ARKHANGELSK, February 28. /TASS/. The Borisov Arts Museum of the Arctic Development in Arkhangelsk opened an exhibition Images of Following In Footsteps of The Great. The exposition shows paintings by the Russian Arctic's oldest artists - Alexander Borisov, Stepan Pisakhov and Ilya (Tyko) Vylka, as well as images by photographer Nikolay Gernet, who over ten years of polar expeditions visited the locations on polar archipelagoes, where the painters had been, the photographer told TASS.
"The exhibition's idea is not new, as whenever on Arctic expeditions you anyway run into locations, where well-known Arctic painters have been," he said. "The number of settlements is limited, clearly, impressive rocks are not often either, and surely, they were the objects the artists chose to paint more than 100 years ago. Nowadays, those locations are tourist attractions, and even scientific expeditions anyway go past those outstanding locations."
"Jointly with the Borisov Museum, we were committed to make a rather untypical exposition - to place photographs next to paintings, however, not to have them oppose each other," he continued.
The objective was to show the places the artists visited in the early 20th century, so that visitors could see the paintings "from a slightly different angle" and understand how painters interpret the Arctic landscapes. "For example, Pisakhov's stones at Cape Zhelaniya on Novaya Zemlya are not just stones. They look like some ancient elders. And the glaciers that the brush turns into mysterious creatures - this is very interesting. On the other hand, the photos show the same beauty, though through a simpler look - this is how it is seen by just a person who visits the Arctic as a tourist or as a scientist," he said.
Stepan Pisakhov (1879-1960) was an Arkhangelsk artist and storyteller. His first trip to the Arctic was in 1905. The first voyage to Novaya Zemlya gave birth to a great love for the interminable Arctic. Some of his works are exhibited for the first time. They were made in the 1930s on plywood. Back then, the artist lived poorly.
The museum's specialists were not sure whether to exhibit the paintings or to make copies printed on canvas. But Director of the Arkhangelsk Museum of Fine Arts (since 1965) Maya Mitkevich, a Soviet and Russian art critic, insisted on the originals, stressing that would be the first step towards their further restoration. "The restoration of paintings on plywood is a very complicated process. We have just consulted with the Tretyakov (Art Gallery)," the Borisov Museum's Director Ivan Katyshev told TASS.
About artist Alexander Borisov
The exhibition features about 40 paintings and about the same number of photographs. Among the paintings are works by Alexander Borisov (1866-1934), after whom the museum is named. His paintings have remained in the museum's storage. Borisov several times visited the Arctic islands, and in 1900 together with companions he sailed onboard a yacht to Novaya Zemlya. The 14-months-long expedition was a scientific voyage. The participants described many geographical objects, made botanical, zoological and geological collections. Borisov was the first painter of the "eternal ice." Through his sight the world could see for first time the Arctic in color. Nikolai Tretyakov, Nicholas II have bought his paintings. The artist's works have been exhibited in Germany, France, the Great Britain, and the USA.
However, not everyone believed the courageous artist - some argued, claiming there are no bright colors beyond the Arctic Circle. "Some even said that he had never been to Novaya Zemlya when he showed the paintings of these excessively warm and southern pink sunsets against the cold blue hills, when he showed weird moments from the everyday life of the Samoyeds-Nenets. In fact, there were a lot of disputes," the director said. "And now in the 21st century, thanks to photographers who return from the Arctic, we can see that Borisov has never lied and was never mistaken about any color shade."
As the museum specialists were putting together the exposition, they found that one of the paintings by Borisov, stored at the museum, showed not Novaya Zemlya, as experts had believed, but the coastline near Murmansk. Photographer Gernet has picked one of his photos with an almost identical view.
About Tyko Vylka
Tyko Vylka (1886-1960) - a famous Nenets artist, writer and public figure, was born on Novaya Zemlya. In 1901, he accompanied Borisov on his expedition to the archipelago. The young hunter got interested in painting. Borisov noted his talent and taught him drawing. And artist Pisakhov, who was exiled to Novaya Zemlya in 1903, was the first to give Vylka brushes and paints. The Nenets artist painted not harsh and dangerous lands, but ready for development multicolored spaces that invite humans.
Some exhibition objects repeat not the places, but the plots. For example, a walrus on an ice floe on Gernet's shot almost exactly repeats a walrus on Vylka's painting: the same pose, the tusks sizes and even similar ice floes around. "Tyko Vylka's is smaller, and Nikolay's is a little bigger," the director said. "Or, here, a bird rookery on Novaya Zemlya - very similar."
The exhibition project was supported by Arkhangelsk's Center for Social Innovations in Culture. The exhibition will run till mid-April. The museum's director told TASS about plans to convert the exhibition into a mobile project.