Plastov: Russian painter

Author: Plastov / Country: Russia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-12-01
Features: Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov (1893-1972) was born during the Russian Empire period, but he entered the art world and reached his creative maturity until his death all within the Soviet period. Therefore, in the history of art, he is regarded as a Soviet painter. The village by the Volga River was the painter's hometown, where he was born and raised. Throughout his life, he carried a passionate devotion, using a lyrical style to depict the laborers on the land and their noble souls, portraying pastoral scenes of rural life. Nature played a significant role in his works. He excelled at discovering beauty in ordinary life, and his works were simple yet full of charm, like a series of poems, widely recognized as treasures of Soviet art history. Plastov was a master of color. His painting techniques were influenced by his predecessors, such as the masters of the Wanderers' Society—Polenov, Serov, and Levitan. Their exquisite and skilled oil painting techniques greatly benefited Plastov. Additionally, folk art and the pure, vibrant colors of Russian iconography inspired the formation of Plastov's painting style and color system. On Plastov's palette, classical and folk artistic languages merged, creating his unique, beautiful, rich, and lively tones. Some once criticized him for "pursuing simple oil painting effects" and having a "" (aestheticism tendency) of "art for art's sake." However, after the passage of time, people realized that it was Plastov's richly colored works that pushed Soviet oil painting art to new heights. Plastov also had a broad influence in China. His works, such as After the Fascist Planes and The Tractorist's Dinner, were widely known and beloved by readers in the 1950s and 1960s. Chinese oil painters drew much inspiration and reference from Plastov's subject choices, use of color, and artistic techniques.
A Painter's Vow
Plastov was born on January 31, 1893, in the village of Prislonikha, along the Volga River, the mother river of Russia. Plastov's grandfather and father were icon painters in the village. From a young age, Plastov possessed a natural talent for color and great artistic flair. Influenced by his grandfather and father, he fell deeply in love with art. The village had a church but no school. At the age of five, Plastov was sent to Simbirsk City for primary school. During his studies, he often hid in quiet corners to draw. Later, Plastov returned to his hometown, where a group of artisans came to restore the church murals completed by his grandfather and ancestors. For the first time, the young Plastov witnessed folk artists painting with vibrant, colorful pigments. Unable to contain his excitement, he vowed, "I will become an oil painter and do nothing else."
During his secondary education in Simbirsk, Plastov met a professional painter—D. Arhangelsky, who taught drawing. This mentor guided Plastov toward the world of art. He not only taught Plastov the fundamentals of art and drawing techniques but also introduced him to the works of Wanderers' Society masters like Repin, Surikov, Vasilyev, Serov, and Levitan, showing him many oil painting reproductions that greatly broadened his horizons. The friendship between Plastov and his mentor was enduring and lifelong.
In 1911, Plastov had the opportunity to visit a painting exhibition in Kazan, where he saw oil paintings in person for the first time. The works of the Wanderers' Society master Vasily Polenov deeply moved and inspired him, leaving him in awe of the difference between original oil paintings and reproductions. His fascination with oil painting art grew even stronger, and his determination to become a painter became firmer.