Victor Popkov - Soviet artist: biography, paintings. Popkov Victor Efimovich (1932-1974)

Victor Popkov is a painter and graphic artist,the author of talented original works, many of which are represented in the Tretyakov Gallery. As a child, after experiencing a terrible war, in his paintings he gave a harsh reality and inner courage, for which he watched in difficult years for the country. He forced the audience to sympathize with their heroes and admire them, empathize and admire.

Childhood

Popkov Viktor Efimovich (1932 - 1974) was born in Moscow, in the family of peasants. Father and mother, from an early age accustomed to hard work, moved from place to place in search of work.

Victor Popkov was the second child in a large familyfamily of four children. The news of his father's death in the war came when the future painter was nine years old, and his youngest brother was several months old. Mother, at the request of her beloved husband, devoted herself to children, never marrying. But she put the kids on their feet, gave everyone proper education.

The Popkovs family was friendly, but poor. The children loved the mother and, seeing her hard work, tried to listen in everything and not upset. Realizing that they are united by indestructible blood ties, the children grew together almost without quarrels and disagreements, always ready to come to the rescue each other and provide the necessary support.

Mother, Stepanida Ivanovna, adored her children and tried to educate them in austerity, but tenderness.

Such a seemingly happy childhood, was overshadowed by several more tragedies (besides the death of his father and constant need).

The death of the younger brother, Tolya's common favorite, left an indelible mark on Viktor Popkov's soul. He could not even attend the funeral of the baby.

The second bright unforgettable shock happened a little later, when Vitya was attacked by an ox and threw him to the ground. The boy managed to escape thanks to timely help arrived.

But, despite all the sorrows, Victor Popkov grew up a kind and friendly child, generous and sociable.

The first steps on the creative path

At school the boy was distinguished by special diligence andzeal. From a small age, he developed a desire to create on paper. Vita liked to follow the manifestation of the drawing at the then "swindlers" (translated pictures), for which he spent all his pocket money, as well as watching the work of the neighbor, an artist who painted watercolor, but whose name, unfortunately, we do not know.

Stepanida Ivanovna, who first saw in her sonimpulses to work with a brush, began to encourage the child's desire to create. She took him to an art school and helped to enter the Moscow graphic school, sincerely praised him, inspired her to creative feats and gave thoughtful advice.

And the boy wrote everywhere and everything. His early sketches covered a variety of subjects and events - these were trees, and houses, and people.

Teachers of the art workshop, tooThey considered talent in a gifted student and paid him extra attention. According to short sketches from the artist's personal album, it was possible to see that the training in the art studio benefited him: to replace the amateur sketches there appeared meaningful quality works, mainly landscapes and still lifes.

Formation of creativity

In 1852, Victor enters Surikovskyinstitute for the faculty of graphics. And although this did not correspond to the wishes of the young man (he wanted to study at the department of painting), this state of things favorably affected his further creative activity. The knowledge and skills acquired in the graphic faculty were reflected in his not repeated refined manner of the painter.

Now Popkov Victor Efimovich, biography andwhose work has actively revived with admission to a higher educational institution, begins to energetically create. He works in difficult, seemingly unfavorable conditions: in a small barrack, where he lives with five more people - a mother, a younger sister and an older brother with his wife and child. Tightness, poverty, malnutrition - the then companions of the master.

Sometimes I had to write in unheatedcorridor, in different boots, eating only a piece of bread with bacon. But this did not affect the creative process. Victor Popkov worked selflessly, talently, confidently, regularly. His magnificent talent was noticed almost instantly, the gifted student was awarded at first a heightened, and a little later - Stalin scholarship, which he gave almost to a penny for the needs of his relatives.

Travels

Since 1956, Viktor Popkov commitslong creative trips around the country, in search of original material for works and expressive angles. He visited the delightful, grandiose production buildings, realized the whole colossal scale of the work, fixed a lot of ordinary, routine plots, which later "poetized" and glorified. Unlike their fellow students, who were looking for picturesque bright places and images, the beginning artist focused his vision on prosaic mediocre compositions. It's a concrete worker pouring water into the solution, or two workers against the backdrop of huge wheels of the locomotive.

Victor created energetically, animatedly, as if afraiddo not have time, trying to keep on paper every episode of hard work. Student exhibition of sketches, conducted in one of the trips to the Irkutsk hydroelectric station, was full of many precise talented works by Viti Popkov.

In his paintings, the "severe style" prevailed, reflected in the laconic details, the realism of the images, the dryness of the shades.

It is thanks to creative trips tobuilding objects Popkov Viktor Efimovich was able to become a people's artist, depicting on his canvases of ordinary workers-workers during his heavy monotonous occupation.

"Builders of the Bratsk Hydro Power Plant"

After a trip to build a hydropower plant in the cityBratsk in 1960 there was a remarkable original picture "Builders of Bratsk". The young artist for a long time thought through every detail of the canvas - background, color, arrangement of images, foreshortening.

It's not for nothing that the background is black, this isfocuses on the figures drawn, not on events or incidents. For the artist was the main thing correctly to present their heroes and show their strength, courage, self-confidence. Builders of Bratsk are dusty, tired of work people, but they are beautiful in their diligence and harsh, restrained energy.

It is noteworthy that in its original formthe canvas was depicted workers with tattoos on their hands, since most of the workers at the Bratsk hydroelectric station were prisoners. But, realizing that in this form the management can not release the picture to the exhibition, Viktor Efimovich removes camp tattoos.

Ever since, the artist has become famous. He was loved by the people, critics admitted. And Viktor Popkov, whose paintings the Tretyakov Gallery buys and prints an advanced newspaper, continues to work fruitfully and delight the public with new original works, living modestly and tightly, almost poorly.

The flowering of creativity

"Working theme", reflected in other picturesque paintings of the artist, was not the only one that Popkov Victor Efimovich addressed during his creative inspiration.

To replace the "Brigade rests," "Bridge inArkhangelsk "come moral and psychological plots of simple human relations. Popkov combines different artistic styles, experiments with color effects. These are dramatic worldly episodes, found in the canvases of "Quarrel", "Divorce", "Family of Swamps", "Two".

"Mezensky widows"

Incredible glory brought Popkov his cycle"Mezensky widows" (late 1960's - early 1970's), in which he reflected on each painting individual character and tragic fate of a woman. Each work strikes its realistic identity and squat picturesqueness. And although the paintings "Waiting", "Old Age", "One" are full of tragic pain and oppressive melancholy, yet they are necessary for mankind in order to awaken in him humanity and kindness towards post-war women's grief and loneliness.

The theme of historical events was significantplace in the artist's work. His exposing "Chekist" and "Bell at the Door" denounced the era of unexplained bloody repression, and "Father's Overcoat" and others conveyed an irresistible grinding sadness to those who would never return from the front line.

The tragic death

Working on historical and poetic themes,Victor Popkov begins his legendary painting "Autumn Rain", where he portrayed the great Pushkin against the background of the weeping element. Work on the canvas the artist came to the Pushkin Mountains.

November 12, while on business in the capital, VictorYefimovich and his friends go to the parked Volga to ask the driver to give them a lift. But the car was cash-collecting. Because of the recent sensational robbery, the guards who received the order to fire in case of danger opened fire. The artist was mortally wounded.

At his funeral, next to the lifeless body, there was an unfinished painting "Autumn Rain."

Personal life

Popkov Victor Efimovich was married to hisclassmate at the graphic school of Clara - a talented artist, a real friend of life. With it, they went through poverty and deprivation, lived in the same apartment with mother-in-law and father-in-law, worked in the same room, brought up their son together.

Klara Ivanovna was a very bright and courageous person, she devotedly loved her husband, helped him during his depression and despondency, gave practical advice.

In addition to such wonderful spiritual qualities, a womanhad a bright talent and skill. She became a popular popular master of the children's book, worked with the publishing house "Kid", took an active part in allied and international exhibitions.