Public figure, professor of painting, marine painter Alexey Petrovich Bogolyubov is best known as the author of a number of battle paintings dedicated to the glorious history navy Russia. No less significant is his role as a landscape painter, who created many works with views of the countries he visited. And he had a chance to see a lot: among the many cities that the artist painted were St. Petersburg and Moscow, Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod, Venice and Sorrento, Amsterdam and Antwerp, Baku and Constantinople, he traveled throughout the Crimea, and along the Don and Volga.
A.P. Bogolyubov was born in the Russian village of Pomerania (Novgorod province) on March 16 (28), 1824. He became the second child in the family of a colonel, a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, Pyotr Gavrilovich Bogolyubov. Through his mother, Fekla Alexandrovna, nee Radishcheva, a graduate of the Smolny Institute, the artist is the grandson of famous writer, revolutionary democrat A. N. Radishchev.
At the age of six, Alexey lost his father. Together with his older brother, as an orphan of a war veteran, he received the right to enter the Corps of Pages. In 1832, the boy was assigned to the naval company of the Alexander Tsarskoye Selo Corps, and then to the Naval Cadet Corps.
It would seem that the future of the young cadet was predetermined. But from childhood, A.P. Bogolyubov was distinguished not only by a craving for the sea, but also by a passion for drawing. He drew everywhere and everywhere and even somehow suffered because of his hobby and penchant for mischief. A skillful caricature of his superiors almost caused him to be expelled young man from educational institution. However, the capable student was still forgiven, having made him promise not to draw caricatures until he received the rank of officer.
At the beginning of 1841, Alexey Petrovich completed his training with the rank of midshipman, and five years later he became a lieutenant. He combines his service in the Baltic Fleet, during which he rotates through several ships (including the brig “Zeldiye”, to which he is assigned to sketch the coast of the Gulf of Finland), with painting.
The years 1849-1850 were turning points in the fate of A.P. Bogolyubov. In 1849, the frigate steamer Kamchatka, on which a young officer was serving by that time, was chosen by Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg, president of the Academy of Arts, to travel to the island of Madeira. The Duke liked Lieutenant Bogolyubov’s drawings, and he instructed him to draw everything that would be wonderful along the way. The Duke often talked with the young man, in every possible way supporting his desire for art. At the same time, in Madeira, the “sailor-artist” met Karl Bryullov, who blessed and inspired him for further creativity. Alexey Petrovich returned to St. Petersburg and in the fall of the same year began attending drawing classes at the Academy of Arts.
The following spring, the Kamchatka sailed for the Duke of Leuchtenberg to Lisbon. Bogolyubov met with the Duke again, he reminded Alexei Petrovich that he was expecting a voyage album from him and recommended that he take up painting more thoroughly and become a marine artist, a “ship expert,” noting that there are not enough such specialists in Russia. Bogolyubov recalled later that from this “great moment” his fate was decided, and he decided to follow a new path.
During the voyage, A.P. Bogolyubov visited the ports of Norway, Denmark, Holland, England, and went to London. He visited a number of museums, where he became acquainted with many old and new works by European artists. Turner’s seascapes with their “harmony of colors” and “ebullient brilliance” forever sank into his soul, and later he was especially struck by the colorful marinas of Andrei Achenbach.
At the request of the Duke and the permission of Nicholas I, in 1850 A.P. Bogolyubov began studying at the Academy of Arts without interruption from his naval service. His teachers were the landscape painter M. Vorobyov and the battle painter V. Villevalde. Bogolyubov was a diligent student, but most of all his work was then influenced by the work of I.K. Aivazovsky, whom the young artist met a little earlier. Alexey Petrovich himself recalled that when he saw “such a brilliance of colors on the canvas” for the first time, he was so blinded that he “even forgot Turner.” For some time he even imitated the famous marine painter, which, however, he later regretted.
Already during his studies, the painter’s paintings were awarded a Small Gold Medal. And in 1853, he presented views of Revel and St. Petersburg and left the Academy with a Great Gold Medal and a 1st degree certificate for the title of class artist. In addition, Bogolyubov receives the right to travel abroad. He leaves the naval service and, like Aivazovsky earlier, becomes an artist at the Main Naval Staff.
In subsequent years, the painter, as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts, travels a lot around the world - visits Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, works in Dusseldorf, Paris, Venice, Geneva, makes sketches on the Danube, Constantinople and Sinop, paints in the open air, studies with famous masters (including Eugene Isabey, Andrei Achenbach, Corot). In 1858, Bogolyubov received the title of academician for his paintings, and a little later, in 1861, he was awarded the title of professor of painting.
The exhibition at the Academy, which the artist organized upon his return from abroad, showed that a great master had appeared in Russia, who combined in his work the traditions of the Russian academic school and European technology, realism and a lyrical attitude towards nature.
A.P. Bogolyubov could not help but respond to the military events of the mid-19th century. He published an “Album of the exploits of the Black Sea Fleet in 1853 and 1854” and, on behalf of Nicholas I, completed a series of paintings dedicated to history Crimean War. Later, the artist acted as a historiographer, on instructions from the Main Naval Staff, creating a large-scale series of works reflecting the victorious battles of the Russian navy in XVIII-XIX centuries. Pictures from the history of the fleet of the times of Peter the Great, Baltic battles, Black Sea and Danube exploits Turkish war compiled an extensive painting gallery, both holistic and diverse.
In 1861-1865, Alexei Petrovich taught as a “free professor without salary” at the Imperial Academy of Arts. On his initiative, in 1868, an updated landscape class was created at the Academy. Three years later, the painter became a member of the Council of the Imperial Academy of Arts, but then resigned from its membership, recognizing the activities of the Academy as conservative, and later sought its reorganization and renewal of its leadership. During these same years, A.P. Bogolyubov became close to the Itinerants and took part in exhibitions of the Partnership.
In the 1860s, the artist traveled a lot around Russia. He is impressed by the breadth and power of the Volga “with its diversity from Tver to Astrakhan”, admired by the beauty and grandeur of the Crimea. During this period, many of the artist’s works dedicated to his native nature appeared. He is also working on a guide to the Volga River Route, atlases of the shores of the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Finland.
While Bogolyubov continued to adhere to a strict academic school in depicting battle scenes, his picturesque landscapes became more and more plein air, free and liberated from year to year.
A significant part of A.P. Bogolyubov’s work is connected with the Crimean Peninsula, where the master managed to visit twice in the 1860s. In 1863, he accompanied Tsarevich Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, the eldest son of Alexander II, on a trip across Russia, the Volga, Don and Crimea. The next time - in 1869 - he visited the peninsula, being invited to the retinue of Tsarevich Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (future emperor Alexandra III), Tsesarevna Maria Feodorovna and Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.
Even during the first “royal” trip, Bogolyubov completed a large number of drawings and sketches that have not only artistic but also documentary value. The travel album of drawings also included views of the Crimea. According to the artist, who has seen a lot, the Crimean landscapes were completely unique and could not be compared with others.
In “Notes of a Sailor-Artist,” Bogolyubov himself later recalled that the journey through Crimea in 1863 began with Kerch, a city that seemed to him “dirty, poor and dreary,” but was “interesting for its history and excavations, for Mithridates Peak.” . He mentioned not only the Kerch excavations, but also the museum that was robbed by the British. Afterwards, together with the Tsarevich, the artist went to the picturesque Livadia, the royal estate, just rebuilt by the architect I. A. Monighetti among the “wonderful nature”.
Since the cavalry outbuildings in Livadia were not yet ready, the painter and his retinue stayed at the neighboring Oreanda estate. Bogolyubov was delighted with the luxurious palace, built by the architect Stackenschneider in the style of an Italian villa, with all its balconies and terraces overlooking the sea. The Crimean landscape with the Oreanda Palace, a rotunda gazebo and a cross, installed in 1837 on the top of the steep cliff of Uryanda (later Krestovaya) by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, was captured by the artist in the drawing “View of Oreanda and the Krestovaya Rock”.
Bogolyubov carefully sketched the Vorontsov Palace in Alupka, noting that it reminded him not so much of the lordly Vacation home, how much is the abbey. The result of excursions around sea coast, during which the artist visited not only Alupka, but also Massandra, Alushta, and other “lovely places”, there were various sketches he made for the travel album. But most of all, “in terms of landscape and position,” the painter liked Gurzuf. There, admiring the majestic Ayu-Dag in the moonlight, he involuntarily recalled the rocky shores of the island of Capri.
A.P. Bogolyubov dedicated a number of graphic works to Alupka, whom he called “the whim of the Anglomaniac prince.” Vorontsov” and Simeiz.
- Tatar village Simeiz. 1863
- View of Alupka with the palace of Prince M. S. Vorontsov from Simeiz. 1863
- At the foot of Ai-Petri in Alupka. 1863
- The southern facade of the palace of the Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory, Prince M. S. Vorontsov (1782-1856) in Alupka. 1863
One of the master’s picturesque paintings depicts the Crimean coast and a view of the sea from Cape Ai-Todor.
The Oreanda Palace, built among steep cliffs and lush vegetation, could not help but end up in the artist’s album.
- View of Oreanda and Krestovaya Rock
- View of Oreanda
More than once Bogolyubov wrote about the rocky shores of Gurzuf that he loved. The picturesque coastline reminded the artist of the island of Capri.
Biyuk-Lambat, located east of Ayu-Dag, is also depicted in one of the southern coastal landscapes.
The wreck of the royal yacht, which occurred at the Tarkhankut lighthouse in 1878 on the way from Sevastopol to Odessa, did not leave the artist indifferent.
Bogolyubov’s other works dedicated to Crimea are also remarkable in their own way.
- Allied landing in Crimea
- Crimean coast
- Seashore in Crimea. 1863
- Forest landscape. Crimea. 1881
On the advice of doctors in the 1870s, A.P. Bogolyubov, who was experiencing heart problems, moved to France. From mid-February 1874, he settled in Paris, but continued to spend the summer months in Russia. His painting now becomes even more free. In the 1880-1890s, the artist’s works appeared, which can be characterized as sketches-paintings (“Moscow. Kremlin”, “Toulon”, etc.).
Abroad, Alexey Petrovich supervised pensioners of the Academy of Arts. He provided them not only creative, but also material support. The painter's Parisian studio on the Rue de Roma was always open to his compatriots. In 1877, in Paris, Bogolyubov, together with Turgenev, founded the Society for Mutual Aid and Charity of Russian Artists.
One of the first in the country, A.P. Bogolyubov drew public attention to the need to develop art museums in the province, accessible to the common people, and to organize drawing schools. In 1885, he opened the first provincial art museum in Saratov, giving it the name of his grandfather A. N. Radishchev. On his initiative, a drawing school was organized at the museum in 1897. In honor of the artist, who only three months did not live to see this event, it was named Bogolyubovsky. The painter bequeathed all his capital and property to the museum and drawing school.
The life of A.P. Bogolyubov ended on October 26 (November 7), 1896 in Paris. From France, the artist’s ashes were transported to St. Petersburg.
The significance of Bogolyubov’s personality is difficult to overestimate. The creative legacy of the artist, naval officer, naval historiographer, philanthropist, collector, thinker and public figure amounted to about three thousand works of art. In addition, he left letters and memoirs in which he reflected both his time and portraits of his contemporaries. Particularly interesting are “Notes of a Sailor-Artist,” on which Bogolyubov worked for the last 15 years of his life and which, unfortunately, he never completed.
The merits of A.P. Bogolyubov were highly appreciated by the Russian Empire. According to the table of ranks, the painter was awarded the highest rank of actual privy councilor. He was awarded the orders of St. Vladimir, St. Anna, and St. Stanislav. In addition, for his contribution to the development of relations between countries, the artist received the highest awards from Austria, France, Belgium, and Denmark.
Bogolyubov Alexey Petrovich (1824-1896)
A.P. Bogolyubov, the “sailor-artist,” as he called himself, was a wonderful landscape painter and an equally wonderful person.
All his life he improved his skills, worked purposefully and thoughtfully, not allowing himself to relax for a minute, and left a very interesting artistic legacy. In addition, he devoted a lot of energy and all his very significant fortune to the development of Russian art school. He enjoyed the deepest respect among Russian artists.
Bogolyubov was born into the family of a veteran of the Patriotic War of 1812; on his mother’s side, he is the grandson of A. I. Radishchev. In 1841 he graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps and served in the navy, visiting many countries. Since 1849, he attended classes at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, studied with M. N. Vorobyov and B. P. Villevalde. However, the greatest influence was exerted by I.K. Aivazovsky.
In 1853, Bogolyubov emerged from the Academy of Arts with a large gold medal and a 1st degree certificate for the title of class artist. At the same time, he seeks resignation from service and is appointed artist of the Main Naval Staff. In 1854-60. travels around Europe, works hard and hard from life, and does not miss the opportunity to learn from significant artists again. In Rome he meets A. A. Ivanov, who praises his work, notes his artistic talent and advises him to pay more attention to the drawing. In Düsseldorf, Bogolyubov takes lessons from A. Achenbach. In Paris he admires the Barbizons and at the same time criticizes them. French artists, in turn, appreciated Bogolyubov’s originality, his devotion to nature, and his reluctance to paint in landscapes. K. Koro loved to visit Bogolyubov’s workshop. Sh.-F. Daubigny exchanged sketches with the Russian artist.
Returning to Russia in 1860 with a huge number of paintings and sketches (among which were “Fair in Amsterdam”, ca. 1859; “Fish Market in Scheveningen”, 1859, etc.), Bogolyubov showed his works at an exhibition in the Academy of Arts and received the title of professor and special thanks from the amazed Academic Council. For some time he taught at the Academy of Arts.
In the 1860s. made three trips along the Volga. The great Russian river amazed Bogolyubov with its immense breadth and beauty of places. It was then that the romantic touch in the spirit of Aivazovsky finally disappears from Bogolyubov’s works and the beauty of reality itself remains, another note appears - epic. He paints landscapes with a wide coverage of space, conveys a certain lighting, the state of the day ("Ipatiev Monastery near Kostroma", 1861; "Religious procession in Yaroslavl", 1863; sketch "Astrakhan. Admiralty", etc.).
By order of the Main Naval Staff of Bogolyubov in the 1850-70s. performs a series of paintings dedicated to the naval battles of the Crimean and Russian-Turkish wars, as well as historical battles XVIII century ("Battle of Sinop on November 18, 1757", 1857-59; "Battle of the Russian fleet with the Swedish in 1790 near Kronstadt at Krasnaya Gorka", 1866; "Battle at Lake Ezel on May 24, 1719", 1866-72; "Explosion of the Turkish monitor", 1877, etc.). The terms of the order dictated accuracy in depicting all details of the ship's equipment and conveying historical details. Hence the well-known dryness of these works.
From 1873 until his death, Bogolyubov, on the advice of doctors winter months spends in France, only coming home in the summer. In France, his painting becomes more free, open, and plein air. There is no careful writing, no smoothness of writing previous work, but in the landscapes there is a lot of immediate, living feeling. The sketch gradually won the rights to the painting ("Dieppe. Morning", 1870s; "Forest in Velay. Normandy", 1871; "Moscow River near Zvenigorod", 1880s; "View of Saratov from Sokolova Mountain", 1887-88; "Swamp. Vichy", 1880s; "Menton. France", 1887, etc.). In Paris. Bogolyubov takes care of Russian pensioners in every possible way (I. E. Repin, V. D. Polenov, K. A. Savitsky, V. V. Vereshchagin, A. K. Beggrov, etc.), introduces them to French art, obtains lucrative orders, organizes exhibitions of Russian painters, and finally, in 1877, establishes the Society for Mutual Aid and Charity of Russian Artists. In Russia, he is on the board of the TPHV, strongly supports the ideas of I.V. Kramskoy, and at a certain moment turns out to be almost the only one around the head of the Wanderers who understands him.
In 1885, Bogolyubov created the first provincial art museum in Russia on the basis of his own collection in Saratov and named it after his grandfather A.N. Radishcheva. Later, a drawing school was opened at the museum. Bogolyubov bequeathed his entire fortune to the museum and school “in order to elevate the educational cause of youth.” The artist died in Paris, but his body was brought to Russia and buried in St. Petersburg.
Beach at Honfleur. Sultry day
Venice at night
View of the Smolny Monastery from Bolshaya Okhta
View of Smolny Monastery from Bolshaya Okhta
View of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior from Prechistenka in Moscow
A fishing boat entering the harbor of Saint-Valery (France) in a storm.
Track. Ekuen
Winter in Borisoglebsk
Winter in Paris
Golden Horn in Constantinople
Ipatiev Monastery near Kostroma
Riding on the Neva
Forest in Vela. Normandy
Summer night on the Neva near the seaside
Lido. Venice
Moonlit night at sea
- (March 16, 1824 November 7, 1896 in Paris) marine painter. Obituary We received sad news from Paris: our famous marine painter Alexei Petrovich Bogolyubov died there on November 7 (October 26). The deceased was born March 16, 1824... ... Large biographical encyclopedia
Bogolyubov, Alexey Petrovich, marine painter (1824 1896). He was brought up in the naval corps. While still a cadet, Bogolyubov was engaged in painting. In 1849, he was among the officers of the ship Kamchatka, on which Duke Maximilian went to Madera... ... Biographical Dictionary
- (1824 1896), Russian painter. Marine painter. He studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1850 53) with M. N. Vorobyov and B. P. Villevalde; pensioner of the Academy of Arts (1854 60), worked in Paris, Dusseldorf. Member of the TPHV (since 1873; see Wanderers). Since 1873 he lived mainly... ... Art encyclopedia
Russian marine painter. Naval officer, artist of the Main Naval Staff since 1853. He studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1850-53) with M. N. Vorobyov and B ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Bogolyubov Alexey Petrovich- (18241896), painter, marine painter. Grandson of A. N. Radishchev. Studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (185053), academician from 1858; taught there (186165). Founder of the Art Museum named after A. N. Radishchev (1885) and the Drawing School (1897) in... ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"
- (1824 96) Russian painter. Wanderer. Poetic plein air landscapes (Mouth of the Neva, 1872), scenes of sea battles... Big encyclopedic Dictionary
- (1824 1896), painter, marine painter. Grandson of A. N. Radishchev. Studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1850 53), academician from 1858; taught there (1861 65). Founder of the Art Museum named after A. N. Radishchev (1885) and the Drawing School (1897) in Saratov ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)
- (1824 1896), marine painter. Grandson of A. N. Radishchev. Poetic landscapes painted in the open air (“Forest in Veul. Normandy”, 1871), scenes of naval battles. Founded the Art Museum. Radishchev and the Drawing School in Saratov. * * *… … encyclopedic Dictionary
Alexey Petrovich Bogolyubov I. E. Repin. Portrait of Bogolyubov, 1876. Date of birth: March 16, 1824 Place of birth: village of Pomerania, Novgorod province, Russian empire... Wikipedia
Bogolyubov, Alexey Petrovich- BOGOLYU/BOV Alexey Petrovich (1824 1896) Russian naval officer, marine painter, artist historiographer of the Russian fleet (1853), academician of painting (1858), professor (1861), public figure, humanist. Graduated from the Naval Corps (1841).… … Marine Biographical Dictionary
A.P. Bogolyubov, the “sailor-artist,” as he called himself, was a wonderful landscape painter and an equally wonderful person.
All his life he improved his skills, worked purposefully and thoughtfully, not allowing himself to relax for a minute, and left a very interesting artistic legacy. In addition, he devoted a lot of effort and all his very significant fortune to the development of the Russian art school. He enjoyed the deepest respect among Russian artists.
Bogolyubov was born into the family of a veteran of the Patriotic War of 1812; on his mother’s side, he is the grandson of A. I. Radishchev. In 1841 he graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps and served in the navy, visiting many countries. Since 1849, he attended classes at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, studied with M. N. Vorobyov and B. P. Villevalde. However, the greatest influence was exerted by I.K. Aivazovsky.
In 1853, Bogolyubov emerged from the Academy of Arts with a large gold medal and a 1st degree certificate for the title of class artist. At the same time, he seeks resignation from service and is appointed artist of the Main Naval Staff.
In 1854-60. travels around Europe, works hard and hard from life, and does not miss the opportunity to learn from significant artists again. In Rome he meets A. A. Ivanov, who praises his work, notes his artistic talent and advises him to pay more attention to the drawing.
In Düsseldorf, Bogolyubov takes lessons from A. Achenbach. In Paris he admires the Barbizons and at the same time criticizes them. French artists, in turn, appreciated Bogolyubov’s originality, his devotion to nature, and his reluctance to paint in landscapes. K. Koro loved to visit Bogolyubov’s workshop. Sh.-F. Daubigny exchanged sketches with the Russian artist.
Returning to Russia in 1860 with a huge number of paintings and sketches (among which were “Fair in Amsterdam”, ca. 1859; “Fish Market in Scheveningen”, 1859, etc.), Bogolyubov showed his works at an exhibition in the Academy of Arts and received the title of professor and special thanks from the amazed Academic Council. For some time he taught at the Academy of Arts.
In the 1860s. made three trips along the Volga. The great Russian river amazed Bogolyubov with its immense breadth and beauty of places. It was then that the romantic touch in the spirit of Aivazovsky finally disappears from Bogolyubov’s works and the beauty of reality itself remains, another note appears - epic. He paints landscapes with a wide coverage of space, conveys a certain lighting, the state of the day ("Ipatiev Monastery near Kostroma", 1861; "Religious procession in Yaroslavl", 1863; sketch "Astrakhan. Admiralty", etc.).
By order of the Main Naval Staff of Bogolyubov in the 1850-70s. performs a series of paintings dedicated to the naval battles of the Crimean and Russian-Turkish wars, as well as historical battles of the 18th century. ("Battle of Sinop on November 18, 1757", 1857-59; "Battle of the Russian fleet with the Swedish in 1790 near Kronstadt at Krasnaya Gorka", 1866; "Battle at Lake Ezel on May 24, 1719", 1866-72; "Explosion of the Turkish monitor", 1877, etc.). The terms of the order dictated accuracy in depicting all details of the ship's equipment and conveying historical details. Hence the well-known dryness of these works.
In 1885, to the Radishchev Museum from its founder, professor of painting, collector A.P. Bogolyubov, among other gifts, received “Portrait of N.P. Bogolyubov” by I.N. Kramskoy. This work is not considered by art critics to be among the best performed by the artist in this genre; it does not stand out for the originality of the composition or the expressiveness of the pictorial language. And yet Kramskoy managed to reveal the most significant and significant aspects of the personality of the person depicted. In the portrait, sitting directly in front of the audience, he is far from a young man with a thick gray beard and a tired, painful look in his smart, kind eyes. In his entire appearance there is simplicity, modesty, moral nobility and purity. Despite the naturalness of the pose, one feels that he is embarrassed to be the center of someone’s close attention, especially an artist’s.
The portrait was painted in Paris in 1876. After a serious illness, Nikolai Petrovich came with his wife Ekaterina Mikhailovna to the capital of France to meet with his brother Alexei. Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy, who was in Paris to work on the painting “Laughter,” lived at that time with A.P. Bogolyubov and worked in his workshop. A few months earlier, in this workshop, the young Ilya Repin painted a portrait of Alexei Petrovich Bogolyubov. I.N. Kramskoy created a portrait of his older brother - a former naval officer, actual state councilor Nikolai Petrovich Bogolyubov.
What do we know about this person? about the relationship between the Bogolyubov brothers, grandchildren of the revolutionary writer A.N. Radishcheva? about the role of N.P. Bogolyubov in the structure and formation of the Radishchev Museum in Saratov?
Based on documents, photographs, books stored in the archives and library of the Saratov Art Museum named after A.N. Radishcheva, let's try to answer these questions.
The family of Pyotr Gavrilovich Bogolyubov and Fekla Alexandrovna (nee Radishcheva) had two children: Nikolai and Alexey. The family lost their father early. A participant in the war against Napoleon of 1806-1807, the Finnish campaign of 1809, and the Patriotic War of 1812, he died with the rank of colonel in 1830, when his eldest son, Nicholas, was nine years old, his youngest six. The Bogolyubov brothers carried their childhood impressions of their father through their lives. Alexey Petrovich will write in his memoirs: “My father loved animals, was an artistic person, drew well, loved pictures using his own means, prints, engravings. I repaired watches for friends, sharpened with angelic patience the thinnest wheels for the clock mechanism. He built carts and carriages with his own resources, and did all this work with extreme love. He was a kind and honest man, and therefore was not rich.”. The artistic nature of Pyotr Gavrilovich, his literary tastes and passions, as well as his noble human qualities are evidenced by a voluminous leather-bound notebook, which is an example of a home album early XIX century, where P.G. Bogolyubov, in a clear, beautiful handwriting, wrote down fables, odes, epigrams, fairy tales in verse by Russian and foreign poets, as well as “thoughts of various authors”, “moralizing discussions”, “some of the advice of a military man to his son”, “various differences”, practical advice on production medicines And so on. Perhaps the pages of this album were read more than once in the Bogolyubov family : “Love for the Fatherland is the noblest and most generous feeling. It makes us love our Fatherland more than ourselves, for a true citizen will never refuse to sacrifice his name, his best interests, his blood and life to it... Military virtues cannot exist without moral virtues in an officer. Among these latter, the first place is occupied by humanity (humanity), which everything else adorns with itself... To sympathize with the unfortunate is a pleasure, and not to be touched by the grief of another is the lowest of all vices of the heart...” The album was treasured and kept as a family heirloom, and in 1885 the Bogolyubov brothers donated it to the Radishchev Museum.
Remarkable is the small, oval-shaped watercolor portrait of Colonel P. Bogolyubov, painted by his regimental comrade S.G. Chirikov with a tender feeling of heartfelt affection. A young gray-eyed man with blond curly hair, a childishly swollen mouth, a holder of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree, awarded a medal for participation in the War of 1812, - apparently a romantic nature, but with a firm and strong character; This is how the father of Nikolai and Alexei Bogolyubov appears before us.
Fekla Alexandrovna, a woman of a bright mind with a gentle, kind soul, leaving social acquaintances after the death of her husband, devoted herself entirely to raising children. According to A.P. Bogolyubova, if he and his brother came out into the public eye, it was only thanks to her. “We loved our mother to the point of adoration... She worked with us exclusively and passed on her knowledge to us, so that when we entered the Corps, we wrote correctly in Russian, almost error-free in French and a little in German...”- wrote N.P. Bogolyubov.
The boys were sent for training to the Alexander Tsarskoye Selo Corps, then transferred to the Naval Cadet Corps. A. Novitsky in the monographic article “In Memory of A.P. Bogolyubov”, written by him from the words of N.P. Bogolyubova, cites the following episode. Alexey, being a very lively and impressionable character, and also showing a penchant for drawing, became addicted to caricaturing everyone around him. For caricatures of examiners and the director of the building I.F. Kruzenshtern Alexey was deprived of the right to take an exam and was sent under arrest.
Nikolai, being already in the officer classes at that time, having learned about the misfortune that befell his brother, goes to his uncle, Colonel Afanasy Aleksandrovich Radishchev, with a request to intercede for Alexei. Kruzenshtern forgave Alexei Bogolyubov, citing his uncle's authority and Nikolai Bogolyubov's diligent study and good behavior.
Different in character, temperament and inclinations, the Bogolyubov brothers maintained warm, friendly relations with each other throughout their lives. The early deaths of their parents (Fekla Alexandrovna died in 1845), Alexei Petrovich’s young wife and his one-year-old son Nikolai brought the brothers even closer together. Despite frequent separations, they lived in perfect harmony, finding support and support in each other; during meetings and in letters they shared what worried, pleased, and saddened them.
Since 1853, the Bogolyubovs lived together for several months on Vasilievsky Island, first on the corner of the 14th line and Bolshoy Prospekt in the Hoffman house, later on the 13th line between Bolshoi and Sredny Prospekt in the Semyonov house. A few years later, Nikolai Petrovich moved to Moscow, where he lived most of his life.
In 1861, professor of painting A.P. Bogolyubov, having traveled half of Europe, came to Moscow for the first time. The meeting of the brothers after seven and a half years of separation was unusually joyful. Having talked their fill, they wandered around the white-stone beauty of Moscow until they were tired. Perhaps, on this visit, Alexey Petrovich shared with his brother the idea of creating a museum, which took possession of him after meeting with the German artist A. Michelis, who dreamed of creating a museum in his homeland, in the city of Ulm. Soon the Bogolyubovs, having accepted an offer from the director of the Volga shipping company “Samolet” V.A. Glazenap, an old friend from the fleet, set off on a trip along the Volga with the aim of creating an illustrated guide. The result of this journey was a book “Volga from Tver to Astrakhan” , written by N.P. Bogolyubov “partly from known sources, and partly based on his own observations,” published in St. Petersburg in 1862. This was N.P.’s first literary experience. Bogolyubov, who later became the author of more than ten books, mainly of a historical nature. “Volga from Tver to Astrakhan” is a detailed guide to all the wonderful places of the Volga region. And although the author characterizes the book in the preface as “alien to any scientific claims,” it was written with great knowledge of history, geography, and shipbuilding. In a separate chapter dedicated to Saratov, N.P. Bogolyubov talks about the history of the city, its attractions. This is how N.P. Bogolyubov describes the square where, twenty seconds later small years old the building of the Radishchev Museum will appear: “The main and oldest street is Moskovskaya - it goes from the banks of the Volga to the city exit on the so-called Moscow tract - the road going to Penza. Almost half of its length is a vast square called Khlebnaya or Teatralnaya, names given to it because on one side there are shopping arcades and bread stores, on the other there is a new Gostiny Dvor, and to the left of it, in the middle of the square, a theater was built ”. 10 lithographs and 31 polytypes in the guidebook were made according to drawings by A.P. Bogolyubova. One copy of this rare edition, received from N.P. Bogolyubov in 1897, stored in the rare books department of the museum.
During two summer months of 1868, A.P. visited. Bogolyubov in the small but enchanting town of Gory-Gorki, Mogilev province, where Nikolai Petrovich was the director of an agricultural school for ten years (from 1865 to 1875). Alexey Petrovich arrives in Gory-Gorki and in August-September 1873, finding in communication with a close, dear person, “the only joy in life” (in his words), peace of mind and the desire for fruitful activity.
The thought of establishing a museum in Saratov never ceased to occupy Alexey Petrovich. The warm approval and sympathy of his elder brother assured him all the more of the nobility of his goal. In December 1877, through a member of the State Council K.P. Pobedonostsev Alexey Petrovich made a statement with the following content: A.P. Bogolyubov gives all his artistic property, consisting of paintings, watercolors, medals, ancient bronzes, majolicas, etc., to the city of Saratov, so that the city can build a decent building for the establishment of a museum with an attached drawing school, which would be named after Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev, the grandfather of Alexei and Nikolai Bogolyubov. After their death, all their property, both movable and immovable, should go to the maintenance of the museum and school.
The task, which seemed so necessary, turned out to be difficult to implement and required a lot of effort and enormous endurance on the part of A.P. Bogolyubov and supporters of his idea, who deeply understood the importance of art in general, as well as the importance of the museum as an artistic, educational and educational institution.
Behind us are seven years of correspondence with the Saratov city authorities, disputes and doubts about “should we build?”, “where?”, “with what funds?” On May 1, 1883, on Teatralnaya Square in Saratov, the ceremonial foundation stone of the museum building was carried out according to the Highest approved project of the architect I.V. Shtroma.
In June of the same year, the Bogolyubovs came to look at the emerging building and meet the members of the construction commission headed by A.V. Peskov, architect A.M. Salko, Governor A.A. Zubov, city mayor I.Ya. Slavin, who supervises construction work. The collection of A.P. intended for the Radishchev Museum. Bogolyubova was already transported from the Moscow house of Nikolai Petrovich to Saratov in March 1885. And at the beginning of June the Bogolyubovs themselves arrived to organize the first museum exhibition and prepare the museum for the opening.
On June 29, 1885, at 12 o'clock in the museum building, many people gathered. Saratov Governor A.A. arrived. Zubov, Alexey Petrovich and Nikolai Petrovich Bogolyubov, representatives of the city government. Before the start of the celebration, a prayer service was served. The singers sang a spiritual concert. The governor announced to the audience that, based on the permission received from the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Radishchev Museum is now considered open. Museum Trustee A.V. Peskov read to the audience a historical sketch of the establishment of the Radishchev Museum. Then the brother of the museum founder, Nikolai Petrovich Bogolyubov, ascended the department. Excitedly and solemnly, he read an essay about his famous and disgraced grandfather: “Radishchev, to whose memory the museum and school are dedicated, was far from an ordinary person. In our literature he is known as a deep thinker and writer. In the official environment, he was known as an excellent lawyer, an experienced official and a selfless person. In the field of scientists, he stood out from this environment as a person at the forefront of that time, possessing multifaceted knowledge. In addition to jurisprudence, he studied philosophy, chemistry, medicine, and the history of European and Russian literature. He knew languages thoroughly: Latin, English, French, German and Italian... As a secular, educated person, he knew music, he played the violin himself, was a deft horseman and dancer, was considered a good and happy shooter, in a word - Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev was the most popular man of his time...”.
Thanks to the efforts and courage of the Bogolyubov brothers, the name of Radishchev sounded openly and freely.
Twenty-five collections of paintings, graphics, bronze, furniture, textiles, etc. were formed from donations to the museum even before its opening. The flow of gifts did not decrease in the first years of the museum’s existence. Donors include artists, collectors, architects, writers, public figures, scientists, officials. Name N.P. Bogolyubov is listed three times in the “List of Donors to the Museum...”. Thanks to N.P. Bogolyubov, the museum was replenished with valuable documents and photographs related to the life, activities and work of its founder, picturesque and graphic works A.P. Bogolyubov, rare publications on the history of art and the Russian fleet.
One of the surviving copies of the first lifetime edition of A.N.’s book took pride of place in the museum’s exhibition. Radishchev “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” (1790), donated by his grandchildren. On the handwritten title page is the inscription: “The Bogolyubov brothers bring this copy of the book of works of Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev to the museum named after him in Saratov. They ask the museum management to store it as an expensive bibliographic rarity and not release it for reading. July 26, 1887 Nikolay Bogolyubov, Alexey Bogolyubov.”
In 1887 and 1894 N.P. Bogolyubov donates several volumes to the museum library fiction in French and German languages, as well as two books of his own composition - “Lieutenant Kazarsky” (1887) and “Count Moritz Benyovsky” (1894).
Leaving public service in 1875, N.P. Bogolyubov turns to writing. A former naval officer, he remains faithful to his attachment to the sea, which explains the choice of themes and characters in his work.
“Lieutenant Kazansky” is a story about a hero-sailor, commander of the brig “Mercury,” Lieutenant-Commander Alexander Ivanovich Kazarsky, who distinguished himself with unprecedented courage and bravery in a naval battle with Turkish ships in 1829. The story is written on the basis of authentic, archival documents, which the author warns the reader about.
A brave man, but of a different kind, a desperate adventurer stands at the center of the story, designated by the author as a historical fact. Based on the notes of the famous adventurer of the second half of the last century, Count Moritz Benyovsky, N.P. builds his work. Bogolyubov, “guided by the desire to acquaint readers with one of the little-studied pages of the history of navigation”. Eleven drawings in this book were made by A.P. Bogolyubov.
The unexpected death of his brother in 1896 shocked Nikolai Petrovich, plunging him into a state of despair and deep despondency. Alexey Petrovich bequeathed N.P. Bogolyubov, as executor, to bring the work he started to completion. After all, the drawing school at the museum had not yet been opened, which the brothers dreamed of so much. N.P. Bogolyubov in one of his response letters to Saratov mayor N.P. Frolov wrote: “I pray to God that the business started by my brother will not die out after his death. So that the eloquent posthumous praise given to him in the newspapers would not be empty and idle sounds, and so that a school named after my brother would be opened during my lifetime.”.
Nikolai Petrovich lived to see the opening of the Bogolyubov drawing school, which took place on February 11, 1897. For the needs of the school, Nikolai Petrovich sends two hundred “more or less valuable” drawings to A.P. Bogolyubov, intended for sale, considering it more useful to find them in the museum as originals for students.
In the same 1897, through Vyacheslav Petrovich Rupini, director of the Radishchev Museum, N.P. Bogolyubov hands over 19 Russian and foreign orders and badges awarded to the late professor of painting A.P. Bogolyubov, the anniversary edition of 1853 “The Russian Royal House of Romanov”, as well as “Collection of journal articles about A.N. Radishchev and A.P. Bogolyubov” with the latter’s dedicatory inscription. Through Mikhail Aleksandrovich Popov, a Saratov landowner with whom the Bogolyubovs were friends, Nikolai Petrovich donates a silver watercolor palette to A.P. for the Radishchev Museum. Bogolyubov, presented to him by the officers of the guards crew, a lot of photographs and books, letters and telegrams from persons of the Imperial family, friends of A.P. Bogolyubov, famous Russian artists.
A few months later, Nikolai Petrovich turns to the museum with a request to accept donations of books (personal and from his brother’s library), several albums with drawings by A.P. Bogolyubov, diplomas and certificates with which he was awarded, more than thirty lithographed portraits, about a hundred letters from A.P. Bogolyubov and to him. Among the books donated by N.P. Bogolyubov: A.L. Kushch “Radishchevsky Museum in Saratov” (with dedicatory inscriptions of A.L. Kushch and A.P. Bogolyubov), a small brochure by A. Novitsky “In memory of A.P. Bogolyubov”, “Guide to the construction of stone and wooden churches” by engineer-architect A.M. Salko (Saratov, 1892), “A Brief History of the Russian Fleet” by F. Veselago (St. Petersburg, 1893), “The History of the Ship” (works by N.P. Bogolyubov), a two-volume publication that has not lost its scientific significance to this day.
Books that belonged to A.P. Bogolyubov, are different in theme and purpose: for “entertaining reading”, catalogs of private collections, auctions, exhibitions and sales of works of art, necessary for the collector in his painstaking work as a collector and clearly preserving the “traces” of their owner - all kinds of notes, brief notes, cursory sketches , laconic drawings.
A bibliographic rarity are 18 small-format books on French series “Miniature Traveler's Library”, published in Paris in 1801-1802. Elegance of format, sophistication of design, excellent printing characterize the publications of this series: “Works of Racine” in 3 volumes, F. Voltaire “The Maid of Orleans”, C. Montesquieu “Letters from Persia”, “Selected Works of A. Piron” in 2 -x volumes and others. They were probably good fellow travelers of A.P. Bogolyubov in his frequent, long travels abroad and throughout Russia.
Of extraordinary interest are several modest-looking and small-sized albums with drawings by A.P. Bogolyubov, surprisingly vividly conveying the artist’s character and passions. Drawings in pencil, charcoal, watercolors, made under direct impressions from travels along the Rhine (1854, 1865), Venice (1863), Livadia (1863). These are types of areas, individual buildings, sailing ships, genre scenes, human figures snatched from the bustle of the street, city blocks, embankments, rural landscapes. The albums were not without the caricatures that Alexey Petrovich loved to draw - of acquaintances, friends, of himself, noticing the funny and absurd.
In one of the letters from N.P. Nikolai Petrovich speaks to Frolov about sending A.P.’s silver watch to Saratov. Bogolyubov, which he treasured and wore constantly since 1876. The history of this watch, gleaned from a note by N.P. Bogolyubov, is mystical in nature and worthy of attention.
Together with Nikolai and Alexei Bogolyubov, brothers Abram and Nikolai Zass were brought up in the Naval Corps. Abram Zass died shortly after graduation. Nicholas, always inclined to the life of an ascetic, out of grief became a monk and, taking the name of Nestor, for a long time was the rector of the Russian church in Pau (France). In 1876, when N.P. Bogolyubov was visiting his brother in Paris, Father Nestor came to them and said that the Holy Synod had invited him to accept the rank of Bishop of Aleutian and Kamchatka, that he agreed and was leaving Europe forever. The Bogolyubovs approved his decision. Saying goodbye, Alexey Petrovich exchanged watches with him, giving Father Nestor a beautiful gold watch from the Patek and Chapek factory, and received a silver one from him. Nikolai Petrovich outlined the end of the story as follows: “After the death of my brother, our Consulate in Paris sent me this watch. I took three keychains from them, sent two to the Radishchev Museum... and kept one for myself. After some time, I accidentally opened the back board and found there a piece of paper with the following mysterious words: “Lord, bless the crown of the summer of Thy goodness by keeping your Alexei in peace and health for the year 1896.” There is no doubt that these lines were written and placed in the clock by Father Nestor. I hastened to verify this by comparing his handwriting with his letter, which was in my brother’s papers. The similarity is undeniable. 1869 was a fatal year for my brother, and Fr. Nestor, in all likelihood, had a presentiment that this would be the last time in his life for his childhood friend. There are many inexplicable and mysterious things in our life. Be that as it may, my brother never told me about this note, and a man (Ishmael), who served his brother for more than ten years, told me that during his service to his brother, the clock was repaired twice and both times the brother carefully took out the note and hid it in the briefcase that he always carried with him.”. A.P. watch Bogolyubov are currently in the collections of the Saratov Art Museum named after A. N. Radishchev.
About his participation in the formation of museum collections N.P. Bogolyubov never spoke, but in response to letters of full gratitude from the museum’s board of trustees, he replied that the road is not gratitude, but “It’s valuable to know that the things I sent are in a museum”.
Nikolai Petrovich Bogolyubov died on September 7, 1898. In 1899, according to his spiritual will, the Saratov Radishchev Museum received more than twenty paintings by A.P. Bogolyubova, F.A. Bronnikova, F.A. Vasiliev, about three hundred drawings in ink, pencil, and watercolors made by A.P. Bogolyubov, more than three dozen antiques from personal property, a bronze bust of A.P. Bogolyubov by sculptor L.A. Bernshtam, as well as 3,000 rubles “to strengthen the funds of the Radishchev Museum and the Bogolyubov Drawing School with interest from this capital”.
One of the last wishes of N.P. Bogolyubov was to visit Saratov and “to admire the fruits of the labors of the unforgettable brother, who put all his material and moral strength and resources into the museum and school”.
Materials used: - Zhukova I. “So that the business started does not die out...” - Years and people. Issue 6 - Saratov: Volga publishing house "Children's Book", 1992.
