Vasily Ivanovich Surikov

Paintings

Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (Васи́лий Ива́нович Су́риков) (January 24, 1848 (Julian calendar: January 12) – March 19, 1916 (Julian calendar: March 6)) was the foremost Russian painter of large-scale historical subjects. His major pieces are among the best-known paintings in Russia.

Life and career

Surikov was born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, where a monument to him was recently opened by his great-grandsons, Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Konchalovsky. In 1869-1871 he studied under Pavel Chistyakov at the Imperial Academy of Arts.

In 1877, Surikov settled in Moscow, where he contributed some imposing frescoes to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In 1878 he married Elizabeth Charais, a granddaughter of the Decembrist Svistunov. In 1881 he joined the Peredvizhniki movement. From 1893 he was a full member of the St.Petersburg Academy of Arts. Surikov was interred at the Vagankovskoye Cemetery in Moscow.

Surikov painted images from Russia's past that focused on the lives of ordinary people. His works are remarkable for the original way in which they represent space and movements of people. In some cases he seems to have painted the same image in more than one size, probably as a prototype to a bigger image which he has in his mind, or he may have liked the smaller version so much that he decided it would look nicer when enlarged.

Main works

    * Morning of Streltsy's execution (1881, Tretyakov Gallery) - featured in the article on Streltsy Uprising;
    * Menshikov in Berezov (1883, Tretyakov Gallery) - featured in the article on Alexander Menshikov;
    * Boyarynya Morozova (1887, Tretyakov Gallery) - featured in the article on Old Believers;
    * Conquest of Siberia by Yermak (1895, Russian Museum) - featured in the article on History of Siberia;
    * March of Suvorov through the Alps (1899, Russian Museum)) - featured in the article on Alexander Suvorov;
    * Stepan Razin (started in 1910, Russian Museum) - featured in the article on Stenka Razin.

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