Tatiana Yushmanova. In the north.
There
has long been talk of the ruin of "Wooden
Rus'." This theme inspires few today, when
everyone considers that there are no longer any
material or living witnesses to the intelligent yet
simple structure of bygone villages. Nevertheless,
the well-known Moscow artist, Tatiana Yushmanova,
feels that if we acquaint ourselves with this very
important part of Russian life we can no longer
remain indifferent. For ten years now, she has
travelled across Russia in order to know her country
better, and she expresses her impressions in her
art.
Tatiana Yushmanova.
She
has managed to also draw her husband, priest Alexei
Yakovlev of the Tikhvin Mother of God Church in
Moscow's Alexeyevsky district, into the depths of
the Russian land. Now Fr. Alexei's family and the
parish community are working to restore these unique
wooden churches, which are becoming more and more
rare. But they can still be seen here and there,
scattered across the boundless expanses of the
Russian north.
A recent exhibit opened in the Ismailovo Gallery in
Moscow, called "The Russian North," with over
one hundred pictures by Tatiana Yushmanova, many of which
can be viewed (for now, with Russian titles only) in our
picture
gallery, and the photo exhibition entitled, "
Mutual
Concern. Restoration of the Wooden Churches of the
North," which shows the churches that are being
restored in the north. Tatiana spoke with Pravoslavie.ru
about her creative work, and the unique project for the
conservation and restoration of wooden churches.
* * *
—Tatiana, there are many portraits in your
exhibition. What sort of people do you choose for your
subjects?
Tatiana Yushmanov. Village get-togethers. 2000 . Oil and canvas. 200х300 см
—I
really like to paint simple, rural people. Children
are also interesting subjects, but I especially like
to work on portraits of elderly people. This really
catches my attention. Their faces reflect a lifetime
of experience and their thoughts about it; they have
a particularly deep look in their eyes.
We sometimes meet people during our travels, and our
acquaintance and friendship with them inspired me to paint
a series of portraits. For example, there is the amazing
Slepinin family, who live in a beautiful village on the
shores of the White Sea.
Tatiana Yushmanova. By the sea. A portrait of A. P. Slepinin.
They
are already very old, and could not look on in
indifference at how the churches of their native
village were falling apart, and so they began
gradually to restore the bell tower. That was when we
met, and we were struck by their extraordinary
example; after all, Sasha Slepinin, a
seventy-five-year-old fisherman and carpenter,
wasn't even baptized at the time.
His wife, Isabella Efimovna, a village schoolteacher,
witnessed with her own eyes how the once over-filled
village school, with up to fifty children to a class, was
recently closed due to the lack of children. Both husband
and wife are amazing people, and their friendship is a
great gift for us. I painted several portraits of Uncle
Sasha, and one of Isabella Efimovna. Now I am working on a
large portrait of Isabella Efimovna as she stands by the
Russian brick stove, baking traditional northern pies. She
is an unsurpassed master at this.
Tatiana Yushmanova. Portrait of Uncle Sasha Korolev.1999. Oil and canvas. 80х70 см
We
fell in love with the village where this beautiful
family lives, and began to help them as much as we
could with their work to save the bell tower and
unique St. Nicholas Church, built in 1636. In one
year, we were able to change the doors in the church,
replace windows, and restore the bell tower. Then a
benefactor came along who provided the funds needed
to professionally restore two miraculously surviving
cupolas, and replace three insufficient ones. In the
summer of 2010, the St. Nicholas Church truly became
the adornment of the village. Parallel with the
efforts of the local villagers, we were able to
completely restore a nearly ruined church in the
cemetery. Then, the idea was born to help other
churches. Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, the head of the
Moscow Patriarchate department for cooperation with
the armed forces and my husband's superior,
contacted the ruling bishops of the northern
dioceses, and blessed us to do emergency repairs in
all the wooden churches of the north. Thus began the
project, "Mutual Concern." Restoring the
wooden churches of the north." And in the
village where it all started, people are coming
together around the restored church—a parish
community has even formed. There is Sunday school
during the summer, visited by the local children and
children of the dacha owners. Adults also come. The
classes are taught by Fr. Alexei, me, and
professional teachers who spend their summer
vacations there.
—Why have you chosen the Russian north as the
source of your inspiration? After all, there are many
other no less interesting places for an artist in
Russia.
—I am a native Muscovite, and the first time I ever
saw a village was at age ten, when my parents bought a
house in a tiny village in northern Yaroslavl Province. I
was often there, at all different times of the year, and I
became very close to the local old people; I would try to
help them with their work around the house. I came to love
the rural life, did many drawings and paintings. When I
entered the Russian academy of painting, sculpture, and
architecture, I visited the north for the first time. I
was always drawn to it after that, and… it felt
like home. It was a trip to Archangelsk Province. I was
captivated by everything there: the stunning nature, the
unusually open, hospitable people, old villages with
tower-like houses, and, of course, the surpassing beauty
of the wooden churches and chapels—the pearls and
pride of Russia. Later there were very many trips to the
north, including Karelia, regions beyond the Arctic
Circle, and Siberia. I travelled along the shores of my
beloved White Sea, and many northern rivers.
Tatiana Yushmanova. New grass. 2006. Oil and canvas. 50х70 см
I
have travelled during different times of the year,
and have always acutely and joyously felt that I was
home. I feel very good in the north, I get my
inspiration there, and it has become the main theme
of my creativity. I have been to the south, and to
many foreign countries, but I have never seen a
better land for me. In the Russian north, there is an
amazing union of past and present, modernity and
history, man and nature. There is such a light and
tender harmony of water, air, the sunrise-sunset
skies of the white nights, and the stark power of
uninhabited space and snowy winters. But the main
thing about the north for a Russian is that it is the
most Russian place, as the scholar, Dimitry
Sergeyevich Likhachev remarked. The north played an
outstanding role in Russian culture. It never knew
the Mongol Yoke or serfdom, and this can be seen in
the courageous, dignified, and simple character of
the northern people. D. S. Likhachev directed his
attention to the fact that the north saved Russia
during wars, protected Russian antiquity for us,
ancient customs, Russian wooden architecture, Russian
musical and literary culture, and Russian work
traditions. Of course that is true! Furthermore,
there is a healing moral strength in the Russian
north, and we should cherish it, preserve it, and not
allow the depopulation of the villages and the
ruination of churches there.
Tatiana Yushmanova. Quiet. 2005. Oil and canvas. 100х120 см
And how many wonderful monasteries
there are in the north! I was baptized in Valaam when
I was eighteen, and did many paintings there. I was
struck by the subtle harmony of the unique nature
there, the znameny chant, and the marvelous monastery
services. My strongest impressions in Solovki were
connected with the seaside fishermen, their work and
everyday life. There, I fell in love forever with the
White Sea and the white nights, and I did much work
during every visit to the archipelago. Also very dear
to me is the Monastery of St. Artemy of Verkola at
Pinega. I am very fortunate that my husband, Fr.
Alexei, shares my love for the Russian north. Thus, I
have many associations with the north. Three years
ago, we bought an old house in the seaside village
where, with God's help, the St. Nicholas Church
was brought back to life, and batiushka and I are now
introducing our little son to the north.
—The
family of a priest is always an example for
parishioners. How do you manage to combine being both
a priest's wife and an artist?
—I manage precisely because my husband is a priest.
Orthodox people, especially priests, relate very
responsibly to talent. If God has given someone a talent,
a gift, it must definitely be developed and not buried.
So, Fr. Alexei is my main helper and inspirer in
everything. I am very grateful to him for his support. I
never thought that I would be a priest's wife, and
when we first met, he knew that I am an artist and could
not abandon painting. Helping me to disperse the accepted
stereotype of a priest's wife as either a homemaker or
a choir director, he introduced me to priest's wives
with a wide range of professions. Of course, with the
birth of our son, there was considerably less time for my
work; but that only made me value the time more and use it
more fruitfully.
For more information on the Project, "Mutual
Concern," please go to the website,
Obsheedelo. Information on how to support
the restoration projects can be found
here. For more information, please send an e-mail from
that page.
18 февраля 2011 г.
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