Difficult transition

Russian and Soviet painter, Honored Artist of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Honored Artist of the RSFSR, folk artist Mordovian ASSR.

Self-portrait

Artist Fedot Vasilyevich Sychkov was born in March 1870 in the village of Kochelaevo, Narovchatsky district, Penza province, into a poor peasant family.

He graduated from three classes of the zemstvo school in the village of Kochelaev and studied drawing with the school teacher P.E. Dyumayev. After graduating from school, he worked in an icon-painting workshop, painted frescoes in local churches, and painted portraits from photographs.

From 1885 to 1887 he worked in the city of Serdobsk (Penza province) as an apprentice to the contractor icon painter D.A. Reshetnikov, then returned to his native village, painted icons and portraits of his fellow villagers.

In 1892, General I.A. Arapov (the general’s estate was located near the village of Kochelaeva) ordered the painting “The Laying of the Arapovo Station” from the young artist, and then showed this painting to the director of the Drawing School for Free Visitors, E.A. Sabaneev. The head of the school was so impressed by the paintings that he advised the general to take Fedot Sychkov to St. Petersburg.

I.A. Arapov helped to a young artist get to the capital and enter the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. And three years later, Sychkov became a volunteer student at the Higher Art School at the Academy of Arts. In 1900, Sychkov was awarded the title of artist.

After graduating from college, Fedot Vasilyevich returned to his homeland.

In 1905, for the painting “Flax Millers,” the artist received the Kuindzhi Prize at the Spring Exhibition of the Academy of Arts, and in 1908 he went on a trip to Europe, painted landscapes and sea views, and quite regularly participated in all-Russian and international exhibitions, including Association of traveling art exhibitions.

After October revolution the artist left St. Petersburg (his studio was looted and most of the artist’s paintings were destroyed) and returned to his homeland, participated in the decoration of revolutionary holidays, wrote genre paintings about the life of fellow villagers, portraits and still lifes.

He was not at all happy with the changes that had taken place in the village, and after the new Kochelaev authorities decided to dispossess him as an individual artisan, he decided to leave Russia. The fact is that the artist actively participated in the exhibition life of Moscow and Leningrad, and the authorities of Mordovia did not even imagine that a world-famous artist lived in the village of Kochelaevo.

Fedot Sychkov was already ready to leave the USSR, but then (this was in 1937) the Union of Artists was created in Mordovia and the director of the Academy of Arts, I.I., arrived at the ceremony. Brodsky, who invited Sychkov, with all his works, to the republican exhibition opening in Saransk. As one might expect, Sychkov’s paintings became the central event of the exhibition. And he was immediately awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. This is how the immigration issue was resolved - the artist realized that his place was in his homeland.

And he continued to paint his wonderful paintings, in which the central place was occupied by a woman - rosy, smiling peasant women, perky, sincere.

At the end of the forties, Fedot Vasilyevich began to lose his sight and this became a real tragedy for him. Here is what he wrote about this in one of his letters:

I don't want to be old. As they say, artists cannot grow old; their works must always be young and interesting.

The artist died in the city of Saransk in August 1958.

Paintings by artist Fedot Vasilievich Sychkov

Girlfriends

Waits

Returning from school

Collective Farm Bazaar

Modeling a snowman

Riding on Maslenitsa

Returning from haymaking

Holiday

Still life with apples

Free time

Children with sunflowers

Two young weavers

Wedding preparations

New necklace

Girl in the garden

Russian girls

Mordovian girl

Young peasant woman with chicken

Girl in a blue scarf

Peasant girl in a red scarf against a landscape background

Smiling girl

Country beauty

Children in a sea of ​​flowers

Portrait of a girl

Girl among the sunflowers

Girl in a flower meadow

Young woman in a white dress with a basket

Sychkov Fedot Vasilievich Sychkov Fedot Vasilievich

The artist Fedot Vasilievich Sychkov (1887-1958) was the founder of professional painting in the Mordovian region. He connected his entire life and work with his native places, with his fellow countrymen, devoting to them all his rich creative heritage. F. Sychkov was born in the village of Kochelaevo, Penza province (now the Republic of Mordovia) in the family of a poor peasant. In his youth, the future artist worked in an icon painters' artel. The participation in his fate of a landowner from an estate neighboring the village of Kochelaevo, a St. Petersburg official, General Ivan Arapov, allowed Sychkov to enter the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts in St. Petersburg. Thanks to his abilities and perseverance, he completed a six-year school course in 3 years, and then continued his education at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1895-1900). No one has experienced so much grief and no one has sung joy, laughter, and a lively smile so brightly and sincerely as Sychkov. Maybe he deliberately avoided the dark sides of life? No, the artist’s archive contains many sketches depicting these aspects of life. But here, for example, is what the magazine “Nature and People” wrote in 1878 in its July book about the Mordovians: “Joy is one of the distinctive features

Mordovians Both in joy and in sorrow, and returning from field work, Mordovian women almost constantly sing. "Sychkov perceived with all his soul this "hidden engine" of the moral health of the people and spoke about it with all the power of his extraordinary talent. Name F.V. Sychkov, an original Russian painter, is not known to everyone today. And in the 10s of the century before last, his paintings were successfully exhibited not only throughout Russia, but also at the Art-Saloon in Paris, and were readily purchased by Europeans interested in Russian culture and life ordinary people

. Sychkov's portraits of peasant girls and young ladies competed in popularity with K. Makovsky's hawthorns, although the paths of these two artists never crossed.

A little from the painter's biography The childhood of Fedot Sychkov (born in Mordovia) was spent in a peasant family, in hardship and poverty. Feeling with early years craving for drawing, the gifted young man set himself a firm goal - to go to study at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. But this required considerable funds. The young painter managed to earn them at an icon painting school, where he created wall frescoes that have survived to this day. Moreover, starting from adolescence

In 1895, 25-year-old Fedot Vasilyevich Sychkov became a student at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. During these same years, his original identity was finally formed. picturesque style and preferences in art: the theme of peasant life and rural holidays becomes a priority in his work. The collection of 700 paintings from his creative heritage also includes many portraits, still lifes, and landscapes.

F. Sychkov’s amazingly emotional paintings still make an impression on everyone who sees them. And in those years, the subjects of his works were so close and understandable to people that very soon the artist gained nationwide popularity. His paintings have participated in national and international exhibitions many times, winning many awards. The artist lived to the age of 88, becoming an Honored Artist of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Updated paintings by F. Sychkov

A few years ago at the Museum of Art. S.D. Erzya in Mordovia, an updated exhibition of the artist’s works was organized. His fellow countrymen managed to find and restore previously unknown paintings and present them to the public. This event was timed to coincide with the anniversary date - the 140th anniversary of the birth of the famous artist.

Some works, previously stored in the museum’s storerooms, dated back to the master’s formative years. Light, filled with an air of light and color, the canvases of early Sychkov were radically different from what he painted in his mature years.

The “Italian Cycle”, written during a trip to Rome, Menton, and Venice, was presented to the general public. These are mainly landscapes, as well as works depicting architectural masterpieces: the Colosseum, the Forum, St. Mark's Square. Of particular interest to the public was updated canvas“The laying of the Arapovo station” is also one of the early works that became fateful in creative biography Fedot Sychkova.

The Mordovian Museum has a huge part of the artist’s heritage - about 600 paintings and sketches. A permanent exhibition of Sychkov’s works has been running there for more than half a century – since 1960. For his centenary anniversary as a master in 1970, the painter’s house was restored in the village of Kochelaev, in which a museum of memory was then opened outstanding artist. The exhibition of the house-museum carefully contains not only paintings, but also many things that belonged to Fedot Sychkov and his family.

Many are not familiar with the work of such an original, talented artist. He created many unique paintings. At the very beginning of the last century, his creations were exhibited in the Paris Elephants, having considerable success.

Biography

Sychkov Fedot Vasilyevich (1870 - 1958), over the years of his life created many masterfully executed works of art. The artist was born in Kochelaev (a village in a family of poor peasants. He lost his father very early, and his grandmother took the main role in his upbringing.

Quite early, Fedot Vasilyevich began to develop artistic talent. He was discovered by an art teacher who worked at the school - P. E. Dyumayev. A letter was written to the painter at the royal court, Mikhail Zichy, asking him to intercede on behalf of the talented boy. In response, an answer was received about the need to study at an art academy. Thus, Sychkov Fedot Vasilievich decided that he should study in But due to the plight of the family, funds for training young man you had to get it yourself.

Since adolescence, the future artist painted portraits to order, from photographs. The future artist earned funds to study at the academy by creating frescoes for an icon painting school.

Key dates

In 1892, he left for St. Petersburg. At the Drawing School, General Arapov, a member of the Encouragement Society, drew attention to the self-taught artist. This happened after the painting “The Laying of the Arapovo Station” was created. It was noted by E. A. Sabaneev, who contributed to Sychkov’s move.

In 1895, the future People's Artist Fedot Vasilyevich Sychkov graduated from the Drawing School and became a free student at the Higher Art School, located at the Academy of Arts. During his years of study, the basic style and theme of his paintings were formed. The life of peasant families, a reflection of peasant life, holidays - all this becomes the main focus in all works.

In 1900, Sychkov was awarded the title of "artist". It was received for his canvas “News from the War”. The year 1908 was marked by the artist’s travels throughout Europe (England, France, Germany). Traveling abroad helped him get acquainted with creativity famous artists and brought a lot positive emotions and impressions.

Fedot Vasilyevich became an honored artist. He lived most of his life with his wife in Kochelaev. Fedot Vasilievich actively participated in the life of the region. His canvases decorate public institutions. He designs slogans and banners. The life of Fedot Vasilyevich ended in the city of Saransk. He died in 1958.

These are just a few facts from the life of such a person as Fedot Vasilyevich Sychkov. short biography touches only on key moments in the artist’s life.

Painter's paintings

Among the works created by the artist, you can see many paintings. All of them reflect peasant life in its most varied manifestations. Looking at such paintings as “Blonde Coquette”, “Grinka”, “Girl Picking Wild Flowers”, “Girl in a Blue Shawl”, “Girl in the Garden” (1912), one can notice the amazing emotionality of these works.

The artist's collection includes about 700 paintings. People's artist Fedot Sychkov created a simple, unique environment in his works. Fedot Vasilyevich used stories that were close and understandable to people. And very soon he gained national fame.

Most famous paintings artist: “Portrait of Anna Ivanovna Sychkova” (the artist’s mother), “Blessing of Water”, “Christoslavs”, “Difficult Passage”, “News from the War” (1900), “Portrait of a Woman” (1903), “Portrait in Black” (1904 ), “Flax Grinders”, “Girlfriends” (1909), “From the Mountains” (1910), “Return from Haymaking” (1911), “Girlfriends” (1909), “Holiday Day. Girlfriends. Winter" (1929), "Village Wedding", "Festive Day" (1927), "Day off on the Collective Farm" (1936), "Presentation of the Act for Perpetual Free Use of the Land" (1938), "Meeting the Hero" (1952).

Sychkov Fedot Vasilievich is an artist who managed to reflect in his work all the subtleties and features of peasant life.

The main theme of the paintings

The themes of almost all the paintings are the biography of the everyday life of peasants, the peculiarities of farm life, rural holidays, folk amusements and others. important events in the life of ordinary people. It is precisely this theme that makes the artist’s works relatable and understandable.

Features of creativity

Sychkov Fedot Vasilievich in his paintings depicted very different people. But despite the specificity of the images, the image of each of them was collective. All portraits, as a rule, reflected the brightest and bright emotions of people. The painted image is transparent and clean. In the artist's paintings people are depicted in good mood, their eyes are filled with light, their poses are dynamic. The brightness of the colors, the radiance of sunlight and snow allow you to create a unique image of simple peasant life. Fedot Sychkov, whose work managed to reflect a special type of beauty, became the most recognizable among many other masters.

There is no place for classical beauty in his portraits. The heroines of the paintings are healthy, strong and strong people. The works reflect the joy of life, the charm of youth, the fountain of vitality. Energy overflows in the works of such a master as Fedot Vasilievich Sychkov. The paintings are filled with strong, robust figures with blush, full cheeks, and wide smiles.

Another favorite theme of the paintings was the image of children. In them you can see how accurately the artist conveys the labor hardening inherent in village children. And this expresses the originality of the images, the inherent charm of his paintings.

Awards

Sychkov's work has been awarded more than once. At various academic exhibitions in St. Petersburg he received six awards in different categories.

The year 1905 was marked by the presentation of the A.I. Kuindzhi Prize. It was presented to Fedot Vasilievich Sychkov at the Spring Exhibition held by the Academy of Arts.

An incentive prize was awarded to Fedot Vasilievich at the International Exhibition held in Rome for the painting “Difficult Passage” in 1913. Another award was a silver medal received at an exhibition in the USA (St. Louis).

In 1910, he received first prize at the All-Russian competition for the painting “Return from the Fair.”

The main person in the life of Fedot Sychkov was his wife Lydia Nikolaevna. She was also his muse, inspiring the creation of stories.

Lidia Nikolaevna collected various national items, authentic decorations, and household items. These were shirts, shawls, belts, beads and much more. Sychkov Fedot Vasilievich actively used all these attributes in his portraits.

Another interesting fact in the biography is that one of the artist’s paintings was in the collection of the famous aerodynamicist N.G. Abramovich. This picture was “Pretty”.

Perpetuation of memory

In 1960, an exhibition dedicated to such an artist as Sychkov Fedot Vasilievich was organized in the museum of the Republic of Mordovia. The works are presented in more than 600 copies. There are also studies and sketches. The exhibition is permanent. Recently, the museum has presented updated works of the artist.

In 1970, in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Culture of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, it was decided to open a house museum. This event is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the artist. Today in the village of Kochelaevo you can visit this museum.

Another memorable object is a bust located in the memorial and sculpture center in the city of Saransk.

The artist and time

During the period of his long life, Fedot Vasilyevich created a huge number of unique works. Today in his museum you can see paintings from the “Italian Cycle”, written during the artist’s trip to Rome and Venice. These are Landscapes depicting such objects as the Colosseum, the Roman Forum. Throughout his life, the artist created.

From a very young age to old age. Time turned out to have no power over the talent of Fedot Vasilyevich. At the age of 88, he painted one of his best paintings - “Erzyanka” (1952). And today the paintings cannot leave art lovers indifferent.

Such an original artist as Fedot Vasilievich Sychkov, a biography of whom today can help us get acquainted with the work of this wonderful and world-famous creative person, made an invaluable contribution to the fine arts of his native land- Mordovian Republic. He has all the breadth artistic soul with his paintings he introduced the general public to the life and way of life of the common people, and also showed the beauty of the national costume.

Sychkov’s paintings show love for his homeland, his land, and the people around him. They have become a harmonious reflection of the life style of an ordinary working person and his simple joys. The beauty of nature, the brightness of emotional images - all this will attract attention to the work of this talented person.

Fedot Sychkov. Difficult transition.1900-1910

Nowadays, few people are familiar with the work of the most original artist Fedot Vasilyevich Sychkov. And in the 1910s, his works were successful not only at exhibitions in Russia, but also at the Paris Salon, where they were eagerly bought up by art lovers who showed interest in the life and art of our country.

Peasant girls and young ladies F.V. Sychkov’s works were close in popularity to the hawthorns of Konstantin Makovsky, although the lives and paths to art of the artists were polar different.

Fedot Vasilyevich Sychkov was born on March 1, 1870 into a poor peasant family in the village of Kochelaevo, Penza province. His father spent his youth working as waste workers and was a barge hauler for many years. As a child, Fedot himself had to walk with his mother with a bag, which is why his peers teased him as a beggar.

Even then, the future painter decided to learn something useful in order to earn a living. Little Fedot wanted to study, but his mother was against it. It was only thanks to the insistence of his grandmother that eight-year-old Fedot was sent to study at a three-year zemstvo school. There, teacher P.E. Dyumayev drew attention to the boy’s artistic inclinations and tried to develop them, passing on to him basic knowledge in the field of drawing and painting.

The artist's mother Anna Ivanovna Sychkova. 1898
A portrait created in the best traditions of democratic artists. In the silhouette of a small, slightly hunched figure, one feels oppressed by life. This aching note develops in a color scheme maintained in a gray-black monochrome palette.

After graduating from school, Sychkov went to work in the Saratov province and stopped in the city of Serdobsk, where he worked in the icon painting artel of D.A. Reshetnikov.
In 1892, he went to St. Petersburg, to the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts with the support of General I. A. Arapov (1844-1913), who drew attention to the talented young self-taught artist. In 1895, F. Sychkov graduated from the Drawing School and became a volunteer student at the Higher Art School at the Academy of Arts. After graduation, the artist returned to his homeland.

The artist's main theme is the life of peasants and rural holidays.
Since 1960 in the Mordovian Republican Museum fine arts named after S. D. Erzya there is a permanent exhibition of his works (the funds of this museum contain the most large collection Sychkov's paintings and graphic works - about 600 works, including studies and sketches).

In 1970, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding painter, an order was issued by the Ministry of Culture of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to open in the artist’s homeland memorial museum. The house-museum of F.V. Sychkov was opened on March 11, 1970 in the village. Kochelaev after some reconstruction of the premises.

Folk festivals, mountain skiing, weddings, gatherings - this is not a complete range of themes and motifs that attracted the master. He managed to convey in his paintings the ingenuous fun of villagers.

The paintings are painted easily and freely with the true skill of a genre artist. Brightness attracts them portrait characteristics heroes, the ability to plastically accurately arrange multi-figure compositions, to find expressive poses and gestures that give special emotional openness to the images.

In parallel with the main line dedicated to the life and everyday life of the peasantry, a second line developed in Sychkov’s work in the 1900s - this line is associated with a ceremonial commissioned portrait.

Portrait in black. Portrait of Lydia Vasilievna Sychkova, the Artist’s Wife. 1904
The portrait reveals wealth inner world women, dreaminess, enlightened sadness, echoing in their tonality the images of Chekhov’s heroines. Lidia Vasilievna Ankudinova, an elegant, fragile St. Petersburg young lady, became the artist’s real muse. The role of this woman in the fate of F.V. Sychkova was significant and invaluable.

In 1903, she became the artist’s wife, sharing with him all the joys and sorrows for the rest of her life. She lived with him in the village of Kochelaevo, in the Mordovian outback, attended exhibitions, was aware of all events artistic life. She was respected and appreciated by many artists - friends of F.V. Sychkova.

Children's portraits became an interesting page in the artist's work. He first turned to them in the 900s, except for a few student sketches, where children posed for him as models. Both painted and watercolor portraits of children show the author’s serious and deep understanding of the child’s soul.

He tirelessly painted his native village, the rickety fences, the huts that had grown into the ground, and the spring floods of full-flowing Moksha. The small winter sketches, designed in grey-bluish tones, are imbued with intimacy and warmth of mood.
The landscapes are based on a deep poetic feeling, the master’s admiration for the exciting beauty of Russian nature in its modest charm.

Sychkov wrote: “I have a lot of last years I did it, depicting Mordovian life, but how could it be otherwise, because I turned out to be a real resident of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Here I was... awarded the honorary title of Honored Artist of the MASSR... given a personal pension. Well, that’s why I am connected with the Mordovians tightly and for life.” It is no coincidence that in the 1930s, when Mordovian autonomy was formed, the national theme occupied a special place in the artist’s work.

Mordovian teacher. 1937
Mordovian tractor drivers. 1938.
In the second half of the 30s, the themes of Sychkov’s art expanded by turning to Soviet reality.

Collective Farm Bazaar.1936
Harvest Festival.1938
Similar canvases glorifying the happy collective farm life were painted by many artists at that time. These two large-format canvases were created by the author in the shortest possible time at the request of the exhibition committee of the Volga region pavilion for the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow.

Sychkov did not strive to depict people with complex, contradictory characters. In almost every one of his works one can feel a soft, benevolent view of the world, sincerity and humanity. It is true that a portrait is always a double image: the image of the artist and the image of the model.

“I don’t want to be old,” Sychkov wrote in one of his letters to the artist E. M. Cheptsov. “As they say, artists cannot age; their work must always be young and interesting.” In his eighth decade of life, he created such canvases full of fresh feelings as “Return from School” (1945), “Meeting of the Hero” (1952).

For the last two years before his death, Sychkov lived in Saransk. He still worked hard, with ecstasy and inspiration. For him, painting was a real source of joy. “Life on earth is so beautiful... but the life of an artist in the full sense is the most interesting of all occupations...” - lines from a letter from F.V. Sychkova can be an epigraph to the work of this painter, in love with the world around him. He died in 1958.

A gallery of the artist’s works can be viewed here. http://maxpark.com/community/6782/content/5002408