Andrey Gorsky. The Transient and the Eternal

The Russian Academy of Arts presents an exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation and full member of the Russian Academy of Arts Andrei Petrovich Gorsky (1926-2015). This large-scale anniversary project, "Andrei Gorsky: The Transient and the Eternal," will showcase several dozen works from the collections of the ROSIZO State Museum and Exhibition Center, the Museum Association "Moscow Museum," the All-Russian Public Organization "Union of Artists of Russia," private collections, and the artist’s family collection.

A.P. Gorsky is a truly Russian artist, dedicating his life to serving art. His sense of belonging to the national culture, which defines all of his work, was particularly acute during the difficult period of the Great Patriotic War. It was then that the solid foundation of his art, so diverse in subject matter and so unified in content, was laid.

Andrei Petrovich’s youth was marked by harsh times, filled with anxiety about both the fate of each individual soldier and the fate of the entire country. A sensitive young man of intellectual ancestry, the need to embrace patriotism through an appeal to the history of his homeland could not help but arise. A native Muscovite, he was admitted to the Moscow Art School in 1939 through a competition, and in 1941, along with the school, he was evacuated to Bashkiria. Rich in history and unique in its beauty, Voskresenskoye, one of the oldest villages in the Urals, played a decisive role in shaping his worldview, influencing the subsequent work of such masters as G.M. Korzhev, V.I. Ivanov, P.P. Ossovsky, A.P. Tkachev, A.A. and S.A. Tutunov, V.F. Stozharov, and many others. Here, large themes and heroic-romantic images, landscapes, portraits and narrative compositions were born, reflecting both the problems of the difficult 1950s and the stylistics of the “severe style”.

It wasn’t until 1952 that A.P. Gorsky graduated from the Surikov Moscow State Art Institute and began his artistic debut by participating in youth exhibitions. His first narrative works were paintings on themes of Russian history, inspired by Mussorgsky’s brilliant opera "Khovanshchina." A single cycle of six works — "The Last Days of the Streltsy Freemen," "Hidden Rus," "Girls of the 17th Century," "From Moscow’s Past," "Dawn in 17th-Century Moscow," and "Marfa’s Fortune-Telling" — were created by the artist in the 1950s.

National history, native nature, and the Soviet people who defended the right to life for future generations — this is the unifying theme of the artist’s work, albeit in its diversity. Andrei Gorsky is an unmistakably lyrical character, and this personal quality, combined with the enormity of the problems that fascinated him, defined the specific nature of his work. In 1957, having signed a contract for the painting "Returned to the Homeland," the artist traveled to the Middle Volga region to paint sketches. In the village of Vysokopolye, Gorsky discovered the necessary material to address the theme of the return to his homeland of a missing person, for whom people had given up hope. Military themes were featured in his paintings "Stand to the Death," "Soldier," "Harsh Times. 1941," "Every Inch of Land," and "Victory Day, May 9, 1945." His most striking work related to the Great Patriotic War was the painting "Missing in Action." 1946”, which represented the art of painting of our country with great success at the Biennale in Italy.

• A.P. Gorsky. Missing in Action. 1946. Oil on canvas (fragment). Collection of the artist’s family.
• A.P. Gorsky. Moscow. Dawn. (St. Basil’s Cathedral after the 1938 restoration). 1987-1988. Oil on canvas. 147x182 cm. Collection of the artist’s family.
• A.P. Gorsky. Fine June. 1977. Hardboard, canvas, oil. 80x62 cm. Collection of the All-Russian Society of Artists of Russia.
• A.P. Gorsky. Portrait of Dr. S.A. Mukhin. Collection of the artist’s family.
• A.P. Gorsky. Seryozha is Unwell. 1958. Oil on canvas. 39x50 cm. Federal State Budgetary Cultural Institution of the State Museum and Exhibition Center "ROSIZO"
• A.P. Gorsky. Tatyana Molotkova. 1971. Cardboard, oil. 50x40 cm. Collection of the All-Russian Public Organization "SHR"

Enamored with Moscow and its centuries-old history, the artist drew inspiration from the streets and squares of his hometown. Early works, completed at the age of sixteen, depict the city during the war years ("Pokrovka Street during the May Day Holidays," 1943). The cycles of works "Old Moscow" and "Ancient Rus" and the monumental triptych "Red Square" are devoted to historical themes, cementing the artist’s place as a leader in contemporary historical painting. Over the years, Gorsky returned to the image of St. Basil’s Cathedral. The cathedral’s domes first appear in the study "View of the Kremlin from the Roof of Building No. 9 on Maroseyka" (1944), a work by the very young seventeen-year-old artist. The ancient temple then appears in its original historical setting in the works "Dawn." Moscow of the 17th Century (1951-1952) and From Moscow’s Past (1951), as well as the contemporary capital’s settings – Pokrovsky Cathedral (1959-1960) and Moscow. Dawn. St. Basil’s Cathedral, Restored in 1938 (1988). These majestic canvases captivate the viewer with the spirituality of their images and compel reflection on Russia’s historical paths, its destiny, and its national identity.

He worked extensively and fruitfully in the Moscow region, the Tver region, and the vicinity of I.E. Repin’s Academic Dacha, including on themes from peaceful life: "Among Ripe Grains" (1983), "Morning in the Village" (1986), and others. Beginning in the mid-1980s, he began collecting material for the painting "The Last Inhabitants of the Village of Martus," dedicated to the theme of a deserted village. He created entire series of peasant portraits, "village" still lifes, interiors of ancient churches, and, of course, landscapes of the Russian hinterland so dear to the artist’s heart. All of the master’s work is deeply nationalistic, without grandiose pathos; it expresses the very essence of the Russian character, the spiritual component of the Russian people that has helped them endure the difficult vicissitudes of history. Gorsky the artist is inseparable from Gorsky the historian and theorist of Russian culture, organizer, and public figure. Since 1970, he has been a member of the Central Commission for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments under the Board of the USSR Union of Artists. He was directly involved in the relocation of the Trud newspaper building, the Izvestia editorial office on Pushkin Square, and the TASS building at Nikitsky Gate. He also defended the Granatny Dvor on Shchusev Street, which was slated for demolition, and the 17th-century chambers on Kropotkinskaya Square. Finally, he secured the ensemble of buildings that house the Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin Museum on Novinsky Boulevard.

Yury Pimenov once aptly stated: "Art is born at the intersection of the reality of life with the individuality of the artist. And this intersection is determined by the artist’s time." The birth of an artist’s creative vision is influenced by a wide range of life events — from historical events to personal experiences — and their realization shapes the artist’s personality, gradually creating their unique individuality. Andrei Petrovich Gorsky emerged as a great master, a fascinating figure at the intersection of the most pressing issues of our century. He emerged as a man who believed in his ideals and acted to bring them to life.

Press service of the Russian Academy of Arts based on articles by People’s Artists of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts B.M. Nemensky and Full Member of the Russian Academy of Arts A.P. Gorsky.