Biography

Outstanding Russian and Soviet graphic artist, illustrator, master of easel engraving, etching and lithography; author of many book illustrations. Art critic. He headed the graphic section of the Leningrad branch of the Union of Artists of the USSR (LOSKh, 1932–1939). Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1969).

Dmitry Isidorovich Mitrokhin was born in the city of Yeisk, Krasnodar Territory. After graduating from the Yeisk Real School (1902), he entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (MUZHVZ). At MUZHVZ, D. I. Mitrokhin’s teachers were A. M. Vasnetsov and A. S. Stepanov. In 1904 he moved to the Stroganov School. His ceramics participates in the XII exhibition of the Moscow Association of Artists (1905); in November he travels to Paris via St. Petersburg and Cologne. In 1906, he studied at the drawing classes of the Grande Chaumiere Academy (Académie de la Grande Chaumiére), with E. Grasset and T. Steinlen.

The artist works in several publishing houses in St. Petersburg (1908). At the invitation of A. Benois and K. Somov, Mitrokhin takes part in the exhibition “World of Art”. Participates in the “Salon” of S. Makovsky and in the VI exhibition of the Union of Russian Artists.

Dmitry Mitrokhin is a member of many artistic associations: “Murava” (Artel of Pottery Artists, 1904–1908), Moscow Association of Artists (1905–1924), Leonardo da Vinci Society (1906–1911), Tver Social and Pedagogical Circle (1909–1913 ), Union of Russian Artists (SRH, 1910–1923), “Ring” (1911–1914), “Moscow Salon” (1911–1921), “Apartment No. 5” (1915–1917), “World of Art” (1916– 1924), “House of Arts” (1919–1922), Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (1922–1932), “Sixteen” (1923–1928), “Heat Color” (1923–1929), Section of Engravers (OPH, 1928– 1929), Society of Painters (1928–1930). Founding member of the Society of Graphic Artists (1928–1932).

Works as head of the Department of Engravings and Drawings of the Russian Museum (1918). Professor at the Higher Institute of Photography and Photographic Technology (1919–1926). Professor of the printing department of the Higher Art and Technical Institute (1924–1930) in Leningrad.

He has developed several dozen publishing brands, trade emblems and labels. In the field of “small forms”, which was mastered by D.I. Mitrokhin back in the 1910s, the book sign occupies a special place. A perfect master of composition, with a good command of both the decorative and graphic components of the book, with a keen sense of its nature, he made almost fifty bookplates (most of them date back to 1919–1923).

In Soviet times, the artist successfully engaged in easel graphics, designed and illustrated books; he is the author of a huge series of miniatures in the genre of chamber still life. This work of an illustrator, which he carried out with love, he enthusiastically and very successfully combined it with his studies in engraving, etching, and lithography. He designed and illustrated a significant number of books and magazines in various publishing houses - “Ogni”, “Petropolis”, “Petrograd”, “Mysl”. “Surf” and many others, in the best of them – Academia (with which he collaborated for about six years): “Seven Love Portraits” by A. de Regnier (1920, 1921; Petrograd), Marina Tsvetaeva’s fairy tale poem “The Tsar Maiden” (1922); – playful pen drawings made in a manner that has already become traditional for the artist for the design of “The Gold Bug” by Edgar Poe (1922), “Epsin” by Ben Jonson (1920, 1921; “Petropolis”), – illustrations by Victor Hugo (1923), Henri Barbusse, Octave Mirbeau, “Books of Comedies” by Aristophanes (1930), “Ethiopics” by Heliodorus (1932).

In the 1920s, D. I. Mitrokhin again came into contact with children's literature, he illustrated and designed several books, among which the already mentioned “The Golden Bug” by Edgar Allan Poe (1921–1922) and “Journey to the Land of Cinema” by V. Shklovsky should be highlighted (1926), “October ABC” (1927). The work on the latest edition once again confirms the artist’s brilliant mastery of the art of type. The appearance of the two-volume satirical novel by K. Immermann “Munchausen” (1930–1932) suggests that the artist approached the entire structure of this publication very inventively: the characters of the work are sharply caricatured, turning into original, entertaining comments on the book, the layout of the title pages is witty; binding, endpaper, dust jacket - everything is in harmony. Since the autumn of 1939, D. I. Mitrokhin worked on the design of a book of fairy tales by H. C. Andersen, having received an order from a German publishing house. As can be understood from the artist’s letters, he continued to create interesting illustrations, judging by the few surviving copies, already in mid-June 1941 - this publication was not destined to see the light of day.

Since the mid-1930s, for D.I. Mitrokhin, book graphics are no longer of paramount importance in creativity; they begin to give way to woodcuts, metal engravings, drawings and watercolors. Working from life was never excluded from the number of regular activities, from the artist’s sphere of interests, and he was constantly looking for and improving in this area. Dmitry Mitrokhin made a little more than 70 engravings, but even this relatively small number of works in this field allows him to be considered one of the best domestic woodcut masters. Starting with techniques close to the “black style,” when the artist preferred a white, slightly rough stroke, he later came to “a silvery palette rich in halftones and various textured elements.”

Mitrokhin began to study wood engraving “almost out of curiosity,” under the influence of V.V. Voinov, one of the initiators and promoters of the revival of woodcuts as an independent (non-reproductive) easel technique, with whom Dmitry Isidorovich was well acquainted from the “World of Art” - and museum work; in 1941, they joined the militia together, survived the blockade, and were in Alma-Ata together. Mitrokhin worked at the General Staff Publishing House and from 1941 to 1942 at the Institute of Blood Transfusion. He created about 100 pencil and watercolor drawings, including those dedicated to the life of the besieged city.

Metal engraving by D. and Mitrokhin is a unique phenomenon in Soviet art of the pre-war era. The true artistry with which the master was able to embody the subtle emotional structure and lyricism of his artistic nature did not find a response to support this fresh undertaking, and the real area of ​​his work truly alone occupies a place among the “largest phenomena of European metal engraving of the 20th century,” he notes artist, art critic Yu. A. Rusakov.

Until the second half of the 1920s, he turned to working on stone only twice. Of the lithography created by D.I. Mitrokhin, half dates back to 1928 - the first year of his full-fledged study of this printmaking technique. In order to maintain a living contact between the soft lithographic pencil and the working surface, he neglects the corncopier, which allows him to transfer the previously made drawing - the artist works directly on the stone. And here he uses all the wealth of techniques: he draws with a wide light stroke, uses a pen, lightens the tone by scratching long parallel strokes. Most of all, he made easel lithographs for monochrome prints - on one stone, but several lithographs were printed from 2 and even 3 stones (1929–1931).

In his lithographs the same theme prevails as in the end engraving - Leningradskaya street, fishing Yeisk. The best series is “Six lithographs, colored by the author” (1928). And here the artist’s attention is focused on colorful street types; these works bring to us the appearance of the city, the aroma of a bygone era.

A short fascination with this technique resulted in the experience of using it in book graphics for D. I. Mitrokhin - the “Selected Works” of N. S. Leskov (1931) were designed. The artist made his last lithograph in 1934 - this is a landscape of the Central Park of Culture and Culture, he never turned to it again.

With all the successes of D.I. Mitrokhin in book graphics and achievements in engraving, the most significant and significant part of his creativity is easel drawing. This concept unites the actual pencil works, and watercolors, and works made in mixed media - the main activities of the last thirty years of his life. Hundreds of small easel sheets (the vast majority the size of a postcard or notepad page) contain the most vivid and impressive expression of the artist’s worldview; they very organically merged graphic and pictorial principles; these suites, created over many years, are pages of a diary filled with life. The work of D. I. Mitrokhin underwent changes throughout almost half a century of his active work in this field, as if anticipating the artist’s appeal to the only possible for him, but also the most vivid, unique form of application of his talent - drawing, which from a certain moment will be destined to become universal expressive means of his worldview. One gets the impression that the same “preparatory” function was performed by other types of easel graphics, as if helping the artist to find this lapidary, intelligible, but far from monosyllabic language of the works that are fundamental in content and capacity, individual, completely independent graphic style.

Dmitry Isidorovich Mitrokhin, who lived a great creative life, had the happiness of studying, collaborating, making friends, being in associations and societies with many artists, among whom were those whose mark on the art of the 20th century is comparable to the influence on the course of history of the most important discoveries of the era. In the first lines of the artist’s autobiographical notes there are the names of M. F. Larionov, N. S. Goncharova and A. V. Fonvizin, who studied side by side and were friends with him - S. T. Konenkov and S. V. Malyutin.

In different periods of comprehension of the paths of expressiveness and mastery, the artist’s interest was focused on their different manifestations, and with varying degrees of their impact on the artist’s worldview - sometimes ephemeral and almost opportunistic, and therefore easily and painlessly overcome, such as, for example, salon, Beardsley, modern trends that required a longer “neutralization” of purely decorative, stylized ornamental, popular print and printed motifs; or, on the contrary, in the form of a deep, essential understanding, which was realized in the artist’s system of views - Western European and Japanese engravings. “But, having gone through these hobbies,” writes M. V. Alpatov, “he returned to such values ​​of art that transcend the boundaries of time and space and exist everywhere.”

The work of the artist D. I. Mitrokhin is presented in the Russian Museum (GRM), State Tretyakov Gallery, Russian Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI), Russian National Library (St. Petersburg), Museum of Fine Arts of Karelia, National Gallery of the Komi Republic, Udmurt Museum of Fine Arts , Chuvash Art Museum, Lugansk Museum, many private collections and galleries.

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Mitrokhin Dmitry Isidorovich (1883 - 1973 ) - illustrator, book designer. Master of easel woodcuts, lithographs, engravings with a chisel and drypoint, easel drawings, and watercolors. He studied in Moscow, at the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1902 - 1904) with A.M. Vasnetsova, A.S. Stepanova; Stroganov Central Art and Industrial School at S.V. Noakovsky, S.I. Yaguzhinsky; Parisian Academie de la Grande Chaumiere under the leadership of T. Steilin, E. Grasse (1905 - 1906). He worked in the artel of artists “Murava” (1904 - 1905, 1907 - 1908) in Moscow. Lived in St. Petersburg (since 1908), Moscow (since 1944). Member of the World of Art association (since 1916). Curator of the drawing and engraving department at the State Russian Museum (1918 - 1923). He taught in Leningrad at the Higher Institute of Photography and Photographic Technology (1919 - 1923), at VKHUTEIN (1924 - 1930). Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

1965 Watercolor, ink, gouache, paper

1965 Watercolor, graphite pencil, paper

On Malaya Nevka. 1939. Chisel engraving, watercolor

paper / etching 1925

Landscape paper / etching 1947

Bridge. 1927. Chisel engraving

Transport under my window 1948-1949. Cutter

Exhibition at the State Literary Museum.

Exhibition in Galeev gallery.

“Draw every day, think about what you will draw next time, observe, search, always look for new ways of depicting. Reality never repeats itself. Always search, remaining yourself, never resting on what has been done.”

Dmitry Mitrokhin

Biography

Dmitry Isidorovich Mitrokhin(1883-1973) - Russian graphic artist, illustrator, book artist, art critic.

Born into the family of a small clerk and the daughter of a Cossack merchant. As a child, spending a lot of time in his grandfather's printing house, he became acquainted with the art of printing and became interested in reading. After graduating from the Yeisk Real School, he entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture and in 1903 took part in the school’s exhibition for the first time. A year later he transferred to the Stroganov School, studied in drawing classes at the Grand Chaumiere Academy (Académie de la Grande Chaumiere), devoting a lot of time to studying both modern graphics and drawings by old masters, classical European and Japanese engravings.

Since 1908, Dmitry Mitrokhin has collaborated with several publishing houses and takes part in the World of Art exhibition. Throughout his life he was a member of many creative artistic associations and societies. Since 1908, he has been systematically engaged in book graphics, drawing for many leading book publishing houses - “I. N. Knebel”, “Golicke and Wilborg”, “Enlightenment”, “Printer”, “M. and S. Sabashnikovs” and others. Worked a lot on illustrations of children's books; in his work he adhered to a single principle for all elements of the book - everything, from the cover with the endpapers to the fonts and decor, was subordinated to a stylistic commonality.

In Soviet times, he continued his work, combining it with engraving, etching, and lithography; from 1918 he headed the Department of Engravings and Drawings of the Russian Museum, was a professor at the Institute of Photography and Photographic Equipment, and the Printing Faculty of the Academy of Arts. In total, he designed and illustrated a huge number of books, designed several dozen publishing stamps, trade emblems and labels, and made almost fifty bookplates.

Mostly I draw with a pencil (lead). Then I like to color my drawing with watercolors. This method of work apparently arose as a result of prolonged engraving. The pencil often lays down like an engraving pen or an engraving needle. Sometimes I use colored pencils. But I am not a painter; color in my works plays a secondary role. The basis, the design, is the drawing. The sizes of the drawings (apparently as a result of many years of work on the book) do not exceed the size of book pages. Everything I want to say fits on a small piece of paper. I speak quietly and tersely.

I can't say anything new about the drawing. Nothing but simple rules set out in any textbook. This is the method that has guided me all my life: draw, draw, draw. Draw every day as long as you are alive, as long as you exist, because to draw is to live, to join all living things. Drawing is the basis of all fine art, all its types.

Drawing from life is the study of the reality around us, of all the vast life: people, landscapes, homes, clouds, light, shadow, things living near us.

I don't like the words "still life". Another better term: “Still-Leben”. A calm, hidden life that an artist can and should see.

All my long life I have been mainly engaged in illustrating books. A lot of compositions, engravings, and lithographs were also made. So, the basis of all my work has always been drawings and sketches from life.

Before you draw, you need to see: the more drawings you make from life, the easier it will be to depict what you have invented, read or heard.

Draw every day, think about what you will draw next time, observe, search, always look for new ways of depicting. Search, always remaining yourself, never resting on what has been done. Reality is always changing. Every day there is a new landscape in the window, things are grouped in a new way, the light and space change, new, mysterious relationships arise. Flowers appear and fall. Someone brings unexpected fruits from distant lands. People pass by the window, they hang laundry in the yard, clean carpets, and play volleyball. The horseman follows from the stable to the hippodrome, birds flock for food, cars rush, and something winged descends onto the page. Passers-by stopped and talked (that's how they dress these days!). Observe, draw, always learn new things.

In recent years I haven't been engraving much, just drawing. Drawing is, after all, its own independent area of ​​fine art. I would like to create drawings that are complete, like crystals, and most importantly – alive. But very rarely what is done is pleasing. Mostly I draw with a pencil (lead). Then I like to color my drawing with watercolors. This method of work apparently arose as a result of prolonged engraving. The pencil often lays down like an engraving pen or an engraving needle. Sometimes I use colored pencils. But I am not a painter; color in my works plays a secondary role. The basis, the design, is the drawing. The sizes of the drawings (apparently as a result of many years of work on the book) do not exceed the size of book pages. Everything I want to say fits on a small piece of paper. I speak quietly and tersely.

My drawings are grouped into series. The series combines either a plot - flowers, fish, landscapes, interiors, or the material that I use at a given period of time: colored pencils or watercolors, torchon or whatman paper. I find it necessary to change the materials and also the tools I use from time to time. This is as necessary as a new plot, a new nature. I try by all means to achieve, to look for a new, living and clear visual language.

My poor health from a young age and my age make it impossible to achieve the desire to draw people - portraits, close-ups of groups of people. In my drawings, people are most often small figures scurrying around in the distance. I see them as if through upside-down binoculars. Therefore, insignificant objects, called inanimate, often appear in my drawings as a plot, theme (for example, pharmaceutical glass, chairs).

People tend to have perceptions that are limited within certain boundaries. The frame may be wider or narrower, but there is also depth. Working and observing, I try to extract and identify not only shape, weight, spatial relationships (by the way, a sheet, the surface of paper, establishes new spatial relationships), but also learn to control and vary them. I try to find and convey to the viewer the poetic and philosophical essence of what is depicted. I almost always find some kind of kindness and friendliness in things. And I want to talk about it.

I remember the amazing drawings of Vrubel, idolized by one of my teachers-friends - V. D. Zamirailo, - S. V. Noakovsky, S. P. Yaremich, K. S. Petrov-Vodkin. Zamirailo’s calligraphy and his admiration for Vrubel’s drawings, Noakovsky’s excellent chalk drawings on a board, Yaremich’s St. Petersburg drawings and his rich collection of drawings and engravings by old masters, P. D. Ettinger’s extraordinary awareness of the works of Russian and foreign masters, conversations about art with Petrov-Vodkin (he was interested in my engravings with a metal cutter) - all this, undoubtedly, affected my formation as an artist.

When I look at my drawings, the most successful ones seem foreign to me, but I feel the shortcomings as if they were my own. It will be easy once you have done it a hundred times. I constantly remember the immortal Hokusai, the unsurpassed “Mangwa”. When people ask me which of my works I value most, I usually answer: those that will be done tomorrow. Because the work of your whole life is preparing for what you do tomorrow.”

(c) “Draw every day”
Magazine "Creativity", 1971, No. 4

“Having reached ninety years old - an age at which only a few are able to work truly creatively - Mitrokhin continued to work tirelessly until his last day, because for him the meaning of his existence was concentrated in drawing. But perhaps the most remarkable thing is that Mitrokhin did not just work, but constantly developed as an artist. Year after year, day after day, he searched for “a new, living and clear,” in his own words, “a visual language.” And he found new ways, means, forms of expressing observations, achieving in drawing an ever more complete and profound disclosure of the ever-changing, never repeating reality.”

(c) Yu.A. Rusakov.

“In the creative life of Dmitry Isidorovich it is not difficult to distinguish certain periods, but none of them is a closed cycle, they are all milestones of a single, long path, continuous movement towards a high goal. At the last stage of this path, the artist achieved extraordinary perfection, possible in rare cases. He gained complete unity of concept and means of expression. On the path to this perfection, the artist overcame such hardships in life that few can overcome. The illness forced him to confine himself to a small apartment for more than ten years and refuse to communicate widely with people. The artist discovered an eventful life on his own desktop, in every corner of the room. He was able to experience the modern world through the objects around him and talk about his life-affirming, optimistic attitude towards it.”

On January 1, 2016, I started my personal creative project “100 Days of Creativity”, in which I draw several small works or sketches every day. Today is the 19th day of my drawing, and I already have about 40 drawings on A3, and sketches in the album.

One of the goals is to immerse myself in the master artists I love, who, like favorite books, provide a lot of value. But unlike books from which we absorb thoughts, from artists we can absorb their experience, feeling, vision of reality, joy of life, expressed in the energy of creativity.

My tasks for these 100 days include drawing from so many masters who respond, in order to show and explain their choice in art, to let others feel the energy and joy that emanate from them.

Moreover, it is better to do this (absorb) not only through the eyes, contemplating the picture, but through the hand, that is, through the body and action. At this moment you become not just an observer, you become a direct, involved participant in the process, who, “living” his experience with the artist, makes him a part of yourself. This gives incomparably more than any lectures on art or attempts to learn abstract “correct” drawing.

Today's master class is dedicated to Dmitry Mitrokhin - let's try to depict an apple painted on one of his works. I drew this master on days 3, 4, 5 and 6 of my marathon, you can find it in my fb profile.

Mitrokhin (1883-1973, Moscow) – Russian graphic artist, illustrator, master of etching and lithography. His works are lively, vibrant, almost realistic, but at the same time very light and sketchy, without trying to create the illusion of reality.

To begin with, I would advise you to find other works of this master on the Internet in order to get a more comprehensive understanding of him.

And then do this simple exercise. The task is to make a copy, you don’t want it to seem like a perfect computer printout from the original, the main thing is to feel the vision, principles and techniques of the master.

The following are important when drawing:

1. Approximate proportions and arrangement of elements.

2. The nature of the line - it is unhurried, slow and attentive.

3. The nature of the hatching - here it is an actively manifested stroke that reacts to the shape.

4. Color and placement of watercolor strokes.

What you will need: here is a set of watercolors (any), a pair of medium-sized squirrel brushes and a soft pencil (I use charcoal wax).

The original image looks like this:

We will draw the lower left apple))

So, we start by marking the approximate boundaries and outlines of the drawing.

We show the contour, details and boundaries of the shadow.

Cover the entire apple with the lightest tone, leaving a highlight. Same thing with the background.

Add darker and cooler strokes of shadow, focusing on the color in the picture.
The strokes can be laid out quite freely; there is absolutely no need to try to smooth out and blur the contours. Brush marks are a beautiful independent matter that does not need to be hidden at all, trying to imitate reality. In this case there is no such task)))

We draw a little detail, set the direction of the stroke.

Shading the entire picture and background.

If you wish, then after this exercise you can copy the entire image.
And the next step is to choose your fruit or vegetable and draw it in the given spirit.

Having acquired a printing house on occasion, he retired from business and devoted himself to a new hobby for him. N. S. Chaga had a very great influence on the artist; in his workshop, D. I. Mitrokhin became acquainted with the art of printing in early childhood, which resulted in a passion for books and reading, which subsequently naturally affected his great erudition. The ability to easily enter into communication, without tension to maintain a conversation on almost any topic, and to easily enter the very demanding cultural society of the two capitals, Dmitry Mitrokhin owes, of course, to Naum Chaga, his workshop, the availability of a variety of literature - his very infectious passion for printing in all its manifestations, finally.

Both mother and father loved to read; from childhood I remember many books and magazines for “home reading” in the house, with a lot of illustrations. Great interest in the operation of the printing press. There is friendship with typesetters and printers. I was drawn to reading and drawing from an early age. ...Since childhood, I have seen attentive readers. In the house of my grandfather, who came from the Caucasian Phanagorian line and lived out his life on the meager pension of a retired military paramedic, there were magazines and books from the 1860s - “Son of the Fatherland”, “Vase”, a fashion magazine, “Spark” by Hermann Hoppe on pink paper. Among the books are Martyn Zadeka (“the head of the Chaldean sages, a fortuneteller, an interpreter of dreams”, the multi-volume “Adventures drawn from the sea of ​​life” by Veltman. ... One of my distant relatives subscribed to the magazines Figaro Illustré, Illustration, Le Monde moderne. This is the first time I’ve received from him heard the name of Steinlen (Théophile Steinlen). He showed me Aristide Bruant's little book Dans la rue with its proverbial opening line: “T"es dans la rue - va, te"s chez toi" (“Thrown out into the street, so be like at home") with drawings by Steinlen. It contains many sketches of street types trembling with life: homeless people, revelers, street singers, workers.

At MUZHVZ, D. I. Mitrokhin’s teachers were A. M. Vasnetsov (“landscape class”) and A. S. Stepanov (drawing animals), whose classes, according to him, along with drawing and watercolors, were held in the School’s library , attracted him more than studying in the classroom. But he “had to become a graphic department for himself: after all, there were no such things in Russia, no ‘book departments’.” The artist gratefully remembers the curator of the Rumyantsev Museum S.P. Shchurov, “taciturn and gloomy, but willingly opening folders with engravings of old Italian and German artists.” He works a lot and constantly from life.

With the transfer of D. I. Mitrokhin to the Stroganov School, he began to study under the guidance of S. I. Yaguzhinsky (watercolor) and S. V. Noakovsky (drawing). Acquaintance with V.D. Zamirailo finally inclines him to the need to choose the path of the schedule.

Creation

D. I. Mitrokhin. In old Petersburg. 1910. Watercolor

Dmitry Isidorovich Mitrokhin, who lived a great creative life, had the happiness of studying, collaborating, being in close relationships, being in associations and societies with many artists, among whom were those whose mark on the art of the 20th century is comparable to the influence on the course of history of the most important discoveries of the era . In the first lines of the artist’s autobiographical notes there are the names of M. F. Larionov, N. S. Goncharova and A. V. Fonvizin, who studied side by side and were friends with him - S. T. Konenkov and S. V. Malyutin, with whom he worked in the Murava ceramic artel.

In Paris, Dmitry Mitrokhin, despite his cramped circumstances and constant busyness with work (“social life was not for me”), communicates quite a lot. Almost seventy years later, he recalled his visits to the salon of E. Kruglikova, which, like her Parisian workshop, turned into a kind of Russian cultural center where the “high society” gathered, “but for all those present, art was the main thing,” - o visits to Maximilian Voloshin, in whose house, according to the artist, he felt “more at ease,” where many compatriots who were wandering around Lutetia also visited, and where he once had the opportunity to meet Konstantin Balmont (they were briefly acquainted with each other in Moscow 1904), “who brought his daughter, a girl, in a red coat” - this is the memory of the already 90-year-old artist! And these memories are filled with living content, visible images of sketches, when he talks about the immediate purpose of his stay in the then capital of the arts.

I was fascinated by the street life of Paris. I was completely happy in this golden light, with my little notebook in my hands. I drew while standing in the middle of the street and without the risk of being crushed by a cab. Artists were respected there; they were not considered slackers. The winter was mild, like ours in the south, nothing interfered with my “wandering” life. You could buy a bag of fried potatoes, warm yourself at the fryer and chat with the saleswoman. Even better were the chestnuts, which warmed your hands so nicely. Occasionally I allowed myself to go to a cafe: after asking for a cup of coffee, I drew for hours, observing this cheerful, colorful, impoverished life.

D. Mitrokhin. Alisa Bruschetti. 1909. Mascara

Talking about his Parisian times, not by chance, and not without a touch of pride, he notes that on the streets of the French capital there were still posters of Toulouse-Lautrec, - according to D.I. Mitrokhin himself, who had a strong influence on him - as, indeed, , and on Paul Klee, with whose influence the first was strangely combined for some time in the line of the artist’s work, which he was aware of, as well as the influence, at certain stages, of his great interest in the art of Henri Matisse and Paul Cézanne, Constantin Gies.

In different periods of comprehension of the paths of expressiveness and mastery, this interest was focused on their different manifestations, and with varying degrees of their impact on the artist’s worldview - sometimes ephemeral and almost opportunistic, and therefore easily and painlessly overcome, such as, for example, salon, Beardsley, modern trends that required a longer “neutralization” of purely decorative, stylized ornamental, popular print and printed motifs; or, on the contrary, in the form of a deep, essential understanding, which was realized in the artist’s system of views - Western European and Japanese engraving - on fundamental principles that were not limited to an understanding of technology - engraving in general, drypoint, chiaroscuro, lithography, in particular. “But, having gone through these hobbies,” says M. V. Alpatov, “he returned to such values ​​of art that transcend the boundaries of time and space and exist everywhere.”

It is significant that in the very first words about the beginning of his apprenticeship, the artist recalls the school’s library, “the enormous and exciting happiness” that “the collection of engravings of the Rumyantsev Museum provided.”

In no less degree, in any case, the mastery of means of self-expression in terms of technical aspects than contact with the product of printing - a book (in terms of intellectual development - knowledge of graphics) was influenced by the artist’s familiarity with the printing process, including the manual one, which he I knew thoroughly from my grandfather’s workshop since childhood - “The typesetters were my friends. The words layout, veneer, spacing, lettering, size, cliche, proofreading are familiar from childhood.”

Book graphics

Dmitry Mitrokhin owes his first experiments in book graphics to Stroganovsky’s watercolor teacher S.I. Yaguzhinsky, who in 1904 offered him “a small work for publishing houses,” and who appreciated it, Valery Bryusov, at that time the chief editor of Scorpio. Upon his return in 1908 from Paris, where his acquaintance with S. P. Yaromich gave him a lot, who in turn introduced the artist to E. S. Kruglikova, who had already lived in France for many years, - with the famous Polish sculptor Eduard Wittig, in the studio whom Dmitry Mitrokhin lived in difficult days, he moved to St. Petersburg, and began systematic work as a book illustrator, which quickly brought him fame, and which was facilitated by his acquaintance with the artists of the “World of Art”. At the initial stage, the successful development of D. I. Mitrokhin’s work as a book artist and magazine illustrator was, of course, influenced by the assistance of E. E. Lanseray, who sent publishers to him (“He painted models with him. He invited them for his painting in the hall library of the Academy of Arts... The first years of my life in St. Petersburg were very brightened up by the attention of Evgeny Evgenievich Lanceray." - D. Mitrokhin. Autobiographical Notes (1973)). At the same time, he began to engrave on linoleum (from V.D. Falileev) - “He engraved color compositions, printed not with oil paints, but with watercolors - in the Japanese way.” Collaborates with many book publishing houses: “I. N. Knebel”, “Golicke and Wilborg”, “Enlightenment”, “Printer”, “M. and S. Sabashnikovs" (for them D.I. Mitrokhin developed a publishing brand), "Apollo", "M. V. Popov" and many others. etc. Continues to study the collections of engravings from the library of the Academy of Arts and the Hermitage. He works a lot on illustrations of children's books, on magazine headpieces, titles, endpapers, etc. Rare in beauty and ringing expressiveness, embossed execution - “District” by E. Zamyatin (1916; publishing house of M. V. Popov), “Russian fairy tales of grandfather Peter" by Arthur Ransome (1916; London and Edinburgh) and many others. etc.

An extremely important fact that speaks most of all about what Dmitry Mitrokhin is like as an artist of a book, while it was, albeit a large, but far from the main stage in his work - always, working on the design of this or that publication, with all Despite the variety of graphic techniques to which the artist turned, he was guided by a single principle for all elements of the book - starting with the cover, endpapers and ending with the font, decor - all of them are subordinated to a stylistic commonality.

We started out hating what was being done in the graphics around us. But hatred alone is not enough. Need knowledge. We turned to the history of engraving and books. There they found justification for their hatred and confirmation of the correctness of their path. The old masters of the Venetian, Basel and Lyon printing houses and Nuremberg engravers turned out to be excellent teachers and consultants, who do not refuse precious instructions even now to everyone who needs it. - D. Mitrokhin. Autobiographical Notes (1973)

• - illustrates children's books published by I. Knebel (before).
• - working on series covers for the publishing house M. and S. Sabashnikov.
• - collaboration in the magazines “Satyricon” (before 1914) and “New Satyricon” (before); - cover of “The Cup” by V. A. Zhukovsky (publishing house I. N. Knebel, Moscow); - in March, at the invitation of the Dresden society “Kunstverein”, he participates with G. Yakulov in an exhibition of watercolorists.
• 1914 - decorative borders for the magazine “Lukomorye” (until 1917).
• - - made many book covers.
• - accepted into the “World of Art”; - performs graphic design of Arthur Ransome’s book “Russian Tales of Grandfather Peter” (A. Ransome “Old Peter’s Russian Tales” - London); - at the end of the year he began working in the department of engravings and drawings of the Russian Museum (subsequent works for printing are on the list).
• 1917 - mobilization into the army with assignment to the “Trophy Commission”; - in September, due to the death of his father, he goes to Yeisk, where he will stay until the end of next year - “he devoted a lot of time to writing from life, worked a lot with lead pencil and watercolors, painted landscapes, interiors, still lifes and portraits.”

In Soviet times, the artist successfully developed this work that absorbed him and was carried out with love, enthusiastically and very successfully combining it with engraving, etching, and lithography. He designed and illustrated a huge number of books and magazines in various publishing houses - “Lights”, “Petropolis”, “Petrograd”, “Mysl”. “Surf” and many others. others, in the best of them - Academia (with which he collaborated for about six years): “Seven Love Portraits” by A. de Regnier (1920, 1921; Petrograd), Marina Tsvetaeva’s fairy tale poem “The Tsar Maiden” (1922); - playful pen drawings made in a manner that has already become traditional for the artist for the design of “The Gold Bug” by Edgar Allan Poe (1922), “Epsin” by Ben Jonson (1920, 1921; “Petropolis”), - illustrations by Victor Hugo (1923), Henri Barbusse, Octave Mirbeau, “Books of Comedies” by Aristophanes (1930), “Ethiopics” by Heliodorus (1932) and many others. etc., is the author of various decorative elements of many publications.

• 1918 - returns to Petrograd at the end of the year; - appointed head of the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Russian Museum.
• 1919 - Professor at the Higher Institute of Photography and Photographic Technology (until 1923); - works on covers for the “People's Library” of Gosizdat; - series covers (until 1926).
• 1921 - the book Sun was published. Voinov “Book signs of D. I. Mitrokhin” (other publications about D. I. Mitrokhin are in the list).
• 1924 - Professor of the Printing Faculty of the Academy of Arts (course of book graphics - until 1934).

In the 1920s, D. I. Mitrokhin again came into contact with children's literature; he illustrated and designed several books, among which the already mentioned “The Golden Bug” by Edgar Allan Poe (1921-1922) and “Journey to the Land of Cinema” by V. Shklovsky should be highlighted (1926), “October ABC” (1927). The work on the latest edition once again confirms the artist’s brilliant mastery of the art of type. The appearance of the two-volume satirical novel by Karl Immermann “Munchausen” (1930-1932) suggests that the artist approached the entire structure of this publication very inventively: the characters of the work are sharply caricatured, turning into original, entertaining comments on the book, the layout of the title pages is witty; binding, endpaper, dust jacket - everything is in harmony. Since the autumn of 1939, D. I. Mitrokhin worked on the design of a book of fairy tales by H. C. Andersen, having received an order from a German publishing house. As can be understood from the artist’s letters, he continued to create interesting illustrations, judging by the few surviving copies, already in mid-June 1941 - this publication was not destined to see the light of day...

D. Mitrokhin. Bookplate of A. P. Ostroumova-Lebedeva. 1924

He has developed several dozen publishing brands, trade emblems and labels. In the field of “small forms”, which was mastered by D.I. Mitrokhin back in the 1910s, the book sign occupies a special place. A perfect master of composition, well versed in both the decorative and graphic components of the book, with a keen sense of its nature, he made almost fifty bookplates (most of them date back to 1919-1923) - these works are rightfully ranked among the best created in this genre in Russia.

But in the period from the end of the 1920s to the mid-1930s, the artist moved away from book graphics, returning to it only periodically and without the same interest. After the war, he rarely performed any work for publications. An exception can be considered “French Fairy Tales” (M. GIHL), illustrated and designed by D. I. Mitrokhin in 1959, and one of the last - the book of memoirs of M. V. Nesterov (M. “Art”), designed by him in the same year.

The work of D. I. Mitrokhin underwent changes throughout almost half a century of his active work in this field, as if anticipating the artist’s appeal to the only possible for him, but also the most vivid, unique form of application of his talent - drawing, which from a certain moment will be destined to become universal expressive means of his worldview. One gets the impression that the same “preparatory” function was performed by other types of easel graphics, as if helping the artist to find this lapidary, intelligible, but far from monosyllabic language of the works that are fundamental in content and capacity, individual, completely independent graphic style.

Woodcut. Cutter. Lithography

D. Mitrokhin. Seller of brushes. 1926. Woodcut

D. Mitrokhin. Football player. 1926. Woodcut

Having the opportunity to retrospectively perceive this creative experience, one can observe precisely the following trend in its development: from the mid-1930s, book graphics no longer have paramount importance in the artist’s work; they begin to give way to woodcuts, metal engravings, drawings and watercolors. Working from life was never excluded from the number of regular activities, from the sphere of interests of D. I. Mitrokhin, and in this area he constantly sought and improved, which was reflected in the gradual transformation of the meaning and content of the drawing: from the necessary in understanding the tradition to which he belonged to the “school of nature” - to the expressed independent value of the original easel sheet.

• 1923 - beginning of systematic studies of woodcuts (until 1934).
• 1925 - first personal exhibition (Kazan - 250 sheets).
• 1927 - begins to engrave with a chisel and drypoint on metal (until 1951).
• 1928 - began to engage in lithography (until 1934).
• 1935-1941 - working on a series of engravings from the cycle “Leningrad Landscapes” (Petrograd Side, Central Park of Culture and Leisure).
• 1941 - in the first days of the Great Patriotic War, he volunteers to join the people's militia; - The 58-year-old artist works for the General Staff Publishing House, for the Institute of Blood Transfusion (“History of Blood Transfusion” (1941-1942); - created about 100 pencil and watercolor drawings, including those dedicated to the life of the besieged city.
• 1942 - on the morning of January 1, the artist’s wife Alisa Yakovlevna Bruschetti died; - in the summer he works from life on the streets of the besieged city and exhibits his drawings; - at the end of the year, D.I. Mitrokhin, after a stay in the hospital, was evacuated to Alma-Ata in a state of extreme exhaustion.
• 1943 - member of the board of the Union of Artists of Kazakhstan and chairman of its graphics section, exhibits, works mainly in watercolors.

D. Mitrokhin. Blockade. 1941

D. I. Mitrokhin began to study wood engraving “almost out of curiosity,” under the influence of Vsevolod Vladimirovich Voinov, one of the initiators and promoters of the revival of woodcuts as an independent (non-reproductive) easel technique, with whom Dmitry Isidorovich was well acquainted from the “World of Art” , - and museum work; in 1941, they joined the militia together, survived the blockade, and were in Alma-Ata together. V. Voinov also introduced B. M. Kustodiev to woodcuts, who, due to illness in his last years, was not completely isolated from creativity only thanks to engraving.

D. Mitrokhin. Houses on Karpovka. 1929. Woodcut

D. Mitrokhin. Street types. 1928. Woodcut

D. Mitrokhin. Storm. 1932. Woodcut

D.I. Mitrokhin made a little more than 70 engravings, but even this relatively small number of works in this area allows him to be considered one of the best domestic woodcut masters. Starting with techniques close to the “black style,” when the artist gave preference to a white, slightly rough stroke, he later came to “a silvery palette rich in halftones and various textured elements”; he is alien to any kind of “panache of virtuosity” - initially in woodcuts he is attracted by pictorial expressiveness, for this purpose he sometimes illuminates the prints with watercolors - sometimes barely noticeable, sometimes - corpus and richly. And here one can observe the integrity of Mitrokhin’s art, as evidenced by the well-traced relationship between his woodcut and drawing.

The works of this period (1920s - late 1930s) are dominated by landscape cycles - many woodcuts and engravings (the artist deliberately did not turn to etching, appreciating the clean, living line of a dry needle and chisel), lithographs dedicated to the then outskirts of Leningrad - the vacant lots of Petrogradskaya sides, parks of the islands. “Mitrokhin became endlessly attached to the very special landscape of this part of the city in those years. It was here, thanks to the rapid development of the beginning of the century, interrupted by the First World War and the revolution, that a peculiar architecturally disorganized conglomerate of large apartment buildings with blank firewalls, vacant lots with mighty old trees, endless fences and surviving wooden houses was created. The landscape, which could not be seen in other parts of the former capital, captivated Mitrokhin with the painful contrast of the city suddenly stopping in its advance and the islands of nature heroically resisting it.”

Starting from his Parisian sketches, Dmitry Mitrokhin’s work invariably contains a genre theme. Its roots go back to a stable and rich tradition, dating back to antiquity, - it continues in medieval book graphics, in oriental miniatures, in drawings by old masters, in engravings of the Renaissance, in Dürer’s folk types, among the small Dutch, in Russian popular prints , finally - in Japanese ukiyo-e prints. It acquired its greatest social urgency in the 18th century in the famous series of French and English engravings “Cries of Paris” and “Cries of London”; This tradition is developed by drawings, lithographs and porcelain figurines of St. Petersburg folk types of the early 19th century.

D. Mitrokhin. Flowers in a glass. 1934. Cutter. Roulette. Colorized print

And if street scenes, small figures of passers-by, as a kind of “staffage”, enliven almost all landscapes of D.I. Mitrokhin, then in his urban suite of woodcuts of the mid-1920s - early 1930s, the character, the “man from the street” occupies central place. The works of these sometimes kindly ironic, sometimes almost grotesque cycles, together with a series of lithographs and engravings of larger formats, are most consistent with the named tradition (“Street Types”, “Ice Cream Man” “Football Player” “Flower Seller” “Flosser” “Petrorayrabkoop” " and etc.) .

At the same time, in the 1930s, in a series of end prints by D. I. Mitrokhin, dedicated to the life of the Azov region, “genre painting” was replaced by romantic motifs, dictated by the artist’s interest “in the subject in its specific forms, concern for decorative integrity and woodcut expressiveness sheet."

Fluency in woodcut techniques, which D.I. Mitrokhin acquired in the mid-1930s, naturally led the artist to switch interests to chisel engraving, which already attracted him at that time. While end engraving and lithography have experienced a revival since the 20s, engraving in Russia has already lost the features of high art, having only applied significance; In Western Europe, it was also only in the 10-20s that some masters began to come to understand the independent value of graphics, which had also long been there among only crafts and reproductions. The artist, having a general understanding of the technique of engraving, did not have living examples around him, and it is precisely the understanding of its capabilities for solving independent graphic problems that, from the very first experiments, leads the master away from reproduction techniques - he “paints” with a graver. On this occasion, Yu. A. Rusakov rightly noted: “It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was a new discovery of engraving with a chisel.” Enriching the tonal possibilities, the master also works with a dry needle, the freer discipline of the line of which also brings it closer in the achieved effects to natural drawing, pen drawing, which was one of the author’s tasks - preserving their liveliness and warmth. But he does not imitate a drawing, but only tries, through this use of the possibilities of metal engraving, to give the print a fresh impression and an emotional character.

D. Mitrokhin. Storm. 1932. Drypoint

D. Mitrokhin. Lantern (fragment). 1928. Lithograph

In the 20s, he turned to the same theme: landscapes of the Petrograd side, still life, Yeisk, but it received a plot expansion - the works acquired greater dynamics, in some cases - the quality of picturesqueness. In the mid-30s, he created a series of large-format prints dedicated to the Central Park of Culture and Culture - several panoramic landscapes based on sketches made from windows. A separate small group of works consisted of still lifes engraved by D.I. Mitrokhin at the turn of the 30s-40s, which the author initially intended for light watercolor painting; the general state of these works is close to the vision to which he came much later.

Metal engraving by D. and Mitrokhin is a unique phenomenon in Soviet art of the pre-war era. The true artistry with which the master was able to embody the subtle emotional structure and lyricism of his artistic nature did not find a response to support this fresh endeavor, and the real area of ​​his work truly alone occupies a place among the “largest phenomena of European metal engraving of the 20th century,” he notes artist, art critic Yu. A. Rusakov. Recognized specialist, etching expert V. M. Zvontsov agrees with him: “He was the only one who developed the art of engraving up to the present day. This idea of ​​Mitrokhin was reinforced by stories about him from artists of the older generation, my teachers (V.N. Levitsky, L.F. Ovsyannikov, G.S. Vereisky and others."

Until the second half of the 20s, he turned to working on stone only twice. Of the lithography created by D.I. Mitrokhin, half dates back to 1928 - the first year of his full-fledged study of this printmaking technique.

In order to maintain a living contact between the soft lithographic pencil and the working surface, he neglects the corncopier, which allows him to transfer a previously made drawing - the artist works directly on the stone. And here he uses all the wealth of techniques: he draws with a wide light stroke, uses a pen, highlights the tone by scratching long parallel strokes (which is only possible when working directly on the printing plane). Most of all, he made easel lithographs for monochrome prints - on one stone, but several lithographs were printed from 2 and even 3 stones (1929-1931).

In his lithographs the same theme prevails as in the end engraving - Leningradskaya street, fishing Yeisk. The best series is “Six lithographs, colored by the author” (1928). And here the artist’s attention is focused on colorful street types, these works bring to us the appearance of the city, the aroma of a bygone era...

A short fascination with this technique resulted in the experience of using it in book graphics for D. I. Mitrokhin - the “Selected Works” of N. S. Leskov (1931) were designed. The artist made his last lithograph in 1934 - this is a landscape of the Central Park of Culture and Culture, he never turned to it again.

D. Mitrokhin. Transport under my window. 1948-1949. Cutter

• 1944 - moves to Moscow in July; from that time on he began to systematically study watercolors and drawing; periodically returns to book graphics (until the 1960s).
• 1946 - resumes his studies in metal engraving (until 1951).
• 1959 - begins to work with colored pencils.
• 1967-1969 - made several drypoint engravings.
• 1969 - awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
• 1971 - the last article by D. I. Mitrokhin “Draw every day” (“Creativity”, No. 4)
• 1973 - exhibitions at the Small Gallery of the publishing house "Art" (Dresden) and "To the 90th anniversary and 70th anniversary of creative activity" at the Union of Artists of the USSR in Moscow (more than 800 sheets). On November 7, the artist passed away.

During the Moscow period of creativity, D.I. Mitrokhin returned to metal engraving twice - 20 prints from the second half of the 1940s - early 1950s and several works in the late 1960s. Among these works there are several first-class ones, of which we should name “Ram” (1948) - a very expressive, dynamic engraving, - “Apple and Nuts” (1969), which even without implied coloring creates the impression of being completely finished.

Drawing

D. I. Mitrokhin. Chairs. 1968. Pencil

With all the successes of D.I. Mitrokhin in book graphics and achievements in engraving, the most significant and significant part of his creativity is easel drawing. This concept unites the actual pencil works, and watercolors, and works done in mixed media - the main activities of the last thirty years of his life. Hundreds of small easel sheets (the vast majority the size of a postcard or notepad page) contain the most vivid and impressive expression of the artist’s worldview; they very organically merged graphic and pictorial principles; these suites, created over many years, are diary pages filled with life.

Most of those who have studied the legacy of Dmitry Isidorovich Mitrokhin come to the conclusion that the last thirty years of his creative life are the most interesting in many respects. This is a method that completely satisfied the artist, did not constrain him, did not force him to comply with the order, this is the universal form of self-expression he found, to which he, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously, went for many years, this is a synthesis of everything he understood and suffered through. , resulting in an intoxicated, measured narrative, composed of simple natural words of a clear and harmonious language of hundreds of works. In this assessment of the last period, without denying the importance of everything he did earlier, everyone who knew and appreciated his work is in agreement: M. V. Alpatov, Yu. A. Rusakov and E. A. Kibrik, N. I. Khardzhiev, V. M. Zvontsov, A. Ransom and I. V. Golitsyn, and finally, the sculptor L. V. Chaga, who very subtly and sensitively understood this work, becoming a sensitive and concerned witness to the triumph of truly free art.

D. I. Mitrokhin. Apples and nuts. 1969. Cutter, dry point. Colorized print

Vasily Mikhailovich Zvontsov, who headed the editorial board of the Aurora publishing house (1973-1977) - the best domestic publishing house of that time, and who was preparing for publication a book about D. I. Mitrokhin, was forced to rebuild the monograph after he saw in its entirety what the artist had done in recent decades . He speaks of the “unexpected and stunning” impression that these notebook sheets made on him: “At the last stage of this path, the artist achieved an extraordinary perfection, possible in rare cases. He acquired complete unity of concept and means of expression."

And indeed, in the “third” period of his work, D.I. Mitrokhin refuted the established opinion that it is impossible for an artist to have a “fresh look”, “young perception” in old age. With his drawings, responding to the opinion of K. Hamsun that “not a single person can be expected to... write as well after fifty years as he wrote before” - with the convincingness, generosity and integrity of his works, the master declares that a lot depends on the inner world of this person, and on the discipline that he follows - the artist is no longer able to draw an even line, but his works shock with the confidence of the lines, the sonority of the images until the last day.

D. I. Mitrokhin. Interior. 1964. Pencil

To those who came to him with the intention of paying tribute to the “living relic,” “the last world artist,” Dmitry Isidorovich declared that “that Mitrokhin has not been there for a long time,” that “Knebel’s Mitrokhin” does not interest him at all. “They praised his book graphics... admired his bookplates. Among these visitors there were not only “scribes”, “collectors”, but also artists. None of them remembered either Mitrokhin’s engravings or his drawings. Dmitry Isidorovich was very annoyed with such visitors, he blushed angrily and said that he was “not dead yet”... With wide, heavy steps he walked through the rooms. The clothes are too loose on his emaciated body. I remembered the sculptures of Giacometti. But the eyes look sharp and young. And the hands, unusually expressive, retained their grace and strength to the end.”

And depending on the readiness to perceive the search that worried the artist at that moment, and D.I. Mitrokhin was insightful - he always “saw his interlocutor very well,” he laid out his latest works in front of him: surprisingly diverse landscapes observed from the same windows, very meaningful productions - two, three objects, various interiors seen in the same room...

This is a story without literary flair, when the “heroes” live their own lives, have a pronounced character, temperament, interact, and theater - genuine drama literally forces the viewer to look for, capture the moods and intonations of the “actors”. Maybe this is the only positive alternative to Jewish theatricality? By the way, D.I. Mitrokhin was well acquainted with N.N. Evreinov, both as an author, and as a playwright, and as a person (they even “agreed” in one publication - on the title of “Primitive Drama of the Germans” only that the publishing brand “Polar Star” created by the graphic artist) - as, incidentally, he was familiar with many actors and writers. He himself wrote poetry in his youth - in 1908 in Kharkov N. Poyarkov published the almanac “Crystal” with its cover, which does not exhaust the participation of D. I. Mitrokhin in the publication - two poems from his cycle “To the South” are placed here: “ Fishermen" and "Heat", which are inspired by memories of Yeisk and the Sea of ​​Azov. Andrei Bely, Konstantin Balmont, Alexander (Alexander Bryusov), I. Novikov, S. Krechetov and others participated in the almanac.

"Still Leben"

D. Mitrokhin. Nut. 1969. Pencil, watercolor

Initially, D.I. Mitrokhin, by the will of fate, ended up in the camp of those who were closest to the salon, but then in Russia this was the inevitable path of aesthetics, opposed to the dominance of vulgarity, unceremoniously invading art; He also experienced other influences, step by step overcoming them two-thirds of his way, while remaining a first-class master.

The “way back”, but the path to “new spaces”, was also difficult, until the time when “a new voice broke through” - painful. “Orders from publishing houses are being stopped. Customers are disappointed - the former virtuoso master does not exist.”

According to L. Chaga, the artist had to start with studies, timid drawings, “dirt” of student still lifes, black shadows. This wise artist returns “objectivity” to the depicted - with only one difference: now the “components of the narrated” are spiritualized, he gives them a new sense of participation, without the need for sentimental-decorative, super-realistic or extremely general - they are not indifferent to the viewer, through their declaring the right to a confidential, sincere dialogue between the artist and him... The author is a representative of those very “main forces” (one Polish artist once asked about the time of their arrival), which, without proclaiming their novelty, without declaring themselves in military terminology as “advanced detachments” (which have ceased to be such appear as soon as they were embraced by mass culture and proclaimed everywhere), calmly and consistently, without advertising and affectation, began to do their favorite thing well, giving new meaning and space - there is no need for giant formats to express big thoughts.

By the way, the flowers here are not just beautiful plants or varieties of them, they have not only the qualities of a living thing, but also the ability to convey the shades of mood of their “second” creator - a conscientious, patient and thoughtful student of the “first”. Pharmaceutical bottles, thanks to the care of the author, very actively exceed their utility. Fruits are happy, nuts are hiding, shells are about to fight, here chairs are extensions of their owners, and not vice versa.

“There were also “Andersonian” subjects - a needle and a pin, a ball of twine. Handicraft toys - whistles, horses, roosters, wooden, painted eggs - appeared in the drawings in the most unexpected incarnations and interpretations: they changed color, proportions, were transferred to an imaginary space, scenes and “small tragedies” were played out.”

The dry branches of an old tree are generously strewn with flowers.

Only among the great masters of this genre in the 17th century or in our time with J. Morandi, things, objects and fruits live such a full, deep and individual life as in the drawings of D. I. Mitrokhin. Once A.P. Chekhov, pointing to an ashtray, said: “If you want, I’ll write a story about it.” These are the “stories” that the artist wrote with pencils and watercolors. But they are least of all literature. These plants, fruits and objects are seen by the artist with some extraordinary depth and insight; in each of them he feels like a personality, locked in a form, dressed in color, but telling him about the secret of creation... - E. Levitin.

I don't like the words "still life". Another better term is “Still-Leben”. A calm, hidden life that an artist can and should see... Almost always I find some kind of kindness and friendliness in things. And I want to talk about it. ...When I look at my drawings, the most successful ones seem alien to me, but I feel the shortcomings as if they were my own...When I am asked which of my works I value most, I usually answer: those that will be done tomorrow. Because the work of your whole life is preparing for what you do tomorrow. - D.I. Mitrokhin. About the drawing.

Gallery

Articles by D. I. Mitrokhin

• “Art exhibitions in Moscow” - “Morning”. Kharkov, 1907, January 25
• “Posthumous exhibition of paintings by B. E. Borisov-Musatov” - “Morning”. Kharkov, 1907, February 27
• "Bohemia" - "Morning". Kharkov, 1907, November 4
• K. Gies. - “Youth”, 1907, No. 2-3, p. 13, 14
• "Manga" by Hokusai. - “Russian Rumor”, 1912, December 22. Anonymous, no title. - The first article about the great Japanese artist, written by a Russian author. The authorship of D. I. Mitrokhin was noted in the report of P. I. Neradovsky (1919).
• 1870 in a French caricature. - “Voice of Life”, 1915, No. 7, p. 16
• "The Disasters of War" by Jacques Callot. - “Voice of Life” (Petrograd), 1915, No. 10, p. 14, 16
• Drawings by V. D. Zamirailo. - “New Journal for Everyone” (Petrograd), 1915, No. 5, p. 54, 55
• About Narbut (regarding the exhibition in the Russian Museum) - in the book “Argonauts” (Petrograd), 1923, p. 19-21
• In memory of Narbut. - Among collectors, 1922, No. 9, p. 5-9
• About the drawings of M. Dobuzhinsky for the Toupey artist N. Leskov and V. Konashevich for the Poems of A. Fet. - Among collectors, 1922, No. 7-8, p. 71, 72
• Notes on etching. - in the book by P. A. Shilingovsky “Russian Engravers”. Kazan 1926
• V. M. Konashevich. - in the book “V. M. Konashevich about himself and his business.” M. 1968. pp. 115-119
• About the drawing. - Creativity magazine, 1971, No. 4, p. 6-8

Artistic associations in which D. I. Mitrokhin was a member

Books and articles about D. I. Mitrokhin

• Zamirailo V. D. I. Mitrokhin. - "Mirror". 1911. No. 20
• Mantel A. D. Mitrokhin. Preface by N. Roerich. Kazan. 1912
• Levinson A. Art publications. - “Day” (application “Literature, Art and Science”). 1913, December 16.
• Filosofov D. Beautiful books. - "Speech". 1915, January 19.
• Lisenkov E. Two books with drawings by Mitrokhin. - “House of Arts”. 1921, No. 2, p. 108, 109
• Voinov Vsevolod. Book signs by D. I. Mitrokhin. Petersburg. 1921
• M. Kuzmin, Voinov Vsevolod . D. I. Mitrokhin. Moscow. 1922
• Kuzmin M. Voinov V. D. I. Mitrokhin. Moscow-Petrograd. 1922
• Kusmin M. Woinov W. D. I. Mitrochin. Moscow-Petrograd. 1922
• Kuzmine M. Voinov V. D. I. Mitrokhine. Moscow-Petrograd. 1922
• Ettinger P. D. I. Mitrokhin. M.: Children's literature. 1940
• Rusakov Yu. New works by D. Mitrokhin. M.: Art. 1961
• Alpatov M. Drawings by the artist Mitrokhin. Magazine “Decorative Art of the USSR” No. 5. 1962. P. 32, 33
• Koivtun Y. Dmitry Mitrokhin's Metal Engravings. Soviet Literature. Moscow. 1964. I. PP. 167, 169
• Rusakov Yu. Dmitry Isidorovich Mitrokhin. L.-M. 1966
• Alexandrova N. D. I. Mitrokhin. - The art of the book. V. 5. M. 1968. P. 146-153
• Zvontsov V. The legacy of Dmitry Isidorovich Mitrokhin (1883-1973) - Art Magazine. No. 8. 1974. P. 33-38
• Suris B. Dmitry Mitrokhin. - Soviet graphics "73. M. 1974. P. 78-84
• Alpatov M. Drawings by Mitrokhin in recent years. - Issues of Soviet fine art. M. 1975. S. 238-251

Notes

Sources

• Dmitry Mitrokhin. L.: Aurora. 1977.
• A book about Mitrokhin. Articles, letters, memories. Compiled by L.V. Chaga. Preparation of text and notes by I. Ya. Vasilyeva. - M.: Artist of the RSFSR. 1986
• D. I. Mitrokhin. Works of recent years. Set of postcards (bilingual). - Leningrad: Aurora. 1973
on Wikimedia Commons
• Little mook on the Runiverse website with illustrations by D. Mitrokhin
• Life of Almansor on the Runiverse website with illustrations by D. Mitrokhin