Vortex

"Whirlwind" not just one of the most famous and large-scale paintings of Malyavin, sizes more like a theatrical backdrop. Software is the fabric that falls on the visitor of Tretyakov gallery avalanche, explosive blood-red power – a metaphor for the whole of the artist's life, like a whirlwind burst into the staid art world of St. Petersburg straight from the Athos monastery.

Malyavin began work on the canvas at the beginning of the events that went down in history under the name of the First Russian revolution. It introduced many critics as a modern artist, and us, the temptation to ascribe "the Vortex" a troubling premonition of the impending hurricane of change, embodied in revolutionary red flashes fractional energetic brush strokes.

Colorful revolution

The son of a rural environment, little interest in ideology or politics. Malyavina rather took the quest in the development of such coatings, which would transmit the required force of expression, which are always imbued with his works devoted to Russian women-peasants.

And in the process of creating a "Vortex" he still managed to produce his personal revolution. However, not without the help of a fellow artist Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar. "Knowing that I had more to do with the technology of paints, he asked me to give him some recipe binders that raises the luminosity and color intensity – he was going to RUB the paint – says Grabar. – I gave him the recipe, the main component parts which were Venetian turpentine and kopalovy varnish, warning him that the success depends on the correct dosage: too large a preponderance of turpentine can make the paint almost nedohoda why it is necessary to regulate resin-Kopal, melted in linseed oil".

Recipe Grabar came to the court: since that time, Malyavin wrote this composition all of his paintings. But he misses a deaf ear to the warning of the mate, and the breadth of mental does not regret ingredients. Why paint the "Whirlwind" continued to live their lives long after finishing work on the canvas, according to Grabar: "Excessive amount of Venetian turpentine, taken by Malawinut in binder, turned the colorful dough in this picture in the mass, are still not solidified, on hot summer days, blooming and even threatening to come into motion. But the bright colors, their luster is really amazing, leaving far behind the brightness of ordinary oil paints".

Seek and yea shall find

A few surviving sketches paintings (1, 2) suggest that Malyavin worked not only on finding the perfect component for paints "Vortex", but also searched for the same composition solution that would fully bring to life the image from his head.

Women gradually grew, occupying more and more space in the space of the canvas. More and more flew and spun in a whirl of their dance outfits. In the end they filled an entire canvas hardly leaving for background scenery pitiful scraps in the corners.

By the way, from the memoirs of the same Grabar we learn that Malyavin not seen absolutely no prospects for development in the writing of the landscapes due to the fact that everything has already been written to them: "Malyavin convinced me to stop painting landscapes: – How do you not understand that after Levitan impossible to write of the landscape. Levitan rewrote everything and so wrote, as neither you nor the other would not write. Landscape, friend, cover. You're just stupid doing. Look at the landscape now shows? Only bad counterfeits Levitan".

But on apparels without restraint peasant whirling "dervishes" Malyavin off in full. It seems that these boisterous, untamed as all the elements of nature together, sundresses are the main characters in the movie. On the background of their detailed, intricate, mosaic development is not something that landscape – those characters go on the back burner.

This clothing set the dynamics and rhythm of the canvas, literally bringing the movement to its surface and mesmerizing all looking at him. Sergey Golosov (Glagol) shares a stunning impact paintings on the senses: "Vortex gave the impression of a beautiful carpet with a fiery-red, crimson-red and blue-green spots. Paint burn. I stare at them my eyes hurt and still don't want to. Something fascinating that attracts to itself".

Care Malyavina to take effect, and its result appreciated. After the presentation of paintings at the 3rd exhibition of the Union of Russian artists in 1906, it was immediately bought by the Council of the Tretyakov gallery, where "Vortex" occupies a prominent place to this day.

Author: Natalia Azarenka