Born into a family of French origin
Nikolai Ge was born near Voronezh, in the family of a landowner of French origin. His grandfather, Matvei Ge, fled to Russia from the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. Nikolai's mother died three months after his birth, and the future artist and his brothers were left in the care of their grandmother and a nurse. Soon their father remarried and moved the family to Podolsk, from where Nikolai was sent to study at the First Kyiv Gymnasium. From an early age Ge showed an interest in art and took painting lessons from Fyodor Belyaev.
Studied mathematics
At his father's insistence Nikolai enrolled in the Faculty of Mathematics at Kyiv University, but he did not study there long — his older brother took him to St. Petersburg. Despite his artistic abilities and growing interest in painting, in St. Petersburg Ge again enrolled in the Faculty of Mathematics. In his free time Nikolai visited museums, picture galleries and musical concerts. Ultimately Ge decided to abandon mathematics and entered the Academy of Arts.
Imperial Academy of Arts.
Admired Karl Bryullov
Karl Bryullov was Nikolai Ge's main idol. At the time Ge was studying at the Academy, Bryullov was already gravely ill and unable to teach, so the young artist asked older comrades about him, talked with models, studied the master's paintings in exhibition halls for long periods and copied his style. Bryullov's artistic power nourished Ge and helped him in his search for his own unique creative voice.
Received the Academy's Large Gold Medal
In 1855 Nikolai Ge presented the painting Achilles mourning Patroclus to the Academy Council and received the Small Gold Medal. Two years later he was awarded the Large Gold Medal for the canvas Saul and the Witch of Endor.
Nikolai Ge. Saul and the Witch of Endor. 1857.
Painted one of his major works during a trip to Europe
After his exams Ge and his young wife went on the pensioner trip to Europe paid for by the Academy. He painted views of Italy, France and Switzerland and produced numerous studies. The trip was supposed to yield a major painting, but Ge encountered a creative crisis and was unable to develop the studies into large-scale works. By chance in Rome he visited the studio of the artist Ivanov and saw the painting The Appearance of Christ to the People, after which Ge decided to turn to Gospel subjects. The Last Supper was painted without a preliminary sketch in just two weeks. The canvas earned Ge the title of professor of historical painting and was soon purchased by Emperor Alexander II for 10,000 rubles.
Nikolai Ge. The Last Supper. 1863.
Served as treasurer of the itinerant art exhibitions
Ge's return to Russia in 1863 coincided with the Revolt of the Fourteen — fourteen of the best graduates of the Imperial Academy of Arts, led by I. N. Kramskoi, refused to take part in the competition for the Large Gold Medal held on the Academy's centenary. This event later gave rise to the Peredvizhniki movement. Ge wholeheartedly welcomed these events and became treasurer of the traveling art exhibitions.
Nikolai Ge. Self-portrait. 1892.
Abandoned life in St. Petersburg and moved to a khutor (a small farmstead)
Ge was a recognized artist, but not all his paintings were highly appreciated by the public and critics. He felt that such art did not answer his calling and unexpectedly sold his property in the capital and bought an abandoned khutor in the Chernigov Governorate, where he moved with his whole family. Ge engaged in farm work, freely built stoves for peasants throughout the area. Painting took a back seat, but in his free time Ge painted portraits of his contemporaries.
Zabela Anna Petrovna, the artist's wife.
Befriended Leo Tolstoy
When Ge read Leo Tolstoy's articles he realized he had found a like-minded person. Arriving in Moscow, he stayed for a long time with Tolstoy, painted his famous portrait, talked with the writer, gave up meat and tobacco, and gave land to the peasants. Ge considered the main value to be bringing benefit to those around him.
Nikolai Ge. Portrait of L. N. Tolstoy. 1884.
Created a Gospel cycle of paintings
The central theme of Nikolai Ge's late work became the last days of Christ's earthly life. The cycle included the paintings What Is Truth?, Christ Going Out with His Disciples from the Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane, Golgotha, and Mary Magdalene. The Passion cycle did not find approval or understanding from contemporaries — the paintings were removed from exhibitions and censored for offending believers' feelings. For the artist it was a painful search, a rethinking of Christ's path and a step toward expressionism.
Nikolai Ge. What Is Truth? 1890.
Nikolai Ge. Golgotha. 1893.
His late works were recognized after his death
In 1894, after the artist's death, Ge's younger son transferred works from the studio to the Tretyakov Gallery. In the 1950s, at a flea market in Switzerland, worthless drawings were bought for 100 francs; more than 50 of them turned out to be studies for Nikolai Ge's Passion cycle. They are now housed in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Nikolai Ge. Later years.
