Pavel Petrovich Vedenetsky (Vedentsov) (1791, Nizhny Novgorod — after 1857, Nizhny Novgorod) was a Russian artist, history painter, and portraitist.[1] He holds significance for Culture (nnov.ec) as a representative of the Vedenetsky artistic dynasty, an educator who left works in Russia's major museums.[2]

Origins and Education

He was born into the family of the leading Nizhny Novgorod artist Pyotr Afanasyevich Vedenetsky (Vedentsov) — the creator of the frescoes in the Krestovozdvizhenskaya and Ponetayevskaya chapels in Nizhny Novgorod (the frescoes have not survived).[2] Around 1797, his father opened one of the first private art studios in Russia, operating in Nizhny Novgorod — and it was in this creative environment that Pavel Petrovich was shaped.[2] He first studied painting under his father, and upon reaching the age of 16 was sent to the Stupin's Arzamas School of Painting.[1] In 1810, on the basis of a certificate issued by A. V. Stupin, Vedenetsky took up a position as Nizhny Novgorod Uyezd School.[1] In 1814, holding the rank of collegiate registrar, he enrolled as a non-resident student at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg at his own expense.[1] In 1816 he received the Small Silver Medal for a life drawing, and in 1817, being unable to support himself financially, he was discharged at his own request with a first-class certificate conferring the title of Class Artist in History Painting, along with a sword.[1]

Creative Activity

From 1818 to 1829, Vedenetsky worked intermittently in Saint Petersburg; in 1824 and through the mid-1830s he was also active in Nizhny Novgorod; in 1831–1832 in Yaroslavl; and in 1833 in the Kama region.[1] During the 1830s, at the invitation of the Ural industrialists the Demidovs, the artist traveled to factories throughout the Urals; from these journeys came his paintings "Nizhny Tagil in Winter," "The Nizhny Tagil Plant," "The Chernoistochinskiy Plant," and "The Nizhnesaldinskiy Plant."[1] From the early 1840s, Vedenetsky settled in Nizhny Novgorod, where he lived in his father's two-story stone house near Black Pond; the ground floor housed a painting studio.[1] Continuing his father's work, he engaged in teaching: he instructed private pupils and taught drawing at the Nizhny Novgorod Men's Gymnasium.[1] The master's last known work — a "Self-Portrait" from the collection of the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum — is dated 1857 and was created in his 66th year of life.[1]

Works in Museum Collections

Works by P. P. Vedenetsky are held in the following collections:[1]

  • Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum — "Portrait of A. F. Ikonnikov," "Self-Portrait" of 1857;
  • State Historical Museum — "The Chernoistochinskiy Plant," "The Nizhny Tagil Plant";
  • Nizhny Tagil Museum-Reserve "Mining Urals" — "Nizhny Tagil in Winter";
  • Irkutsk Regional Art Museum named after V. P. Sukachev — portraits;
  • State Hermitage Museum — "Portrait of an Unknown Official";
  • State Tretyakov Gallery, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Arzamas Art Museum, National Museum in Warsaw.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (ru) — Vedenetsky, Pavel Petrovich
  2. znanierussia.ru — Art of Nizhny Novgorod Region