Expect Only the Best
Art Monday Series
Post 2
Having already had a little insight into my
way of seeing the world, I am sure you will know that the inspiration comes to
me in the noblest of forms. What moves my soul is what ultimately moves me, and
this is not related to anything I studied as a discipline, but rather a study
of self and a curious road of deep self-exploration, self-study, and a
discovery of many magical manifestations that keep unfolding in my experience.
I will talk about my inspiration in the
specific context of the art and the aesthetics – as they are to me - the
creation and appreciation of beauty. I have already mentioned in post 1 of the
Art Monday series (if you have missed that, you can read it here) my story of becoming an aquarelle
painter, having had an appreciation for fine art my entire life. To me, art and
life are intertwined. They are one in every sense of the word.
Introducing Russian Realist Painters
In a nutshell, when something speaks to me
on a deeper level – that is my biggest inspiration. And for so many reasons
Russian realist painters have always evoked the deepest feeling of freedom,
space, attention to detail, the enormity of scale, and absolute finesse in portraying
life as they saw it – that my imagination was captured forever, and I will
forevermore consider them my number one inspiration and aspiration, too. Their
talent and legacy are so palpable to me, that my heart and my mind fill with
awe whenever I stand in front of a single one, or a collection of these works
in a gallery. These moments are also precious as they connect me with some
great people whose souls are inseparable from mine.
Out of a thousand exhibitions, there are two
that will forever stand out in my mind as favourites, because of the incredibly
real, honest, soul liberating and uplifting feeling they produced inside me.
One of those exhibitions I saw in Belgrade as a young person, in my mid-high
teen years, and the other one I saw in the summer of 2005 in London. Both
exhibitions featured amazing works of Russian realist painters from the age of
Tolstoy, to name but a few: Ivan
Ivanovich Shishkin (1832-1898), Ilya Yefimovich Repin (1844-1930), Lev Lvovich
Kamenev (1834-1886), Isaac Ilyich Levitan (1860-1900), Vasily Dmitrievich
Polenov (1844-1927), Arkhip Ivanovich Kuinji (1842 - 1910).
The Impact
It’s almost impossible
to separate them, but somehow Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin manages to separate
himself in my heart because of this painting and the feeling it gave me in the
moments I stood in front of it. I will never forget that hot August day, around
midday, when even London gets unbearably dry. Deep inside the National Gallery
we walk through the quiet rooms and marvel at the works of Tolstoy and
Tchaikovsky’s contemporaries - but this group of artists is much less widely
known than the writer and the composer. Don’t know why, because their works
equal in greatness.
I was familiar with
the painting titled ‘In the North’ as it was used in promotional material by
the gallery to announce the exhibition. But there was no way I was prepared for
the effect it will have on me until this day. From the hot pavement, walking
into the quiet and dark space of the gallery where only the paintings were lit,
I walk through the double door and to my left, I am greeted with this painting. As
I look at it, I begin to feel transported into the moonlit landscape, and I am
beginning to shiver from the cold – I am actually starting to feel cold the
longer I study its details - as if I am standing right there, in the most
beautiful and magical winter night you can imagine….
Their Legacy – Our
Gift
Shishkin and the other
artists didn’t just catch the essence of the Russian landscape. Inside their
art is the soul of their people, pure and vast, isolated and hauntingly
beautiful. All the sensibility of deep feeling capturing rodina (the Russian name for ‘motherland’) of that time and
immortalising it in their art, whichever form that took. To the honest Russian
soul, their relationship with nature had everything to do with their integrity.
And in these paintings, you can just see how honest and pure that soul was.
I hope I have managed
to describe how much the subject, and even the scale of their works, are
nothing short of monumental in spiritual sense, which is exactly what I find
that has moved my soul the most. If you ever have a chance, go look at these
amazing pieces of art in real life. You will be astonished, my friend.
Remember – You Are Safe Here
This is the sacred place between our souls. Thank you for sharing your visions, dreams and ideas. Your courage to be vulnerably seen will always be respected, and you will be treated with nothing but kindness and compassion. ♡
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