tales.
• Scandinavian epic.
• Landscape.
• Portrait.

Paintings by Konstantin Vasiliev are so unusual and amazing that they cannot be confused with the works of other artists.

Eternal theme - war

People do not stop fighting, they only have a dream of peace. The heroes of K. Vasiliev's paintings go out to fight to protect their home, their loved ones. It does not matter at what time it happens, who came to Russian soil. For the invader, the people who stood up to protect the land dear to their hearts will leave a place only for his grave. A warrior who draws a sword or takes a machine gun or rifle has no fear of death, no matter how terrible the enemies may seem. Russian pathos heroic people reflect paintings by Konstantin Vasiliev with the titles: “Farewell of the Slav”, “Parade of the forty-first”, “Unter den Linden on fire”, “Duel of Peresvet with Chelubey”, “Ilya Muromets frees the prisoners”, “Fight with a snake”. "Invasion" stands apart.

In it, under a leaden sky, columns are marching, to which there is no end, already on the devastated Russian land. In the temple they destroyed, on the ruins of the altar, the saints of the Russian land stood in formation. They, together with the soldiers who will give all their blood to the last drop for the Motherland, will help to liberate the Fatherland in this difficult time for every Russian, when enemy forces seek not only to physically destroy the people, but to break their spirit, to eradicate culture. Our warrior is calm in mortal combat, although death circles over him, but his beloved believes in him, and this faith saved him from death, from a whistling bullet.

"Forty-first Parade"

All the strength of the spirit of the Russian people is reflected in this canvas. Forty kilometers from Moscow, the hardest battles are going on for every piece of land, for every height. Other Russian patriots will go to their aid right from the parade to the battlefield, who often do not even know how to shoot and have never killed anyone in their lives, not even a kitten or a puppy. And now it's time to fight the black horde. The artist took the view from above not by chance. Close-up are people who defended the Motherland in Time of Troubles from the Polish intervention: the tradesman Kozma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. Their images merged into a single whole in historical memory people. It is they who bless the people going into battle, and not the "leaders" who are hidden behind the stands of a barely visible Mausoleum.

Cold canvases

Paintings by Konstantin Vasiliev are often called cold. But you can see from inside the coming, barely contained fire. Take a close look at the reproductions that were given. Paintings by Konstantin Vasiliev, photos of which will appear below, can you really call them lifeless and cold? We do not live in the east, but in the harsh north, which has shaped our mentality: eternal struggle with a scarce nature that does not provide enough food to survive. Frosts that come already in early autumn, and in the spring are not going to recede. What kind of people grew up on this earth? Firm, steadfast, not fond of expressing emotions, hiding their pain and tears, laughing at their situation, no matter how hopeless it may seem. Brightness and warmth, playfulness can be found in French or Italian masters, and Konstantin Vasiliev, the artist whose paintings with the names we are considering, is completely different. Look at the Northern Eagle. In severe frost, in an open sheepskin coat, without a hat, covered with a shock of hair on his head, a stern mature man will now warm up to the point that he will throw off his sheepskin coat, preparing firewood. But if a covetous man approaches, then his ax is sharp. Great is his power human spirit.

"Unexpected meeting"

And what could be the meeting of two proud people? Outwardly they are impassive. There is a silent conversation with the eyes. If a woman decides that a man is worthy of her, then she will not look at the conventions. You won’t wave a pen at such a pen: “Go, they say, it’s not up to you,” and you won’t shut it up in your belt. Two characters, one cooler than the other, were written by K. Vasiliev, depicting a beautiful couple in appearance. Both images are complete. You can stand by the painting for hours.

Russian legends and traditions

The artist Vasiliev Konstantin painted very controversial paintings. Take, for example, the canvas "Ilya Muromets - a fighter against the Christian plague."

In Catholic good times he would have been immediately poisoned at the stake, the Orthodox would have hesitated for a week, but they would not have been ashamed of reprisals either. And so good fellow fights for native paternal institutions. And what does he do? He knocked down golden domes from Kyiv churches, full of faith that he was fighting for a just cause. Terrible is his face. He looks around, where else to put his strength. He is confident in his rightness, strength, moral and worldly wisdom. At the feast, he became angry with Prince Vladimir, went to prison for impudence, went out and began to avenge the unjust reproach. Ilya Muromets is an indomitable free Russian soul who will renounce forced baptism for a long time to come, remember his primordial gods, pray to them, hiding in the dense northern forests.

Scandinavian sagas

Scandinavian subjects were well mastered by Konstantin Vasiliev. The paintings "Valkyrie", "Wotan", the drawings "Scandinavian Warrior", "Siegfried" are the embodiment of military stamina.

"Valkyrie"

Before us stands over the dead warrior, the Valkyrie, perfect in her beauty. Behind her is her faithful snow-white horse. Radiance emanates from her. Her figure is static, as is the motionless deceased, who tightly grips his sword. A few more minutes of thought, and the maiden will take him to Valhalla.

Virgo is beautiful and strong. Her eyes look firmly into the distance, and her armor and sword say that she will rebuff anyone who dares to approach her. A separate close-up portrait of the Valkyrie shows her ice-blue eyes. Golden curls came out from under the winged helmet, they were scattered by the wind. The daughter of Odin is beautiful in her equanimity.

Will

The last picture painted by Vasiliev is "A Man with an Owl".

The wise old man stands against the backdrop of a snow-covered plain. He raised his hand with a whip, and a huge owl sat on it. In his right hand, he holds a lit candle, when it melts, the parchment with the scarlet inscription "Konstantin the Great Russian 1976" will also burn out. Vasiliev often called himself by this name. How did it happen that he predicted the year of his death along with the destruction of the parchment in the fire? Nobody will know this anymore. But the smoke from the fire turns into a growing oak, which is destined to become a mighty tree.

Having finished this canvas, K. Vasiliev told a friend that now he knows how to write. But we can't wait for his new works.

His father Alexei Alekseevich was born in St. Petersburg, a participant in three wars (World War I, civil - fought in the Chapaev division, World War II - partisan, communist), engineer, great connoisseur and lover of nature, a fan of literature.

Mother Claudia Parmenovna Shishkina - on the line of her mother from the Saratov peasants.

He spent most of his life in the village of Vasilyevo, near Kazan. In 1961 he graduated with honors from the Kazan Art College.

Since childhood, the artist was interested in painting, being delighted with beauty. native land, he read books about Russian antiquity, fairy tales, epics in a swoop, and reflected in the pictures everything that always worried his soul - the power of heroes, the uniqueness of Russian nature, the originality of ancient cities and settlements.

Like many painters, Konstantin quite passionately searched for his style and direction - he changed his approach to drawing again and again. At first he became interested in surrealism, creating paintings in the spirit of Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso ("String", "Ascension", "Apostle"). But he quickly became disillusioned. So he told his friends: “The only thing that is interesting about surrealism is its purely external showiness, the ability to openly express momentary aspirations and thoughts in an easy form, but by no means deep feelings.” Departing from the surah, Vasiliev plunged into expressionism, writing a series of paintings (“Quartet”, “Sadness of the Queen”, “Vision”, “Icon of Memory”, “Music of Eyelashes”). When his skill in depicting external forms reached its zenith, Konstantin changes direction again: he is afraid of losing his creative power behind the image of pictures empty in depth of meaning.

It was at this moment that the artist found something that would lead him for all subsequent years along his creative path. At first, carried away by Russian landscapes, Vasiliev began to penetrate more and more into wonderful world native Russian culture. Later, he will call Vasnetsov his teacher and even dedicate the painting Geese-Swans to him. Grandiose landscapes come out from under his brush, diluted with human portraits, striking in their vitality. Then the most famous creations of the artist were born (“Waiting”, “Man with an Owl”, “Northern Eagle”), symbols of Russian identity and deep Russian soul. On this wave, Vasilyev will write many paintings of the battle genre, including those dedicated to the Great Patriotic War (“Farewell of the Slav”, “Marshal Zhukov”, “Longing for the Motherland”).

His style of work is very individual - he wrote each of his works to the music. The artist was inspired by songs filled with live energy, bearing the stamp of the human mind and feelings. These are Russian folk songs, these are, of course, classics (he especially loved Shostakovich), these are also military-patriotic songs that appeared during the war. Perhaps that is why you want to listen to his paintings. He depicted fire with special luminous paints.

Unfortunately, in life brilliant artist many critics also harassed the official authorities, accusing them of "Russian fascism". He was not allowed to exhibit for a long time, urged to stop writing useless "non-Soviet" paintings. And after the death of the artist, despite the seemingly softened relations, before the restructuring of his paintings were persecuted, there were attempts to destroy them. Only thanks to the efforts of the inhabitants of Kolomna, most of the works were saved and placed in the museum.

When the artist finished painting legendary painting"The man with the owl," he said to his mother, "Now I know how to write," a few days later he was gone. On October 29, 1976, an accident ended the life of Konstantin Vasilyev at the age of 35. Official version tragedy - was hit by a train at a railway crossing. But given how ridiculous and unexpected his death was, some doubts arise whether it was actually an accident. Alas, we have no power over the vicissitudes of fate, but the great Russian spirit of the young creator will live forever in his paintings, reminding us of the originality and greatness of our Motherland and its people.

aborted flight

Most often, Vasiliev was in his usual closed environment, surrounded by women and children: mothers, sisters, nieces. Some of his friends condemned him for such an environment, believing that Konstantin was mired in family affairs and could not free himself from them. He was advised to quit everything, to go to Moscow for a long time, to get acquainted there with famous artists, people of art.

But his subtle and vulnerable, despite some feigned impassivity, nature did not want to participate in the bargain, to impose their services on celebrities. Vasiliev did not need any artificial advertising. And yet, under pressure from friends, he was once forced to go with his paintings to the capital on a three-month trip. Yes, and it was difficult to resist the onslaught of Anatoly Kuznetsov, who announced that Ilya Sergeevich Glazunov himself expressed a desire to get acquainted with the work of a provincial artist and it is possible that he will try to help organize an exhibition of his works.

The opinion of friends and relatives was unanimous - it was necessary to go, especially since Anatoly managed to order a car to transport the paintings to Moscow itself. The Vasilievs laid out all the money they had, sold some of their belongings, and, as a result, having collected an insignificant amount, which, however, could, however, cover travel expenses and provide food in big city, blessed Konstantin for the trip.

Departure was scheduled for the end of December. It was on the eve of the meeting of the New, 1975, and this family holiday Kostya wanted to spend at home. But the bridges were burned - the car was ordered, and in order not to frustrate the plans, Gennady Pronin volunteered to go with him.

Konstantin took the calculation at the factory where he worked as a graphic designer, and at the end of December 1974, together with his friend Kostya, set off. The road was hard and long. Crossing the Volga on a railway platform, blizzard, snowdrifts - all this stretched the trip for three days. But here is Moscow, Tsaritsyno - the ultimate goal of their journey. It was there that Svetlana Alexandrovna Melnikova lived, promising to arrange a meeting between Vasilyev and Glazunov.

A somewhat peculiar and rather mysterious figure that appeared on the horizon of Constantine was this woman. She has been active in many public organizations, at the same time was considered a confidant of the artist Ilya Glazunov, and thanks to her amazing activity, she enjoyed the reputation of a person who knew everything that was happening in the creative world, at least within Moscow. Kuznetsov, who had known Melnikova for a long time, introduced Konstantin to her at one time.

The day after her arrival in Moscow, Svetlana Alexandrovna went about her business, leaving Pronin the phone number of Ilya Sergeevich Glazunov: “Call and negotiate now yourself ...” Gennady sat down to the device, and he was immediately lucky:

Ilya Sergeevich, they brought the artist's paintings from Kazan, we want to show you.

Ah... yes, yes. I was told. Well come. The Chairman of the Soviet Committee for the Defense of Peace is visiting me. Let's see together...

We unloaded at the named house. But the paintings did not want to fit in the elevator. I had to carry all of them to the ninth floor. The door was opened by the owner of the apartment, and friends began to unpack and show the work.

The first to open was Prince Igor. Glazunov watched, was silent. The second - "Yaroslavna". Then he became worried about something, began to look around:

Where is the artist? Here you are dragging everything, unwinding. Where is the artist?

Konstantin was silent, "worked" for a loader. Gennady could not stand it:

Yes, here he is an artist, my partner.

Well, hello, I'm Ilya Sergeevich Glazunov. And you?

Everyone got acquainted. Unpacked the third picture - "Autumn". Glazunov was quite agitated:

Oh, wait, now I'll call the Minister of Culture of the RSFSR.

Returned a few minutes later:

Now he will come, we will watch together. One by one, the paintings were lined up along the wall. Glazunov stood by each of them for a long time, examining them. Half an hour later, a grey-haired thick man drove up - Yuri Serafimovich Melentiev, and also began to look at the work with great interest. During the conversation, it turned out that Glazunov was leaving for Finland in a day and was forced to break off relations with Vasiliev. But he recommended Konstantin Melentiev as an original Russian artist and asked for help in organizing the exhibition. Koste said:

You must come to me in two weeks, and we will continue the conversation.

But neither two weeks later, nor two months later Vasilyev reminded of himself. He believed that Glazunov knew well where he could be found if desired. And by virtue of his nature he could not, and did not want to take the initiative.

The situation was such that Vasiliev had to wait for something for a long time. A circle of some people began to form around him, showing an increased and not entirely disinterested interest in his paintings. In words, plans were born to organize an exhibition of his works, but in reality, all these promises only carried away the last meager savings of the artist.

Yes that you Glazunov. We will arrange everything ourselves. You just need to go with such and such a friend to a restaurant.

Later it turned out that this person could not do anything and it was necessary to arrange a meeting with another: there, for sure, everything would work out ... Then there was an adjustment:

You know, let's sell one of your paintings, we have the last little effort left, and open the exhibition ...

Vasiliev, not experienced in such human relationships, at first jokingly agreed:

Well, I am a man subject, I must obey.

The only right he reserved for himself was the right to create. He constantly worked, could not help but work. Made an oil portrait of an old Moscow friend Viktor Belov. Some paintings were painted jointly with one of his new acquaintances - the artist Kozlov. The background was made by Kozlov, and the genre scenes were made by Vasiliev. Then Kozlov sold paintings as a co-author. Vasilyev also wrote a version of "Expectations", which also soon disappeared forever. A lot of paintings were irretrievably lost from the brought collection, among them "Prince Igor", the first version of "Yaroslavna", several landscapes.

The artist was forced to donate some of the works as a token of gratitude for the lodging provided to him: he had to periodically change apartments so as not to abuse the hospitality of Svetlana Alexandrovna. It cannot be said that all the time Vasiliev spent in Moscow was wasted. He also made friends with very interesting people: writer Vladimir Dudintsev, poet Alexei Markov. And on the third month of his stay in the capital, Ilya Sergeevich Glazunov, who returned from another trip abroad, finally found him.

The artists talked for a long time, and Glazunov, feeling Vasiliev quite well, was amazed at the seriousness and depth with which Konstantin penetrated the topics being developed. They met several times, and Ilya Sergeevich always asked Kostya about painting and music with interest. He had a rare collection of gramophone records brought from foreign trips. Glazunov put a record on the player and asked Konstantin to explain how he understands this piece of music. Vasiliev immediately described the whole idea of ​​the composer quite accurately. Or Glazunov, a connoisseur of Russian history, started some old march, referring it to a certain period Russian Empire, but Vasiliev suddenly corrected him, saying:

No, Ilya Sergeevich, this is not that era. Pushkin could not listen to such a march. It sounded only in the time of Dostoevsky...

That is, Vasiliev surprised Glazunov with amazing historical accuracy: not so much with knowledge of some facts, but with a deep perception of the events of Russian history to the details, as if Konstantin himself had lived all its periods and firmly imprinted in his memory. Undoubtedly, Vasiliev's sharpened artistic thinking worked here.

Perhaps we have no right to talk today about what gave each other the communication of two artists. Let's draw only light parallels, indicating that all contacts of creative people, regardless of their desire, give both new material for reflection. Vasiliev showed Glazunov his torch - a candle burning in a person's hand, which personifies his spiritual burning: in the paintings "Dostoevsky", "Waiting". Interestingly, cybernetic science refers such combustion to one of the mysterious phenomena nature. After all, the candle does not flare up (paraffin or stearin do not ignite), but it does not go out either. That is, it is set dynamic balance between fire and the environment. This balance exists for a long time, stubbornly and invariably. Vasiliev's intuitive desire for similar image in painting is not accidental. Persistent, long burning - constant attention, constant creative concentration were symbols of the artist's very life.

Of course, the image of a candle in painting is not a discovery. Candles were on the canvases of Pukirev in "Unequal Marriage", on the self-portrait of Laktionov and many other artists. But they appeared there most often as necessary attributes or objects of refined life. Here they arose as a powerful independent symbol, deepening the meaning of a work of art. And Ilya Sergeevich Glazunov could not but feel it.

The great master was also struck by such a find by Konstantin as a clash of color tones - bright red and steel, other theoretically inharmonious color spots that have an unusually strong emotional sound. Glazunov creatively refracts this find in the painting "Two Princes" and other works. Like Vasiliev, Ilya Sergeevich finds it reasonable to show his canvases to guests visiting his studio to a well-chosen musical accompaniment.

Communication with the venerable artist left a deep mark on the soul of Konstantin. Glazunov inspired Vasiliev to create big series works from the cycle "Epic Russia": one format and one style solution - a special option for reproducing paintings on postcards. Konstantin completed this task, but, unfortunately, did not have time to show the paintings to his mentor. After the death of Vasiliev, some of them were indeed published by the Fine Art publishing house in a postcard version.

The third month of Konstantin's stay in Moscow was drawing to a close. More and more often he received letters from relatives with a request to return as soon as possible. Claudia Parmenovna was already worried about her son. And, without waiting for the exhibition of his works, Vasilyev goes home. According to the memoirs of Claudia Parmenovna, she was a little afraid of this meeting, expecting to see her son oppressed by failure. But he, as if anticipating the excitement of his mother, appeared cheerful, incessantly poured jokes:

Napoleon went to Moscow, and I went to Moscow. Napoleon returned with nothing. But I brought you, mother, oranges as a gift ...

In fact, his state of mind wasn't all that upbeat. Konstantin suddenly felt unsure. He complained to his friends:

Here we are, in the village, creating something on our perch, striving for something. Does anyone need it...

Another streak of depression, the artist's creative stagnation set in. Apparently, for the subtle, somewhat sentimental and vulnerable nature of Vasilyev, the transition to another environment could be disastrous. Living in the village, Konstantin was in a closed atmosphere, which became his difficult fate. But this atmosphere was such that he could bring any of his ideas to the end in it. In this regard, his isolation, his unwillingness to twirl in the turmoil of artistic passions, was a kind of creative immunity.

Shaking off all the same creative numbness, Konstantin, as if to a saving spring, reached out to the living history of the Fatherland - to the heroic events last war with which, to some extent, his own fate came into contact. He wanted a real, strong feeling that would help to gather again with all the physical and spiritual forces. After all, at one time it was the strength of the spirit of the Russian people that helped to withstand all moral tests and stand in the fight against the enemy. He discards many of his purely external hobbies and delves into creativity.

The paintings of the battle genre created by Vasiliev during this period, as it were, continue his epic heroic symphony. They feel that gigantic root system, penetrating the breadth and depth of centuries, which nourished and strengthened the national feat in the Great Patriotic War. The theme of the struggle not only of the Russian people against German fascism, but also of the people of the world against everything hostile to the common humanity entered the artistic consciousness of Vasiliev, retaining the coloring of patriotic romanticism, full of the deepest faith in life, in the triumph of goodness and light.

One of the works in this series, "Parade of the 41st", now belongs to the Kazan Museum fine arts. With all the simplicity of this, it would seem, not a new composition - the soldiers go straight from the parade to the front - the artist finds an original solution characteristic of him.

First of all, an unusual angle was found. The viewer looks at what is happening as if from the walls of St. Basil's Cathedral, over the monument to Minin and Pozharsky, deliberately enlarged and dominating the canvas. And immediately there are two symbolic Vasilevsky plans.

The first plan is formal recognition. We see the rhythmic gray-steel columns of soldiers and involuntarily feel the dramatic atmosphere of what is happening. At the same time, the figures of Minin and Pozharsky, depicted in ancient togas, immediately give us another powerful spiritual plan - infinity, the indestructibility of the people, evoking historical associations with our ancestors. These heroes of national history seem to bless the new heroes to defend the most precious thing - the Motherland.

It is amazing that we, knowing the victorious end of the war, experience in this picture the tension of its beginning, experience that inspiring force that appears only in terrible days, filling our hearts with patriotism.

Structurally, the work amazes with its exceptional power both specialists in painting and those who, of course, have never seen such an artistic solution of spatiality and angle.

The work paired with this picture - "Invasion" perfectly complements and develops a single mythological basis their common theme. The artist nurtured the idea of ​​the picture for a long time and rewrote what he started more than once. It was originally multi-figured composition depicting a fierce battle between the Teutons and the Slavs. But focusing main idea and translating the conflict into a spiritual-symbolic plan, Vasiliev abolishes the battle scenes, replacing them with spiritually opposing forces.

Only two symbols remain on the canvas. On one side stands the ruined skeleton of the Assumption Cathedral Kiev-Pechersk Lavra with the few faces of saints preserved on it, who sing with closed lips, inaudible to us, but some formidable hymns. And on the other hand, an iron column of destroyers passes by, wriggling like a snake and measuredly chasing a step.

In the diptych, in an extremely laconic form in a powerful symbolic context, two eternally opposing principles collide - Good and Evil, which have a specific earthly form: We and They. The struggle is shown not only and not so much on earth or in the sky, the struggle goes on in the hearts, in the souls. Both paintings are made in monochrome gray tones with all possible shades. This creates the necessary unity of the philosophical idea and its technical solution, which further enhances the sound of images and achieves an amazing harmony of works. And if Vasiliev left behind only these two works, then even then he would forever go down in the history of Russian culture - the significance of these canvases is so great for us.

Creating a military series, Konstantin realized his most daring ideas. One of them was the appearance of works on the themes of favorite military marches, which have always played a big role in Russian military life. The artist believed that the old Russian marches performed by brass bands are another important cut from the powerful layer of Russian culture.

And now, from under his brush, the works “Farewell of the Slav” and “Longing for the Motherland” come out. He wrote them to the appropriate musical accompaniment on large canvases - up to two meters in length each. For Konstantin, always extremely limited in means, such an unaffordable luxury was a rare exception. But, obviously, the creative idea and its implementation demanded just such a decision from the artist. The sense of harmony never denied him: the viewer involuntarily perceives the powerful sounds of brass bands, which seem to spread over the entire area of ​​​​the paintings.

On the canvas “Farewell of the Slav” the figure of a soldier stands out in such a swift movement towards the sacred protection that it seems: behind him is not a detachment of warriors, but the whole people. On the right in the picture is the figure of a woman with a girl; the woman drew herself up unnaturally in a last heroic effort not to succumb to despair. She looks somewhere over the person dear to her, far ahead, and as if she discerns the already coming fateful events. The movement of the soldiers and the frozen despair of the mourners is captured by the artist against the background of a restless sky in cold gray clouds and gaps shining with fire. The whole composition is invisibly permeated and elevated by the music of the familiar military march.

How strongly and convincingly Vasiliev conveyed the state of physical and spiritual tension of people in those days can be judged from a letter published in the Vechernyaya Kazan newspaper on July 5, 1983. Here is its full text:

“It was in June 1941. At dawn, three fascist Yu-88 planes unsuccessfully tried to bomb the small station of Velikopolye. Torrential rain poured down in the morning. The planes took off. Everything was in the water - green grass, rails, a swollen plank platform.

Boarding has begun. Here and there it sounded: “Hurry! Hurry!” The soldiers hurried to the carts.

Away from the echelon, local residents gathered. Slender boys began to play the poignant march "Farewell of the Slav", written by the trumpeter of the military band V. Agapkin.

Among the mourners stood out high beautiful woman holding the hand of a girl who looks remarkably like her. "Yaroslavna!" I thought, looking at the young mother. Suddenly she cried out: "Misha!" At her voice, a broad-shouldered soldier turned around, with a wave of his hand he said goodbye to Yaroslavna. Thundering buffers, the train hurried to the front. And the rain, which saved us from the enemy raid, poured incessantly.

Lying in a front-line hospital after being wounded, I read A. Surkov's poems in the newspaper, dedicated to the defense of Moscow. And such confidence sounded in the lines of the poet - “This guy in a gray overcoat will never give up Moscow”, that I again remembered that scene: a young woman in a headscarf and her beloved, determined to fulfill his duty to the end.

The war is over. Tens of years have passed since then. And somehow a friend invited me to an exhibition of few people famous artist Konstantin Vasiliev, exhibited at the Youth Center.

My attention was drawn to the canvas, which was crowded with visitors. To my greatest amazement, I saw in the picture a scene of a distant front-line farewell: a strict fair-haired woman holding a girl by the hand, heavy slanting rain, ranks of soldiers. And the signature is "Farewell of the Slav".

And then I came across "Izvestia" dated October 15, 1979 with a reproduction of that picture. Explanations at the bottom: "Konstantin Vasiliev (1942-1976) - an untimely deceased painter, the theme of many of whose works was the Great Patriotic War."

I looked at this picture for a long time, I admire it even now, although it has already turned yellow from time to time. And every time I ask myself the question: how could a person who was born a year after the start of the war and the farewell scene I saw, paint such a canvas? This, perhaps, is the true power of art. P. Makarov, war veteran.”

Equally laconic and emotional is Vasiliev's painting on the theme of the military march "Longing for the Motherland". The first impression is not a single face, only solid steel helmets chilling the soul with a mercury reflection and the backs of people in gray soldier's overcoats, leaving for the glow of war open at the horizon. And suddenly - the profile of a young soldier, tender features under hard steel. The warrior sends, perhaps, the last parting glance to his beloved Motherland...

The artist, as it were, realized in painting two indisputable musical masterpiece. Each of these realistic works has an unexpected and, as it seems to us now, the only possible compositional solution. However, Vasiliev, who is extremely demanding of himself, considered it necessary to strengthen the symbolic sound of the "Farewell of the Slav". Having put the painting into the water for this purpose, he, unfortunately, did not have time to write a new version. Therefore, the canvas extracted from the water after the death of Vasilyev was significantly damaged. But even in this capacity, the work produces a strong emotional impact on the viewer, especially if one looks at it when the music of this march is played.

A special place in the series of military works of the artist is occupied by the portrait of Marshal Soviet Union G. K. Zhukova.

Once Konstantin quoted Pushkin's friends: "The Russian tsar has a chamber in his halls, it is not rich in sable, not rich in silver ...", he remarked with some bitterness:

And in the ward, after all, portraits of the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812 hung. It is a pity that today our people do not have collected portraits of the heroes of the new Patriotic War.

And Vasiliev, hatching big and daring plans, decided to create a similar gallery of images of those generals who, leading the people, glorified the power of Russian weapons. Such a cycle of works had to be connected with a single artistic solution. Konstantin thought for a long time, looking for the only form of presentation into which portraits should result

The artist opted for the tradition of the formal portrait, so widespread in the 19th century, but forgotten by our painters. Knowing that the label “pompous spirit” was hung on this tradition, that it was cursed and wounded in every possible way, Konstantin was not afraid to step over the forbidden line.

In Vasiliev's understanding, a certain conventionality and solemnity of the front portrait are absolutely necessary. It is no coincidence, for example, that the symbolism accompanying the parade military band is pompous: a military brass band on the march always looks solemn, festive. So in portraits of people connected by legendary fame, the viewer must experience a spiritual upsurge, the rise of their aspirations.

And Vasiliev, with all his tact, without abusing the artistic means of this direction, began the planned series.

The picture is extremely symbolic. In the foreground - the legendary Marshal G.K. Zhukov, trampling standards and banners - symbols of the former greatness of the "Third Reich". The overcoat thrown over his shoulders is like the wings that soared this man to glory. And then, in the depths, history itself comes to life: against the backdrop of the smoky Russian sky, restless and formidable, are the skeletons of the houses of the destroyed Stalingrad. But the cleansing fire of retribution is close, the tongues of its flame, rising behind the marshal, are already dispersing the filth. And we see how, from somewhere in the sky, through a light haze of clouds, the columns of the Russian army are coming.

All this symbolism is subordinated to one desire - to convey that terrible, tragic and at the same time great era that our people experienced, a people capable of nominating invincible commanders from their ranks in hard times.

In this largely bold, innovative work, in all its structure artistic language there is a powerful impact not only folk myth-making, but also the schools of the great masters of painting. Here and filigree technique, and an amazing sense of color, and a whole arsenal of various techniques and tools used by the artist.

For example, as Vasiliev himself admitted, he borrowed the idea of ​​soldiers moving across the sky from the brilliant Raphael: in the Sistine Madonna, if you look closely, you can see that the space is filled with the heads of angels.

The portrait of Marshal Zhukov showed what inexhaustible possibilities are hidden in the mighty power of realism, capable of creating an unusually capacious art form.

At the posthumous exhibitions of Konstantin Vasiliev, people enthusiastically called each other to look at this portrait, as they would do if the people's military leader himself were walking by. And indeed: the first impression of the portrait of Zhukov is the people's heroic upsurge and a powerful victory, merged from a million ordinary people in a single face of the commander, true hero World War II, the son of his homeland.

The theme of the Great Patriotic War more than once gave rise to romantic ups and downs in Soviet realistic art. But with Vasiliev, the very choice of the topic is determined by his inner spiritual aspiration. Romance is inherent in the very nature of this person, in his artistic intuition.

Constantly improving and spiritualizing our artistic images, Vasiliev in the portrait of Zhukov reaches a new qualitative level, makes an attempt to express some main, painful thought. The main idea of ​​the author is finally expressed in the picture: the struggle for a strong and beautiful person.

It is no coincidence that the artist brings the inner struggle of human passions to the battlefield, throws him into the flames of war. War is a time when characters are clearly polarized. War is a place where pure and bright forces resignedly go to death in the name of the Motherland, and all evil spirits hide or loot. The heroic in Vasiliev is always close to the tragic, his heroes often die, but they always win morally. Pushing opposites in an uncompromising situation, the artist urges us to preserve the purity of our aspirations in an ordinary, not so tense environment.

Vasiliev's patriotic paintings, dedicated to the fight against fascism during the Great Patriotic War, caused a great public outcry in our country. Great power is seen in his epic and historical heroes. Physical and spiritual tension is often required from the viewer in order to decide how to perceive the event that happened in the picture, its plot, symbolism. The realism of stern faces in the artist's paintings is nothing more than a concentration understandable to everyone during any difficult task.

It might seem strange to the viewer if G.K. Zhukov, in all the inspiration and tragedy of the liberation of the Motherland, would have suddenly turned out in Vasiliev with a kind smile. Or, say, in the painting "Farewell of the Slav" the face of a soldier - a symbol of protection - and the face of a woman - a symbol of the Russian land - would be turned to each other with dreary sensitivity.

There is something like a paradox. Some artists, being in the rear during the Great Patriotic War, wrote only still lifes. Others, many years later, not knowing the war, suddenly express its tragedy. Obviously, the new generation wants to comprehend in its own way the phenomena marked by the deepest tragedy and at the same time the greatest upsurge of the human spirit. And there is nothing surprising in the fact that the young artist did not stop at the pictures of nature, but chose significant moments in the history of the country in the manifestation of the character of the hero.

Vasiliev's paintings always - be it a landscape, a portrait, a battle - concentrate all the harmony of feelings, and not sensitivity, and all the harmony of forces, and not superhuman despotism, all that truly creates life, its value.

Looking to the future with faith in harmonious person, Vasiliev writes his latest work"The Man with the Owl", which became the pinnacle of philosophical generalization in the artist's work.

This is a complex symbol-image of a person who came out of the people's environment and absorbed all his best features. A realistic plot composition is permeated with a variety of symbolism, coming from the heart, from the human soul, like clots of well-established folk concepts.

Vasiliev, like no one else, showed how important symbolism is in realistic works. But not that conditional, attracted symbolism that needs to be solved like a rebus, which is typical, for example, for the masters of the northern Renaissance of the period of the 15th-16th centuries, where the images represented a legalized system of symbols: the shoes brought to the fore of the picture were supposed to personify the devotion of the spouses , and the dog - the comfort of the hearth and so on. Vasiliev himself understood symbolism as artistic images that evoke high feelings.

In the painting "The Man with the Owl" there is a burning scroll with the pseudonym of the artist "Konstantin Velikoross" and the date that became the year of his death - 1976, there is a lamp that the Man carries in his hand, a whip, a perspicacious bird, a closed circle of the earth, deliberately shifted , are all symbols. But they can seem flat or be very capacious and spiritually rich. It all depends on how the viewer perceives them. The artist did not engage in a special selection of symbols, they were born in him latently when creating images. He worked intuitively: despite all his iron logic, he perceived the information he required with a feeling unknown to us.

So, Vasiliev always liked to look at the fire. Constantine was attracted by the element of fire, its beauty. And fire appeared, candles appeared on his canvases. They turned out to be technically convenient. The artist could get an advantageous color scheme for the picture, the desired illumination of the hero's face. In addition, the candle is a beautiful decorative element. But gradually, Vasiliev turned it into a kind of symbol-torch ...

Outwardly, nothing is encrypted in Vasiliev's lamp. This is a self-sufficient symbol that everyone will perceive in their own way. The interpretation of the paintings may be different depending on the completeness of their comprehension.

There is, for example, such a reading of "The Man with the Owl". In the guise of an old man, the artist tried to present the wisdom of human experience. The risen giant connected two worlds: heaven and earth, like the mythological tree of life - the connector of two spheres. Vasiliev recalls that not only flowers and trees grow on Earth, but also human lives. As if the old man had grown roots into the earth, which had not yet woken up from a cold sleep. The fur of his fur coat, similar in texture to the frosted crowns of trees, testifies to his former connection with the winter forest. Man has risen from nature itself and reached such heights that the vault of heaven props up his head.

But what did the sage take with him on a difficult journey, perhaps equal to the lives of many generations, in order to connect the two principles and achieve the harmony of the world?

The artist puts any creative burning as the basis of true exaltation - and as a symbol of it - a dying scroll with his own pseudonym, obviously believing that only a creative thought, born from knowledge, is capable of reaching cosmic heights. But the name is burning! And this has a second, personal meaning. true artist, a true thinker must completely forget about himself for the sake of people, for the sake of his people.

Only then does it become a life-giving force. Creativity is one of the greatest manifestations of the human spirit.

A small oak sprout breaks up from the flame and ashes - a sign of eternity. The oak tree is depicted like shamrock flowers strung one on top of the other - an ancient symbol of wisdom and enlightenment. Undying knowledge was left on earth by the fire of creativity!

A light is burning above the sprout, clutched in the right hand of the old man. Apparently, this is the main thing that the sage took and carries with him. The light is a symbol of the even and unquenchable burning of the soul. The halo of a candle captures the subtle features of a person's face, combining rare concentration with loftiness of thoughts. Some special meaning fills the mysterious eyes of the old man. In them self-deepening, vigilance is not only visual, but also internal, spiritual.

Above his gray head he holds a whip, and on the mitten of the same hand sits a formidable-looking bird - an eagle owl. Her "living" eye - the all-seeing eye - completes the upward movement: further - the starry sky, space. A whip or a scourge is necessary in order to maintain fortitude in any conditions: true wisdom is unattainable without self-restraint. And, finally, the image of an owl, an owl among different peoples has always been a symbol of wisdom, an impartial vision of the world. The eagle owl is a bird for which there are no secrets even under the cover of night. This is the revelation to which the coming man strives and will sooner or later reach. The poetic image of an old man, born of an artist, is, as it were, included in eternal life nature and "expresses what is silently experienced by the world."

The picture affirms the great value of life itself, its inexorable movement, development. Her appearance foreshadowed the beginning of a certain new painting. The artist, having completed the canvas, himself clearly felt this. And, perhaps, for the first time, he experienced an acute need for solitude in order to better comprehend the found direction. Together with Anatoly Kuznetsov's brother, Yuri, an avid hunter, Konstantin went to the Mari forests.

The first person they met upon returning from hunting was Anatoly Kuznetsov. Konstantin answered all his questions in monosyllables and looked over his head, abandoning everything ... Only the next day the artist said to his friend and mother who came to visit him: “Now I understand what I need to write and how to write.” The power inherent in these words spoke of the fact that Vasilyev was indeed entering a new phase of life and work. He felt some nerve of life, something completely new. It was a powerful surge of strength that penetrated into him from the outside, in the Mari expanses. His consciousness began to change. And much could be expected from the coming period. This happened just a few days before the death of the artist...

In October 1976, a joint exhibition of artists of the region and the city was organized in Zelenodolsk, where Konstantin presented three of his works: “An Unexpected Meeting”, “Waiting” and “Portrait of Lena Aseeva”. Judging by the numerous entries in the guest book, the audience liked his paintings very much. After the closing of the exhibition, on October 29, at 18.00, it was decided to arrange a discussion of the works with the presence of artists.

Konstantin seemed very cheerful that evening. Getting ready for a meeting, he put his brown dress suit in order and hummed to the beat of the military march that rattled from the record. When everything was ready and Konstantin was already heading for the exit, his Kazan acquaintance Arkady Popov unexpectedly came to him. Having learned that Kostya was going to the exhibition, he wanted to join him. Suddenly he saw the "Man with an Owl" and stopped, as if spellbound. Then Konstantin returned, put on the player a record with the introduction to the third act of Wagner's "Parsifal" ...

Leaving, he said to Klavdia Parmenovna: “I won’t stay long, after the discussion I’ll go home right away ...”

Only three days later the mother was informed of his death. That evening, at a railroad crossing, both friends were hit by a passing train. This death shocked many...

Konstantin was buried in a birch grove, in the very forest where he loved to be, sometimes turning into a carefree child, where, at the time of his former hobbies for concrete music, he found unexpected sounds that amazed him, and having matured, he discovered the world of beauty. Friends carried Konstantin out of the house, last way, to the sounds of Wagner's funeral march "On the death of Siegfried" ...

In his room, along the walls, the works he had not completed remained lonely: “Fatherland”, a portrait of his sister Lyudmila, a children's group portrait of his nieces, a portrait of his niece Natasha among blooming irises. The plans of the artist will never come true: to paint a grandiose canvas “Battle”, dedicated to the battle on Kursk Bulge, complete the entire military series according to the developed sketches, including a large portrait of Marshal K. Rokossovsky, start a series of portraits "Great Women of Russia"

After Vasiliev's death, a piece of paper (half-burned for some reason) was discovered with amazing words written by his hand: “The artist experiences pleasure from the proportionality of parts, pleasure with the right proportions, dissatisfaction with disproportions. These concepts are built according to the law of numbers. Views that are beautiful numerical ratios are beautiful. The man of science expresses the laws of nature in numbers, the artist contemplates them, making them the subject of his creativity. There is a pattern. Here is beauty. Art constantly returns to its origins, recreating everything anew, and in this new one, reviving life again. Inheritance as a saving force ... "

Are these his words? Maybe it's something recorded in the memory ... Yes, that's the point. "We don't read books, but books read us." In this passage - the whole essence of the soul of Constantine. He, this amazing artist, there is nothing unfinished. There is something unfinished. But it is finished too. Any of his sketches, etudes are strikingly solid, each stroke of a pencil, brushstroke is extremely accurate and truthful - this is always a field of intense struggle for the purity of expression. The artist does not accept negligence, approximation, negligence in art. Hence - the amazing completeness of any of the fragments of Vasiliev's works. Perhaps that is why his painting most of all merges with music, where any structure, no matter how complex and improvisational, still consists of elements that are absolutely accurate in terms of pitch.

Only a person endowed with high ethical ideals can create perfect works of art. Perfection, the ancients said, is born from balance, balance - from justice, justice is the purity of the soul. Perfection - balance - justice - these concepts corresponded perfectly to the whole character of Konstantin Vasiliev.

Fate, so often evil in relation to great people from the outside, always carefully manages what is inside, deep in them. The thought that has life ahead does not die with its bearers, even when death overtakes them unexpectedly and accidentally. And the artist will live as long as his paintings are alive...

We can safely say that Konstantin Vasiliev developed his virgin land in painting. He opened creative direction, allowing the artist to follow the path of realistic art and create paintings that actively influence the viewer, giving rich food to the mind and heart.

At the beginning of the century, the well-known Russian and Soviet art critic Sergei Durylin said: “The only way to free ourselves from the tyranny of decline in art is the path of symbolism as an artistic method, myth-making, as the flesh of art ...”

Is it not the living embodiment of what was said that we see today on the canvases of Vasiliev? He really took the attitude of the people to the world as the initial principle of creativity. The artist embarked on the path of myth-making in search of a hero capable of serving the cause of the internal transformation of people; searched in the mythology of the Russian and neighboring peoples for a harmonious, ideal man of antiquity, and boldly expressed the found and deeply meaningful artistic images in new forms, creating deeply symbolic canvases.

Today we see what a variety of characters - harsh, bright, filled with practical care or subtle poetry - created by the artist. Looking at the features of these heroes, living and individual, we begin to better understand our history, ourselves, the life around us. And like a ray of light sent from some unknown world, illuminates our souls. For a while, we forget our thoughts, desires and carefully look at this ray. Images, previously familiar only from the outside, are highlighted, and it seems as if we see hearts beating in them.

Among all the wisdom that we absorb into ourselves, being at the height of our established concepts, we suddenly stop and ask - is our soul so pure? inner world Is it so warm in our hearts, as in those people created by the artist, whom we saw only once, but remembered forever?

The life path of an artist is measured not by the years lived, but by the years left by him. creative heritage. And Vasiliev's work is impressive - 400 paintings, graphic works and sketches!

Dozens of times on the initiative All-Russian Society protection of monuments of history and culture, posthumous exhibitions of this master were opened. Spectators often ask what is the secret of the artist's bright talent, how did he manage to elevate the talent given from birth to original mastery? This secret is in the people! Vasiliev is a people's, national artist in essence.

The artist's paintings are marked by beauty, not prettiness; they contain a living fusion of the soul of the performer and the soul of the people-creator! And the people felt, recognized him as their artist. Each new meeting with him, people are waiting impatiently. What can be higher than such a harmonious consonance of the souls of the artist and the viewer?! People's craving for beauty is a pledge spiritual health nation, said F.M. Dostoevsky. And a people with a healthy spirit is indestructible.

The educational and international significance of Vasiliev's work is great. His paintings glorify courage and heroism, awaken in young people the readiness to repeat the feat of their fathers. The artist drew material for creativity from the life of the Russian people, which he knew best. But aesthetic value his paintings, that beauty of man and nature that they claim is the property of all Soviet people, they are understandable to the viewer of any nationality. His works are also understandable to the foreign audience, who has shown the keenest interest in the artist's work. Truly folk art always becomes a common property.

An elderly woman lives in Kolomna - Klavdia Parmenovna Vasilyeva, mother great artist. A difficult life behind her. Years go by, but worries do not decrease. Dozens of exhibitions, which gave people joy, brought her grief: the paintings suffered noticeably and require serious restoration. This also places a new burden on her women's shoulders. How long will she bear her own and other people's worries?!

A nagging sadness often rolls up to the heart. And when it becomes completely unbearable, then in a dream her son comes to her ... Here she hears Kostya's steps ... He came up, opened the gate of their old house and, as usual, tapped several bars of Beethoven's march on the window. Before, he always said: “Mother, don’t rush to open it, you have pressure, I’ll wait on the porch!”

He entered quietly. Called:

He looked at her with a long affectionate glance, and suddenly said with bitter tenderness:

You are very tired, dear... I know... Please be patient. Help me a little more...