Evgeny Lansere – a recognized master of miniature bronze sculpture, one of the founders of Russian cabinet sculpture.
The second half of the 19th century in sculpture was marked by a period of crisis.
The cause was the transition from academism to realism. It led to the loss of a sense of material, the expressiveness of sculptural language, and the integrity of form. New themes and subjects were treated in a narrowly domestic, narrative manner, which was incompatible with the specifics of conveying an image in sculpture.
Evgeny Lansere, Peasant on Horseback, 1881
The path from reproducing a single concrete fact to a broad, all-encompassing meaning had not yet been found. Vitality and plausibility were considered paramount: working from life, attention to the details of the setting, costume and accessories, the locality and the time of the depicted event.
It was precisely during this time of "sculptural uncertainty" that the talented self-taught artist Evgeny Lansere appeared.
Evgeny Lansere, Standard-Bearer (Cadet of the Nikolaev Cavalry School), 1882
Lansere's genre and animal sculptures were especially popular at the end of the 19th century. The main theme of the sculptor's work was scenes from real life observed by the master during numerous travels across Russia, England, France, Austria, Belgium, Central Asia, the Caucasus and North Africa. These trips enriched his work with ethnic motifs.
Evgeny Lansere. 'The Chase'. 1871. Cast at F. Chopin's foundry
Evgeny (Evgeny-Boleslav-Woldemar) Alexandrovich Lansere was born on August 24, 1848 in Morshansk, in the family of State Councillor Ludwig Paul (Alexander Pavlovich) Lansere and Eleonora Antonovna Yakhimovskaya, a ward of the von Woronesius barons.
From childhood Evgeny was passionate about art — he drew a lot and modeled animals in wax and plasticine, especially horses, which he loved and understood well. His first sculptural composition, titled "Troyka", which Lansere modeled at the age of 11, was presented to Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich, the heir to the throne.
Evgeny Lansere, Mounted Arab with Lion Cubs, 1879
When the sculptor was 13, his father showed the son's works to Ivan Aivazovsky and the renowned sculptor and founder P. Klodt. Both masters appreciated the boy's creative abilities. They also advised not to send Evgeny to the Academy of Arts so as not to ruin the uniqueness of his talent. Lansere obtained a candidate degree in law at Saint Petersburg University, but at the same time continued to pursue sculpture.
That the master was self-taught in no way hindered, but rather contributed to, the development of his unique plastic talent. By the age of 24 he received the title of Class Artist of the 1st degree, and in 1874 for outstanding achievements in art he was recognized as an honorary free member of the Academy of Arts. From 1879 Lansere became a member of the Moscow Society of Art Lovers. His works began to appear at exhibitions, including international and World's Fairs in Vienna, Paris, London, Philadelphia, as well as the All-Russian Exhibition of 1882. In 1886 his first solo exhibition was held, where about 100 works were presented.
Evgeny Lansere, Peasant Girl with a Cow, 1860s
"More than anything else, Lansere showed his strength and talent in conveying a variety of scenes from the lives of the Circassians, Georgians, Ossetians, Kyrgyz, Bashkirs, Nogais... Their life in the open, among mountains and steppes, forests and valleys against the background of wild and graceful nature, amid eternal needs and occupations — that is what most inspires Lansere, that is what gives him the ability to take the mightiest tones. Almost always the companion of the man of the steppe is the horse, a reliable helper, a faithful accomplice in all his undertakings. But what a horse it is! Full of character, understanding, meaning, feeling, independence. What it means to live in freedom, in the field, in the mountains, among herds grazing at liberty!", wrote the critic V. Stasov, who was an admirer of Evgeny Lansere's work.
Evgeny Lansere, Falcon Hunt. Horseman
A passionately devoted romantic, the artist explored the central provinces, Ukraine, the Caucasus, Bashkiria, Kyrgyzstan, the Middle East and other regions that enriched his artistic arsenal with impressions and emotions. The creation of bronze sculptures was a complex technological process. The casting of his works was carried out at foundries and bronze-casting workshops, where owners purchased his original models and obtained the right to produce and sell his works for a certain period of time.
Great importance for producing high-art sculpture lies in its subsequent finishing: chasing, patination, tinting. Lansere always paid close attention to this process and tried to be personally present in the foundry workshop during the casting and decoration of the sculptures.
Evgeny Lansere, Catching a Wild Horse, 1876
Often on the pedestal next to the master's signature "Sculpted by E. Lansere" there is another name — "F. Chopin." Felix Chopin was a hereditary French-Russian founder, owner of a foundry in Saint Petersburg, and also a supplier to His Imperial Majesty's Court.
For a long time the master collaborated with Felix Chopin's firm, which included Lansere's sculptures in its main product line, believing that the lively compositions of the young sculptor would become popular not only in Russia. And he was not mistaken, because it was Lansere who made a considerable contribution to the growing popularity of the factory's products. After F. Chopin's death his daughter took to France a number of models that belonged to the Lansere family.
Among other enterprises with which Lansere collaborated, one can also note the foundries of N. Shtange, V. Grachev, I. Sazikov, A. Moran, as well as the Kasli cast-iron foundry.
Evgeny Lansere and Felix Chopin
Evgeny Alexandrovich Lansere lived a short but full and productive life. He died of consumption at the age of 38, leaving behind his wife Ekaterina Nikolaevna, née Benois, and six children: Sofia, Ekaterina, Maria, Nikolai, Evgeny and Zinaida. Three of E. Lansere's children chose art as their profession and became artists: Nikolai Evgenyevich Lansere — an architect-artist and professor at the Academy of Arts; Evgeny Evgenyevich Lansere — a graphic artist, painter and stage designer; Zinaida Evgenyevna Lansere (Serebriakova) — a painter and graphic artist.
In total the sculptor left about 400 works. Today they are held in major state museums and in private collections of connoisseurs of artistic bronze.
