From the "Leningrad Chronicle" by Alexei Pakhomov. From the "Leningrad Chronicle" by Alexey Pakhomov Artist Alexey Fedorovich Pakhomov and his paintings

pencil drawing

Alexey Fedorovich Pakhomov(-) - Soviet graphic artist and painter. People's Artist of the USSR (). Full member of the USSR Academy of Arts (). Laureates of the USSR State Prize ( - posthumously) and the Stalin Prize of the second degree ().

Study period

A.F. Pakhomov was born on September 19 (October 2), 1900 in the village of Varlamovo (now Vologda region). From an early age he showed a talent for drawing. With the active assistance of representatives of the local nobility (the son and father of the Zubovs), he was sent first to the Primary School in the city of Kadnikov, and then in 1915 to Petrograd to the Baron Stieglitz Drawing School. At the school, Pakhomov ends up in the workshop of N.A. Tyrsa, and after serving in the army he moves to the workshop of V.V. Lebedev. Numerous avant-garde movements that dominated the first quarter of the 20th century had a noticeable influence on teachers and, accordingly, the education system at the school. According to the memoirs of Pakhomov himself, Tyrsa often argued that Pakhomov was in captivity of the past, in captivity of old, routine artistic concepts. The atmosphere that reigned in the school is evidenced by the slogans printed in large letters across the entire width of the page in the newspaper “Art of the Commune”: “We are beautiful in our constant betrayal of our past”, “To destroy is to create, for by destroying we overcome our past”, “The proletarian is the creator of the future, not the heir of the past.” Having consistently gone through the passions of modern trends, Pakhomov nevertheless made numerous sketches from life. Pakhomov himself did not value pencil sketches, considering them auxiliary material for future works, but his teachers Tyrsa and Lebedev convinced Pakhomov that these sketches were independent works. For Pakhomov, this played a significant role in the formation of his own artistic language.

Painting and book graphics

At the end of the 1920s. A. F. Pakhomov began working in book graphics with his teacher V. V. Lebedev, who became the art editor of the Children's Literature publishing house, and attracted a number of talented young painters to it. As a master, Lebedev brought a lot of his own to the works of his students, sometimes independently reworking their drawings. In 1936, with the spread of offset printing, Pakhomov managed to persuade Lebedev to try to make an offset printing plate with pencil drawings. As a result, the book “School Comrades” by Marshak with illustrations by Pakhomov was published. After this, Pakhomov began to illustrate books mainly in his favorite pencil style. At this time, he also collaborated in the children's magazines "Chizh" and "Hedgehog". During his time working with Lebedev, Pakhomov developed his own, recognizable handwriting during these years, distinguishing dozens of books he illustrated. A. F. Pakhomov occupies one of the leading places among children's artists book graphics Leningrad 1920-1940s.

In the 1920s, he was a member of the Leningrad art association “Circle of Artists,” which was aesthetically close to the Moscow OST.

As a painter, Pakhomov created many significant works that took their place in the history of Leningrad art of the 20th century. Among them: “The Reaper” (1928, Russian Russian Museum), “Girl in Blue” (1929, Russian Russian Museum), “Archers” (1930, Russian Russian Museum), “Portrait of the shock worker Molodtsova” (1931, Russian Russian Museum).

Historians of Leningrad art note that A.F. Pakhomov belonged to the Leningrad school of landscape painting, whose masters, however, were far from limiting themselves to the landscape genre alone.

“All these masters, who worked a lot not only in graphics, but also in easel painting, called their creative method “pictorial realism,” meaning by this term the art of addressing the real surrounding reality, drawing their themes and images from it... based not only to tradition critical realism 19th century, but widely using the experience and achievements of all new and contemporary artistic culture, both Russian and Western European... One could call “graphic realism” the creative movement that was formed then among the masters of children's illustrated books, working under the leadership of V. V. Lebedev , N. A. Tyrsa and N. F. Lapshina in artistic edition children's department of Gosizdat".

The aesthetics of “graphic realism” consisted not only of the system artistic techniques. It can also be characterized as a real creative movement, due to the existing agreed upon creative principles. It united many artists involved in the process of formation and development of children's books in Leningrad graphics of the 1920-1930s.

Alexey Fedorovich Pakhomov died on April 14, 1973. He was buried in Leningrad at the Bogoslovskoye Cemetery.

Awards and prizes

• Stalin Prize of the second degree (1946) - for the series of lithographs “Leningrad in the days of the siege” (1942-1944)
• USSR State Prize (1973 - posthumously) - for the design and illustrations for the collection of stories by L. N. Tolstoy “Filipok. Pages from the ABC

Notes

Sources

• Fine art of Leningrad. Exhibition catalogue.- L: Artist of the RSFSR, 1976. - p.26.

Links

• Alexey Fedorovich Pakhomov on the website of S. Ya. Marshak “Unfinished page”
• All Pakhomov on the website of the Vologda Regional Universal Scientific Library

Categories:

• Personalities in alphabetical order
• Born on October 2
• Born in 1900
• Born in the Vologda province
• Deaths on April 14
• Died in 1973
• Died in St. Petersburg
• Laureates Stalin Prize
• USSR State Prize Laureates
• People's Artists of the USSR
• Artists by alphabet
• Siege of Leningrad
• Artists of the USSR
• Russian artists of the 20th century
• Artists of St. Petersburg
• Members of the Circle of Artists society
• Graduates of the V. I. Mukhina Leningrad Higher Art Pedagogical University
• Socialist realist artists of the USSR
• Socialist Realist Artists of Russia
• Illustrators of the USSR
• Illustrators of Russia
• Members of the Union of Artists of the USSR
• USSR charts
• Russian charts
• Full members of the USSR Academy of Arts
• Buried at the Bogoslovskoe cemetery

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See what “Pakhomov, Alexey Fedorovich” is in other dictionaries:

Pakhomov Alexey Fedorovich- (1900 1973), Soviet graphic artist. People's Artist of the USSR (1971), full member of the USSR Academy of Arts (1964). He studied at TSUTR (1915-17 and 1921) with V.V. Lebedev and N.A. Tyrsa, then at the Leningrad Vkhutein (1922-25). He taught at IZHSA (since 1948). Author… … Art encyclopedia

Pakhomov Alexey Fedorovich- (19001973), graphic, folk artist USSR (1971), full member of the USSR Academy of Arts (1964). Studied at TSUTR (191517), Academy of Arts (192025). He taught at the IZhSA named after I. E. Repin (194873, from 1949 professor). Worked in Petrograd... ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"

Pakhomov Alexey Fedorovich- (1900 1973), graphic artist, People's Artist of the USSR (1971), full member of the USSR Academy of Arts (1964). Studied at TSUTR (1915 17), Academy of Arts (1920 25). He taught at the IZhSA named after I. E. Repin (1948 73, professor since 1949). Worked in the Petrograd "Windows of ROST" (1919).... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

Alexey Fedorovich Pakhomov is one of the outstanding masters of Soviet art. For half a century creative activity he contributed a lot of new and bright things to the development of graphics and painting. His works have attracted attention at domestic and foreign exhibitions since the 1920s. A number of his works were acquired in our major museums, as well as in the collections of Italy, Denmark, USA and Japan. The books that the artist illustrated are widely known. Readers are familiar with many of his drawings from a young age. And this is not surprising, because A. Pakhomov is one of the founders of Soviet illustrated literature for children and youth. Huge artistic heritage this master does not fit into one area of ​​book graphics. Alexey Pakhomov is the author of monumental paintings, bright paintings, easel graphics: drawings, watercolors, numerous prints, among which an important place is occupied by the sheets of the series “Leningrad in the days of the siege and war”, stunning in drama and life truth. The beginning of Alexey Pakhomov’s artistic path is connected with painting. The events of war and revolution interrupted his studies at the Stieglitz School. Studying in Petrograd at VKHUTEIN gave way to service in the Red Army. Upon returning, A. Pakhomov continued his studies and became interested in a new idea - “art into production.” In the early 20s, A. Pakhomov painted the “Red Oath” painting for a military barracks. The surviving cardboards and paintings reveal a great vitality of the images, but without everyday earthiness and detail. Another great work of A. Pakhomov was the painting “Haymaking. Help”, written in his native village of Varlamov. There the idea for this canvas arose and was collected preparatory material. Although the transition to collective collective farm labor was then a matter of the future, the event itself (young peasants helping their neighbors), full of the enthusiasm of youth and passion for work, was in some ways already akin to new trends. Very early, A. Pakhomov revealed his own plastic approach, based on careful attitude to the plane. He was attracted by the alternation of volumes and planes that did not transform into illusory space. This problem was most often solved by the artist in single-figure compositions from life, often of a portrait nature. This is “Young Man in a Black Shirt,” written in the mid-20s, distinguished by the subtlety of color relationships. The canvas from the Russian Museum “Working Woman” (1926) belongs to the artist’s works that clearly reveal the deep originality of his style. This painting, a portrait, is based on A. Pakhomov’s inherent combination of smooth and soft volumes of the human body with a more rigid texture of clothing. The young painter managed to capture the type here in monumental form. Soviet woman- hard workers. The depiction of children is an important aspect of A. Pakhomov’s art. Turning to this topic was natural for an artist who highly values ​​plastic arts. The natural and sincere reflection of the child’s feelings in the plasticity of his movements became the subject of the artist’s inquisitive study. In 1930, the artist traveled to the Sower commune in the North Caucasus - one of the largest and most automated collective farms in our country at that time. Dynamic watercolors and the painting “Night Sowing” were painted there, distinguished by an original pictorial solution. Dates back to 1931 interesting series canvases about the people of the collective farm “Red Sword”. Painted from life in the Oryol region, these works very uniquely convey the combination of signs of something new in the village with traditional way of life peasant life. In parallel with this cycle, the painting “Pioneers with an Individual Farmer” (1931) was painted - a work of choral monumental sound, surprisingly Russian in the imagery of the pictorial language. There is no ostentatious optimism in these works; they reflect the everyday life of the Soviet village during the period of its transition to new way. A. Pakhomov was one of the first to understand this important theme in painting. Further steps in its development were made already in the mid-30s. Associated with a number of trips to pioneer camps near Leningrad and Artek, the next group of works, completed in the mid-30s, testifies to A. Pakhomov’s consistent development of the tasks of plastic and plein air. These sketches, united under the title “In the Sun,” depict children and teenagers by the sea on the beach, on vacation. The rich material allowed the artist to successfully solve the complex monumental and decorative design of the panel “Children of the Land of the Soviets” for the Soviet pavilion at the international exhibition in Paris in 1937. In the 30s, Alexey Pakhomov began to devote more time to graphics and books, and by the end of the decade he moved away from oil painting. Work on the book in the Leningrad OGIZ under the direction of V.V. Lebedev, an innovator and reformer in the field of book graphics, became a true school for the young artist. To his best works The drawings belong to R. Kipling’s fairy tale “The Cat Walking by itself.” The artist increasingly performs with black and white illustrations. He is looking for an extremely laconic plastic solution in them, an economical use of line that expresses great art form, which is clearly visible in the drawings for the works “The Quirks and the Cat” (1935), “Schoolmates” (1937), “the story of an unknown hero” (1938). It also happened that A. Pakhomov’s drawings themselves inspired S. Marshak and S. Mikhalkov to create new works. The persuasiveness of the images in the drawing was facilitated by the tireless search for their prototypes in life. It was during this period, when pencil drawings with a clear graphic expression became dominant in his work, that A. Pakhomov turned to the works of classics of Russian literature. “Bezhin Meadow” by I. Turgenev was beautifully illustrated. Even more expressive are the drawings for N. Nekrasov’s poem “Frost, Red Nose.” The poetic feeling with which these illustrations are imbued, and the high skill of drawing, made these works of the artist an outstanding event in Soviet book graphics. During the Great Patriotic War, remaining in besieged Leningrad, A. Pakhomov took his duty as an artist with great responsibility. He created a series of lithographs “Leningrad in the days of war and siege” - for which the artist was awarded the State Prize. Siege sheets by A. Pakhomov are characterized by simplicity and parsimony of expression. There is a lot of white in his prints. These clean places, glowing with the whiteness of paper, are the graphic leitmotif of the snow-covered, hungry city. The images of Leningraders are revealed in the tragedy of the blockade situations. The artist is far from passively copying nature. In these prints, the truth of the fact is generalized and expressed in the figurative language of art, which gives them the right to preserve for humanity the greatness of the feat of the Leningraders. In the 60s, A. Pakhomov, along with lithography, successfully turned to easel works and watercolors. The artist's constant field of activity was book graphics. A deep sense of the nationality of images and high artistic qualities distinguish illustrations for stories from L. Tolstoy’s “ABC” - Pakhomov’s largest work in the 60-70s. These works of the artist are very unique in their techniques and are in tune with his early painting. The artist moved away from the traditional style of black and white pencil drawing that had become for him. He subtly and with great skill introduces color into all the sheets, decoratively organizing the page spreads. What a remarkable achievement modern graphics A. Pakhomov’s drawings for the collection of stories “Filippok” from L. N. Tolstoy’s “ABC” were awarded the USSR State Prize in 1973. And in 1975, the second book of their “ABC” was published - “Three rolls and one bagel” with the latest illustrations made by the master. All these works showed how much higher and wiser the artist’s art had become. The strict and demanding master followed the path of new searches, creatively developing the best traditions art book. From an article by V. Matafanov.

(02.10.1900 – 14.04.1973)

Painter, graphic artist, sculptor, teacher. Full member of the USSR Academy of Arts, People's Artist of the USSR. Illustrator of classical Russian literature, including books for children and youth. Awarded a gold medal for the panel “Day of the Land of the Soviets” in the Soviet pavilion of the international exhibition in Paris (1937). Laureate of USSR State Prizes: 1946 – for the series of lithographs “Leningrad in the days of war and siege”; 1973 (posthumously) - for illustrations and design of the collection of stories by L. N. Tolstoy “Filipok” (1954) and “ABC” (1970–1973).

The Vologda land gave the culture of Russia the twentieth century brightest names, among them - Alexey Fedorovich Pakhomov, full member of the USSR Academy of Arts (1964), People's Artist of the USSR (1971) - painter, graphic artist, sculptor, teacher. Its meaning creative heritage is not limited to the framework of the past century. Having expressed his time, he forever remained in the history of Russian art.

Alexey Pakhomov was born on October 2, 1900 in the village of Varlamovo, Kadnikovsky district, Vologda province in peasant family. He became addicted to drawing early and, fortunately, found support and understanding in his family. Recalling those years, he wrote: “My father was elected headman for a number of years, so there was paper in the house.” First on young artist the teacher noticed rural school, and then the local owner of the estate V. Yu. Zubov. At the Zubov estate Kubin Bor, which was located seven miles from the village of Varlamovo, Pakhomov first picked up illustrated books and became acquainted with reproductions of paintings by famous Russian artists I. E. Repin and V. I. Surikov. The Zubov family of nobles played a decisive role in the fate of the future master. On the initiative of the Zubovs, he was assigned to the public account as a student at an elementary school in Kadnikov, after which, using the money collected by Yu. M. Zubov, he was sent to Petrograd, to the technical drawing school of Baron A. L. Stieglitz. The fellow countrymen did not leave the young artist without support in the future. He survived the famine of 1918 in Kadnikov, where he was invited to the position of teacher at a first and second level school. Despite financial difficulties, he recalled this time with gratitude: “I read all year. A world was opening up before me that I, it turns out, hardly knew.” Native land forever remained the fortress that protected and helped both in life and in creativity.

More than one young generation of our compatriots has been discovering the wisdom and poetry of classical literary works L. N. Tolstoy, I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov, I. A. Bunin, V. V. Mayakovsky, not without the help of bright and talented illustrations by Alexei Pakhomov. The same age as the century, he was a witness and participant in many events and experiments in the art of Russia of the twentieth century. He began his art education at the Baron Stieglitz School of Technical Drawing (1915–1917), and completed it at the Revolutionary Academy of Arts (then VKHUTEMAS, 1922–1925). The future artist’s teachers were both traditionalists and reformers - M. V. Dobuzhinsky, V. I. Shukhaev, S. V. Chekhonin, N. A. Tyrsa. The latter brought him to the editorial office of the children's department of the State Publishing House to V.V. Lebedev, who was at the origins of the creation of a new children's book. At the end of the 1920s. A.F. Pakhomov confidently enters the circle of Leningrad graphic illustrators, acquires his own style, finds his themes and his heroes. Having gone through a passion for the art of Cezanne, then the Cubists, he comes to a creative understanding of the traditions of Russian culture and, in particular, realism. This is where the memories of rural childhood and annual summer trips to his homeland in the Kharovsky district, which the artist did not interrupt throughout his life, helped. Life drawings made from fellow villagers turned into finished compositions telling about the romance of hikes at night, winter children's fun, summer swimming and walks in the forest. The world of children with its joys and sorrows, novelty of discoveries, everyday worries and fantasies came to life under the sensitive pencil of the master. And we, together with its heroes, walked through the snow-covered village, so reminiscent of Varlamovo (“Filippok” by L.N. Tolstoy), listened to the stories of the boys sitting by the night fire (“Bezhin Meadow” by I.S. Turgenev), who held their breath , Alexey himself once listened. Masterfully mastering drawing, Pakhomov brilliantly conveyed the spontaneity of a child’s character, sometimes mischievous and restless, sometimes serious beyond his years. His compositions were always replete with precise and succinct details, the precision of found poses and gestures, and vivid attributes of the time.

Deciding professional tasks, V early period creativity, when he was still enthusiastically engaged in painting and was a member of the “Circle of Artists” association (1926–1932), Pakhomov used a form close to the Russian medieval tradition. Scenes from peasant life- haymaking, mowing - were thought of by him as a ritual action, in the depiction of which he used the techniques of the language of frescoes or icons. But these paintings were also born on the basis of everyday observations and sketches that Pakhomov made constantly, whether he was on vacation in the village, whether he was working in the city or in his workshop. In them, these quick sketches, one can see both the keen eye of the observer and the talent of the storyteller, who knows how to generalize and play out the observed life situation.

The language of Pakhomov the illustrator was formed gradually. At an early stage, his colleagues V.V. Lebedev and N.A. Tyrsa had a noticeable influence on him. The classical “Pakhomovsky” style, based on the traditions of Russian realism, was determined by the mid-1930s, confirming the artist’s fundamental ties with folk culture, which never broke off. Recalling village customs, Pakhomov described how, every Easter, his father decorated the hut with bright “Sytin” popular prints. Similar “exhibitions” appeared in other houses. This was a real holiday for the boy, who could not yet read, but who was enthusiastically looking at these simple moral stories told in graphic language. This is how Pakhomov developed as an illustrator, with a keen understanding of the psychology of a child, a penchant for narrative storytelling, a love of telling detail, and the ability to recreate contemporary and historical situations.

The artist survived the blockade in Leningrad, which became his second home. During this period, not book, but easel graphics was the main area of ​​his creative activity. Here he worked on a series dedicated to a besieged city, then restored after the war. And again, the main characters of his graphic works are young townspeople who, together with adults, survived all the hardships of these harsh days. “We write a lot about the fact that an artist needs to study life,” said one of the leading Leningrad painters, I. A. Serebryany, after the war. – In conditions of war and blockade, we did not “study” life. We lived this life. All hearts beat in unison, and everyone had one thought, one goal - everything for victory!”

Begins in 1948 pedagogical activity A. F. Pakhomov at the Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I. E. Repin (since 1949 - with the rank of professor). Here he headed the department of easel graphics.

Once having found my own in art main topic, A.F. Pakhomov remained faithful to her forever. The high professionalism and spirituality of his work put our fellow countryman on a par with the leading masters who determined the face of the culture of their time.

Literature:

Pakhomov A.F. About my work. – L., 1971.

Pakhomov A.F. About my work in a children's book. – M., 1982.

Pakhomov A.F. 10 books for children. – L., 1986.

Matafonov V.S. Alexey Fedorovich Pakhomov. – M., 1981.

Leningrad easel lithography. 1933–1963. Exhibition catalogue/Author entry. articles by Kozyrev M.N. - L., 1986. - P. 57–59.

Sosnina L.G. Artists of the Kharovsk land (20th century) // Kharovsk. Local history almanac. – Vologda: VSPU, publishing house “Rus”, 2004. – P. 295–297.

Smirnova T.A. “My beloved, dear Varlamovo...” // Kharovsk. Local history almanac. – Vologda, 2004. – pp. 278–294.

L. G. Sosnina

Outstanding Vologda residents: Biographical sketches / Ed. Council "Vologda Encyclopedia". – Vologda: VSPU,
publishing house “Rus”, 2005. – 568 p.

» Pakhomov Alexey Fedorovich

Creativity and biography - Pakhomov Alexey Fedorovich

In the Vologda region, near the city of Kadnikov, on the banks of the Kubena River, the village of Varlamovo is located. There, on September 19 (October 2), 1900, a boy was born to the peasant woman Efimiya Petrovna Pakhomova, who was named Alexei. His father, Fyodor Dmitrievich, came from “appanage” farmers who did not know the horrors of serfdom in the past. This circumstance played an important role in the way of life and the prevailing character traits, and developed the ability to behave simply, calmly, and with dignity. Traits of particular optimism, broad-mindedness, spiritual directness, and responsiveness were also rooted here. Alexey was brought up in a working environment. We didn't live well. As in the entire village, there was not enough of their own bread until spring; they had to buy it. Additional income was required, which was provided by adult family members. One of the brothers was a stonemason. Many fellow villagers worked as carpenters." And yet the early period of life was remembered to young Alexey as the most joyful. After two years of study at a parish school, and then two more years at a zemstvo school in a neighboring village, he was sent “at government expense and for government grub” to a higher primary school in the city of Kadnikov. The time spent studying there remained in the memory of A.F. Pakhomov as very difficult and hungry. “Since then, my carefree childhood in father's house“,” he said, “it forever seemed to me the happiest and most poetic time, and this poeticization of childhood later became the main motive in my work.” Alexei's artistic abilities manifested themselves early, although where he lived there were no conditions for their development. But even in the absence of teachers, the boy achieved certain results. The neighboring landowner V. Zubov drew attention to his talent and gave Alyosha pencils, paper and reproductions of paintings by Russian artists. Pakhomov's early drawings, which have survived to this day, reveal something that later, being enriched by professional skill, will become characteristic of his work. The little artist was fascinated by the image of a person and, above all, a child. He draws his brothers, sister, and neighbor kids. It is interesting that the rhythm of the lines of these simple pencil portraits echoes the drawings of his mature years.

In 1915, by the time he graduated from the school of the city of Kadnikov, at the suggestion of the district leader of the nobility Yu. Zubov, local art lovers announced a subscription and, with the money collected, sent Pakhomov to Petrograd to the school of A. L. Stieglitz. With the revolution came changes in the life of Alexei Pakhomov. Under the influence of new teachers who appeared at the school - N. A. Tyrsa, M. V. Dobuzhinsky, S. V. Chekhonin, V. I. Shukhaev - he strives to better understand the tasks of art. A short study under the guidance of the great master of drawing Shukhaev gave him a lot of valuable things. These classes laid the foundation for understanding the structure of the human body. He strived for a deep study of anatomy. Pakhomov was convinced of the need not to copy the surroundings, but to meaningfully depict them. While drawing, he got used to not being dependent on light and shadow conditions, but to “illuminate” nature with his eye, leaving close parts of the volume light and darkening those that are more distant. “It’s true,” the artist noted, “I did not become a true believer of Shukhaev, that is, I did not paint with sanguine, smearing it with an eraser so that the human body looked impressive.” The lessons of the most prominent artists of the book - Dobuzhinsky and Chekhonin - were useful, as Pakhomov admitted. He especially remembered the latter’s advice: to achieve the ability to write fonts on a book cover immediately with a brush, without preparatory outline with a pencil, “like an address on an envelope.” According to the artist, such development of the necessary eye helped later in sketches from life, where he could, starting with some detail, place everything depicted on the sheet.

In 1918, when it became impossible to live in cold and hungry Petrograd without a regular income, Pakhomov left for his homeland, becoming an art teacher at a school in Kadnikov. These months were of great benefit in furthering his education. After lessons in the first and second grade classes, he read voraciously, as long as the lighting allowed and his eyes did not get tired. “I was in an excited state all the time; I was seized by a fever of knowledge. The whole world was opening up before me, which I, it turns out, hardly knew,” Pakhomov recalled about this time. - February and October Revolution I accepted with joy, like most of the people around me, but only now, reading books on sociology, political economy, historical materialism, history, did I begin to truly understand the essence of the events that took place.”

The treasures of science and literature were revealed to the young man; It was quite natural for him to intend to continue his interrupted studies in Petrograd. In a familiar building on Solyanoy Lane, he began studying with N. A. Tyrsa, who was then also the commissar of the former Stieglitz School. “We, Nikolai Andreevich’s students, were very surprised by his costume,” said Pakhomov. - The commissars of those years wore leather caps and jackets with a sword belt and a revolver in a holster, and Tyrsa walked with a cane and a bowler hat. But they listened to his conversations about art with bated breath.” The head of the workshop wittily refuted outdated views on painting, introduced students to the achievements of the impressionists, the experience of post-impressionism, and gently drew attention to the searches that are visible in the works of Van Gogh and especially Cezanne. Tyrsa did not put forward a clear program for the future of art; he demanded spontaneity from those who studied in his workshop: write as you feel. In 1919, Pakhomov was drafted into the Red Army. He became intimately familiar with the previously unfamiliar military environment and truly understood folk character army of the Land of Soviets, which later affected the interpretation of this topic in his work. In the spring of the following year, demobilized after illness, Pakhomov, having arrived in Petrograd, moved from the workshop of N. A. Tyrsa to V. V. Lebedev, deciding to get an idea of ​​​​the principles of cubism, which were reflected in a number of works by Lebedev and his students. Little of Pakhomov’s work completed at this time has survived. Such, for example, is “Still Life” (1921), distinguished by a subtle sense of texture. It reveals the desire, learned from Lebedev, to achieve “doneness” in works, to look not for superficial completeness, but for constructive pictorial organization of the canvas, not forgetting the plastic qualities of what is depicted.

The idea of ​​a new great job Pakhomov’s painting “Haymaking” originated in his native village of Varlamov. There the material for it was collected. The artist depicted not an ordinary everyday scene of mowing, but the help of young peasants to their neighbors. Although the transition to collective, collective farm labor was then a matter of the future, the event itself, showing the enthusiasm of youth and passion for work, was in some ways already akin to new trends. Sketches and sketches of figures of mowers, fragments of the landscape: grass, bushes, stubble indicate amazing consistency and seriousness artistic design, where bold textural searches are combined with the solution of plastic problems. Pakhomov’s ability to capture the rhythm of movements contributed to the dynamism of the composition. The artist worked on this painting for several years and completed many preparatory works. In a number of them he developed plots close to or accompanying the main theme.

The drawing “Beating the Scythes” (1924) shows two young peasants at work. They were sketched by Pakhomov from life. Then he went over this sheet with a brush, generalizing what was depicted without observing his models. Good plastic qualities, combined with the transmission of strong movement and the general picturesqueness of the use of ink, are visible in more early work 1923 “Two mowers”. Despite the deep truthfulness, and one might say, the severity of the drawing, here the artist was interested in the alternation of plane and volume. The sheet makes clever use of ink washes. The landscape surroundings are hinted at. The texture of mowed and standing grass is noticeable, which adds rhythmic variety to the design.

Among the considerable number of developments in the color of the “Haymaking” plot, one should mention the watercolor “Mower in a Pink Shirt.” In it, in addition to painterly washes with a brush, scratching was used on the wet paint layer, which gave a special sharpness to the image and was introduced into the picture in another technique (in oil painting). The large sheet “Haymaking”, painted in watercolor, is colorful. In it, the scene seems to be seen from a high point of view. This made it possible to show all the figures of the mowers walking in a row and to achieve a special dynamics in the transmission of their movements, which is facilitated by the arrangement of the figures diagonally. Having appreciated this technique, the artist constructed the picture in this way, and then did not forget it in the future. Pakhomov achieved a picturesque overall palette and conveyed the impression of morning haze, permeated sunlight. The same theme is dealt with differently in the oil painting “At the Mow,” depicting mowers at work and a horse grazing on the side near a cart. The landscape here is different than in the other sketches, variants and in the painting itself. Instead of a field, there is the bank of a fast river, which is emphasized by the currents and a boat with a rower. The color of the landscape is expressive, built on various cold green tones, only warmer shades are introduced in the foreground. A certain decorative quality was found in the combination of figures with the surroundings, which enhanced the overall color tone.

One of Pakhomov’s paintings on sports themes in the 20s is “Boys on Skates.” The artist built the composition on the image of the longest moment of movement and therefore the most fruitful, giving an idea of ​​​​what has passed and what will happen. Another figure in the distance is shown in contrast, introducing rhythmic variety and completing the compositional idea. In this picture, along with his interest in sports, one can see Pakhomov’s appeal to the most important topic for his work - the lives of children. Previously, this trend was reflected in the artist’s graphics. Beginning in the mid-20s, Pakhomov’s deep understanding and creation of images of children of the Land of the Soviets was Pakhomov’s outstanding contribution to art. Studying large pictorial and plastic problems, the artist solved them in works on this new important topic. At the exhibition in 1927, the painting “Peasant Girl” was shown, which, although its purpose had something in common with the portraits discussed above, was also of independent interest. The artist's attention focused on the image of the girl's head and hands, painted with great plastic feeling. The type of young face is captured in an original way. Close to this painting in terms of immediacy of sensation is “Girl with Her Hair,” exhibited for the first time in 1929. It differed from the bust-length image of 1927 in a new, more expanded composition, including almost the entire full-length figure, conveyed in a more complex movement. The artist showed a relaxed pose of a girl, straightening her hair and looking into a small mirror lying on her knee. The sonorous combinations of a golden face and hands, a blue dress and a red bench, a scarlet jacket and the ocher-greenish log walls of the hut contribute to the emotionality of the image. Pakhomov subtly captured the innocent expression baby face, touching pose. Vivid, unusual images stopped the audience. Both works were part of foreign exhibitions of Soviet art.

The works of A.F. Pakhomov are distinguished by their monumental solutions. In early Soviet mural painting, the artist’s works are among the most striking and interesting. In the “Red Oath” cardboards, paintings and sketches of “Round Dance of Children of All Nations”, paintings about reapers, as well as in general the best creatures Pakhomov’s painting, there is a tangible connection with the great traditions of the ancient national heritage, included in the treasury of world art. The coloristic and figurative side of his paintings, paintings, portraits, as well as easel and book graphics is deeply original. The brilliant successes of plein air painting are demonstrated by the series “In the Sun” - a kind of hymn to the youth of the Land of the Soviets. Here, in his depiction of the naked body, the artist acted as one of the great masters who contributed to the development of this genre in Soviet painting. Pakhomov’s color searches were combined with the solution of serious plastic problems. It must be said that in the person of A.F. Pakhomov, art had one of the largest draftsmen of our time. The master masterfully mastered various materials. Works in ink and watercolor, pen and brush were adjacent to brilliant drawings graphite pencil. His achievements go beyond the scope of domestic art and become one of the outstanding creations of world graphics. Examples of this are not difficult to find in a series of drawings made at home in the 1920s, and among sheets made during trips around the country in the next decade, and in series about pioneer camps. A.F. Pakhomov’s contribution to graphics is enormous. His easel and book works, dedicated to children, are among the outstanding achievements in this field. One of the founders of Soviet illustrated literature, he introduced into it a deep and individualized image of the child. His drawings captivated readers with their vitality and expressiveness. Without teaching, the artist conveyed his thoughts vividly and clearly to children and awakened their feelings. A important topics education and school life! None of the artists solved them as deeply and truthfully as Pakhomov. For the first time, he illustrated the poems of V.V. Mayakovsky in such a figurative and realistic manner. Artistic discovery became his drawings for the works of L.N. Tolstoy for children. The graphic material examined clearly showed that the work of Pakhomov, an illustrator of modern and classical literature, it is inappropriate to limit it only to the field of children's books. The artist’s excellent drawings for the works of Pushkin, Nekrasov, Zoshchenko testify to the great successes of Russian graphics of the 30s. His works contributed to the establishment of the method of socialist realism.

The art of A. F. Pakhomov is distinguished by citizenship, modernity, and relevance. During the period of the most difficult trials of the Leningrad blockade, the artist did not interrupt his activities. Together with the masters of art of the city on the Neva, he, as once in his youth in civil war, worked on assignments from the front. Pakhomov’s series of lithographs “Leningrad in the Days of the Siege,” one of the most significant creations of art during the war years, reveals the unparalleled valor and courage of the Soviet people. The author of hundreds of lithographs, A.F. Pakhomov should be named among those enthusiastic artists who contributed to the development and spread of this type printed graphics. Possibility of contacting to a wide circle viewers, the mass nature of the address of the circulation print attracted his attention.

His works are characterized by classical clarity and laconicism of visual means. A.F. Pakhomov is deeply original, deeply immersed in reflecting the life of his people, but at the same time absorbing the achievements of world art. The work of Pakhomov, a painter and graphic artist, is a significant contribution to the development of Soviet artistic culture.

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A. F. Pakhomov born September 19 (October 2), 1900 in the village of Varlamovo (now Vologda region). From an early age he showed a talent for drawing. With the active assistance of representatives of the local nobility (the son and father of the Zubovs), he was sent first to the Primary School in the city of Kadnikov, and then in 1915 to Petrograd to the Baron Stieglitz Drawing School.

At the school, Pakhomov ends up in the workshop of N.A. Tyrsa, and after serving in the army he moves to the workshop of V.V. Lebedev. Numerous avant-garde movements that dominated the first quarter of the 20th century had a noticeable influence on teachers and, accordingly, the education system at the school. According to the memoirs of Pakhomov himself, Tyrsa often argued that Pakhomov was in captivity of the past, in captivity of old, routine artistic concepts. The atmosphere that reigned in the school is evidenced by the slogans printed in large letters across the entire width of the page in the newspaper “Art of the Commune”: “We are beautiful in our constant betrayal of our past”, “To destroy is to create, for by destroying we overcome our past”, “The proletarian is the creator of the future, not the heir of the past.”

Having consistently gone through passions for modern trends, Pakhomov nevertheless retained his commitment to realistic art. This was especially evident in his pencil sketches, which Pakhomov himself did not value, considering them auxiliary material for future works. However, his teachers Tyrsa and Lebedev, despite their critical attitude towards traditional art, convinced Pakhomov that these sketches were independent works. For Pakhomov, this played a significant role in the formation of his own artistic language.

In the 1920s, he was a member of the Leningrad art association “Circle of Artists,” which was aesthetically close to the Moscow OST.

In 1936, with the spread of offset printing, Pakhomov managed to persuade publishers to try making offset printing plates from pencil drawings. As a result, the book “School Comrades” by Marshak with illustrations by Pakhomov was published. After this, Pakhomov began to illustrate books mainly in his favorite pencil style.

Pakhomov survived the war in besieged Leningrad. The result was a dramatic series of lithographs “Leningrad in the days of the siege” (1942-1944).

Since 1942, he taught at the LIZHSA named after I.E. Repin (since 1949 - with the rank of professor). Collaborated in children's magazines "Chizh", "Hedgehog", "Koster".

By the early 1960s, having achieved high degrees of official recognition, Pakhomov, however, felt the need to update his figurative language. The impetus for this was the anniversary personal exhibition held at the State Russian Museum in 1961, at which Pakhomov’s early color illustrations aroused great interest. After this, he decides to use color again in illustration and returns to some of his own techniques developed in the 20s. As a result, books with color illustrations are published - “Lipunushka” by L. N. Tolstoy (colored pencil), “Grandmother, Granddaughter and Chicken” (watercolor) and others.

There are known paintings and graphic portraits of A. F. Pakhomov, executed in different years by Leningrad artists, including Pen Varlen (1963).

Alexey Fedorovich Pakhomov died on April 14, 1973. He was buried in Leningrad at the Bogoslovskoye cemetery.

“After the publication in 1927 of the first joint book by S.Ya. Marshak and A.F. Pakhomov, Marshak writes prophetic words to the artist: “Our Maslenitsa is not over yet and we will have [...] other pancakes.” And so it happened. In the 1930s, “The Craftsman,” “Loafers and the Cat,” “Schoolmates,” “The Story of an Unknown Hero” and other books were published one after another. They have a keen sense of life and time. Each of them carries the joy of squeaking in this new area art born at that time in Leningrad - the art of Soviet books.