VOLKOV YURI VASILIEVICH

PORTRAIT OF BIRZGAL JAN PETROVICH

VOLKOV YURI VASILIEVICH (1921 – 1991)

 

PORTRAIT OF BIRZGAL JAN PETROVICH (1898 – 1968)

Oil on cardboard
Signed lower right
26.8 х 21.1 cm

 

PROVENANCE:

The artist gave the painting to Jan Petrovich Birzgal. Current owner acquired the painting in Riga in the early 2000.

The artist gave the painting to Jan Petrovich Birzgal, to a significant Latvian figure and artist who played a key role in saving and preserving the cultural heritage of Crimea after the Revolution. Samokish originally visited the Crimea in 1918 to improve his health. This is where he met Birzgal, who knew about the talented artist since his studies in St. Petersburg at the Stieglitz Art Academy; he made every effort to support Samokish in his aspirations. In 1923, Birzgal left the army and occupied an important position in The People’s Commissariat for Education (Narkompros), which was dedicated to the promotion of Soviet cultural goals. Thanks to this position, he had an important role in the preservation of the cultural heritage of the place, from architecture to libraries, and its participation in the artistic life in the region was greatly increased. During his career, Birzgal was appointed director of several museums, including the Alupka Palace Museum (Vorontsov Palace) and the Simferopol Art Museum. In 1940, in honor of the 80th anniversary, Samokish was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. This event was marked by the publication of Birzgal’s book: N.S. Samokish: Life and Works. In 1949, Birzgal returned to Riga at the request of the government of the Latvian SSR, and brought with him his belongings, paintings, books and letters.

Birzgal remained in Riga until the end of his life, worked as the director of the Museum of Foreign Art.

 

CONDITION REPORT:

The painting is in very good condition.

 

Price on request.

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VOLKOV YURI VASILIEVICH (1921 – 1991)

An outstanding artist of the realistic trend in fine arts, of the second half of the 20th century. A man of impressive destiny, with a philosophical mindset, able to delicately feel the suffering and joys of his people, fully knowing the tragedy of the Great Patriotic War. He could not get rid of this feeling in his heart and memory, so he transferred it to his canvases that have become iconic in the painting of Soviet period.

The personality of Yuri Vasilievich Volkov was distinguished by the nobility of thoughts and feelings, formed under the influence of deep faith and godliness.

In 1938, Yuri graduated from secondary school № 2. A talented teacher, a graduate of St. Petersburg Academy of Arts Pavel Aleksandrovich Alipov, taught Volkov’s favorite subject – drawing.

In 1940, a small landscape of the third-year student Volkov – “Trotting mares at a watering place” (as the best student’s work), was presented by the Crimean Art School colleagues to the Academician of battle painting N.S. Samokish, on the day of his eightieth birthday.

Before the start of each lesson, Nikolai Semenovich looked through the student’s homework, made comments, then offered him to draw small bronze sculptures of horses from his unique collection, and he himself went to work at the easel. Under the influence of Nikolai Semenovich Samokish, Yuri decided to become a battle painter and to continue his studies at the famous battle art studio named after Mitrofan Borisovich Grekov. Galina Nikolaevna Volkova sends her son’s paintings and N.S. Samokish’s recommendation to Moscow, and soon Yuri receives an invitation to study, but the Great Patriotic War begins.

From the first days of the war, Y.V. Volkov was at the front. In October 1941, he was wounded in the left arm and later, together with the whole hospital, he falls into German captivity. He managed to escape from POW camps three times, but only in 1943 did he manage to return to the active Red Army as a sapper. In the front-line newspaper from January 1944, one could read about the second wound of the artist. For his courage and bravery, Yuri Vasilievich was awarded the „Order of the Red Star“(1944 г.) and following medals: “For the liberation of Prague” (1945), “For the capture of Vienna” (1946), “For the capture of Budapest” (1945), “For the victory over Germany” (1946) and the medal „For courage“ (1943).

Less than two years after demobilization, three battle paintings by Y.V. Volkov were presented at the exhibition in an art museum in Simferopol: „On the Stalingrad road“ (1947), „Not to leave“ (1947) and „The feat of five Black Sea sailors“ (1948). In March 1947, he become a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR.

He achieved particular success with the painting „The feat of five Black Sea sailors“. A huge canvas impresses the viewer with the harsh truth about the war. Tragic and heroic moments in it create a single piercingly authentic artistic image.

In 1948-1964, in the Crimean publishing house, the artist designed and illustrated seven books about the events of the Great Patriotic War in Crimea.

In 1951-1957, he did two paintings about the defeat of the Nazis at Cape Khersones in Sevastopol: „Khersonesos Dead End“ (1951) and „Payback“ (1956-1957). With their exposition, these two canvases stood out for their depth of the conception and the mastery of plein air painting. With these paintings, Yuri Vasilyevich Volkov, an artist and a thinker, gave a moral and philosophical assessment of the war. He revealed, in an unexpected perspective, the madness of the racial idea, the spiritual inconsistency of violence, the emptiness of life devoid of God and inevitable retribution that follows.

Yuri Vasilievich Volkov was a versatile artist. His works in the St. Elias Greek Church and St. Nicholas Cathedral in the city of Yevpatoria also evidence this fact. The background of the creation of the mural “Golgotha” (“Lunar Landscape”) in the St. Elias Greek Church, gives us the opportunity to once again see the beauty and depth of the relationship between mother and son. In the mid-50s, the artist experienced financial difficulties: there were no orders. That is when Galina Nikolaevna decided to do a good deed for the temple and help her son. Without saying anything to Yuri Vasilievich, she took her savings, eight hundred rubles, to the St. Elias Greek Church, and asked Father Mikhail Sevbo to invite her son to paint the eastern wall of the temple, and to pay for his work with the money she gave. Soon, on the eastern wall of the temple, he began his work on the painting “Golgotha” (“Lunar Landscape”).

On July 7, 1954, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union issued a resolution on major shortcomings in scientific-atheistic propaganda and measures to improve it. In newspapers, magazines, in educational institutions and in industry, “deep systematic scientific-atheistic propaganda” was tirelessly carried out. Churches were closed, turned into warehouses and gyms, and sometimes destroyed.

When the artist’s work was already coming to an end, some “well-wishers” appeared, who sent a letter to Kyiv stating that a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR Y.V. Volkov has ignored the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU and is working on a wall painting in the St. Elias Greek Church. An authoritative commission headed by People’s Artist of the USSR M.G. Deregus arrived in Evpatoria from Kyiv to deliver a verdict. Entering the temple, and carefully examining the finished painting by Y.V. Volkov, People’s Artist of the USSR M.G. Deregus boldly and firmly said: „For such work, you don’t get expelled from the Union of Artists, but become a member of it“. No wonder the parishioners of this temple still remember with trembling the painting “Golgotha” (“Lunar Landscape”). However, Volkov was nevertheless punished: his candidacy for the honorary title of “Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR” was rejected. After a short time, the temple was closed and began to be used as a warehouse, and in 1962, it was turned into a sport hall. The painting “Golgotha” (“Lunar landscape”) was forever lost. Eyewitnesses told how the authorities gave the order to paint it over, and the workers covered the painting with oil paint, but the old painting did not want to “die” and showed through the paint. Then, in order to completely destroy it, they covered it with freshly slaked lime.

In 1963-1966, he did paintings for St. Nicholas Cathedral in encaustic technique: five figures of saints in shutters between the windows on the drum of the dome and three figures — on the central choir gallery. He had to do his work at the great height. It was very hard and painstaking work, but the artist tried to make it so that the paintings were preserved for a long time.

Since 1966, Y.V. Volkov begins colossal work in exploring new possibilities of realistic fine art techniques. Working to the point of exhaustion, he got so tired that he could not even reach the bed. Over the course of 25 years, he conducted numerous experiments to improve the technique of oil painting, watercolors, ink, charcoal, tempera, pastels, without receiving a penny for it. The results of the work have been preserved in dozens of folders. Each time, finishing the study of any technique, the artist would perform the final work, in which he fully revealed the possibilities of the studied technique. Sometimes he would perform several final works. That is how he created the series “Sea”, “Snow”, “Night”, “Grass”…

Yuri Vasilyevich Volkov died on January 25, 1991. In memory of the artist, the Evpatoria Children’s Art School was named after Yuri Vasilyevich Volkov in 1999.

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