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Victor Borisov-Musatov
(1870-1905)
Victor Musatov (He appended the name Borisov later) was born on April 14, 1870 in Saratov, Russia, in the family of a minor railway official who had been a serf. In his early childhood he had suffered a bad fall, which left him humpbacked for the rest of his life. The tact and understanding of his parents, who encouraged his fondness for art, and the lessons of the young painter Konovalov contributed much to the formation of his artistic personality.
In 1890 Musatov left his native town to enroll in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Dissatisfied with the system of teaching at the school, which was then going through a severe crisis, he left for St. Petersburg a year later, hoping to receive better professional training at the capital's Academy of Fine Arts. But the conservative academic system of training did not appeal to him, and only in the private school of Tchistyakov, a well-known teacher of the Academy, could he work with real enthusiasm. The damp climate of St. Peterburg told on Musatov¡¯s health and made him return to Moscow in 1893, where he renewed his studies at the Moscow School. Musatov¡¯s earliest works, shown at a students¡¯ exhibition, were sharply criticized and labeled decadent. They brought the displeasure of the school authorities upon him, but at the same time evoked warm sympathy in his fellow students. Due to his energy and resolution he finally became the leader of a circle of young painters bent on discovering new methods in art.
In 1895 Musatov left the Moscow School and went to Paris, where he worked for three winters, perfecting his drawing skills in the school of Fernand Cormon, a mediocre painter of historical subjects who was, however, an excellent teacher. His contact with contemporary French painting had a decisive effect on his life and work. ¡°My artistic possibilities widened,¡± said Musatov later. ¡°Much of what I had dreamt of I now saw achieved and this led to more ambitious dreams as I saw new horizons in my work.¡± He got to know Impressionism in its pure, ¡°classical¡± manifestation. He was fascinated by the works of Berthe Morisot, her sunny paintings ¨C free and bold and at the same time full of feminine tenderness. He was already familiar with some features of Impressionism, but others, as, for example, the Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist technique of the divided stroke, he studied with great attention. At the same time he was deeply interested in the works of Symbolists, who attracted him with their sincerely poetic vision of the world or, as he called it, their ¡°dream of harmony¡±. He especially admired the paintings of the father of Symbolism, Puvis de Chavannes, the idol of all young painters who yearned for ¡°dreams, emotions and poetry¡±. He regarded Puvi.... |
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