An exhibition of one work by S. T. Konyonkov "Portrait of A. Blok"

On November 5, in the Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts (104 Lenin St., the main exposition), an exhibition of one of S. T. Konenkov’s work “Portrait of A. Blok” will begin work.

The exhibition is dedicated to the 145th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Timofeevich Konenkov.

Sergei Timofeevich Konenkov (1874 - 1971) is one of the most famous Russian sculptors of the twentieth century, whose work is difficult to put into any stylistic framework. Over a long life, the master has created a huge number of works that are in many museums in our country.

Sergey Konenkov was born in the village of Karakovichi, Smolensk province (now Smolensk region, Elninsky district) in a family of wealthy peasants. His mother died early when he was only four years old, and his uncle took up his education, who noticed early enough that his nephew was predisposed to the art. Uncle sent Sergei studying in gymnasium. The future sculptor externally passed the final exams and then went to study at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he was enrolled in the sculpture department. Sergey Timofeevich received a small gold medal and a scholarship named after P. Tretyakov for his diploma work “The Stonebaker”, thanks to which he was able to go on a trip to Europe, where he got acquainted with the works of artists of the past and with the works of contemporaries. In France, Konenkov visited the workshop of Auguste Rodin. Acquaintance with the works of the famous sculptor was a significant event in the life of Sergei Timofeevich. He was particularly struck by the expressiveness of Rodin’s works, which Konenkov later tried to convey in his work.

Returning from a trip abroad, Konenkov entered the Academy of Arts in the workshop of V. Beklemishev. Samson’s diploma work at the Academy was very coldly accepted, since most of the teachers from the Academy Council, being adherents of classical traditions, found the sculpture overly expressive. Sergei Timofeevich was saved by the fact that Ilya Repin and Arkhip Kuindzhi stood up for him, who, unlike the Academy Council, recognized the artistic merits of Samson. However, in the light of the revolutionary events of 1905, the Academy teachers decided to destroy Samson, as they considered that work could have a negative impact on students’ moods.

Sergei Timofeevich himself was in Moscow in 1905 and was directly involved in the events of the revolution. This was reflected in his work. He created a number of sculptural portraits dedicated to ordinary working people: "1905 Ivan Churkin, an action-fighter", "Slav", "Peasant".

Konenkov was never limited to specific topics, and worked in various materials. He loved the tree very much and often searched and found images directly in the structure of the trunks. So a whole series of works was created on the theme of Slavic mythology, which is an idol-like image of the elderly, foresters and Slavic gods. Inspired by the art of Ancient Greece, the sculptor created many beautiful female images. During the revolution of the 17th year, he worked on one of his most famous works - the bas-relief “To the Fallen in the Struggle for Peace and the Brotherhood of Peoples”. Among other things, the master performed many sculptural portraits of cultural and art figures: Mayakovsky, Tsiolkovsky, Turgenev, Gorky, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Pushkin and many others, including the portrait of Alexander Blok, which is in the collection of the Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts.

The famous sculptor died in 1971. In 1973, the Konenkov Museum was opened in Smolensk, and in 1974, in Moscow, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary, a memorial workshop was opened on 17 Tverskaya Street, where the master worked since 1947.

The exhibition runs until December 22.