Korin's painting "Alexander Nevsky" is the central part of the triptych of the same name, the left part is called "Northern Ballad", the right - "An Old Tale". The work was carried out in difficult times for Russia - from 1942 to 1943.

Artists' mite on the altar of victory

It was conceived primarily to raise the morale of the soldiers. about the defenders of the fatherland, about the invincibility of Russian weapons. “Alexander Nevsky” is a painting that has become on a par with canvases dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, such as A. Deineka’s paintings about the outskirts of Moscow in 1941, when the enemy was a few kilometers from the capital. paints a stunning picture of a partisan's mother. A. Bubnov refers to the theme of the Kulikovo field. Artists of the Soviet Union in those days contributed to the victory over the fascist invaders with their works.

Unshakable Faith

"Alexander Nevsky" - a picture, or rather, a triptych, which tells how a Russian woman escorts her son, husband or brother to war with enemies. The central part is dedicated to a warrior who no one can defeat. The final section is a hint that the feat accomplished by the Russian people will go down in history and will never be forgotten. The author of the work does not doubt for a minute that the victory will be won.

I would like to note the Soviet art, concluded in the fact that films, paintings, literary works created at the beginning, in the middle of the war, talked about the upcoming victory as a fact beyond any doubt. This great faith of the Russian people, supported by masters of art and literature, raised the military spirit and forged victory.

"Who will come to us with a sword ..."

It has been suggested that "Alexander Nevsky", the painting, which is the central part of the triptych, was a prelude to the main canvas of the artist's entire life - "Russia is leaving". This masterpiece was left unfinished.

Like it or not, the triptych itself is magnificent. The central part is especially good. The figure of the Grand Duke is drawn as if from below and therefore rises above the endless expanses of the Russian land. The power and calmness, so successfully portrayed by A. Korin, testify that Nevsky does not threaten the enemy, he has already defeated them all on their heads. "Alexander Nevsky" is a picture that echoes the finale of the immortal film of the same name. With that epic moment when one of the greatest heroes of Russia utters the words about the punishing sword and about what "the Russian land stands and will stand on." The face of the hero of A. Korin's canvas does not look like Nikolai Cherkasov, but the meaning of the image itself, its spirit and grandeur are conveyed just as brilliantly. This is the image of a great warrior and national hero. And in the people's memory, he remained just like that, largely thanks to the film and the painting "Alexander Nevsky".

You can continue with words about the color scheme of the canvas. It is strict. The figure of the prince is designed in gray, red tones. The scarlet cloak emphasizes the brilliance of the steel of the armor and the sword on which the victorious prince leans.

Some details of the picture

All details of military equipment are made with scrupulous precision. The upper right corner is occupied by a black banner with the image of the Savior the Bright Eye, which became the main blessing of the people for feats of arms.

The Icon of the Savior the Fiery Eye inspired the Russian army for many centuries before the greatest battles. The dark flag contrasts with the pale blue sky, over which snow-white clouds run. The ingenious canvas measuring 275 x 142 is stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery.

"Alexander Nevsky" left part of the triptych "For the Russian Land".

canvas, oil, size: 163x203, 2003

The left part (163 x 2o3) is turned to the history of Ancient Russia, written in 2003. This is an easel painting, has a horizontal format, made in oil on canvas in the genre of a historical painting.

The picture reflects the image of the young prince-commander Alexander Nevsky. At the moment when the first victory of Alexander on the Neva took place, the prince was only 22 years old. After that, he leaves Novgorod and goes to his father Yaroslav, who gives him the principality of Pereslavl-Zalessky, in which Alexander himself was born, but a year later the Novgorod residents again invite the prince to Novgorod, asking to continue the war with the Livonian Order, whose troops approached that moment to Pskov. The left side of the triptych depicts the historical moment described above - the return of Prince Alexander to Novgorod. His figure is already standing, as it were, at the head of the assembled army. His posture is free and confident, behind him is the army loyal to him, the Russian Holy Land, the personification of which is Sophia of Novgorod, located in the background of the picture. Banners with icons and banners of warriors, depicted in the middle plan, again transfer the viewer's gaze to the central figure of Alexander, behind whom a blue banner with a holy face proudly flies, an icon with St. George the Victorious is knocked out from behind a blue cloth - all these are Russian symbols faith, hope and victory over the invaders.

He stands on a dais, his proud figure is dressed in silver-colored armor, a red cloak is thrown over his shoulders as a symbol of princely Christmas time of power, his young face expresses calm and confidence, it is written plausibly, his head is crowned with a helmet, which confirms Alexander's readiness for battle. The dark blue banner serves as a background for the portrait fragment. Everything else: the vertical figures of warriors, with raised spears, reinforce the verticals of Sophia of Novgorod, whose domes stretch to a gap in the sky. White voluminous clouds fill with silver towards the horizon and turn into a distant landscape with a church located on the banks of the Volkhov River. Birds soaring high in the sky give the whole composition and its image a romantic mood, but at the same time it is not without dynamics. On the contrary, the work is filled with a sense of patriotism, faith in the strength of the people.

text: Anna Myasnikova

« In 1942, the Arts Committee invited Korin to paint a picture so that the image of great ancestors would inspire Soviet soldiers and officers. The artist put all his knowledge of the spiritual beauty and qualities of the Russian person into his triptych "Alexander Nevsky". The impact of the created image was such that reproductions of "Alexander Nevsky" adorned front-line dugouts and front-line newspapers. And a huge copy of the painting, made by a group of soldiers who stormed Veliky Novgorod, was installed at the entrance to the city».

“Alexander Nevsky” by Korin was written under the roar of anti-aircraft guns, under the bright light of searchlights cutting the sky, during the Great Patriotic War.

Above the prince's head is a military banner with an icon Savior - Yaroe Oko. Majestic figure of AlexanderNevsky occupies almost the entire plane of the canvas, toweringover the waters of the Volkhov River, the temple of Sophia of Novgorod,ok-restnymi distances.

In the whole appearance of the prince, firm determination and confidence in his own strength, in the strength of the Russian war are expressed.ska. Alexander Nevsky is depicted against the backdrop of the Volkhov River. On the other side - Novgorod with the famous St. Sophia Cathedral. Farther away are the forests. On the side, at a distance - an army ready to march. He seems to be saying:“And if someone enters us with a sword, he will die by the sword!”

The artist depicted Alexander Nevsky in the armor of a knight. A helmet is on his head, a sword is in his hands, a red cloak flutters behind his back. The great warrior stands guard over the tranquility and peace of his homeland, and no enemies can defeat him.

The figure of Alexander Nevsky occupies the entire space of the picture. The mighty prince stands with his legs wide apart and clutching his sword. He is unshakable and unshakable. It seems that no forces can break him. Alexander's face is as if carved from stone: calm and firm. His gaze is direct and confident. He seems to be saying: “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword.

The picture is filled with patriotism and the artist's pride for his country, its glorious past and heroic present. The canvas inspires confidence that the Russian people will be able to defend their independence and the right to a happy future on their own land.

There is also a very beautiful mosaic in St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg (based on N. Maikov's cardboard, 19th century).

The creative heritage of the artist Pavel Dmitrievich Korin is extremely diverse. He came from the icon-painting Palekh and at first developed as a master icon painter.

At the same time, Pavel Korin forever retained an interest in the inner world of a person and subsequently became one of the outstanding portrait painters of our time.

Perhaps the same purely icon-painting tradition of miniature landscapes on Palekh icons eventually led the artist to create a number of completely original panorama landscapes.

These bewitchingly beautiful picturesque "ribbons" give the viewer a feeling of boundless space and the beauty of Russian nature, and the artist himself is presented as the finest lyricist and deep philosopher.

Portrait of Pavel Korin. Artist Mikhail Nesterov

Pavel Korin. My motherland

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Korin Pavel Dmitrievich "Departing Russia"

In 1925, Patriarch Tikhon died in his Moscow residence (Donskoy Monastery). The death of the saint of the Russian Orthodox Church caused a mass pilgrimage of the people to the bed of the deceased. On all roads to Moscow, to the walls of the Donskoy Monastery, streams of people flowed. Silently, day and night, the whole of Orthodox Russia went on. Solemn funeral ceremony, clergy of all degrees and ranks, crowds of believers, among whom were fanatics and holy fools...

*clickable


Requiem. Russia is leaving. 1935-1959

Writers, and composers, and scientists, and artists have been there - everyone who could then realize the significance of what was happening. Among the artists was the sincere singer of "Holy Russia" Nesterov, and with him a student and by that time already his friend Pavel.

At the walls of the Donskoy Monastery, Pavel Korin saw how this Russia, wretched in everyday life, in these last - tragic for her and at the same time stellar moments - showed all the strength of her character. This Russia left in the Russian way, with its departure showing a sign of eternity.
Different characters - young and old, men and women, bishops and monks, abbesses and young nuns, cripples and beggars on the stone steps of churches and just lay people. All of them went into the past with an unshakable belief that this departure was temporary, with the hope of returning and with conviction in the rightness and sanctity of their cause. The artist wept when, following the attendants who left the temple, they began to destroy the beautiful monuments of architecture, decorated with frescoes by talented craftsmen.

Pavel Korin then made several pencil sketches for memory. And on one of the drawings he signed: "Two hermits met, as if they had come out of the earth ... An eye looks out from under a hanging gray eyebrow, looks wildly." And the young artistoriginatedidea to paint a big picture, which he gave the name "Requiem".
At first, these were just sketches, which he wrote selflessly, with inspiration reaching to despair. The plot and composition of the picture were not yet completely clear, and the characters of the characters were already born on the canvas. They were alive - with their passions, faith, confusion. Sometimes some colleagues threw seeds of doubt into the artist's soul, but did not cool his creative ardor, although they tormented him greatly.
In Palekh, and then in Moscow, in the icon-painting workshop, Pavel Dmitrievich often came into contact with the ministers of the Russian Orthodox Church. The impressionable artist with great acuteness felt the depth of the tragic situation of the church, which came into conflict with the young Soviet government. This struggle was fierce, and when the destruction of the clergy began in the country, Pavel Korin realized that a great force was leaving the stage of public life. It was in this departure that he saw a deep artistic canvas full of inner drama.
Korin,when he painted a large picture perpetuating the departing old Russia, he said: “I worried about our entire Church, for Russia, for the Russian soul. I tried to see people enlightened and myself to be in an elevated state ... For me, there is something incredibly Russian in the concept of “leaving.” When everything passes, then the best and most important - it will all remain".
Not considering himself a portrait painter, Pavel Dmitrievich decided to create a multi-figure composition with a pronounced plot basis: "The church goes to the last parade." Sketches for the conceived picture were made by him long before the final sketch of its composition. These were already completely independent, masterful portraits, the total number of which reached several dozen.

Father and son. (S. M. and St. S. Churakov). 1931

One of the earliest (some researchers consider it the best) was the study "Father and Son". This is a paired portrait of the self-taught sculptor S. M. Churakov and his son, later a well-known restorer. They are presented almost in full growth. Depicted in the foreground is the figure of Churakov Sr. - a tall, strong build of an old man with the beard of a prophetMichelangelo- strikes the viewer with extraordinary power. He stands confidently on widely spaced legs, raising his right shoulder and laying his hands behind his back. His head bows down; a handsome face with a high open forehead, furrowed with sharp wrinkles, is overshadowed by a deep thought.
The son standing behind, as it were, complements this image, developing and varying the theme of deep meditation. Outwardly, the figure of a young man resembles his father, although it is much smaller and thinner. Here is the same deeply concentrated pose with a lowered head and clasped hands, but it is clear to the viewer that these are completely different, in many ways even contrasting figures.
The thin, nervous face of a young man framed by thick dark brown hair covering his forehead; thin youthful beard, convulsively intertwined fingers - everything speaks of a more complex, but also weaker internal organization.

"Three" in the center is Elagina Elagina, on the left Sofya Mikh. Golitsyna, 1933-35

A few years later, Pavel Korin wrote the sketch "Three". Three female figures, representing three different ages, reflected the master's three different approaches to solving the portrait. The central figure is a squat, hunched-over old nun, leaning heavily on a stick... Before the viewer appears one of the dominant church persons, perhaps in the past - the abbess of some monastery. A long black robe with a cape envelops this grim figure. From under a huge fur-trimmed cap pulled over his forehead and a black scarf covering his cheeks, the details of an old face, expertly sculpted in color, stand out in relief. At first glance, it is clear that before him is a powerful, resolute, courageous person.
Behind the old woman, on the right, is an elderly woman in semi-monastic clothes. Herfanned by spiritual warmth and quiet calmnessbeautifula face framed by a black scarf, with a high open forehead and kind, sad eyes, speaks of a difficult, long-suffering fate, wise patience and fortitude of a Russian woman.
The third figure - a young, big-eyed beauty, slender and tall - personifies the heroic-romantic trend in Korin's work. She islike her neighborin the same dark semi-monastic attirebut her proudly raised head is not covered.

Protodeacon M. K. Kholmogorov

In 1935, a portrait of Protodeacon Kholmogorov was painted. When the first studies for the "Requiem" appeared, many greeted them with hostility. Recognizing the indisputable talent of Pavel Korin, he was reproached for avoiding reality, poetizing the gloomy sides of the "legacy of the past", an apology for religiosity, howeverIt wasin these sketchesandreflection of the revolution, albeit indirectly so far. The essence of such a reflection was in the extreme intensity of human passions, in the mighty element of faith. "Requiem" in etudes gradually grew to a symbolic "requiem" to the outgoing old world.

Hieromonk Pimen and Bishop Anthony

Metropolitan Tryphon

In the late 1930s, Korin stopped writing sketches for his painting, explaining this by the attacks of ill-wishers. But there were also deeper reasons of an ideological nature and a creative order. A new life developed rapidly, requiring the artist to update and expand the subject of creativity. Appeal to new heroes (portraits of remarkable figures of Soviet culture) noticeably slowed down the work on the conceived picture, but did not stop it.

Young hieromonk. Father Fedor. 1932

Gorky, who came to Korin, asked him in detail about the composition of the future canvas, and asked about the name. "Requiem," the artist answered not very confidently. - “I don’t see the address. The title should determine the content.” And then the writer said, looking at the sketches: “They are all those who are leaving. They are leaving life. Departing Russia. immediately after these words, everything fell into place, the idea and design of the picture acquired a clear and distinct harmony.

Schimnitsa mother of Seraphim from the Ivanovsky Monastery in Moscow

Schimnitsa from the Ivanovsky Monastery. Study for the painting "Requiem". 1930s

For almost a quarter of a century (with interruptions) Korin wrote the final sketch of the painting, which he completed in 1959. This sketch was a reduced version of the planned canvas, it not only gives an idea of ​​its composition and artistic structure, but also reveals the specific content of each image. This is a sketch of a multi-figure group portrait, modeled after the best examples of this genre.

Beggar. 1933

Pavel Korin unfolded the action of the picture in the depths of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The many-sided crowd, having filled the cathedral, is preparing for the solemn exit. This decision of the plot allowed the artist to turn all the characters in the picture to face the viewer, which contributes to the most multifaceted disclosure of portrait characteristics.
In the center of the picture is the higher clergy. In one temple, four patriarchs came together, successively heading the Russian Orthodox Church. This circumstance speaks in favor of the fact that the idea of ​​the entire canvas is not limited to displayingzheniya tragically departing Holy Russia. For a long time, some art historians (G. Vasiliev) considered the picture as "the last parade of those condemned by history to oblivion". The critic noted that "their alienation from life is mercilessly emphasized by the emptiness of the huge cathedral. The artist conceived the picture as "Requiem" - waste powerful social phenomenon, called Orthodoxy.

Shiigumenya mother Tamar. 1935

Yes, the thought of the ongoing tragedy is read both in the composition of the picture and in the faces of its characters. But the faces of most of them are clouded not only with sorrow, they are also marked by deep, concentrated thoughts. There is not even a hint in the picture that we have before us the victims of historical breakdown, humbly accepting the verdict of the era. Therefore, among the characters there are very few inclined figures and people with drooping eyes. To the left of the pulpit, the viewer sees a tall hieromonk proudly throwing back his head. Next to him are two folk types: an ancient, but still full of inextinguishable strength, an old man and a blind beggar. The right part of the composition is rich in various types and characters. The general reddish-blue color of the canvas with abundant inclusions of gold, the strict majesty of the background filled with Russian painting wonderfully interpreted by the artist, the mysterious flickering of candles - all enhance the harsh, intense solemnity of this monumental scene.

Such are the images of Korin's Requiem. As you can see, in all these externally, and sometimes internally dissimilar people, there is one thing - a spiritual core, faith. They lived by it, they died with it, accepting death with dignity, in a Christian way. It was faith, the Christian view of man as a microcosm, the affirmation in man of the consciousness of his uniqueness and god-like significance (God's servant is no one's slave!) that imparted to them a high individuality. All of them are separate hypostases of one idea...

Young nun. 1935

Conceived by Pavel Korin, the "Departing Russia" is a canvas of a large historical and philosophical plan. But the artist never transferred the finished painting to the large canvas. Stretched on a giant stretcherthe canvas still stands in the workshop-museum of the artist. Why was it not touched by a brush or even coal?Some believed that the artist felt an insurmountable contradiction between the idea and the chosen path of implementation. So Kamensky wrote: “Korin conceived the picture as a solemn requiem, as a lofty tragedy. But tragedy only then acquires real vitality and greatness of passions when, in a collision, the perishing side possesses human beauty and historical justice. The characters of "Outgoing Russia" do not have these qualities. Korin himself proved this best of all in sketches. He depicted with ... psychological strength a string of spiritual and physical cripples, stubborn fanatics, blind-born, dying without insight ... And when Korin began to compose a picture from his sketches, intending to create a tragic composition, the objective content of the individual images he created began to contradict the general intention. Korin had the spiritual vigilance to understand this, and the courage to refuse to create a canvas."
However, the facts contradict such statements. Singer, for example, notes that there are simply wonderful characters in the sketch: the same old hero from the Father and Son pair, some female types are the flesh of the flesh of those eternal prototypes that at one time gave birth to the noblewoman Morozova and Surikov’s archers, Martha and Dositheus by Mussorgsky, Father Sergius by L. Tolstoy.
There were other circumstances in whichthe picture is unfinished. Party functionaries stood guard over the principle of socialist realism and zealously saw to it that "ideologically harmful, alien to the people" works did not see the light of day. Back in 1936, one of them, Angarov, received a letter addressed to Stalin: “Korin’s preparation for the main picture is expressed in hundreds of sketches, the models for which are terry fanatics, the surviving remnants of the clergy, aristocratic families, merchants. For example, among Korin’s sitters there is a man who graduated from two higher educational institutions and became a monk in 1932. Korin is posed by former princesses who have now become nuns, priests of all ranks, protodeacons, holy fools and other scum ...
Our attempts to prove to him the falsity of the topic he has taken have not yet been successful ... I ask for your guidance on this issue.
Pavel Dmitrievich in the last years of his life passionately wanted to complete his picture. The only serious obstacle was age and a sharp deterioration in health. He was already about seventy years old, he suffered two heart attacks, and the work required a lot of strength. And yet the master did not want to give up. Korin was even going to order a special lifting chair and start work. But his strength waned, and shortly before his death, the artist said bitterly: "I didn't have time."

The northern ballad is the left part of the Alexander Nevsky triptych. 1943

Pavel Korin did not believe in the finalthe first departure of Holy Russia, into the disappearance of Orthodox spirituality. He passionately believed "Rus was, is and will be. All the false and distorting its true face can be, albeit protracted, albeit tragic, but only an episode in the history of a great people."

An old tale is the right side of the triptych Alexander Nevsky. 1943

Saved the Fiery Eye. 1932

The left part of the sketch of the unrealized triptych of Spolokha. 1966

The right part of the sketch of the unrealized triptych of Spolokha. 1966

The central part of the sketch of the unrealized triptych of Spolokha. 1966

Archimandrite Father Nikita.

Peresvet and Oslyabya - the right side of the sketch-variant of the unrealized triptych
Dmitry Donskoy. 1944

Dmitry Donskoy and Sergius of Radonezh - the central part of the sketch-variant of the unrealized triptych
Dmitry Donskoy. 1944

Dmitry Donskoy. Morning of the Kulikovo field. 1951

Village priest. Father Alexy. Fragment

Hieromonk Mitrofan. Fragment

Father Ivan, a priest from Palekh. 1931

Schiegumen Mitrofan and Hieromonk Hermogenes. 1933. On the reverse, on the upper bar of the stretcher, the author's inscription: Schiigumen O. Mitrofan (with a cross) from Zosima Desert

Cathedral of Saint Peter in Rome. 1932.

Portrait of N.A. Peshkova. 1940

Portrait of M.V. Nesterov. 1939

Portrait of K.N. Igumnova. 1941-1943

Portrait of Marshal G.K. Zhukov. 1945

After Gorky's death in 1936, the circumstances of the artist's life changed dramatically, he was actually forced to stop working on the painting. The already prepared huge canvas remained untouched.

You can see the full picture of Korin "Departing Russia"

During the Great Patriotic WarKorinrefers to a historical theme, which he continued to work on until his death.He is attractedimages of warriors - defenders of their native land, the spiritual ideals of Russia.

Such is Alexander Nevsky - the central figure of the famous triptych (1942), in which the features of both saints from ancient Russian icons and mighty heroes of the Italian Renaissance live.

Alexander Nevsky (1220-1263) has long been revered in Russia. Bcamp princebecame famous as the protector of the Russian land. All his lifededicated to serving the Fatherland. At the height of the war, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 29, 1942, the Order of Alexander Nevsky was established.

The force of the impact of the image created by Korin turned out to be such that reproductions of Alexander Nevsky adorned front-line dugouts and front-line newspapers. A huge copy of the painting, made by a group of soldiers who stormed Ancient Novgorod, was installed at the entrance to the city. Soldiers were going west, and the legendary Russian commander called them to fight for freedom. So, art, expressing the "spirit of the people", fought. The work of Pavel Korin, along with the anthem “Arise, huge country,” was at that time something more than a simple work of art.
In Alexander Nevsky, what Pavel Dmitrievich Korin said was fully expressed: “ Art should be heroic, educate and uplift the spirit of the people.”

Korin fought all his life. Like an artist. As a collector of works of ancient Russian art doomed to perish. As an outstanding restorer, to whom mankind owes the salvation of many great works, including the masterpieces of the Dresden Gallery. As a public figure - a defender of cultural monuments of Russia. But to win the main victory - to complete the work to which he realized he was called - Korin failed.

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M. V. NESTEROV Portrait of the brothers P. D. and A. D. Korin. 1930. Moscow, Tretyakov Gallery

The portrait of the Korin brothers, complex in design, captivates with the inner unity found in the image of these two artists. The brothers admire the antique vase, which one of them holds in his outstretched hand. This vessel is the compositional center of the portrait.

Masters of historical painting Lyakhova Kristina Aleksandrovna

Pavel Dmitrievich Korin (1892–1967)

Pavel Dmitrievich Korin

Work on a large canvas "Requiem" Korin began in 1929. The artist wanted to depict a solemn service in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. Working on sketches, he created many expressive and truthful images of the old life, well known to him from early childhood. In 1931, A. M. Gorky saw the sketch for the Requiem. The writer understood the depth of Korin's intention, who was going to show the tragedy of the passing world, but the theme of the picture, and most importantly, its title, did not correspond to the spirit of the Stalin era. Gorky invited the painter to name his future painting "Departing Russia".

Russian painter Pavel Dmitrievich Korin was born in Palekh, in a family of hereditary icon painters. From childhood, surrounded by the beauty of Russian nature, brought up in the atmosphere of an icon-painting workshop, the boy early began to see the world around him through the eyes of an artist.

At the age of 16, Pavel graduated from the Palekh icon-painting school, but the desire to improve the skill of the painter led him to Moscow, where in 1908 the young man entered the icon-painting chamber of the Donskoy Monastery. Here Korin was noticed by the artists K. P. Stepanov and M. V. Nesterov, who became his mentors.

Korina had a real, great friendship with Nesterov. On the recommendation of this well-known by that time master, in 1912 Pavel entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in the studio of K. A. Korovin and S. V. Malyutin. During the years of his stay at the school, Korin paid much attention to field studies and sketches. The work of A. A. Ivanov, the author of the famous Appearance of Christ to the People, had a great influence on him. From fragments of this picture, the young artist made many copies. Like Ivanov, Korin carefully studied the work of the old Italian masters, spent hours drawing sitters and antique statues.

The idea of ​​​​creating the same grandiose canvas as Ivanovo’s “The Appearance of Christ to the People” appeared with Korin back in 1925. Soon he began to write sketches for the planned composition. For the painting, the artist created many human types. Unfortunately, the canvas, which could have become a masterpiece of historical painting of the first half of the 20th century, was never completed. Many fragments written for the "Requiem" can be considered complete independent paintings.

One of the best sketches for "Departing Russia" was the canvas "Father and Son" (1931, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). When creating it, Korin used the method of matching characters. Two are depicted on the canvas: a father, a tall, powerful old man with a gray beard, and a son, whose fragile figure and pensive face betray him as a man of a different time. The models for the heroes of the picture were the woodcarver, self-taught sculptor Sergei Mikhailovich Churakov, and his son, the famous restorer Stepan Churakov. Showing two artists, so similar and at the same time completely different, Korin presented not so much portraits of his contemporaries as images of talented folk types.

Thanks to A. M. Gorky, Korin was able to travel around Italy, where he saw with his own eyes the famous creations of the great Italians. Abroad, the artist began a portrait of Gorky (1932, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), completed already in Russia. The artist depicted a tall, thin figure of the writer on the shores of the Gulf of Naples. Gorky's expressively sad face. It is felt that this middle-aged, terminally ill person is disturbed by heavy thoughts. The master managed to capture the state of mind of the writer. Gorky liked his portrait, monumental and at the same time deeply psychological and sincere.

In Russia, Korin continued to work on Departing Russia. By 1932, there are drawings depicting the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin, a sketch with the interior of the Church of the Resurrection on Ostozhenka.

P. D. Korin. "Alexander Nevskiy". The middle part of the triptych "Alexander Nevsky", 1942, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

P. D. Korin. "Northern Ballad" Left side of the triptych "Alexander Nevsky", 1943, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

A year later, a fragment was created - "Hieromonk Hermogenes and Schema-Hegumen Mitrofan" (1933, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). Holding the cross firmly in his hand, a stern old man in a hood looks at the viewer. In his eyes - the firmness of faith. Next to him stands a short stocky monk with an uncovered head. Although his eyes are lowered to the ground, his face expresses complete detachment. Depicting specific people, the artist at the same time captured the image of a whole generation, gradually fading into the past.

Looking at the faces of the three women shown in the etude "Three" (1933-1935, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), the viewer feels the emotions that control the heroines of the painting "Departing Russia". The central place in the composition is given to the old woman, bent by time. She leans heavily on a stick, but in her eyes there is an extraordinary authority and fortitude. To her right stands a middle-aged woman with a kind, calm face. In the huge blue eyes and tightly compressed lips of the third, their younger companion, one feels a tragic, complex and contradictory attitude towards the world around them.

Among the most successful sketches is the psychological portrait Schema-Hegumenya Tamar (1935, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), also intended for Departing Russia. Korin wrote to the schema abbess a few weeks before her death. The figure and face of the old woman seem motionless, detached from the world. Only her eyes are alive, full of sadness and wisdom.

P. D. Korin. "An old story". The right part of the triptych "Alexander Nevsky", 1943, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Continuing work on "Russia Leaving", in 1935 Korin was engaged in studies of the interiors of the Assumption Cathedral, where the artist was going to place the heroes of his painting. In 1939, by order of the Committee for Arts, the painter began to paint portraits of his contemporaries - artists (artists L. M. Leonidov and V. I. Kachalov, pianist K. N. Igumnov, artist M. V. Nesterov, etc.).

During the Great Patriotic War, Korin turned to the images of the heroic past of Russia. In his Moscow workshop, he created mosaic panels for the Palace of Soviets, depicting great Russian commanders and defenders of their native land (“Alexander Nevsky”, “Dmitry Donskoy”, “Alexander Suvorov”, “Mikhail Kutuzov”).

In 1942, at the request of the Committee for Arts, Korin began to work on the triptych "Alexander Nevsky" (1942, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). In the central part of the triptych, the artist depicted a full-length figure of Alexander Nevsky. In the hands of the prince, dressed in the armor of a Russian warrior gleaming with metal, is a huge sword. Rising above the horizon, Alexander Nevsky obscures the gloomy sky, the city spread out on the river bank with white-stone temples. A banner with the face of an angry Savior flutters over the head of the prince. Vertically elongated, laconic and strict composition has a monumental and majestic appearance.

P. D. Korin. Dmitry Donskoy. Sketch for a mosaic at the Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya metro station, 1951

In 1943 the artist completed work on the triptych. In its left part, called the "Northern Ballad", a woman in a black headscarf and an elderly warrior are depicted. With his right hand, he leans on a sparkling sword, his left hand extended forward, as if protecting his companion and the city, the buildings of which are visible behind him. Slender trunks of trees growing on the shore emphasize the solemn grandeur of human figures.

The painting "An Old Tale", the right side of the triptych, is a three-figure composition. Striving for monumentality, the author gave it a somewhat theatrical look. As in the other two parts, the human figures in the painting are located high above the horizon line. In the center of the composition is a small fragile old woman leaning on a stick. Delicate, painted with almost transparent strokes, the flowers surrounding the woman seem to repeat the wonderful patterns of her clothes. The artist depicted on his canvas the famous northern storyteller Krivopolenova. Next to her are the defenders of the Russian land - a tall, muscular young man and a mighty gray-bearded old man.

In the fall of 1945, Korin began work on a portrait of G. K. Zhukov. The famous commander, dressed in a parade uniform, appears in the portrait as a stern, courageous man.

In the post-war years, the artist was engaged in mosaic panels for the newly built stations of the Moscow Metro. V. I. Lenin. Elegant and solemn compositions represent the military leaders of the past and modern generals, as well as the final episodes of the war, where the main character is the victorious people.

During this period, Korin continued to work on portraits of his famous contemporaries, capturing on canvas the images of the sculptor S. T. Konenkov, artists M. S. Saryan, Kukryniksy.

Korin is also known as a talented restorer who brought back to life many beautiful masterpieces, including paintings from the Dresden Gallery.