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