FILATOV FAMILY ART FUND BUYS WORKS BY THE TKACHEV BROTHERS AND MATVEJ MANIZER
04 Mar 14
The Filatov Family Art Fund has acquired 'Woman Bathing' (1990s), a painting by the brothers Sergey and Alexey Tkachev, and 'Yuri Vlasov' (1957), a statuette by Matvej Manizer, a renowned Russian sculptor.
'Woman Bathing' depicts a young woman taking a "snow bath" outside a traditional rural Russian bathhouse. A mother sitting with a child in the bathhouse doorway overlooks the scene, while another woman walks by with a bucket of logs. The scene is apparently set during the early evening, with reddish sunrays reflecting on pristine snow, creating blue and mauve shadows. The Tkachev brothers are famous for their simple portrayals of rural life.
In this rare painting the Tkachev brothers fully exhibit their remarkable mastery of colour. The colour palette is refined and calm yet expressive and dynamic, demonstrating the realism style's seemingly infinite power for uncovering beauty in any scene.
'Yuri Vlasov' is a 37.5 cm-high statuette depicting the Olympic weightlifting champion Yuri Vlasov, who once had the title of "strongest man on the planet". Manizer portrayed Vlasov during the beginning of his sporting career, in 1957, when he first broke the USSR weightlifting record. With a barbell plate in his hands, Vlasov looks more like an Ancient Greek discus thrower than a stocky man, associated with this sport.
Andrey Filatov, the founder of the Fund, said: "Although these artworks are very different from each other they both showcase the immense artistic potential that existed behind the iron curtain. The Tkachev brothers and Matvej Manizer are among the most important artists of their time and we are delighted that we will be able to show their these rare artworks to wider audiences."
Sergey Tkachev (born 1922) and Alexey Tkachev (born 1925) are famous Russian artists, both were full members of the Academy of Arts of the USSR, the People's Artists of the USSR and laureates of the Repin State Prize and the State Prize of the USSR. The brothers were born in a village in the Bryansk region. During the war, Sergey served in the army, while Alexey worked at a defence factory in the Urals. After the war, both Alexey and Sergey graduated from the famed Surikov Institute, where they studied under the outstanding artist S.V. Gerasimov. Since 1950, the brothers have worked together on the same canvases, creating some remarkable masterpieces. They have also worked independently, each of them developing their own individual styles. The Tkachev brothers' works are owned by the State Tretykov Gallery, the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the Tkachev Brothers Museum in Bryansk and other museums and private galleries. Their paintings have been exhibited at the Smithsonian International Gallery in Washington, D.C, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.
Matvej Manizer (1891 - 1966) was one of the leading sculptors of the Soviet Union alongside Ivan Shadr, Vera Mukhina, Yevgeny Vuchetich and Sergey Konenkov. He was born in St Petersburg. Manizer attended the Baron A.L.Stieglitz's Central School for Technical Drawing and later the Peredvizhniki art school from 1908 through 1916 and later the Academy of Arts. From 1926, he was a member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia. In 1941, he moved to Moscow. He worked in the Academic and Realistic styles, producing a great number of monuments, including twelve sculptures of Lenin. For his artworks, Manizer received three Stalin Prizes (in 1941, 1943, 1950) and the title of the People's Artist of the USSR (1958).
"At the Bath" (1990s), Sergey and Alexey Tkachev, oil on canvas, 83 x 144
"Yuri Vlasov" (1957), Matvej Manizer, bronze, 37.5 cm
