The Tretyakov Gallery has an exhibition of icon painter Simon Ushakov

MOSCOW. In early September, the first in the history of the museum monographic exhibition of works was opened at the Tretyakov Gallery Simon Ushakova (1626-1686) - the most famous Russian artist of the XVII century, a reformer, the founder of a new style, which became a model not only for his contemporaries and followers, but spread far beyond Moscow.

The greatest merit of the icon painter is the development of the techniques of "Fryzhsky writing" or "life-like" - a complex system of pictorial techniques, developed under the influence of Western art and allowing you to add volume, texture and color to the image. Of the vast heritage of Simon Ushakov, about 50 icons have been preserved, most of them are presented at the exhibition. In addition to icon painting, the artist played an important role in the creation and development of another art, hitherto unknown in Russia - metal engraving.

Exposition “Simon Ushakov. The Tsar’s Isograph of the 17th Century ”was prepared for almost 30 years with the participation of a large number of specialists. The object of their thorough research was not only preserved works of the artist, but also written sources. Simon Ushakov is the author of the theoretical guide, “The Word to the Liturgical Icon Scripture,” 1667. This is one of the first Russian treatises on iconography. A huge amount of technical and technological research of samples from the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery and other museums allowed experts to study in detail the author’s style of icon painting and highlight specific, unique methods unique to him. Thus, the exhibition and the fundamental 528-page catalog with the research results give the opportunity to the audience to get acquainted with the creative heritage of the famous master in all its diversity.

Due to the large number of genuine documents stored in the archives, the team that was preparing the exhibition was able to trace the career of Simon Ushakov from the denominator (the main artist who performs the composition and preliminary drawing of the work) of the Silver Chamber and the gold-making workshops to one of the leading masters of the Armory Chamber. The surviving documents indicate a wide range of responsibilities that were assigned to icon painters of that time: they not only painted icons and murals for temples, but also developed compositions for tapestries and all other types of applied art, participated in the design of the royal chambers, drew geographical maps and plans and etc. Unlike icon painters who worked in previous centuries, Ushakov and his contemporaries began to sign icons with the names of all the artists involved in their creation. At the end of the XVII century. the signature was perceived as confirmation of the personal responsibility of the master for the quality of work.

The exhibition in the Tretyakov Gallery contains the best works of Simon Ushakov, some of the early icons painted in 1950-60 in a traditional manner. But even in these works you can find the first examples of the use of liveliness, a style that glorified the unique Holy Trinity Church in Nikitniki. Visitors will be able to see the early icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands (1958), the artist’s favorite image, to which he repeatedly returned throughout his life. According to researchers, it is the work on this icon that tells us about the creative search for new pictorial techniques.

Simon Ushakov moved from the icon painting workshop to the Armory of the Kremlin around 1660. Here he continues to develop and improve new painting techniques - multi-layer small strokes, which allow for a smooth transition between the colors of chiaroscuro when modeling faces. Two images for the iconostasis of the church of St. Gregory of Neocaesarea on Bolshaya Polyanka in Moscow became magnificent examples of mature vivacity: the "Christ Almighty" and "Our Lady of Kikk", written in 1668, as well as a small image of the "Holy Savior" for the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, created in 1673. In the late 60s and early 70s of the XVII century, Ushakov began to use linear perspective elements in his works, which are clearly visible on the icon of the “Holy Trinity” in 1671. Nevertheless, introducing new painting techniques into circulation, stretch SRI whole of his career, Simon Ushakov does not forget about the traditions of Russian icon painting, as evidenced not only by numerous icons of "the Savior", but also a copy of the famous icon of the Virgin - Vladimir, Kazan, Don and others. A striking example of his creative search can be considered a unique concept of the “Tree of the Moscow State”.

The exposition dedicated to Simon Ushakov will work in the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery on January 10, 2016.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru