Vasily Sitnikov (1915-1987) is an almost perfect example of a Soviet nonconformist artist. Everything is in line with the canon - lack of artistic education and learning the basics of painting on his own, complete non-recognition and opposition from the Soviet authorities, which eventually ended with the artist's placement in a hospital for the mentally ill, his move abroad and his status as a legendary guru of the Moscow art underground. Many different stories were told about Sitnikov, contributing to his image as a “fool of art”, a real weirdo who lived by his own notions and rules. This attracted people to him, and eventually Sitnikov even managed to create his own unofficial school of painting, where artists painted as they wished, not as they were required to, looking for something new in art, even if it was completely unacceptable in the 1950s and 1960s.
Moscow
Sitnikov was born in a small village near the ancient town of Lebedyanyu. The place was very beautiful, Sitnikov recalled how as a child he admired the churches that stood on a high hill, and their silhouettes were forever etched in his memory and reflected in paintings. The evening chime sounded for miles around, and life seemed easy and joyful. Vasya had loved to paint since childhood, and the main joy for him was the purchase of paints - seven boxes of different colors. He could already paint what he had seen - the flood meadows, the wide Don River and the gold of church domes.
Domes and snow
However, Vasya's father, desperate to make ends meet in his village, as he had very little land, decided to move to Moscow. There he planned to give his children a good education. However, Vasya did not like to study at school, skipped lessons or, without listening to the teacher, drew something. Having somehow finished school, he began to study at the river school, sailed as a captain on a river boat, but this quite decent artwork did not attract him. “I got fed up with stupid people on the river and boats for the rest of my life and realized that I only wanted to be an artist.”
Russian winter
Sitnikov tried to enter the Academy of Arts, but without success, had to work at Mosfilm, drawing many pictures for the first cartoons, and starring in the crowd. He went to art studios, familiarized himself in museums with paintings of old masters, moonlighted, showing transparencies for students of the Art Institute, for which he was awarded the disparaging nickname “Vaska the lantern man”.
Parasha Kultyapkina's driveway
And in 1941, Sitnikov was denounced, the time was harsh, they did not deal with it for a long time and sent him to the prison ward of a psychiatric hospital. Only in 1943 he was transferred to the general, where he could do his favorite painting.
Muscovites
After the war he returned to Moscow, where he finally formed his manner of painting. Its meaning is to paint deep into the canvas, building space in a special way, as if in the center of the painting there is a hole, pulling in all things. In Sitnikov's opinion, the artist should display emotions on the canvas, only they have artistic value, and everything else is just purely mechanical painting. Sitnikov was a true master of artwork with color, although he used a limited number of colors, but thanks to the many overlapping layers of paint created an interesting color palette with unusual transitions.
Heavenly Temple
Preferred to depict monasteries, temples and nude girls, that is, his paintings could not be recognized officially. But they attracted creative people from the Moscow artistic underground, who wanted to learn from him. Sitnikov then resembled a real fool - with a half-crazed look, with a shaggy untrimmed beard, dressed in a torn T-shirt, he could make cruel jokes about the newcomer and insult him, but if he realized that he was serious and really wanted to learn from him, taught him everything he knew.
Self-portrait
In 1975 Sitnikov moved abroad, giving the Museum of Old Russian Art many valuable icons. He died in the United States, where he lived and exhibited his paintings, which did not find recognition in his homeland, were in demand abroad.
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