Moscow Courtyard

Moscow Courtyard
ArtistVasily Polenov
Year1878
TypeOil on canvas
Dimensions80,1 cm × 64,5 cm (315 in × 254 in)
LocationTretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Moscow Courtyard is a landscape painting by the Russian artist Vasily Polenov (1844–1927), completed in 1878. It belongs to the State Tretyakov Gallery (inventory 2670). Its dimensions are 64.5 × 80.1 cm.[1][2] Together with two other works by Polenov from the late 1870s: the paintings Grandmother's Garden [ru] and Overgrown Pond, the canvas Moscow Courtyard has been attributed to "a kind of lyrical and philosophical trilogy of the artist".[3][4]

The painting depicts the courtyard of a house at the intersection of Durnovsky and Trubnikovsky Streets, in the wing of which Polenov rented an apartment in 1877–1878. Behind the courtyard and the adjacent buildings is the Church of the Transfiguration on the Sand, and in the right part of the canvas are the outlines of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Plotniki.[1][5] The work organically combines landscape and genre motifs.[6]

The painting "Moscow Courtyard" was presented at the Moscow part of the 6th Exhibition of the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions ("Peredvizhniki"),[7] which was held in May 1878.[1][8] It became Polenov's first work presented at the traveling exhibitions.[9] Pavel Tretyakov bought that canvas directly from the exhibition.[1][10]

According to art historian Alexei Fedorov-Davydov, the painting Moscow Courtyard is "full of simple and clear heartfelt poetry"[11] and this work by Polenov "was a new word in Russian landscape painting and played a great role in it".[12] Art historian Tamara Yurova noted that this canvas was among the "pearls of the Russian school of painting" and became "a milestone in the history of Russian landscape painting".[10] Art historian Vitaly Manin called Moscow Courtyard a "masterpiece of landscape art" and wrote that "one such painting is enough to go down in history".[13]

  1. ^ a b c d Государственная Третьяковская галерея — каталог собрания / Я. В. Брук, Л. И. Иовлева. — М.: Красная площадь, 2006. — V. 4: Живопись второй половины XIX века, книга 2, Н—Я. — 560 p.
  2. ^ Поленов Василий Дмитриевич — Московский дворик (HTML). Государственная Третьяковская галерея — www.tretyakovgallery.ru.
  3. ^ Пастон Э. В. Василий Поленов. «Московский дворик». — М.: Государственная Третьяковская галерея, 2017. — p. 43.
  4. ^ Пастон Э. В. Василий Поленов. От Золотого к Серебряному веку // Третьяковская галерея. — 2019. — № 3. — P. 17.
  5. ^ Пастон Э. В. Василий Поленов. «Московский дворик». — М.: Государственная Третьяковская галерея, 2017. — P. 28 — (История одного шедевра).
  6. ^ Мальцева Ф. С. Мастера русского пейзажа. Вторая половина XIX века. Часть 2. — М.: Искусство, 2001. — P. 69.
  7. ^ Товарищество передвижных художественных выставок. Письма, документы. 1869—1899 / В. В. Андреева, М. В. Астафьева, С. Н. Гольдштейн, Н. Л. Приймак. — М.: Искусство, 1987. — P. 370.
  8. ^ Сахарова Е. В. Василий Дмитриевич Поленов, Елена Дмитриевна Поленова. Хроника семьи художников. — М.: Искусство, 1964. — P. 736.
  9. ^ Раздобреева И. В. Картина В. Д. Поленова «Московский дворик» // Государственная Третьяковская галерея. Материалы и исследования. — М.: Советский художник, 1956. — V. I. — P. 204
  10. ^ a b Юрова Т. В. Василий Дмитриевич Поленов. — М.: Искусство, 1961. — P. 44.
  11. ^ Фёдоров-Давыдов А. А. Русский пейзаж XVIII — начала XX века. — М.: Советский художник, 1986. — P. 168.
  12. ^ Фёдоров-Давыдов А. А. Русский пейзаж XVIII — начала XX века. — М.: Советский художник, 1986. — P. 196.
  13. ^ Манин В. С. Русская пейзажная живопись. Конец XVIII — XIX век. — СПб.: Аврора, 2012. — P. 247.