Aleksandr Pavlovich Bubnov | |
|---|---|
 Postage stamp of the USSR on the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo | |
| Born | (1908-03-04)March 4, 1908 |
| Died | June 30, 1964(1964-06-30) (aged 56) |
| Nationality | USSR,Russian |
| Education | Higher Art and Technical Institute, (Vkhutein) |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Russian avant-garde,Socialist realism |
| Awards | Stalin Prize |
Aleksandr Pavlovich Bubnov (Russian:Алекса́ндр Па́влович Бу́бнов) (1908–1964) was a noted Soviet painter, best known for the portraits ofStalin and for a monumental canvas, "Morning on the Kulikovo Field". He was awarded theStalin Prize in 1948, and became a corresponding member of the SovietAcademy of Arts in 1954.
Aleksandr Pavlovich Bubnov was born on 4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1908 inTbilisi (modernGeorgia) in the family of a serviceman. When the service was over, the family returned to the Saratov Province, in the town ofAtkarsk. With the beginning of theFirst World War in 1914, the father was again called up for service, and the mother and the boy lived for three years in the village of Bubnovka with his grandfather. His father came back sick and the family again moved to Atkarsk, where the boy began to study at a school. In parallel with his studies in a regular school, he went to an art studio for a while, but it was soon closed due to theRussian Civil War. The young boy loved to draw and made sketches from life with pencil and charcoal. Fedorov, his teacher at an art studio, taught not only to draw, but also history and local history. His students participated in archaeological excavations near Atkarsk, where Bubnov also made sketches. In the group photo of graduates in 1926, he was taken with a pencil and an album for sketches. In 1926 or 1927 he moved to Moscow and entered the Higher Art and Technical Institute, (Vkhutein) whereKonstantin Istomin was his teacher.[1][2][3] In 1930Vkhutein was split up into six smaller trade-oriented schools and its heritage began to be described by the derogatory (and dangerous) word "formalistic".[4] Bubnov was also criticized for his style and did not turn toSocialist realism until the middle nineteen-thirties.[5]
In 1929, Bubnov joined the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (AKhRR) and began to participate in its exhibitions but in 1930 he was sent toKuznetsktstroy inSiberia as a junior architect, and his painting work was interrupted. In 1932 he returned to Moscow. According to his memoirs, "The first workKilled in Battle was presented at the exhibition '15 years of the Red Army', the second,Whites in the Town, at the exhibition of young artists in 1934." In 1936, he painted theOktyabriny (Octobering), showing the newly-invented secular Soviet naming rite intended to replacebaptism (Krestiny in Russian). This painting was presented at the exhibitionThe Industry of Socialism.[6] In the paintingYablochko (1938), which depicts afamous dance, Bubnov tried to draw from life, though not completely.[7][8] He took part in the creation of a huge panel of"Well Known People of the U.S.S.R." for the1939 New York World's Fair. In the same year he painted the pictureComrade Stalin Among Collective Farmers.[5]
After the beginning of theGreat Patriotic War (Second World War), he drewpropaganda posters, painted pictures on military subjects, such asDying, but did not Surrender,To the Combat Position,Borodino Field in 1942. He also wrote a portrait ofAlexander Matrosov. In 1943-1947 he produced his most famous workMorning on the Kulikovo Field, dedicated to theepic battle of the 14th century, and in 1948 was awarded the Stalin Prize for it.[9][7]
After the war, Bubnov painted landscapes, genre scenes and pictures on mythological and historical themes; in particular, he created illustrations forPushkin's balladSong of the Wise Oleg. In 1954 he became a corresponding member of theUSSR Academy of Arts, and was awarded the titleHonored Artist of the RSFSR. In the last years of his life he painted illustrations for the books ofGogol andTaras Shevchenko. His triptychPugachev. Popular uprising remained unfinished. He died on 30 June 1964 and was buried at theNovodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.[2][7]
