Итальянский пейзаж в творчестве Константина Горбатова

Abstract

Based on the first widely presented in Russia exhibition of works by the Russian emigrant artist Konstantin Ivanovich Gorbatov (1876–1945) organized in 2021 by the State Museum of History and Art ‘New Jerusalem’ with the participation of museum and private collections, the author analyzes a part of the master’s pictorial heritage dedicated to Italy. A graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a follower of the Russian impressionist tradition, Gorbatov first came to Italy during his retirement trip in 1912. There he was able to feel the power of color and the influence of the light and aerial environment on the transformation of color, and forever remained faithful to the Italian landscape. Having left their homeland in 1922, Gorbatov and his wife settled in Berlin but made numerous journeys to Italy, where he always worked a lot. While staying in Capri, he would travel along the Italian coast, creating his chronicle of charming towns scattered on the coastal cliffs and poetic landscapes inspired by the emerald color of the sea and the bright sun. The subject of the research is the paintings by K.I. Gorbatov dedicated to Italy and his Notes on Art and Life that provide comments on the peculiarities of the master’s perception of nature, vision of color and balance of colors, and his work with color. The research aims to study K.I. Gorbatov’s works in the context of life and work of the Russian artistic emigration in Europe in the second quarter of the 20th century through the analysis of his Italian landscapes, and to analyze the master’s creative method using archival materials. This will contribute to raising understanding and awareness of his art among Russian viewers who were deprived of the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the artist’s work for a long time. The development of the declared research topic involves the application of the interdisciplinary approach, archival, empirical, and iconographic methods, and comparative, artistic and stylistic analyses.