Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (lit. Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis), was also known under the name Nikolai Konstantinovich Čiurlionis. Lithuanian composer, artist, writer. The pride of Lithuanian art.
Brief biography of Ciurlionis
Čiurlionis was born on September 10 (22), 1875 in Varena, died on March 28 (April 10), 1911. His father, peasant Konstantin Ciurlionis, knew how to play the organ and worked as an organist in the village church. Mother - Adele (German by nationality).
Soon after the birth of Konstantinas, the family moved to the village of Druskininkai. His first language was Polish. He started learning Lithuanian quite late (six years before his death). The second language was Russian.
At the age of 10, Čiurlionis completed a course at the Druskininkai Public School. In childhood he mastered the organ and from the age of six he replaced his father in services.
Čiurlionis began to study music professionally at the age of 13, on the recommendation of friends he ended up in music school and the Prince Michal Oginski Orchestra. At this school, Oginski used his own money to teach talented children in order to make them musicians for his own orchestra. Čiurlionis learned to play the flute and at the same time tried to write music, which attracted the attention of Oginski. At the latter’s suggestion, Ciurlionis moved to Warsaw and entered the piano class of the Music Institute (the future Warsaw Conservatory). A year later, Čiurlionis changed his specialization and began studying composition. During that period, Čiurlionis composed a cantata for choir and orchestra, a fugue, and a piece for the piano. And I did a lot of self-education. In 1899, having graduated with honors from the institute, he rejected the offer to become director of the Lublin music school. In 1901 he entered the Leipzig Conservatory (where he studied for about a year).
In 1902, Čiurlionis began taking private drawing lessons (from J. Kausik) and devoted a lot of time to painting. In 1904 he entered the School fine arts in Warsaw.
In 1905 he added Lithuanian endings to his name. In the same year he met and in 1909 married Sofia Kimantaitė, who taught Čiurlionis Lithuanian and introduced him to the Lithuanian cultural movement.
The first exhibition of Čiurlionis's works was held in Warsaw in 1905. In 1908, in Vilnius, Ciurlionis led the choir.
Ciurlionis died on April 10, 1911 in a psychiatric clinic near Warsaw after an unsuccessful attempt to escape from there, as a result of which he received pneumonia. He was buried in Vilnius at the Rossa (Rasu) cemetery.
Major works of Čiurlionis
More than fifty piano pieces. Čiurlionis's legacy continues to be published and examined. In 1907, Čiurlionis created the symphonic poem “The Sea,” which is considered the pride of Lithuanian music.
Čiurlionis author of more than 300 paintings, including “Sonata of the Sun”, “Sonata of Spring”, “Sonata of the Sea”, “Sonata of the Stars”, triptych “Fairy Tale”, cycle “Tale of Kings”, cycles “Creation of the World”, “Signs of the Zodiac”, “Spring”, “Winter”, “Zhemayskie crosses”. The works are located in Kaunas art museum them. Ciurlionis. In Druskininkai there is the Čiurlionis Memorial House-Museum (a branch of the museum in Kaunas).
Details Category: Fine arts and architecture of the 20th century Published 11/17/2017 19:21 Views: 1062“His brilliant, unique creativity revealed to the world a new spiritual continent” (Romain Rolland about Čiurlionis).
Čiurlionis’s work cannot be characterized in relation to any particular style or direction - he stands apart from well-known trends in painting. Perhaps his work is closer to symbolism or abstractionism, but at the same time it is close to music. B. Leman believed that “he (Ciurlionis) saw too clearly and knew too much.” And the creativity of a person so generously gifted with the talent to penetrate deeply into the very essence of everything that surrounded him is truly difficult to understand. But we will try to at least touch the world in which he lived and created.
Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1875-1911)
IN real world he was born in Orany, in the south of Lithuania, which at that time was part of Russian Empire(Warsaw province). Soon after the birth of Konstantinas (as the future artist and composer was called at home), the family moved to the village of Druskininkai. His first language was Polish. He subsequently wrote letters, diaries and literary works in this language.
He started learning Lithuanian quite late (6 years before his death). The second language was Russian.
His father, a peasant descendant, was a musician (organist). The boy developed early symptoms musical abilities, and he was sent to the music school of Prince Mikhail Oginsky. As a child, he mastered the organ and, from the age of six, replaced his father in services.
Then young Ciurlionis studied at the Warsaw Institute of Music (M. Oginski helped him financially), and then at the Leipzig Conservatory.
M.K. Ciurlionis "Flood" (1904)
After the death of Prince Oginski, Ciurlionis was forced to interrupt his studies. Returning to Warsaw, he painted and artistic creativity. By this time he was already the author of the symphonic poem “In the Forest”, which became the first Lithuanian symphonic work. In general, the work of young Ciurlionis was treated with understanding and interest. He soon returned to his homeland, Lithuania, where in 1907 the first exhibition of Lithuanian fine arts, one of the initiators and participants of which was Čiurlionis.
In Vilna, Ciurlionis met an aspiring writer, Sofia Kimantaitė, and married her in 1909.
Ciurlionis with his wife
With the assistance of the artist M. V. Dobuzhinsky, the “Salon” exhibition was held in St. Petersburg in 1908, and Ciurlionis took part in it, who later became a member of the “World of Art” association. But in St. Petersburg he encountered misunderstanding. His like-minded people tried to create national culture based on folklore or painting that is understandable to everyone. Čiurlionis realized that this was not the level that he needed. In addition, he was very financially constrained.
M.K. Ciurlionis "Peace"
His psyche suffered seriously after his great work was not accepted and understood - a curtain for the Ruta society measuring 4x6 m (1909).
Curtain for the Rue stage
Čiurlionis's health began to deteriorate sharply, and in 1911 he died of a cold. He was buried in Vilnius.
Creation
Now let’s talk about Ciurlionis’s other world – the creative one. And everything about it is much more complicated. Čiurlionis was multi-talented. A composer, artist and poet, he could use different creative languages - musical, artistic, poetic...
In his poems he talked about it like this:
Oh, how difficult it is to contain the world!..
How many sounds are heard in it,
how many colors sparkle!
His drafts have not yet been completely sorted out, but have already famous works for piano there are more than 50.
Cycle “Creation of the World” (13 paintings) (1905)
Scene I
Scene II
Scene III
Scene IV
Scene IX
Scene XI
Čiurlionis owns more than 300 paintings, including “Sonata of the Sun”, “Sonata of Spring”, “Sonata of the Sea”, “Sonata of Stars”, triptych “Fairy Tale”, cycle “Tale of Kings”, cycles “Creation of the World”, “Signs of the Zodiac” ", "Spring", "Winter", "Zhemayskie crosses".
Cycle “Zodiac Signs” (12 paintings)
"Aquarius" (1906)
"Taurus" (1906)
"Maiden" (1906)
Čiurlionis created new look art - “visible music”, where musical forms and their pictorial counterpart. This is a series paintings with musical titles: “Sonata of the Sun”, “Sonata of Spring”, “Sonata of the Sea”.
M.K. Čiurlionis “Prelude and Fugue. Angel" (1908)
Prelude- an independent musical work. Previously - preceded by a longer and complex work, hence its name: from lat. prae – before and lat. ludus - game).
Fugue– a piece of music in which there are several voices, each of which repeats (imitates) a given theme.
M.K. Ciurlionis "Fuga" (1908)
This picture just illustrates the smooth transition of the melody from one voice to another (trees and hills alternate).
M.K. Čiurlionis “Final” (1908)
M.K. Čiurlionis “Sonata of Stars. Allegro" (1908)
Allegro(Italian Allegro - fun, cheerful, joyful). Musical term.
M.K. Ciurlionis "Scherzo" (1908)
Scherzo(Italian scherzo lit. “joke”) – part of a symphony, sonata, quartet or independent musical piece at a lively, rapid pace, with a pronounced rhythm.
But here's what's important to know. Many contemporaries of the artist (in a broad sense, the creator) noted his peculiarity: “We all felt that among us there was an extraordinary person, marked not only by outstanding intellect, but also by enormous moral strength.” The only thing that could infuriate him was a request addressed to him to “explain” the content of one or another of his paintings. He was indignant: “...why aren’t they looking. Why don’t they strain their souls! After all, everyone approaches works of art differently and perceives works of art differently.”. This is a very important circumstance that should be taken into account when studying his work. That is, there is no point in interpreting or explaining Čiurlionis’ paintings. Well, if only to explain some general details.
M.K. Ciurlionis "Angel" (1904)
Just look at his paintings. Perhaps then you yourself will hear the splash of waves, and the light sound of flapping mill wings, and the rustling of grasshoppers in the grass, and the sound of drops falling on the water.
The artist’s imagination is limitless, and the image that underlay “visible music”, in general, was not of decisive importance for him. Let it not matter to us either. But the main thing that we must understand in his work is deep reflections on the universe, nature, and man.
L. Ya. Solodovnichenko, who studied the work of this genius artist, wrote: “Mikalojus Konstantinas cannot be perceived as an artist, poet or musician. He is truly a “synthetic” personality. Each image presented by this master is so multi-valued that it appears before the viewer as a whole gallery of images. Only by accepting Čiurlionis as a comprehensive figure can one come closer to understanding his genius. His music is a play of color and poetry. His poems are musical and colorful. His paintings sound like beautiful songs. He was a genius in absolutely everything."
M.K. Ciurlionis “News” (1904)
M.K. Ciurlionis "Fairy Tale" (1907)
Composer - artist
1.Fugue in painting
Dear friend! During this year, you studied pictorial music and musical paintings artists of different eras.
Today I want to introduce you to the music and paintings of a Lithuanian artist and composer
Mikalojus Konstantinos Ciurlionis (1875-1911).
I would like to note that Ciurlionis was a Russian citizen by birth and is closely connected with Russian culture.
Look at the painting "Fuga" by M.K. Čiurlionis.
Ciurlionis's painting "Fuga" is one of those works that allows us to talk about his art as the highest embodiment of the idea of synthesis of art - one of the main ideas of symbolism, i.e. With the help of various symbols we can reveal the truth, understand the depth of a work, both artistic and musical. Why did Čiurlionis call his painting a musical term (concept) - “Fugue”? This is evidenced by the linearly arranged rows of images in the picture. The alternation of identical or similar elements located on several levels resembles melodic movement. Rhythm, harmony from musical definitions, as well as line, color from visual definitions, give accurate ideas about the phenomenon captured on the canvas.
The space of a pictorial “Fugue” can be interpreted as a series of levels that are similar to the recording of a score musical composition- from the upper horizontal to the lowest “voice”; and at the same time - as an image of the transparent waters of a lake, the surface of which is separated from the “sky” by the upper horizontal, and everything below is visible through the water, at the bottom, and partially (the very bottom), maybe on the shore.It can be said that this isabstraction(instead of real images, the use of symbols, signs, graphic lines, figures) , and the echo of the visible world.
Thanks to the pictorial image created by the artist, we see the features of the construction of a certain polyphonic form (fugue) - we see it, it is visible, this helps us understand deep meaning polyphonic (polyphonic) music, the origins of which we find in life itself - in its multidimensionality, polyphony, interweaving of various phenomena, actions, experiences. Soviet composer D. Shostakovich emphasized: “Polyphony can convey everything: the scope of thought, the scope of dreams, creativity.”
The space of the painting is like an echo of the visible world.
Its lines, color, and rhythm resemble the score of a musical work. The pictorial fugue is similar in composition musical fugue, in which a short musical thought (theme-melody) is imitated (repeated with a slight change) in the upper and lower voices, so that when simultaneously sounded in different registers (low, medium or high sound), repetitions of themes, intertwining, converge and diverge again. This is clearly visible in the musical notation of J.-S. Bach's fugue.
Listen to the Prelude (introduction, beginning and fugue - running) by Bach for clavier ( keyboard instrument era 17-18 centuries).
Musical laws are also fancifully reflected in the painting “Fugue”, where, as is often the case with the master, the living, chaotic and yet slightly surreal forest mysteriously responds to the inverted, transparent and musically ordered forest in the heights.
clavichord
From everything that has been said and heard, we can conclude: music and painting, capturing life in all its diversity, harmony (consonance, agreement) and contradictions, reveal a common language of artistic works, which can be expressed as follows: line - shape - color in the picture (in painting) are perceived as the unity of melody - form - mode in music. This helps to understand the way the artist’s plan was realized, who sought with his paintings to evoke in the audience a feeling of sounding music.
2. Task 1.
Listen to J. S. Bach's fugue again and compare it with M. Ciurlionis's painting "Fugue".
While the music is playing, try to follow its repetition main topic in different voices.
Answer the questions:
1. What do they have in common?
2. What features of painting help to understand the principles of theme development in music?
3. Triptych "Fairy Tale" by M. Čiurlionis
A new continent was discovered not on Earth, but in art by the Lithuanian composer and artist M. Čiurlionis. The uniqueness of his work lies in the fact that he sought to make his music picturesque, and with his paintings to evoke in the audience a feeling of sounding music.
The beauty of the world seen by M. Čiurlionis, the originality of his view, are captured in his paintings "The Fairy Tale. The Princess's Journey." This is a triptych.
Look at each of the three paintings. Your imagination will help you see your images. Pay attention to the fact that in a pictorial composition, as in music, there is a three-part form, which is reflected in the contrast of color _gray - orange - gray), in the juxtaposition of various images (a mountain, a circle of the sun - in the first picture; a soaring bird in the boundless space illuminated by the sun, and a child sitting on a high mountain - on the second; the queen against the background of the sky and endless expanse of water, the silver sun and its reflection - on the third).
Let's try to analyze the pictures together.
Undoubtedly, the poetic center of the triptych is the middle picture - a metaphor (hidden comparison) of the fragility of life. A baby and a dandelion are like a call for the protection of all living things. And the bird? Threat or protection?
Can you imagine that a bird protects a fragile baby with its wings? And if the same bird sits near the crowned woman in the third picture (the princess even put her hand on her head). maybe the bird is a messenger, a living connection between a woman and a baby?
Or maybe this child is the princess’s distant childhood and the bird has been her companion since that infancy?
The perception of music and the awareness of the picturesque paintings of Čiurlionis’s works echo each other. Listen to the piano prelude by M. Čiurlionis.
Allegorical, symbolic paintings by Čiurlionis reflect elusive images of dreams, dreams, which are often associated with magical, fairy tales, fantastic visions, musical rhythms. They are far from the everyday depiction of reality, but nevertheless they turn out to be understandable to a simple viewer. The same images can be heard in the music of Ciurlionis, the composer.
Both pictorial and musical images are largely determined folk art. The origin of the pictorial fairy tale is the fairy tale as a genre of folk literary creativity, and the piano preludes are composed on the basis of Lithuanian folk music.
4. Picturesque music of Čiurlionis
Listen to three preludes by M. Čiurlionis.
Prelude in E minor.
The first prelude is based on a three-note song intonation, reminiscent of a simple chant. The lyrical mood of the prelude is complemented by soft, seemingly pulsating rhythms of the accompaniment with a pulsating undertone. Surely you heard the emergence of a new emotional state in the middle of the play (excitement, passion, impetuosity). The third part of the prelude repeats the first, bringing calm and silence.
Answer the question:
Try to determine which part is the climax?
Listen to the second prelude by M. Čiurlionis in F major.
Please note that here the composer uses other development techniques. Arpeggiated (each sound follows one another)
chords in the left hand imitate the soundkanklesa , Lithuanian folk musical instrument (related to the Russian gusli). The melodic line has “broken moves”; two phrases, starting with the same intonation, develop differently, trying to reach an ever greater peak. Colorful (saturated) game of “modal colors” -fret shimmer as a play of color , the flickering of sharp, dissonant combinations of melodies and accompaniment, in general, upward striving with an unchanged harmonic basis create a feeling of some unsteadiness - either internal anxiety, or a dream.
Musical and visual experience thanks tosound palette plays and color scheme the paintings involuntarily echo each other.
Complete the task.
Look at the paintings by M. Ciurlionis “Creation of the World” and “Winter”. Determine which picture these piano preludes are consonant with.
"Creation of the World"
WINTER
5. "Sonata of the Sea" by Ciurlionis - composer and artist.
Sonatas are musical works, usually deep and significant in content. The sonatas have three movements. And M. Čiurlionis has a picturesque sonata - “Sonata of the Sea”. Its three parts, which make up the triptych, have music titles: "Allegro" (soon, quickly - determines the tempo piece of music), "Andante" (slow) and "Finale".
Look at these pictures.
"Allegro"
Three paintings depict different states of the sea elements. The first one shows gently rising and falling waves with a white seagull in the background.
"Andante"
On the second - frozen transparent depth sea waters, maybe with a sunken boat.
"Final"
On the third there are raging waves that are about to swallow fragile ships.
Pay attention to the color scheme of the paintings. Here we see the contrast of different tones of the same color. And composition is three-dimensional space.
In the art of Čiurlionis, the sea - as a theme, image and symbol, as sound and visual material - plays a special role. In his painting, the sea is the organizing principle of space: the sea surface, the sea horizon, the sea depth are associated with many other elements of content. At the same time, the sea carries the meaning of one of Ciurlionis’s worlds, in which life begins and ends.
In the triptych "Sonata of the Sea" this meaning is carried by the second picture - "Andante",
where Čiurlionis gives an image of the seabed. This composition is built from the depths to the sea surface. First of all and most closely, the hand with the boat is perceived - a hand that supports, offers, protects. - a sign of trust and peace. It’s sad - the lyrical nature of the picture, the mood of “light sadness” - memories, dreams, regrets about something beautiful, but gone. either unfulfilled, or drowned in the depths of time of centuries - sea waters. This sadness glows with two lamps burning on the surface of the flat night water. Are they lamps, are they boats, are they the eyes of the night or the sea? The lines of bubbles go from the lamps to the bottom of the picture - it is impossible to get rid of the dual perception of these lines running along the smooth surface of the water surface and at the same time going under the water, to the bottom.
At the bottom is one of the cities built by Ciurlionis. Echoing the light above, in the city buildings, the squares of windows are burning - a detail that “lightens” the sadness of what has sunk into the abyss of water.
In this part of the triptych, what primarily attracts attention is the sophistication, softness and unsteadiness of color.
The overall structure of the composition as a series of wavy horizontal, dark and light pictorial layers suggests the “registers” of a sea organ and its polyphonic sound.
Exercise:
Compare literary description sea, its picturesque and musical image. What thoughts did you have as a result of these works of art?
6. Task 3.
Answer the question:
1. In what familiar works have you already encountered images of the sea?
