Vasily Polenov: Conversation with the Soul

Abstract

The article examines the work of Vasily Polenov. The author presents Polenov’s artistic path as the dramatic choice between what is commonly called genre and landscape painting. From the philosophical point of view, the problem consists in concept of understanding art. On the one hand, the essence of art can be reduced to «what», to writing a story, a big sense. On the other hand, art can be understood as «painting for painting’s sake». In this sense, the tension in Polenov’s work arises between the paintings «Moscow Courtyard» and «Christ and the Sinner». The author notes that the way out of this dilemma is to understand art as the subject that reflects the non-objectifiable and devoid of anything essence. The article analyzes the philosophical meaning of Polenov’s paintings of the gospel cycle and provides a philosophical analysis of the artist’s nostalgic paintings. The author comes to the conclusion that Polenov’s paintings are the form that establishes an emotionally experiencing human being