Konstantin Alexeyevich Vasilyev | |
|---|---|
| Константин Алексеевич Васильев | |
| Born | (1942-09-03)September 3, 1942 |
| Died | October 29, 1976(1976-10-29) (aged 34) |
| Education | Kazan Art School |
| Style | Portrait |
| Awards | Musa Jalil Republican Prize |
Konstantin Alexeyevich Vasilyev (Russian:Константи́н Алексе́евич Васи́льев; September 3, 1942 – October 29, 1976) was aRussiansymbolist painter, who left more than 400paintings anddrawings. His range of works includedportraits,landscapes,realisticcompositions,Russian epics,Slavic andTeutonic mythology, andbattle paintings. Vasilyev popularized legendary characters of the Russian folk art, songs and fairy tales:Ilya Muromets,Mikula Selyaninovich,Svyatogor,Dunay Ivanovich [ru],Dobrynya Nikitich,Volga Svyatoslavich and others. HisScandinavian andGermanic saga cycle includes depictions ofOdin,Freyja andvalkyries. Several paintings are devoted to theGreat Patriotic War of the Soviet people. These include "Marshal Zhukov", "Invasion", "The Parade of 1941" and "Nostalgia."
Vasilyev's works are popular among Russian neopaganism. Among the illustrations for the bookDezionization by anti-Semitic authorValery Yemelyanov, one of the founders of Russian neopaganism, there were reproductions of Vasilyev's paintings on the theme of the struggle of Russian heroes with evil forces, in particular, a painting signed in this publication asIlya Muromets defeats the Christian plague.[1][2] Reproductions of Vasilyev's paintings were placed in the Temple of the Veda Perun of the neopagan movement ofYnglism and are presented in theSlavic-Aryan Vedas, expounding the teachings of Ynglism.[2]
Konstantin Vasilyev died on October 29, 1976, in a railway accident nearKazan. His family and friends never believed in the official version of his death and suspected that the painter was murdered.[3] Vasilyev was buried in the village of Vasilyevo, where he lived since 1949. Recognition came posthumously. A documentary "Vasilyev from Vasilyevo"[4] was released in 1978. TheKonstantin Vasilyev Museum opened in Moscow in 1998. Another film about the painter under the title "A man with an eagle-owl. Konstantin Vasilyev" was made in 2002.[5] In 2012 Konstantin Vasilyev Museum in Moscow was renamed the Konstantin Vasilyev Centre of the Slavic Culture. Next year, in 2013, the Konstantin Vasilyev Art Gallery was opened in Kazan.
Vasilyev's oeuvres steadily gained in popularity through the late Soviet and early post-Soviet periods, until they have reached a virtually iconic status among Russian nationalists,neo-pagans, and fantasy geeks.
Theminor planet3930 Vasilev, discovered bySoviet astronomerLyudmila Zhuravlyova in 1982 is named after him.[6]
Media related toKonstantin Vasilyev at Wikimedia Commons
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