The picture of the world in the graphic art of the Buryat painter Tsyren-Namzhil Ochirov

Abstract

The article deals with the artistic heritage of the outstanding Buryat artist Tsyren-Namzhil Ochirov (1920–1987), whose artistic phenomenon is based on the specific combination of the life philosophy, “naive” simplicity of depiction and the poetic love to his motherland called the Tonto Nyutag by the Buryat people. The public interest to his art was raised during the artist’s lifetime. In the early 1970s, several articles dedicated to his art were released in local newspapers. His unique artistic manner was studied by a group of young amateur artists who were members of the Republican Center of Amateur and Folk Arts in Ulan-Ude. Serious research work on his rich artistic heritage conducted by art critics and scholars started after his death. In the late 1980s and the early 1990s Svetlana Tsybiktarova, the art critic and the science assistant of the Khangalov Historical Museum in Ulan-Ude, together with her elder colleague from Leningrad Natalya Iofan, released the article entitled “The artist from Mogsokhon”. The name of Tsyren-Namzhil Ochirov was introduced to the world of art experts for the very first time. The authors revealed the correlation between his art and the traditional Buddhist painting. Tatyana Boronoeva in her monography “Graphic art in Buryatia” made a partial analysis of Tsyren-Namzhil Ochirov’s art in the chapter “Art of self-taught painters and the problem of ethnicity in the Buryat graphics”. Larisa Nikolaeva in the article entitled “The art system of the Buryat amateur painter Tsyren-Namzhil Ochirov (1920–1987)” shared with readers some interesting facts from his life. In her article, she also underlined some similar features of the traditional Buddhist painting in his art. In 2019, the year prior to the 100-th anniversary of the artist, the family of Tsyren-Namzhil Ochirov published an album of his graphic works. The content of the album was compiled by his granddaughter S. Tarnueva. One hundred and fifty drawings were selected from the family archive and were introduced to the wide public. The rich art heritage of Tsyren-Namzhil Ochirov numbering about five hundred works includes thirty manuscripts and wooden items of the decorative and applied art. The author of the current article makes an analysis of the graphic works of Tsyren-Namzhil Ochirov from the funds of the National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia and from the private collection of the artist’s family. Of a great importance for the author of the article is the definition of his art’s origin, which is, on the one hand, derived from the traditional Buddhist painting, and, “the Buryat Zurag” on the other. The latter is the painting created in a specific artistic manner that reflects the world perception of the Buryat people. For the better description of the topic, the author publishes the conversations with the daughter of the artist Roza Tsyrenovna, with the painter Alexander Moskvitin, his close friend and the speech of the Buryat artist Zandan Dugarov at the event Round Table dedicated to Tsyren-Namzhil Ochirov’s art in 2016. The author of the article uses artistic methods and elements of the historic approach as the complex tool in her research work. Статья посвящена творчеству выдающегося художника Цырен-Намжила Очирова (1920–1987), чей феномен заключается в своеобразном синтезе народной философии, «наивной» простоты графического изображения и возвышенной любви к своей малой родине «тоонто нютаг». Факты биографии буддийского самодеятельного художника, близость его творчества буддийскому наследию установлены в исследованиях 1980–1990-х годов, а в 2019 году впервые опубликовано около 150 произведений Очирова из личных архивов семьи. В настоящей статье представлен впервые проведенный анализ графического наследия Ц.-Н. Очирова на основе материалов из фондов Национального музея Республики Бурятия, а также частной коллекции из семьи художника. Определены истоки творчества мастера, связи с традицией буддийской графики, бурятским мировоззрением, стилем «буряад зураг». Автор впервые приводит материалы личных бесед с членами семьи и коллегами художника. В исследовании использован комплекс искусствоведческих методов и элементы историко-описательного метода.