Vladimir Dmitrievich Sverchkov

This article or section needs to be revised. Details should be given on the talk page. Please help to improve it , and then remove this flag.

Vladimir Dmitrievich Swertschkow , also traditionally Vladimir of Schwertschkoff or Swertschkoff , Russian Владимир Дмитриевич Сверчков ., Scientific transliteration Vladimir Dmitrievič Sverčkov (* 4. September 1821 in Loviisa in the Grand Duchy of Finland ; † 14. July 1888 in Florence ) was a mainly acting in Germany Russian Artist and art agent.

Life

Karin Månsdotter and two of her sons; Draft for a stained glass in Turku Cathedral, 1870

“Wladimir Swertschkoff, born in Loviisa, grew up with his father, Major General Dmitry Feodorovits Swertschkoff and his mother Katariina (née Jaenisch) from Vyborg in Ojamo's villa in Lohja, Finland. Vladimir went to school in Turku, where he also began his artistic training at the turn of 1830-1840 years. His teacher was Thomas Joachim Legler (1806-1873), who had moved to Finland from Trondheim. Swertschkoff followed his father and began his military career in the Russian Imperial Army in Helsinki, which ended after a short time. He continued his drawing studies under the direction of PA Kruskopf. His military career ended in the early 1840s because of a flag-carrying scandal. Swertschkoff fled through Sweden to Lübeck and finally arrived at the famous art center in Munich ”[1].

He settled in Oberschleißheim , began painting glass and opened his own workshop at Freisinger Straße 28 and 29. The representative villa he built here is still known today as Villa Swertschkoff .

“Of these residential buildings, that of the Russian painter von Swertschkoff, the furthest to the east on Dachauer-Freising Heerstrasse, opposite the middle of the northern castle garden wall, should be emphasized. It was performed in 1861, contains splendid rooms, a winter garden and old-fashioned furniture, doors, ovens, castles, beautiful pictures and flowers, etc. A beautiful, separate gardener's apartment, greenhouses, stable with pigeon house ec. give the whole thing a dull touch. More recently von Swertschkoff has set up a glass painting in his property, the products of which can make fair claims on Kunstwerth. The whole property was produced with great expenditure of money on the most inhospitable soil of Schleissheim. The 12 day ** large garden has, in addition to very carefully tended flower beds, bosquets and paths, small ponds and flowing brooks with swans. Many poor day laborers receive work and earnings through the owner of this expensive property ”[2].

After a checkered history and years of decline, it was restored in 2006. The later court glass painter Karl de Bouché worked in his workshop from 1868 to 1873 .

In addition to his glass painting, Swertschkoff worked as an art agent. His largest commission in 1868/69 was the complete furnishing of the Stieglitz Palace for the banker Alexander von Stieglitz in St. Petersburg. For this he was able to win over Hans von Marées and Moritz von Schwind (fireplace picture Diana and her companions ).

In 1873 Swertschkow showed products from his workshop at the world exhibition in Vienna and traveled from there to Florence , where he painted still lifes and flower pictures. In Florence, too, he built a large villa with a studio on Lungo il Mugnone, where he accommodated numerous artist friends - the Palazzo Die Pittori. Böcklin used the studio from autumn 1874 to April 1885 and created five versions of the island of the dead .

In 1876 Swertschkoff was honored with a silver medal by the Tsar.

Swertschkow died in Florence and was buried here in the Protestant cemetery .

plant

"Swertschkoff began his studies at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts in 1842, specializing in quality paintings and military subjects. He completed his studies at his own expense in Rome in 1844-1846 as a student of the painter Moller, who focused on military Swertschkoff spent the following years in Munich with his friend Johan Christ Böklund (1817-1880) in 1847-1848, legend has it that Swertschkoff heard in a café in Munich like a German student about the Russian army and the feudal system of Emperor Nikolai I. scoffed in support of Hungarian politics. Swertschkoff interfered in the situation, which led first to a dispute, then to a duel, and finally forced him to leave the country. This rumor of an artist defending his emperor, confirmed his popularity in Russia and probably broke orders for him after he returned to Russia in 1848 e, in the Hermitage art collection, he focused on copying the masterpieces of old artists such as Rembrandt. He was awarded the large silver medal by the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1849 and the small gold medal the following year. The latter record was given for the painting by the inner guard of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg "[1].

"Swertschkoff always maintained good relations with Finland. He was asked back to his homeland to illustrate the events of the world's first media war, the Crimean War (1854-1856). This was followed by drawings of military operations and portraits of successful soldiers in combat. The seven-part lithograph "Sketchers ur kriget i Finland" 1854 (1855) is one of the early publications on "Crimean War" and Finland "[1].

"The reputation of the artist, who was popular with the Russian court, was further strengthened when he received the gold medal from the Russian Academy of Arts in 1856 for the painting of the interior of the Doge's Palace. The medal was linked to a travel grant from six years, which enabled Swertschkoff to travel to Germany, presumably to Dresden and Kassel, where he continued his interests in qualitative pictures and Rembrandt paintings. The copies made in the Kassel picture galleries based on the original works by Rembrandt could be part of his earlier production in which case they were created before he returned to Russia, ie between the years 1844-1848. The artist continued his study trip from Germany to Paris possibly as early as 1857 and worked there as a student in Thomas Couture's atelier, probably in 1858-1859 "[1].

Copies and the making of art in public museums

"The work of an artist began to change to a professional activity in the 1800s. In the past, artists were associated with the guild system and only painted commissions, e.g. altarpieces for churches or portraits for nobility. Social modernization gave artists a new role and a new environment had to be created for their needs. Without organized exhibitions or museums, there was no public audience for the works of independent artists. The large art collections of kings or princes were only accessible to a few artists. The opening of the art collections by the Imperial family, which has been collected for the public over the centuries, provided the opportunity to see art in the Russian Empire, and the situation was pretty similar everywhere, as the Hermitage in St. Petersburg was only the fourth public art museum in Europe when it was opened in 1853 "[1].

"The students of the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts were probably allowed to copy the imperial art treasures before the museum opened to the public. The European art scene and museum culture, which is only in its early stages, required good copies of art-historically relevant paintings. The demand for copies increased strengthened the idea that looking at the copies of art-historically remarkable masterpieces better secured the development of the general public's taste in art than the paintings of contemporary artists who had no art-historical value "[1].

"Swertschkoff began his private drawing studies at the turn of 1830-1840 in a still rather modest field of art. Finnish art lessons began when a drawing school was founded in Turku in 1830 - supported by the painter's guild - only three years after a fire hit the The study began with copying simple printed model images, the next stage was the copperplate engravings and three-dimensional plaster models. After the establishment of the Finnish Art Association in 1846, the goals were changed more in the direction of academic tradition. However, there was no live- Models, still like the possibility to see real masterpieces or decent copies of them. As a result, there was a great need in the Finnish art scene for copies of famous masterpieces. The copies were of varying quality, but those copied directly from a real painting were definitely the most valuable "[1].

"On the back of 11 of the copies donated to the city of Turku is a red seal, in the middle of which is the two-headed eagle from the official Russian-imperial coat of arms. Around the eagle is the text in Cyrillic letters:" The Russian-imperial Hermitage ". The seal is a sign of a real copy made in the art museum. In the Hermitage not everyone was allowed to copy the art treasures of the museum, but the person needed a permit from the museum director or the official responsible for the collection an artist would provide his painting tools in front of the painting to be copied. If a copy was of good quality, the painting was marked with the seal on the back for official approval. The paintings in the Art Collection of the City of Turku show only remains of the on the back Papers attached to the seal "[1].

"The Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) was named as the painter of the original models from the copies in the art collection of the city of Turku. Today some of the original works are combined with the works of the Rembrandt faculty and a painting in turn with the production by Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641). Swertschkoff finally moved to St. Petersburg in 1856, so that at least all of the works of art in the art collection of the city of Turku, which are marked with the red seal of the Hermitage, were made before, i.e. between the years 1842-1856 When Swertschkoff left St. Petersburg, the Hermitage had been open to the public for about three years, so his Rembradt copies are very early works of art and cultural history for Finnish art history "[1].

Demanding painter of high quality pictures

"Swertschkoff already painted high-quality pictures at the St. Petersburg Academy and continued on the same line for the entire duration of 1850. Apart from the above-mentioned copies, all Swertschkoff paintings can be categorized as so-called genre painting. All but one of the works are painted on a wooden background strengthened with a wooden cross and show an extremely precise academic painting method. Five of the works show an intimate interior with people at work. The restrained and harmonious atmosphere of the pictures is in the warm light typical of Dutch quality pictures painted "[1].

"The small and meticulously painted picture 'Choirboy' (1848) is the oldest painting in the Wäino Aaltonen Museum (part of the Turku City Art Collection). The sympathetically painted picture shows a child in a cassock kneeling on the one covered with colored fabric Altar podium. He piously follows the mass and seems to be waiting eagerly with his incense container for his turn. The second oldest painting in the collection is the portrait of the Munich Friedrich Kaulbach of the wife of Swertschkoff in a Tyrolean costume, completed in 1849. In addition to the works of Swertschkoff, this painting is part of the Polovtsova fundraising "[1].

"The collection includes two paintings from the following year." Stall "(1850) is the only painting in the Swertschkoff collection from Turku that depicts the everyday life of the people. Despite the sparse stone building, the atmosphere in the painting is gentle. In the center of the painting is a small child feeding pigeons. The horse in the background observes the situation like a caring carer of the child. Painting called "A man who draws the urban landscape" by the museum is a painting "colored" by Romantic historicism. A man dressed in a Renaissance costume sits on the stone railing of a terrace covered with grapevines and draws the city of Rome, which is shown in sunset under his feet. Swertschkoff worked in Rome at least in the years 1844-1846 and from there He traveled via Vienna to Munich, During his trip he made detailed and landscape sketches in the academic style, but the final painting was all rolled into one Studio completed, often a combination of several sketches. During the trip the pressure of political turmoil in Europe increased. The situation came to a head in 1848 when France was declared a republic and Swertschkoff returned to St. Petersburg after a duel. The unrest of the religious and political extremists may have influenced the artist's sketches and the symbolism of the subject. The whole area of ​​Italy was divided into small states, all of which demanded unification. The Protestant countries pursued their own interests and tried to set a wedge on the other side between the Pope and the Catholic Church, on the other side between the supporters of revolting liberation movements. The artist shown on the painting is drawing the Basilica of St. Peter. On the terrace there is a red chair with a high back, like an empty throne or papal seat. The Renaissance was the golden age of the Catholic Church, which is shown in the painting with the help of the melancholy evening light "[1].

"The dates of the signatures on the two paintings called" Interieur "(inventory number 3744 and 3748), which are part of the collection, have faded with time. Although there is still no exact time for the artist's stay in Paris during his studies and the work exists, these paintings were probably produced between 1856 and 1859. "Interior view" (inventory number 3748) is painted according to the marking on the painting in Paris, probably in 1857. The work shows a young woman reading a letter in a light blue dress In front of a fireplace decorated with relief work. An old man listens to the news lost in an armchair, with his head bowed he leans on his cane. The furniture in the room creates a narrative depth in the picture. Next to the fireplace is an empty chair, Its back is covered with a black cloth, like a sign of mourning. The fireplace is decorated with relief work, on the sides of which there are war trophies The river in the middle of the relief divides it into two parts, on the left a wild forest, on the right the classicist architecture dominates. In a room adorned with a Roman vault sit four women who are either preparing for a bath or possibly a ceremony. The Celtic Cernunnos deity extends his hand on the left to the central figure of the group of women. This deer-headed figure symbolizes masculinity and possibly in this case also the wild counter-force to the classical Roman tradition. Did Swertschkoff depict the culturally and politically divided Europe in a symbolic marriage or reconciliation between north and south in the decoration of the fireplace? In this interpretation, this melancholy painting can be viewed as a representation of a situation in which news of mourning, possibly from the front, has just been received. The message is received calmly by the people accepting their fate "[1].

"The painting" Interior View "(inventory number 3744) shows a young man ascending the stairs, carrying a decorative bowl filled with grapes, apples and leaves. The boy, nicely dressed in court costume, is supposedly a service boy, at least that would be the one over his right arm The young man is framed by references to the moral standards and respect of ancestors. On the staircase railing is a brilliant sculpture of a female saint. The walls are decorated with knight's equipment. On the back wall is a painting large and splendid frame, which shows a dignified person dressed in a black suit with white collar. Like all erotic moral images, what the picture is actually about is only shown as an allusion. On the landing is a chair, on the back of which there is a A hat adorned with a feather and a sword of a male visitor lie hidden from the visitor rests on the railing. Did the servant boy with his bowl filled with sweet treats suggestive of sin become an involuntary witness of the mysterious meeting of her mistress and his visitor? At least he lowered his gaze in confusion "[1].

"The pictures with wooden panels and historical references by Swertschkoff can be viewed from the perspective of the academic tradition of German Romanticism. When analyzing the artist's works, his connection to the works of the artists' circle at the Munich Academy must not be forgotten. However, it is clear that Swertschkoff also pursued other artistic movements. In his book on the art of Thomas Couture, the American art historian Albert Boime connects Swertschkoff with the French painting tradition. According to the historian, Swertschkoff worked in Couture's student studio in 1858 and took many influences with him, especially for his still life painting. These weren't the only pictures with French influence, because, as described above, the painting "Interior" radiates references to an erotic Parisian art salon of the 1800s "[1].

"At the end of the 1850s, Swertschkoff seems to have been freed from the extremely precise brushwork of the German quality pictures. This is particularly visible in the only original picture in the collection that was painted on canvas." The woman dressed in blue "from 1860 is a picture painted in the Rococo style typical of the Parisian art salon of that time. The painting depicts a situation either in a museum or in the luxurious collection room of an art collector. A graceful young woman dressed in a powdered wig and a light blue wide silk dress is leaning on a high table and checks the dimensions of a gilded Cupid using her stylus as a yardstick. In the background is a large painting or tapestry depicting a classicist allegory. Although the history of the Swertschkoff paintings in the Turku City Art Collection has been little studied, the excellent Quality as part of the Finnish wi Business image quality can be considered in the early "[1].

Master of stained glass

"In 1860, Swertschkoff founded a studio near Munich in Schleissheim (note: the Villa Swertschkoff), which specializes in decorating the interiors. However, he was more famous with his studio specializing in glass painting, which began around 1863 He became active in 1867. He was interested in finding solutions to the technical problems of stained glass and he was actively looking for new methods in the almost industrial studio. His studio became very popular and his works were acquired from different parts of Europe. Large commissioned works were ordered from London, Berlin and Russia, both for the large conference hall of the St. Petersburg Academy and for the premises of the Moscow Kremlin. As the trade was brisk and profitable, Swertschkoff expanded his painting with the purchase of Anton Knoll's glass painting in Florence Moved to Italy for health reasons in 1873. He tried again in 1878 na ch Munich Bogenhausen, but soon came back to Florence "[1].

"The most famous works by Swertschkoff in Finland are the stained glass windows donated to the Turku Cathedral. The large window in one part of the Kaarina Church showing Magnusson's daughter was built in the Schleissheim studio in 1870-1871. The artist drew to Florence in 1873, where he probably completed the next works donated to Turku. The stained glass windows of the Tavast cemetery chapel arrived in Finland in 1876. After this, the festive window decorations were installed in the chapels of Horn, Tott and Stålhandske "[1] .

"In his last years Swertschkoff concentrated on free painting instead of leading the glass studio. Although he lived in Italy, he still took part in the exhibitions in Helsinki in 1879 and 1885. Arrangements were the theme of the exhibitions, their style became more realistic and colorful compared to the earlier works. These productions may have been influenced by Spanish art, which became quite popular in the European art scene in the mid-1850s. In the last works there were fish as models "[1].

"Swertschkoff died in Florence in 1888. Three years earlier, he bequeathed the art collection from his studio to the Stieglitz Art School in St. Petersburg. He sold the copies of Rembrandt's works to a former student, Mrs. Nadezgda Polovtsova, whose daughter Governor General Herzog Obolenskij from Finland was married. These relationships influenced the fact that Mrs. Polovtsova wanted to donate the paintings by Swertschkoff to Finland. The Finnish Art Association was interested in the collection, but Swertschkoff's interest in the city of Turku and the cathedral made Mrs. Polovtsova donated the works to the City of Turku. The works were brought to the Turku Art Museum, opened in 1904, but were transferred to the Turku Main Library in 1923. Unfortunately, the fine and filigree works donated were stored for years in premises meeting the requirements the storage of such museum art pieces does not correspond. D his valuable works and their frames are gradually being preserved with the aim of showing them to the public in the so-called "House of Art" in the old main library in Turku. The age of the works sets limits and to protect the works, a series of seven works is made available to the public in the rotunda of the "Haus der Kunst", which is changed every few years "[1].

Folders

• Eskizy voiny v Finlandii 1854 Goda / Teckningar ur kriget i Finland ar 1854. St. Petersburg 1854
• 8 whole painted windows with religious and historical representations and ornaments, executed or projected in the glass painting workshop of W. v. Swertschkoff in Schieissheim near Munich. 8 photographic plates on cartons, large fol. (Sample sheets from the company)

literature

[1] Riitta Kormano, Intendant of the Department of Museums Administration of Turku-Vladimir; Swertschkoff - monialainen kansainvälinen taiteilija ; http://www.virtualrm.spb.ru/en/resources/galleries_en/sverchkov

[2] J. Diem, The royal pleasure palace in Schleißheim , Munich 1968.

Gerhard J. Bellinger, Brigittegler-Bellinger, Schwabings Ainmillerstraße and their most important residents , 2nd edition 2013.

Marie-Sofie Lundström, Traveling in a Palimpsest, Finnish Nineteenth-Century Painters' Encounters with Spanish Art and Culture , Turku 2007, pp. 73ff.

Luise von Kobell, King Ludwig II and Art , Hamburg 2014.

Heinrich von Geymüller and the architectural drawing, work, effect and estate of a Renaissance researcher, Vienna, Cologne, Weimar 1998.

Hermann Schmid (Schmid n.d.), painter and graphic artist in Schleissheim, Volume 1, n.d.

Annika Waenerberg: From springboard to bridge. Munich's importance for Finnish art . In: zeitblicke . tape 5 , no. 2 , September 19, 2006, ISSN  1619-0459 ( zeitenblicke.de [accessed April 18, 2009]).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See Wilhelm Neu; Volker Liedke; Otto Braasch: Upper Bavaria: ensembles, architectural monuments, archaeological site monuments. Munich: R. Oldenbourg, 1986. ISBN 3486523929 , p. 468.
2. ↑ Oberschleißheim: Museum ist vom Tisch , article from April 11, 2006, accessed on April 18, 2009
3. ↑ See Julius Meier-Graefe : Hans von Marées; His life and his work. Volume 1, Munich, Leipzig: R. Piper 1909, pp. 75ff.
4. ↑ Kunstindustrielles from Munich , in: Kunstchronik , supplement to the magazine for visual arts , September 17, 1869