Fedotov, Pavel Andreevich

June 22, 1815 (Moscow) - November 14, 1852 (St. Petersburg)

painter and graphic artist.

born in the family of an official of the Moscow council deaneries AI Fedotova, in 1819 received a knighthood. In 1826, given at the First Moscow Cadet Corps. In 1833 graduated with the rank of lieutenant, he joined the Life Guards regiment of the Finnish. From 1834 he served in St. Petersburg. At the same time attended drawing classes IAH. Study independently, a lot of drawing, making a pencil and watercolor portraits of fellow soldiers, friends, scenes of regimental life, caricatures and cartoons. After receiving permission of Nicholas I, left the service in order to devote himself entirely to art. In 1844 he retired with the rank of captain.

In the same year he studied at the AI Sauerweid in class battle-painting IAH, the advice of K. Briullov. From 1846 began to work in oil painting. He went into the circle of literary magazine "Contemporary", met with Nikolai Nekrasov. In 1848, for the painting "choosy bride" was awarded the title of "appointed" in academics. In the same year for his film "Courtship Major was elected an academician of genre painting. In 1849, presented at the next three academic exhibit their work - "Fresh cavalier", "choosy bride" and "Courting Major. The latter is the product of dedicated satirical poem "The amendment was appropriate, or Marriage of Major" and "Ratseya" (Explanation of the picture "Courting Major »).

In 1850, the family court was in Moscow. In the gallery of Count AF Rostopchina MUZhViZ and held solo exhibitions of works of Fedotova. Upon his return to St. Petersburg has written several versions of the picture "Widow", the final version of which was exhibited at the 1851 exhibition academic.

In 1852 ill severe mental disorder, was placed first in a private hospital, and then to the hospital "All Who Sorrow", in the same year he died.

Retrospective exhibitions of past masters in 1941, 1952, 1965, 1991-1992 at the State Russian Museum in Leningrad (St Petersburg) in 1952, 1965, 1991-1992 - the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow in 1966 - in the Kiev Museum of Russian Art.

Fedotov - outstanding artist of the first half of the XIX century, one of the founders of realism in Russian art. His artistic legacy, despite the rather short period of creative activity, is sufficiently large. Its main part consists of full-scale pencil drawings and preparatory sketches for paintings. Finished paintings we know very little.

In early works (1830) applied only to the graphic techniques. Fedotova works of this period in nature is almost no different from amateur pictures in family albums with a friendly-caricatured images of surrounding persons.

From 1844 to the artist's work entered a new stage. In his works the middle - second half of 1840 clearly expressed the satirical, moralistic, didactic aspect. This is reflected both in painting ( "Fresh cavalier", "choosy bride", "Courting Major", "Wife-woman of fashion", "Breakfast Aristocrat"), and in the graph (sepia "Top", "Corollary death Fidelki" "The artist, who married without dowry in the calculation of his talent"). A characteristic feature of the work Fedotova this period are small format, well thought-out composition, thoroughness of execution, credibility in the image detail: furniture, dishes, costumes. In the postures and gestures of the characters have similarities with theatrical staging, a significant role played by the details, especially the objective environment, through which sometimes disclosed the content, design painting.

In recent years, life in art Fedotova has been changing. Artist gradually overcame the literary narrative of earlier works. Such works as "Widow", "Players", "Encore, Once More Encore" are filled with deep emotional content and dramatic. They are extremely laconic in its composition and the color palette and largely anticipated the creative search of a large number of masters of the second half of the XIX century (for example, NN Ge).

Fedotov was one of the best artists of his time. Particularly expressive pencil sketches, made in passing, "Memory". In them the artist, often using a single line, sometimes only sketching a figure, could convey the characters of the characters, their manners in society: to walk, sit, wear clothes, talk, dance. Most of the drawings accompanied by explanatory inscriptions copyright.

Fedotova works are in many museum collections in Russia, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, State Russian Museum, Pushkin Museum im. Pushkin.