Family workshop "Paint Like Vrubel" was held at the National Centre RUSSIA

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On March 16, the National Centre RUSSIA hosted an educational family workshop, "Paint Like Vrubel," dedicated to the life and work of the renowned artist who anticipated the Russian avant-garde of the 20th century. Guests learned interesting facts from Vrubel’s biography, explored his key achievements in painting, sculpture, and design, and tried their hand at creating their own artworks.

The "Paint Like Vrubel" workshop was held ahead of the artist's birthday — he was born on March 17, 1856, in Omsk. At the beginning of the event, Veronika Nikiforova, a postgraduate student at the School of Design of the Higher School of Economics and the author of the project "(Not)Critically: Art, Fashion, Culture," addressed the participants. She spoke about how Vrubel’s work foreshadowed the avant-garde of the 20th century and influenced such prominent artists as Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, and even Pablo Picasso. 

"For me, Mikhail Vrubel and his art are the forerunners of everything we consider the pinnacle of 20th-century art today. He is an artist whom Alexander Blok called a herald of other worlds — he connects our tangible reality with a kind of 'cosmic' dimension. Vrubel never offered simple answers; he invites us to reflect, and that is what makes him so relevant," said Veronika Nikiforova.

The expert paid special attention to the connection between the artist’s biography and his work, the formation of his personality, and his sources of inspiration, with Russian folklore playing a particularly significant role. Guests learned that Mikhail Vrubel worked in nearly all forms and genres of visual art, mastered decorative and applied crafts, sculpture, painted icons and frescoes, created sketches for theatrical costumes and stage sets, and designed architectural ceramics. 

After Veronika Nikiforova’s speech, young workshop participants Svetlana Ivleva and Alexandra Zazykinа recited Yevgeny Baratynsky’s poem "Spring, spring! How pure is the air!..". This was followed by a performance of several musical compositions by the choir of the theological seminary.

The artistic workshop was conducted by Yelizaveta Andriyaka, senior lecturer at the Department of Drawing, Painting, and Fine Arts at the Sergey Andriyaka Academy of Watercolor and Fine Arts. As a reference for the participants, Vrubel’s painting "Rose in a Glass" was chosen.

"In order to simplify the process a little, we chose toned paper: a neutral gray background and colored watercolor pencils will help everyone achieve excellent results. I am sure that everyone will succeed," noted the artist. 

Yelizaveta Andriyaka explained how to correctly position the object in space, demonstrated what makes an image appear three-dimensional, taught how to use color accents, and how to combine warm and cool shades.

"I would like to highlight the organization of the event. It was great that we not only had the chance to draw but also to listen to a concert and a wonderful lecture about Mikhail Vrubel. I consider him a brilliant artist and will definitely keep the painting I created. Before the workshop, we also had time to visit the 'Journey Across Russia' exposition, where we were inspired by the beauty of our country and filled with pride for our homeland," shared Larisa Polyunina, a workshop participant from the Moscow region.

At the end of the event, all interested guests went on a tour of the new exposition "Journey Across Russia" at the National Centre RUSSIA and also visited the architectural exposition "The Birth of Scale."

The "Paint Like Vrubel" workshop is the fifth event in the original series "Masterpieces: The Best of Russia." Previously, guests of the National Centre had the opportunity to explore the works of great artists such as Bryullov, Shishkin, Vasnetsov, and Kandinsky.