Vasili Pukirev

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}} {{Infobox artist | native_name = Василий Пукирев | image = Pukirev-Selfportrait.jpg | image_size = 200px | caption = Self-portrait (1868) | birth_name = Vasili Vladimirovich Pukirev | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1832|12|13}} | birth_place = Tula Governorate, Russia | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1890|06|01|1832|12|13}} | death_place = Moscow, Russia | known_for = Painting | style = | movement = Realism | alma_mater = Moscow School of Painting | education = {{Imperial Academy of Arts|Member|1860}} {{Imperial Academy of Arts|Professor|1863}} | awards = }} thumb|260px|{{center|''The Unequal Marriage'' (1863). The figure on the far right is Pukirev.}} '''Vasili Vladimirovich Pukirev''' (Russian: Василий Владимирович Пукирев; 13 December [<nowiki/>O.S. 1 December] 1832 – 13 June [O.S. 1 June] 1890) was a Russian painter in the Realist style, active in Moscow during Tsars Alexander II and Alexander III's reigns, best known for his genre pictures.

== Biography == He was born to a peasant family and was originally apprenticed to an icon painter in Mogilev. By sheer luck, he was able to enroll at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (MSPSA), where he studied from 1847 to 1858 under the direction of Sergey Zaryanko and Apollon Mokritsky.<ref name="R">[http://www.rusartnet.com/biographies/russian-artists/19th-century/late-19th-century/realist/vasily-pukirev Brief biography] @ RusArtNet.</ref> After 1850, he was certified to serve as an art teacher in the public schools. In 1855 he was awarded the title of "Artist" and, in 1858, became a "Free Artist".{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

In 1860, he became an "Academician" for history and portrait painting. He settled in an apartment near the MSPSA and taught there through 1873.<ref name="A">[http://www.artsait.ru/art/p/pukirev/main.htm Brief biography] @ Russian Painting.</ref> In 1862 and 1864, he was able to travel abroad to "view art galleries" under the sponsorship of the {{ill|Moscow Society of Art Lovers|ru|Московское общество любителей художеств}}. In 1869, he collaborated with Alexei Savrasov to prepare a drawing course for use in the public schools. In addition to his paintings, he created icons and illustrations for the works of Gogol and Turgenev.<ref name="R" />

Four years later, he was forced to give up teaching due to poor health.<ref name="R" /> In 1879, his fellow artists got together to provide him with a modest pension, but he died in poverty and nearly forgotten in 1890.<ref name="A" />

===The Unequal Marriage=== His best known painting is "The Unequal Marriage". Pukirev appears at the far right of the canvas (possibly as best man), giving rise to the story that it represented an episode of lost love in his own life.<ref name="A" /> In 1863, on the basis of this work, he was named an honorary Professor at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. It also spawned a heated debate in the press, with his supporters praising it for presenting a serious theme from modern life,<ref name="A" /> unlike the usual genre scenes, which tended to be nostalgic or sentimental. It is currently on display at the Tretyakov Gallery.

==Works== <gallery mode="packed" heights="160px"> Pukirev-Nest.jpg|Boy with Bird's Nest (1856) The Gambler by Vasiliy Pukirev.jpg|The Gambler (1865) V masterskoj hudozhnika by Vasiliy Pukirev.jpg|In the Artist's Studio (1865) Wassilij Wladimirowitsch Pukirew 001.jpg|Reception of a Dowry in a Merchant Family (1873) В. Пукирев. Прерванное венчание.jpg|Wedding Interrupted (1877) </gallery>

== References == {{reflist}}

== Further reading == * {{cite encyclopedia|last=Sobko|first=Nikolai P.|date=1899|author-link=:ru:Собко, Николай Петрович|title=Пукирев, Василий Владимирович|url=https://viewer.rsl.ru/ru/rsl01003934388?page=250|encyclopedia=Словарь русских художников|volume=3|language=ru|location=Saint Petersburg|publisher=M. Stasyulevich|at=cols. 491–497|oclc=889716402}} * {{Cite book |last=Zimenko |first=Vladislav M.|author-link=:ru:Зименко, Владислав Мстиславович |title=Русское искусство: очерки о жизни и творчестве художников. Середина девятнадцатого века |publisher=Iskusstvo |year=1958 |editor-last=Leonov |editor-first=Alexei I. |location=Moscow |pages=657–674 |language=ru |chapter=Василий Владимирович Пукирев |oclc=174704011}}

== External links == {{commons category|Vasiliy Pukirev|Vasili Pukirev}} * [https://rah.ru/the_academy_today/the_members_of_the_academie/member.php?ID=53165 Vasili Pukirev] at the Russian Academy of Arts' official website {{in lang|ru}} * [https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D0%91%D0%A1/%D0%92%D0%A2/%D0%9F%D1%83%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2,_%D0%92%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 Biography, quotes and extensive list of paintings] from the Russian Biographical Dictionary @ Russian WikiSource. *[http://jivopis.org/pukirev-vasilij-vladimirovich--neravnyj-brak/ "The Unequal Marriage"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023063650/http://jivopis.org/pukirev-vasilij-vladimirovich--neravnyj-brak/ |date=23 October 2017 }} an appreciation of the painting at "Zhivopis". *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96sQEb4u8x4 "The Unequal Marriage"] a video presentation by the Tretyakov Gallery @ YouTube (10:24 minutes, Russian)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pukirev, Vasily}} Category:19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Category:Male painters from the Russian Empire Category:1832 births Category:1890 deaths Category:Genre painters from the Russian Empire Category:People from Tula Governorate Category:19th-century illustrators from the Russian Empire Category:19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire Category:Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni