Born February 15, 1831, Mr.. Voronezh. Family Gay (Gay) comes from France, great-grandfather emigrated to the Gay Russia in the late XVIII century. and settled in Moscow. Father Fe was a landowner, his childhood spent in the village of Ge, 10 years old, was brought to Kiev and placed in 1 of the Kiev school, after which he entered the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of Kyiv first, then St. Petersburg University. In 1850, Mr.. Gay left the University and enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under the direction of P. Basin. At the academy Kye spent seven years and received for the program Achilles mourns Patroclus "in 1855, Mr.. small, but for the program "Saul at Aendorskoy sorceress" in 1857. a gold medal and a trip abroad. In Paris he made a strong impression Salon 1857. the posthumous exhibition of works by Paul Delaroche. In Rome he met with A. Ivanov, and had the opportunity to see his painting "The Appearance of Christ to the people", which did not make him a particularly strong impression. More than he was interested in the works of Michelangelo. He painted portraits, as well as during his stay in the academy, and the sketches: "The Death of Virginia" (1857), "Love Vestal Virgin" (1858) and "The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem" (1858). These latest works Ge was dissatisfied. For some time Kye throws work on historical themes, and writes from life, travels to Naples, where he wrote a lot of sketches with struck him with their natural beauty. In 1860, Mr.. He left Rome and moved to Florence, where trying to write a sketch "Death Lambertatsii" (1860), but soon abandoned this work, it completely unsatisfied. Disappointment Kye-reliance have gone so far that he decided to give up art. "I ended up - he wrote in his memoirs - that he decided to say nothing better than to say anything - words Kn. Bryullov. It is necessary to leave the art, and so I left everything "... Since childhood religious, Ge in such a difficult time for him turned to religion, it became hard to read the Gospel and it found the strength, the newly awakened thirst for creativity. In 1861, Mr.. Ge began to write "Last Supper", and in 1863. brought her to St. Petersburg and exhibited at the autumn exhibition at the Academy of Fine Arts. "The impression from the" Last Supper "in St Petersburg was, so to speak, a thunderous" (In. Stasov). For the "Last Supper" Ge was elevated to the rank of professor, bypassing the rank of Academician. Delighted and satisfied, the Director in early 1864. returned to Florence, wrote many sketches of the Gospels ( "Christ and Mary, the sister of Lazarus," "Brothers of the Savior" and others) and begins a new big picture: "Messengers of the Resurrection". During this stay in Florence Gay familiar and brings with Herzen and wrote in 1867, Mr.. his portrait, the best of all he had written, wrote many other portraits and works a lot with nature. In 1867, Mr.. finishes his painting "The Messengers of the Resurrection" and sends it to the exhibition of the Academy of Fine Arts, but they refused to accept it, and his friends exhibited her art in the club, but the picture does not have any success. The same fate befalls him, and the new product: "Christ in Gethsemane" as in St. Petersburg, and on the international art exhibition in Munich in 1869, where Ge sent her with the "messengers of the Resurrection". In 1870, Mr.. Gay returned to St. Petersburg. The failure of his latest paintings on religious themes forced to quit for a while Kye similar plots, and he again turned to history, this time the Russian, his mother and close. At the first exhibition of the Wanderers in 1871. he exhibited his painting "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexey at Peterhof". The impression from the picture was very strong, it caused a strong debate in the newspapers. Saltykov wrote about the painting: "Anyone who saw these two simple shapes, would confess that he had witnessed one of those stunning dramas, which never erase". The emperor ordered a repetition of the artist painting for himself. Ge at this time revolved among writers and scholars, and made portraits Kostomarov, Turgenev, Saltykov, Nekrasov, Pypin, Serov, Antokolsky, etc.. Kostomarovo. Then he fashioned a bust of Belinsky. In 1874,. Gay put a new picture of Catherine II at the tomb of Mary "and she had no success. In 1875, Mr.. wrote "Pushkin in the village of St. Michael, but this picture does not impress (it was acquired by Nekrasov). In 1875, Mr.. Ge ever left St. Petersburg and moved to the Ukraine, where he bought a small farm. His soul has accomplished a major coup: he has refused for a time altogether from the art and take up issues of religion and morality. In his memoirs he wrote that we must live agriculture labor, that art can serve as a means to life, that they can not be traded. However, it is give it Te can not: he continues to write in his village portraits of neighbors and relatives, after four years is starting a new picture of "Mercy", puts her in 1880, Mr.. in St. Petersburg, but she did not satisfy, and it took off again at the time of Gay Art. In 1882, Mr.. Ge in Moscow, met with LN. Tolstoy and completely fell under his influence. In 1884, Mr.. Gay has written a beautiful portrait LN. Tolstoy, then a new series of paintings on religious subjects: "Out with the Last Supper" (1889), "What is istinaN" (1890), "Judas" (Conscience) (1891), "Sanhedrin" (1892) and, finally, " Crucifixion in several different. At the same time, he painted portraits Likhachev, Kostychev, own, NI. Petrunkevich makes drawings for the novel LN. Tolstoy's What Men Live By "and sculpts a bust LN. Tolstoy. Again, in all the newspapers inflamed the controversy over the recent works of Ge. The picture was "What is istinaN" removed from the exhibition, one of the fans Kye took her across Europe and America, but there is not much of an impression she made. The same fate befell the "Sanhedrin" and in 1894. - And the "Crucifixion", the latest painting went to watch a private apartment, where she was placed after its removal from the exhibition, then took her to London. Kye was pleased with the impression made by his paintings, in which he found himself. He died on his farm June 1, 1894, Mr.. Back in Kiev, before entering the academy Kye heard much about K. Brullov, and although not found him in St. Petersburg, but he saw there his famous "Pump", which he regarded as the ideal of artistic achievement, but related to it by nature was P. Delaroche, have had a tremendous impact both in terms of the content of his paintings, and in technical terms (Ge liked to write their pictures with wax figures, as advised to do Delaroche). His love for Briullov Kye retained until his death, but withdrew completely from his manners. In the last period of his artistic activity Kye sought to achieve any other ideal, the artist, in his words, given the talent in order to wake and discover in a man, that it is expensive, but that is overshadowed by banality of life. The main thing in the picture - the idea, the principal value of Ge gave the plot and the religio-ethical problem, which he wanted to clarify; form has become for him something minor and unnecessary. At one time, under the influence of Tolstoy, he even threw paint and illustrated in pencil "Our Father". His friendship with Tolstoy lit up the entire end of his life, they often corresponded, . share their plans, . Gay constantly consulted with Tolstoy about their work and fully followed the advice of the latter: "The painting tell us simple, . understandable and necessary for people Christianity ",
. By itself, . Kye is convex and bright artistic personality, . especially in his later works, . where dissenting, . very "Russian" attitude toward the preaching of the Gospel as a purely spiritual beauty, . the deliberate shading of external ugliness as Christ Himself, . and all the circumstances of his life,
. These works have a serious and rare qualities, breathing hot sincerity and noble conviction. The same feature of the nobility affected and in the portraits Ge - perhaps the best Russian portraits in the second half of XIX century. His face is not only breathe vitality, but "they have a reflection of the noble souls of their author" (Alexander Benois). After Kye remained notes and lots of letters, where he clarifies his attitude toward art and etched with all of his successive passions. Some of these notes was published in separate articles: "Kyiv the first high school in the forties" (collection, . issued in favor of lack of students of the University of St. Vladimir, . Kiev, . 1895); "Meetings" ( "Northern Herald", . 1894, . Book 4) "Life is a Russian artist of the sixties" ( "Northern Herald", . 1893, . Book 3),
. From the works of Ge in the Tretyakov Gallery are: "The Death of Virginia", . Love Vestal ", . "The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem", . Maria, . Lazarus' sister, . meets Jesus Christ ", . "Messengers of the Resurrection", . "In the Garden of Gethsemane", . Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei ", . "Ekaterina II at the tomb of Mary", . Exit of Christ with his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane ", . "What is truth", . "Judas", . "The court Sanhedrin", . Calvary; portraits: AI,
. Herzen, Dr. Schiff, NI. Kostomarov A.P. Pypin, AA. Potekhin, LN. Tolstoi, NI. Petrunkevich and others, as well as many sketches, sketches, landscapes and charcoal drawings. In the Rumyantsev Museum were: Sketch of the Last Supper, "Christ in Gethsemane" and the bust VG. Belinsky. In the museum of Alexander III: "The Last Supper", "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei," Portraits: YA.P. Merkulova, mother Merkulova, N.A. Nekrasov and M.E. Saltykov. In the Musee du Luxembourg, Paris - "Crucifixion" (1894). - See. V. Stasov, "NN. Ge "(Moscow, 1904); G. Myasoedov, "NN. Ge "(" Artist ", 1894, book 11, 12), and. Repin, NN. Ge and our claims to art "(" Field ", 1899, annex N 15), A. Volyn, "Repin and Ge" ( "Northern Herald", 1895, Book 3), E. Junge, "Memories of NN. Ge "(" Russian Art Archives ", 1894, IV - V);" Album works of NN. Ge ". S. P-va.
Biographies
Portfolio
- 5 works H. N. Ge can be found in the section "Russian Art" on a private page, George Mitrevski (Auburn University, USA).
