Ivan Lavrentyevich Gorokhov (1863-1934) was a Russian itinerant artist who painted pictures of peasant life, characterized by great attention to detail and a very reliable depiction of peasant life, which the artist knew firsthand. He came from a family of former serfs, spent his childhood and youth in the village, so many of his works are simply childhood memories reflected on canvas, usually far from always joyful, as was peasant life in Russia in general.
The rascals. They made mischief.
Vanya loved to draw from an early age, and one day he was really lucky: his works were noticed by a local landowner V.K. von Meck, who showed them to his good friend, pianist Vladimir Rubinstein. He was delighted and said that the boy had real talent and it was not right for him to waste it. Therefore, Meck and Rubinstein gave Vanya money for living in Moscow, where he became an auditor at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture.
Children reading. 1900
Gorokhov spent six years in this status and only after that was he able to become a full-fledged student of this educational institution. Unlike the prim Academy of Arts, the school was considered a simpler institution, and the rules there were more relaxed, without excessive academic strictness. Many people from peasant backgrounds studied there, so Gorokhov did not feel like a second-class person at the school, who with a pig's snout climbed into the Kalashnikov row. However, the teachers there were good, including Illarion Pryanishnikov and Vladimir Makovsky, who could teach a lot.
At the bedside of a recovering woman
Bathing under Kozya Gorka on the Moscow River. 1911
His thesis was the painting "At the Bed of a Convalescent". According to the artist: "I deliberately chose the simplest plot and concentrated more on the setting: napkins, cheap wallpaper, simple photographs in frames, and the ubiquitous cat. Although it is the embodiment of the bourgeoisie, there is a certain coziness and homeliness in it.
Around the world
But to be a successful artist, you have to find clients, make connections and acquaintances, and ideally win the favor of rich and noble patrons. Gorokhov did not know how to do any of this, so he could not even support himself in Moscow after graduating from college. He had to move to his native village in the Moscow province. There he painted pictures, mostly of peasant life, which he showed at various exhibitions in Moscow, hoping that someone would buy them. Thus, most of Gorokhov's paintings ended up in various private collections.
The death of a native nest
Soap bubbles.
In 1897, Gorokhov's native village, including his studio where he painted, was badly damaged by fire. He moved to Mozhaisk, where he found a job as an art teacher at the local art school, and at the same time earned extra money by painting. After the revolution of 1917, he changed his style to socialist realism, but fortunately this change was rather limited, and overall he was in good standing, although he did not knock the stars out of the sky.
However, his pre-revolutionary paintings are much more interesting, painted with love and knowledge of the matter, and not just to please the situation.
In the hut
Blending oils. 1900s.
For example, in the painting "In the Hut" Gorokhov depicted the classic setting of a poor peasant hut. A calf is lying on the floor and hay is scattered, the walls are sooty - it is clear that the hut was heated in a black way: it is warmer, requires less firewood and is cheaper, since the chimney still needs to be laid, and brick is expensive. But in the eyes of a modern viewer, there is obvious unsanitary conditions, to which problems with ventilation are added. A clear embodiment of the old truth that everything is known in comparison.
Girl with kittens
The setting in the painting "Girl with Kittens" is not so severe - it is clear that the family there is more well-off: the stove is heated in white, and it looks more solid. Well, dirt is already a normal thing, the peasants usually simply did not pay attention to it. The girl is dressed very poorly, but peasant children always wore clothes from their elders and walked around the house barefoot, "in their mother's boots."
Buy some berries
"Buying some berries" is a common summer sideline for many peasant children in the Moscow region, when wealthy city dwellers come to their dachas. Well, it's not for noble ladies to wander through the forests, but everyone wants wild berries.
Ice carriers
"Ice carriers" is another episode from pre-revolutionary life. There were no refrigerators, but food had to be stored somehow in the summer. Usually this was done in cellars, where ice, called glaciers, was stored. A lot of ice was needed, and its extraction was a good source of income for peasants in the Moscow region.
Mermaid. 1912
Gorokhov’s paintings are a clear example of pre-revolutionary life, and this is what makes them truly interesting.
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