Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was a Russian painter, one of the most significant artists of the post-reform era, and an educator. After graduating from gymnasium, Polenov, together with his brother, entered the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of Saint Petersburg University, but soon left his studies and devoted himself to painting. Polenov studied under the famous Pavel Chistyakov and was the teacher of the well-known painters Isaac Levitan and Konstantin Korovin. He also made his mark in the theatrical field as a stage designer and organizer of folk theaters.
He attended evening classes at the Academy of Arts, mastered drawing, anatomy, architecture and art history, and in 1867 received silver medals for his works. Later he nevertheless decided to complete his legal education and defended a dissertation titled "On the Significance of Art in its Application to Crafts." In those same years the painting "The Raising of Jairus's Daughter" brought him the Academy's Large Gold Medal.
In the early 1890s Polenov acquired an estate on the Oka River and turned it into a center of enlightenment and culture. The grounds contained his private home, a museum and an art gallery where works by the artist himself and his pupils were exhibited: Konstantin Korovin, Isaac Levitan and Ilya Ostroukhov.
The culmination of Polenov's work was an evangelical cycle of paintings, completed in 1905, which won great acclaim at Russian exhibitions. After the October Revolution, Polenov continued his educational activities: he conducted tours of the estate, worked with local youth, organized theatrical groups and taught painting. In 1919 he created the painting "Flooding on the Oka." In 1924 the Tretyakov Gallery marked his 80th birthday with a solo exhibition, and in 1926 Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was awarded the honorary title People's Artist of the RSFSR. The artist died at his Borok estate in the Tula region at the age of 83.
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