Bogoliubov Aleksei
The presented in the collection canvas “Venice” is a wonderful sample of a composition with showy change of scenes. This work of the artist is characterized with a fine colouring and an evening lighting depicted excellently. The precision of the known architectural forms combines with well found foreshortening, what comes quiet often in later master’s works. This painting carries a fresh breath and a bright city image, which is cloaked in evening calmness; the city that has so much amazed the artist. The artist for all his life long was turning to the theme of Venice. Being a student in Academy of Arts, A.P. Bogolubov painted views of this city copying Italian gravures. His views of Venice were exposed at circulating exhibitions (Peredvizhniki) from 1871 till 1896, at academic exhibitions in Society of art encouragement from 1860 till 1874. Venetian landscapes of A. Bogolubov were also exposed in Paris. Some paintings were held in the biggest collections of artist’s contemporaries, particularly in the collection of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, I.N. Tereschenko and many more.
Aleksei Petrovich Bogolubov
(1824, village Pomeranie, Novgorod region – 1896, Paris)
Aleksei Petrovich Bogolubov is one of the great Russian landscape painters of XIX century. His fate was unusual for an artist, as he descended from the famous military family, a son of a colonel, a participant of Patriotic War 1812, P. G. Bogolubov, a grandson of A. N. Radischev. In early life he attended the Alexander’s cadet corps in Tsarskoye Selo (1832-1834), then in Naval cadet corps in St. Petersburg (1835-1841). In a rank of midshipman A. Bogolubov served in the Baltic navy, took part in sailings in the Baltic and the North Seas, the Atlantic, visited England, Holland, Portugal and a lot of other countries. Serving in the Baltic navy aroused interest in the history of Russian fleet by Aleksei Petrovich Bogolubov. In 1850-1853 Bogolubov was an auditor student of Imperial Academy of Arts, studied in classes of landscape painting by M. N. Vorobiov and battle-scene painting by B.P. Villevalde.
In 1852 he was awarded with the minor gold medal for the painting “View of Smolny cloister from Bolshaya Okhta”. In 1853 he was awarded with the great gold medal for the paintings “Seashore near St. Petersburg in the summer night”, “View of Revel town from Karlos inland”, “View of Revel town from Ekaterinental”,” View of Revel town from the sea”, granted a status of an artist of the first degree and a right to go abroad with a pension. In that year A. Bogolubov was appointed as an artist of head naval staff. In the 50s he lived and worked abroad as a pensioner of Imperial Academy of Arts. In Geneva he attended the school of A. Kalam, and in Paris was a student of the school T. Kutiur and E. L. Isabe. In that period he also visited Italy, Greece, Holland and Turkey. In 1858 he was awarded with a status of “academician in marine painting”. In 1860 Bogolubov obtained a status of “professor in marine painting” “for a special art and painting knowledge”. By the order of Russian Admiralty he took part in making of an atlas of Caspian and Finnish Sea shores.
In the mid. 60s A. Bogolubov taught in Imperial Academy of Arts as a “free professor without salary”. Among his students were F. F. Bogants, D. V. Velezhev, I. V. Volkovsky, P. P. Dzhogin, E. E. Diukker, E. A. Osnobishin, I.I. Shishkin. From the year 1872 the artist lived in Rome and Paris mainly, however he visited Russia every year. I. E. Repin, V. D. Polenov, K. A. Savitsky, I. N. Kramskoy, V. M. Vasnetsov, A. K. Beggrov worked in his studio, which became a center of the art life of Russian painters in Paris in the early 1870-s.
A. P. Bogolubov was not only favorite painter of the Emperor, he was his friend. He played an important role in caring of Emperor’s collection of paintings, he advised Alexander III to buy one or another painting, and fulfill many court orders. From 1867 till 1870 A. Bogolubov grounded in drawing his wife, Maria Fedorovna Romanova. Under influence of the artist the grand duke Alexander Alexandrovich began to make an inventory of his collection, which later was published as a catalogue of paintings, belonging to the Highness (1872).
A. Bogolubov was a founder and a lifelong trustee of Saratov Radischev’s Museum, a founder of Saratov Bogolubov’s drawing school (which was opened after the artist’s death in 1897). He was also a freeman of Saratov, a full member of Imperial Academy of Arts (from 1893), a member of artists’ meetings “Academic Fridays”, a founder-member of Society of Russian aquafortists, a member of Society for Circulating Art Exhibitions (from 1873), a founder and a head of Society of Russian artists in Paris (1877), an honorary member of Saratov Society of devotees of fine arts. Moreover he was an author of memoirs “Writings of sailor-painter”, published in journal “Volga” in 1996.
A. P. Bogolubov visited Venice several times: in October – early December 1854, in January – April 1863, in February 1872. In his memoirs he described his first visit to Venice in details: “The warm Venetian evening has drawn in, as luck would have it, the full moon has emerged, the night has dropped, as a curtain, and right then I liked Venice none the worse. Everything has covered with a think bluish veil. My first study was a quay with Doges Palace at the forefront. It was very difficult not only to paint, but
also to draw in details this intricate building… I minted with my pen all columns, capitals and cornices of each palace and building, making a drawing for the whole sheet, what taught me to draw the architecture freely, which I had always had passion in. These drawings could be seen in the amount of 400 pieces, which are in ownership of Academy of Arts… Then I made studies of a church with a canal, went to the inland Lido in order to paint a marine. Several times I have painted views of Venice from a public garden. For two months I worked tirelessly. Venice’s beauty amazed me so deeply and printed on my mind that I painted it a lot in all the views and in various times, and I will paint it till the end of my life, although newspapers scolded me for this repeatedly. However I should say, if I have not painted it fairly, I have got all my studies and paintings in my studio. But there were none of my paintings left in my studio, and I was always piled with work, which I sold abroad profitably”. (A. P. Bogolubov, Writings of sailor-painter).