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 his career from entering the art world to reaching creative maturity until his death took place during the Soviet era. 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 deep emotional connection, depicting the laborers and their noble spirits on the land with a lyrical style, 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 evocative, 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 Peredvizhniki movement, Polenov, Serov, and Levitan. Their refined 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 an "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 selection, use of color, and artistic techniques.
A Vow to Become a Painter
Plastov was born on January 31, 1893, in the village of Prislonikha, along the Volga River, the mother river of Russia. His grandfather and father were icon painters in the village. From a young age, Plastov possessed exceptional talent and a keen sense of color, brimming with artistic creativity. 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 father. For the first time, the young Plastov witnessed folk artists painting with vibrant and 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 was the drawing teacher. It was this mentor who 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 masters like Repin, Surikov, Vasilyevich, Serov, and Levitan of the Peredvizhniki movement. He showed him many oil painting reproductions, broadening 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 renowned Peredvizhniki master Vasily Polenov deeply moved and inspired him. The difference between original oil paintings and reproductions was striking! Plastov became even more captivated by oil painting art. He was utterly absorbed, and his determination to become a painter grew stronger.