Picturesque century. Art of the Osipov-Fedorov dynasty

“The work of each artist of the Osipov-Fedorov dynasty is of independent value, but it makes sense to talk about the work of the dynasty, because we are talking not just about the sum of talents, but about a new artistic formation that has a special spiritual, historical and artistic value.” Plekhanova I. “Man and Career”, 1999, August.

The Russian Academy of Arts continues to introduce the capital’s audience to the art of representatives of famous artistic dynasties. Exhibition and scientific-educational project “Pictorial Age. The Art of the Osipov-Fedorov Dynasty" is the most complete demonstration of the works of five artists of four generations who worked throughout the twentieth century and continue to work today. The founder of the dynasty is Alexander Efimovich Osipov (1892–1981), the second generation is his daughter Tamara Aleksandrovna Osipova (1924–1989) and her husband Vladislav Georgievich Fedorov (1924–1993), the third is their daughter Maria Vladislavovna Fedorova, the fourth is Maria’s son Daniil Yurievich Fedorov.

The exhibition presents about 130 paintings and graphic works created in the 1910-2020s, reflecting the main periods of creativity and revealing the world of each author. Many things are known from exhibitions and publications, and some of the works are shown for the first time. Unique documents and photographs from the family archive complement the exhibition. A round table “Two centuries in art” is planned. Osipov-Fedorov dynasty" and several author’s excursions, which will be conducted by the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts Maria Fedorova with the participation of her husband, Honored Artist of the RSFSR, actor of the Maly Theater of Russia Yuri Ilyin.

The main themes for the masters of the Osipov-Fedorov dynasty have always been universal human values and motifs familiar to everyone: family and children, declarations of love, a prom on Red Square, a visit to the Tretyakov Gallery, a concert at the Moscow Conservatory, picking apples and grapes, portraits of contemporaries and their everyday life, interiors with characteristic furniture, still lifes of typical objects, bouquets of flowers… The variety of genres is also of interest: portrait, landscape, still life, thematic painting, decorative composition, theatrical sketch. During the Soviet period, the family’s artists created many paintings that were reproduced in the newspapers Pravda and Kultura; magazines “Ogonyok”, “Soviet Woman”, “Smena”, “Moscow”; published in the form of artistic postcards. In the 1950-1960s, they also worked in the field of book illustration, designing books by Agnia Barto, Korney Chukovsky, Zinaida Alexandrova, and other Soviet writers.

According to researchers, the authors represent different directions of realistic art: A. Osipov - academic, T. Osipova and V. Fedorov - impressionistic, characteristic of the Moscow school of painting, M. Fedorova creates decorative graphic compositions and works in the field of spectacular costume, the work of D. Fedorov reflects the polystylism of thinking characteristic of modern art.

Each of the representatives of the dynasty, possessing a bright creative individuality, created their own plastic language, which is clearly readable in the exhibition halls. Alexander Osipov received his art education in St. Petersburg at the Drawing School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (director N.K. Roerich) and the Imperial Academy of Arts from A.V. Makovsky and V.V. Belyaev. The recognized master of portrait and landscape is represented by self-portraits, portraits of his wife (1916 and 1937), son and daughter (both 1948); sketches for the famous painting “Moscow is being built” (1964), landscapes of Moscow and Leningrad.

The brilliant foundation for the creativity of Tamara Osipova and Vladislav Fedorov was their studies at the Moscow Art School and the Moscow State Art Institute. V.I. Surikov, who both graduated in 1950, having defended their diplomas “Nakhimovtsy” and “Firstborn” (supervisor S.V. Gerasimov, reviewer M.V. Alpatov).

The world of Vladislav Fedorov is a powerful sound of the Russian landscape from a hot summer afternoon (“Street in Protasovo”) to the pre-autumn “It’s getting cold.” The painting of the Moscow school is clearly expressed in the programmatic painting “The Herd” (1970s) and the explosive search for color in the sketch for this work. Fedorov is a successor to the traditions of art of the 1920-1930s, his teacher V. V. Pochitalov. On his canvases there are herds, rivers, meadows and “Peaceful Sky”, a symbolic piece in the creative heritage of the painter, a participant in the Great Patriotic War. In the portrait room, the author appears as a family man: “Father and Mother”, “My Father” (1970), “In the Garden. Portrait of a Daughter" (1990). The theme of motherhood is embodied in such genre compositions as “Mother and Daughter” (1958). His masterfully executed watercolors of the 1950s reveal themes of childhood, youth, maturity and continuity of generations.

Tamara Osipova’s world is the sea, figure skating and ballet. At the beginning of their creative career, the Osipova and Fedorov spouses worked as marine painters in Palanga, Yalta and Gurzuf, on the Black and Azov Seas. Their 1950s marinas are classic examples of landscape painting. The theme of the ballet, which made Tamara Alexandrovna a famous artist, is represented by “Portrait of a Ballerina” (1969), graphic sheets and sketches made in the rehearsal halls of the Bolshoi Theater in the 1960-1970s, when Yu. Grigorovich staged “Spartacus”, “Ivan the Terrible”, “The Legend of Love”, and G. Ulanova was a teacher-tutor for E. Maksimova and V. Vasiliev. Viewers will see drawings and watercolors from the “Rehearsal” series, sketches and reproductions of paintings by the master “Galina Ulanova. Rehearsal”, “The Nutcracker”, “Last rehearsals of “Swan Lake”. The hall dedicated to ballet and figure skating is filled with movement, light and air.

Maria Fedorova created an individual artistic style based on the reinterpretation of Russian folk art and the painting lessons of her mentor V.V. Favorskaya. Maria Vladislavovna continues the traditions of theatrical and decorative art of the beginning of the last century. A graduate of the Faculty of Applied Arts of the Moscow Textile Institute (1974), she began her career as an artist at the All-Union Fashion House on Kuznetsky Most, so among her works in the 1970s are collages and costumes from the collections of ODMO. Sketches of costumes from the 1980s to 2020s for theatrical productions, programs of the State Dance Ensemble of Russia, the Russian Song ensemble and other artistic groups create in her hall a special world of holiday, fair, and Russian tradition. The theme is supported by sheets from the author’s easel series - “Fairytale Animals”, “Buffoons”, “Cities”. Nearby you can see the triptych “Winds of the Thirties” and recent works: graphic compositions of the decor of theatrical costumes for the play “The Laughter of the Lobster” by J. Marell (2021).

Daniil Fedorov, a graduate of the art and graphic department of Moscow State Pedagogical University (2001), through an extensive portrait gallery reveals a unique image of modern society. The artist also works in the field of retrospective portraits. The exhibition features his paintings from the series “Russian Writers and Poets”, “World Cinema”, “Moscow Vacations”, “Summer Perspective”, as well as portraits and self-portraits. The artist’s works are active, expressive, and dynamic. The painter has also made a name for himself in the landscape genre; since the 2000s, he has been painting his hometown. Its capital is strong, confident, spectacular - with blue skies, high-rise buildings, parks and avenues. At the exhibition you can see a series of paintings from the 2020s - “Flowers of Moscow” and “Cheryomushki-Znamenskoye Estate”. His still life “Grandfather’s Palette” (2001) became a landmark work and a tribute to family tradition.

The works of the masters are kept in the State Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the State Central Theater Museum. A. A. Bakhrushin, the Bolshoi Theater Museum, many art museums in Russia, galleries and private collections around the world. Representatives of the dynasty took part in the largest exhibitions of the Soviet period, and in the new millennium the works of Daniil Fedorov and Maria Fedorova are exhibited in Moscow and abroad. Since 1994, they have been implementing the “Picturesque Century” project. The family’s collection of paintings and graphics was shown at exhibition venues in Moscow, Washington (2002, Russian Cultural Center of the Russian Embassy) and Paris (2015, Russian Cultural Center and Russian Embassy). As part of the activities of the Russian Academy of Arts, research work is carried out, books are published, and articles on the art of the dynasty are published. In 1995, the premiere of the film “Birds of Memory and Hope” took place on the “Culture” TV channel. And in the academic halls the film “The Path in Art of the Osipov-Fedorov Creative Dynasty”, created in 2022 by the Information Directorate (press service) of the Russian Academy of Arts (authors: Elena Klembo, Artem Bokhonov and Avtandil Chachanidze), will be shown.

The project “Pictorial Age” by Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts M. Fedorova, honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts D. Fedorov, V. Fedorov (1924-1993), T. Osipova (1924-1989) and A. Osipov (1892-1981) demonstrates the importance of the family collection. The art of masters of the Osipov-Fedorov family, as part of Russian art of the 20th – early 21st centuries, remains alive, developing and modern.

Curators of the exhibition: N. G. Shepeleva and M. V. Fedorova.