Tolstoy Fedor Petrovich

One of the most interesting and original artists of the first half of the 19th century, he was born in 1783 in St. Petersburg into the family of the head of the Kriegs Commissariat and, according to the customs of that time, was immediately enrolled as a sergeant in the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The young man's artistic abilities were revealed very early. While studying in the corps, F. P. Tolstoy began attending the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts as a volunteer student. At the Academy of Arts, Tolstoy studied sculpture with Professor I. P. Prokofiev, and here he became friends with O. A. Kiprensky, whose advice he followed in drawing plaster. The artist enthusiastically copies ancient statues, studies ancient history, morals and customs of people of the distant past. His sincere and deep love for ancient art, which arose in his youth, would later pass through his entire creative path. With exceptional talent and hard work, Tolstoy quickly achieves success. The artist's first works were drawings and bas-reliefs on ancient themes. Thus, in 1806 he executed the drawings “Alexander the Great’s Confidence in the Doctor Philip,” “The Judgment of Paris,” “The Struggle of Hercules” and others (Russian Museum). For the wax bas-relief “The Triumphal Entry of Alexander the Great into Babylon” (1809, State Hermitage), F. P. Tolstoy was elected an honorary member of the Academy of Arts. Medal-making, sculpture and graphics, and later painting and decorative art - this original and brilliant master showed himself in almost every field of artistic creativity. His early works, high reliefs made of pink wax - “Boy under a Blanket”, “Bathing Children” (both 1808-1809, Kalinin Regional Art Gallery), “Darling” (1808-1809, State Hermitage) - indicate great professionalism. The beauty of the lines, the smoothness of the outlines, the softness and expressiveness of the sculpting is distinguished by the figure of Dushenka. His knowledge of nature and excellent mastery of the secrets of wax technique were noted by his contemporaries in his high reliefs. A very special place in the work of the early period is occupied by wax portraits - small profile images made in low relief from light, yellow and pink wax on a black board or glass. If in the early portrait bas-reliefs the sculptor strives to express the intense inner life of his characters (portrait of A. F. Dudina, portraits of the brothers), then in the later ones he follows the line of generalization and typification of images, showing greater freedom in the use of artistic means (portraits of K. A. Leberecht, P. A. Tolstoy, etc.). The beginning of the artist’s work as a medalist is connected entirely with the St. Petersburg Mint, where in 1810 he received an appointment. The medal, in his opinion, should be clear and intelligible, “so that everyone can immediately understand why it was struck.” “I intended to create the medals entrusted to me,” wrote F. P. Tolstoy, “in the ancient Greek form, as the best in the fine arts, strictly observing the fidelity of the customs, costumes, locality and country of that time and those persons in whose presence the famous event that was to be depicted on the medal took place...” In 1809, the first medal “In memory of Chatsky’s educational activities” appeared, executed in the best traditions of classicism, and in 1813-1817 - medals, including an award medal for students of the Academy of Arts. All of them are distinguished by the classical rigor of the composition, the beauty of the contours, the smoothness of the rhythms and the accuracy of the drawing. Working long and hard in the field of medal art, Tolstoy created a doctrine about “what and how someone who wants to be an artist-medalist, and not a medalist-craftsman, should learn.” The artist gained true fame and fame after creating a series of medallions on the themes of the Patriotic War of 1812. “I am Russian and proud of this name,” wrote F. P. Tolstoy during the days of the Patriotic War, “wanting to participate in the glory of my compatriots, wanting to share it... I dared to undertake an enterprise that would have embarrassed even the greatest artist. But the hitherto unheard of glory of our days... can also inspire a mediocre talent so much that he will enter the gates of future times... I decided to pass on to my descendants the faint shades of feelings that filled me, I wanted to tell them that in our time everyone thought like me, and everyone was happy, bearing the name of a Russian. It is important to note that the artist did this work, which lasted more than twenty years, not by order or request of high-ranking officials, but solely out of sincere patriotic motives. He immortalized the most famous military actions not with portraits of generals, but with figures symbolically representing the Russian army and the people's militia. He carefully studied the details of the battles, read the notes of military experts, and talked with war veterans. The surviving drawings and sketches are given. the opportunity to trace the creative process of working on each composition and convince us that the laconicism and expressiveness of artistic language was achieved by the artist at the cost of great research, persistent and hard work. He managed to ensure that “anyone, looking at the finished medal, could find out, without resorting to a signature, for what occasion it was stamped.” Tolstoy's medallions are very diverse in their subjects and solutions. The main place in them is occupied by the largest battles and battles of the Patriotic War. Reality itself determined the nature of the subjects and compositions of the medallions and gave direction to the artist’s creative thought. A deep and close connection with real life filled Tolstoy's works with an excited and sincere feeling. Tolstoy's medallions became widely known not only in Russia, but also abroad. He was elected a member of almost all European art academies. The flowering of the artist’s work coincided with the period of his most intense political and civic activity. Like many progressive people of his time, Tolstoy dreamed of broad reforms, of changing social orders. In 1816, he was involved in the Freemason movement, and later participated in the organization of the so-called “Lancaster Schools”, the purpose of which was to spread literacy among the population. Social activities prepared Tolstoy to join a secret society in 1818 - the Union of Welfare, where he was not an ordinary participant, but one of the leaders - the chairman of the Root Council. Tolstoy did not follow the Decembrists to the end, but retained his convictions, courage and breadth of views. This is evidenced by two notes from Tolstoy submitted to Nicholas 1 in 1826, in which he courageously defends the dignity of the human person, sharply criticizes the senseless drill and cane discipline in the army, angrily condemns serfdom and bureaucratic tyranny. The artist took an active part in the release of T. G. Shevchenko, seeking his amnesty. Intense social activities did not prevent the artist from pursuing his favorite art. In 1816, he made four bas-reliefs in wax for Homer's Odyssey (Tretyakov Gallery). These bas-reliefs represent the most valuable part of the artist's sculptural heritage. A subtle understanding and knowledge of antiquity, a deep penetration into the world of ancient Greek life that captivated him, helped the artist resurrect the pages of distant history in all its poetic charm and vital persuasiveness. In addition to medallions and bas-reliefs, Tolstoy created several sculptures. In 1822, the master made “Head of Morpheus” (terracotta, Russian Museum), in 1839 “Bust of Nicholas I” (marble, Russian Museum), in 1848 “Head of Christ” (plaster, Russian Museum; marble, Tretyakov Gallery). In 1849, for his services in the field of sculpture, the Council of the Academy of Arts approved him as a professor. Illustrations for I. F. Bogdanovich’s poem “Darling” also occupy a large place in the artist’s creative heritage. Work on the drawings continued for thirteen years (1820-1833, Tretyakov Gallery), from which engravings were subsequently created. These sheets revealed Tolstoy's brilliant mastery of line, characteristic of all the artist's work. Line and contour were for him the main means of artistic expression. In his hands, the line is elastic, precise, it intensifies, then approaches and disappears, creating a complete feeling of volume, materiality of figures and objects. The different nature of the lines gives the artist the opportunity to solve plastic and spatial problems with the utmost laconicism. F. P. Tolstoy’s illustrations for “Darling” are the crown of the artist’s graphic skill. They reflected the best aspects of his drawing art - virtuosity and precision of drawing, lightness of linear rhythms and their musicality, beauty of contours. Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy died on April 13, 1873 at the age of ninety. This wonderful artist lived a long life filled with work. He left a vivid memory of himself. His works, created more than a hundred years ago, live on in our time, delighting viewers with their remarkable craftsmanship.