Sergei Bocharov (born 1953) is a Russian and Soviet artist working in the direction of realism, deservedly recognized as one of the classics of modern painting. He not only paints in the genre of portraiture, still life and landscape, but also had a hand as a production designer for the Soviet films Stalker, The Amusements of the Young, A Trip to Wiesbaden and others.
Evening of the club "For those over thirty..." in the DK "Novator". Source: botcharov.ru
Bocharov admitted that his development as an artist was influenced by his studies at the Krasnodar Art School. There were wonderful Soviet teachers there who taught him the basics of understanding art, he looked at the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Raphael for the first time not just as a spectator, but as a future artist and sincerely admired their greatness. The knowledge he received seemed insufficient to him, and Bocharov continued his education at the Repin Institute, and then at VGIK. However, it was also very important to visit museums, study and copy paintings by old masters, which, with due diligence, allows you to discover many of their secrets.
Moscow. Bolshoi Theatre. My Legs Hurt. 2018. Source: botcharov.ru
Later, in the 1980s, Bocharov communicated with Picasso and Marc Chagall and tried to learn something from them. However, Picasso said: "You work in a realistic direction, so continue working in it, I moved away from it and made a big mistake, I could have become a truly great artist." That day, Bocharov, along with several Russian journalists, decided to watch Picasso paint a portrait of his wife Jacqueline. The journalists suggested a small competition: let Bocharov paint a portrait of Jacqueline too, to compare who would do it better.
Siberia, My Village. Source: botcharov.ru
Bocharov began to draw, and enthusiastic journalists crowded around him. Picasso left his work, came up, looked at Bocharov's drawing, and then returned and tore up his. He started over, but the following sketches were not very successful and were inferior in skill to Bocharov's drawings. In order not to offend Picasso, Bocharov deliberately began to spoil his drawing. In fairness, it should be said that Picasso was already 90 years old at that time, he had not worked in a realistic manner for a very long time and had simply forgotten how to paint in this style. Bocharov exchanged his drawing with Picasso's work, and later it turned out that it was valued at 3 million dollars. History is silent on how much Bocharov's drawing was valued at.
Opening of the Livadia Palace by Tsar Nicholas II and his family in 1911. 2003-2013. Source: botcharov.ru
In Soviet times, Bocharov considered his main job to be a production designer at the Gorky Film Studio. In addition, he earned extra money by teaching at VGIK. But the 90s arrived, and there were fewer films being made, and Bocharov was not at all happy with what they were making, and in order to save money, they often did without the help of production designers.
A.P. Chekhov at the White Dacha in Yalta. Letter. 15.12.2016. Source: botcharov.ru
But Bocharov, remembering his previous merits, was invited to teach at the Roman School of Art. True, on the very first day of his stay in the "Eternal City" he was robbed by gypsies, who stole his money and all his documents. To top it all off, Bocharov did not know Italian at all, and in order to get the desired position of professor of painting, he had to learn it in two months.
"Family Portrait in a Black Frame. Workshop" 1982. Source: botcharov.ru
Trying to make ends meet, Bocharov began selling his paintings on the streets of Rome. One day, Ornella Muti approached him and bought several paintings, and at the same time invited him to have wine with her and her friend in a café. They walked and talked about art all night.
"Tanya" 1978. Source: botcharov.ru
Bocharov did learn the language, and later organized a joint exhibition with Fellini. He became well known in creative circles, painted portraits of Pavarotti and Versace, and at the same time became friends with them.However, according to Bocharov, working on portraits does not bring the modern artist either special fame or moral satisfaction. This is a rather thankless task, since customers often see and perceive themselves differently and begin to ask the artist to correct something. Although Bocharov himself painted portraits of many famous people, including Leonid Brezhnev. This was the first time that a portrait of him was painted from life; usually artists used photographs. The same thing happened with Vysotsky.
"Vladimir Vysotsky and His Demons." 1977–1980. Source: botcharov.ru
Bocharov has a strict rule: to show his portraits only after the work is finished. Once he painted a portrait of a Swedish princess. The work lasted only four hours and was not ready, but the impressionable princess approached the artist from behind, stared at the canvas, and then fainted - the sketch did not correspond too much to her ideas about her appearance.
"Portrait of King Olaf of Norway". 1989. Source: botcharov.ru
There was also the long-running and rather sensational story of the Versace portrait. When Versace found out how much Bocharov wanted for the portrait, he called him “idiota”. The offended artist decided that he would never sell the portrait and has kept his word ever since, although even Yuri Luzhkov himself got involved in the case when he was mayor of Moscow.
"Unequal Marriage" (from the series "They")1989
One of Bocharov's most famous paintings is "Unequal Marriage." It depicts those who, a few years later, would contribute to the collapse of the Soviet Union. He took this event very hard, and in the 90s he painted "Kremlin Bathhouse," which even in those years was repeatedly tried to be banned, or even destroyed. (For obvious reasons, we cannot present it in the article, but he who seeks will always find)
"Hunters" (from the series "They") 1996. Source: botcharov.ru
"Anatomy Lesson by Dr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin" 1999–2000
Bocharov was summoned to court four times for this painting, but the artist managed to acquit himself when he claimed that he had painted a picture of a Russian bathhouse, where everyone is equal, regardless of any positions and ranks, and there are only naked people. Bocharov was acquitted, but although many journalists were present at the trial, no one ever ventured to write about the trial.
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