Russian artist Pavel Ryzhenko. The great Russian artist - pavel ryzhenko

– Russian painter, a representative of "classical Russian realism", a master of historical painting, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, one of the leading masters of the Grekov Studio of Military Artists.

Pavel Ryzhenko was born in 1970 in Kaluga. Graduated from the Moscow Secondary Art School at the Institute. Surikov, then the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Studied at the historical and religious workshop of Professor Ilya Glazunov.

Since 1999 he taught at Russian Academy painting at the department of composition.

In 2007, Pavel Ryzhenko began working at the Grekov Studio of War Artists, where he became one of the leading masters of diorama-panoramic art. Over the years of work in the studio, he created about six large-scale dioramas.

In 2012 Ryzhenko was awarded the title “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation”.

Diorama "Standing on the Eel", last work master, was created for the Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage. The twenty-two-meter diorama was completed shortly before the artist's death. Pavel Ryzhenko died suddenly on July 16, 2014.

V last years Pavel Ryzhenko created many large-scale paintings dedicated to the Battle of Kulikovo, Sergius of Radonezh, World War I, the era of Nicholas II ...

Farewell of the Tsar to the troops.

The main theme in the work of Pavel Ryzhenko is historical picture... According to the painter, an appeal to the past allows you to find answers to the questions of the present.

The rich palette, realism, detailing, the transmission of reliable events through the vision of the author, the scale of the canvases, speak of the artist's talent.

Battle of the Neva (1240) - one of the key points Russian history. An example of courage, valor, and faith of the Russian wars and common people, who joined the fighting squad of Alexander Nevsky, at that difficult moment when the Swedish army significantly outnumbered the Russian in the number of soldiers and weapons.

Prince Alexander Nevsky is canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Tsar's decree. Malyuta Skuratov.

The Tsar's oprichnik, a fierce executioner, famous for his infinite cruelty, holds the Tsar's decree in his hand. Tsar Ivan the Terrible sends him to certain death, to the war with the Livonians, where Malyuta is destined to die, like a simple soldier, in atonement for his grave sins.

The secret of the tsar. Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich.

The Russian Tsar, no matter how difficult it was for him, could, in his greatness from God given glory, bow down to his people, like a kitten, and take pity on him. And our kings did this, although there were not only saints among them, but also tormented by passions, and great sinners ... But they all loved their people, and did not exalt themselves over them.
So, maybe we should not be like arrogant idols - boyars, but be able to see greatness in goodness and condescension?

Photo for memory from the triptych "Russian century".

Bell striking. (No. 1 from the "Repentance" triptych.

The triptych "Repentance" is about the fate of a Bolshevik who, from a simple soldier of the revolution, becomes a divisional commander, and from a divisional commander - through the grief of loss and rethinking of his life - an old monk.

Triptych "Repentance"

“I hope that my paintings will awaken the genetic memory of my contemporaries, pride in my Fatherland, and perhaps help the viewer find the only correct path for himself. And then - I will be happy with my duty. ”- Pavel Ryzhenko.

Blessed memory of the great artist !!!

Morning before the battle (prayer of Alexander Peresvet before the Battle of Kulikovo)

To help the Russian army, two monks-heroes Peresvet and Oslyabya are sent from the Lavra. The artist captured the image of Peresvet in two of his paintings. At the first, a stern and mighty monk is just going to the army. In the middle of the forest, he seemed to be frozen for a moment. Near a white, such a native birch, he tied his horse, and he himself, putting the knapsack on a golden carpet - a gift from late autumn, knelt down. Holding the spear at the ready, Peresvet plunged into himself. Maybe a monk prays before the battle and asks God for help and blessings. Or maybe he is listening to last time into the silence of the forest and admires the slender green Christmas tree, barely rising from the ground ... Saying goodbye to her.

New life. Athos

New life. Athos (detail)

The painting by Pavel Ryzhenko "Wreath", striking in its deep, inescapable sadness, penetrates into the very soul and causes in it a strange, inexplicable melancholy and bitterness of loss ... early spring... The snow has barely melted, and therefore the whole earth resembles a swamp. The trees are shrouded in a light greenish haze. Behind their branches looms a gray, rainy sky, sad and mournful. It seems that all nature is crying at this moment, sympathizing with the soldier who came from the front. He survived in terrible war, came, wounded, home, and there is no one here. Nobody is waiting for a hero ... And the soldier came to the churchyard, bowed to his native grave, dropped a mean tear ... He remembered the old peaceful years, remembered how he left here to defend native land as he said goodbye to the one that now rests in this swampy cemetery. The soldier remembered a lot. He thought to say "hello" to his dear person, but he has to say goodbye again, now forever ... Who rests under this gray wooden cross with a wreath of yellow flowers? Is the soldier's mother? Or a wife? We will not know this ... We can only see the endless grief of the hero who came from the war, and grieve with him ...

The officer buries the shoulder straps and a scarf embroidered by Tsarina Alexandra.

Kulikovo field

Kulikovo field (fragment)

Life of Sergius

Battle of Kalka

Pavel Ryzhenko's diploma work was the painting "Calca", dedicated to one of the most tragic moments national history... In 1223, on the Kalka River, the first battle of the Russian troops with the mono-Tatar troops took place, in which the latter won a deafening victory. This happened because the Russian princes, corroded by internecine enmity, could not unite in the face of the enemy, and therefore they were united and strong enemy overpowered them. Many of our wars were killed, others were taken in full. The end of this massacre was captured in his painting by Pavel Ryzhenko. Here is a field strewn with arrows. In the middle of it, one of the Tatar khans is reclining on a carpet. Winner! He is triumphant! And he laughs in the face of the full Russian prince, who is being twisted by the khan's henchmen, arrogant and self-righteous, looking forward to a big gain. And the face of the bound prince expresses pain, but he is not broken. And his head is raised high, and his gaze, angry and courageous, is directed directly at the victorious enemy. The spirit of the prince is strong. His brothers, who laid down their heads in this battle, were just as strong. And only there was no unity between them ... And that's why trouble came to the Russian land. And on the horizon there are mountains of bodies, our fallen soldiers. And the blue Russian sky is already covered with black smoke. Russia is on fire! This picture is extremely relevant today. For even now everything healthy forces in society they are disunited and fight with each other, and amid this eternal strife they lose the most important thing - their homeland. And a new horde comes and subjugates everything and everyone, and sows confusion and outrages, and we all continue to burn in the internecine slaughter: "We eat each other and we are fed up with that!" This is exactly the Kalka, the eternal Kalka that we experience from time to time. We survived the Troubles, in 1917, we are experiencing now ... And it's time, it's high time for us to learn from our history. But we, as if intoxicated, again step on the same rake ...

Prince Alexei Mikhailovich Quiet

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Quiet, the father of the first Russian emperor Peter I, is the last sovereign of the so-called "pre-Petrine" time. It is generally accepted to consider this time a dark, ignorant, sovereigns - almost fabulous old men - bearded men. But they were not in reality. Not fuss, passed off as excessive efficiency, but prayer peace and strength were inherent in these giants of the spirit. These were not the people chosen by the crowd and money, but the anointed ones supplied by God. It is not for nothing that Alexei Mikhailovich was called the Quietest by the people. This naming is felt and filial love, and recognition of the power of the king's ministry, which, like any true power, is always as quiet as an ocean. Perhaps now, when everyone thinks so much about power, it is worth remembering that power and strength are always from God. And the consequence of this power is always silence and piety in the state.

Novice

Here we see spring in all its beauty and fragrance. Before us is a blooming apple orchard. All of it seems to be permeated with thin filaments of sunlight, giving it a truly fabulous look. The garden is depicted so vividly and accurately that the viewer gets the feeling of being there. The delicate aroma of pale pink apple blossoms is felt almost physically. Work is in full swing in the garden: the trunks of apple trees, freshly whitened, as if doused with molasses, dry branches are cut down and thrown into the cheerful flame of the fire. The young novice, leaning his hand on a thick branch of an apple tree, bewitched, as if detached from the whole world around him, looks at the fast fire. His face seems tired and happy. Light gusts of wind play with light clouds of smoke ... Light is, perhaps, the main component of this wonderful picture. She seems to be woven from unearthly light, and that is why she is so amazingly good.

Anthill

Before us is an old spruce forest, stretching out its branches in all directions. The ground, like a carpet, is covered with ferns and moss. From somewhere in the distance, clear sunlight penetrates into the thicket. A gray-haired old monk sits on a tree stump in the middle of the picture. After wandering with early morning through the forest, he put his tuesok on the ground and plunged into contemplation of a large anthill, towering nearby. Perhaps this anthill somehow reminded him of his native monastery: monks also work all day long, not knowing rest, and all together ... Oh, if only all people could do this! But there is no cohesion in them. Yes, and you will not find such diligence ...

Photo for memory

Photo for memory (fragment, the sovereign emperor with his family)

Ringing the bells

The elder depicted on the canvas does not try to reconcile himself with his conscience. Life has already been lived, and all the paths have already been passed. Mentally and prayerfully, the elder is already beyond the bounds of earthly existence. But it is precisely those who are with God that the elders can understand, and tenderly with love bring out the suffering and burdened by sins or, as they say now with problems, the soul to repentance and correction.

Peresvet victory

Easter in Paris

Battle of the Neva

Time of Troubles

Troubles. The plot, unfortunately, is also very relevant today. The enemy came to the Russian Land, captured its very heart - Moscow and rampages in its shrines. Before us is a temple destroyed by the Poles. Apparently, the enemies have just left here. On the floor lies a Russian warrior pierced by arrows, last defender shrines ... His hand is still squeezing the bow. It can be seen: he fought before last breath... And even now, defeated, he is not defeated. Nearby is an old priest, pale and gaunt, holding a cross in his hand. A boy crying with fear clings to him. The elder gently hugs the child, strokes him with a thin hand on the shoulder, whispers something soothing. You can't give up! The Lord will not leave Russia to be mocked! Pray and salvation will come! - so, perhaps, says the priest to the boy, in the midst of the devastated church ... And next to it the lamp is still burning with a clear flame, as a symbol of invincibility and strength of the Russian spirit, and its fire instills confidence that the hard times will pass, and Russia will rise in its former glory!

Farewell of the sovereign to the troops

In Farewell of the Tsar ... the artist managed to convey the tragedy of the moment with amazing psychologism. Headquarters in Mogilev. Here, a few days ago, Nikolai Romanov was the autocrat of the All-Russian, ruler great empire... And, behold, he returned here, having renounced the throne, returned not as the Emperor, but as Colonel Romanov, returned to say goodbye to the troops dear to his heart. Bent over, he walks along their silent row, looking into everyone's eyes, looking for either support or forgiveness in them ... And they salute their King for the last time, whom they are not destined to see again. A terrible, irreparable misfortune is heading towards Russia. Rolling along it, according to Solzhenitsyn's definition, the fatal red wheel ... Moloch is running, and it cannot be stopped already. Russia stepped into the abyss, and soon it will swallow both her and the Emperor, and the troops loyal to him ... And this atmosphere of an impending, gathering momentum catastrophe is conveyed by the February blizzard depicted in the picture. As if in smoke, the sky is wrapped in darkness, the wind bends trees, rinsing banners, raises flakes of snow and throws them into the faces of Russian soldiers and the Russian Tsar, sweeps them up, blinds the eyes ... open spaces. And these winds will soon blow Great Russia off the face of the earth ...

Tsarevo silence

Very curious, for example, is the portrait of Ivan the Terrible. The cruel King appears before us not at all the way we used to imagine him. He rather resembles a humble monk: such is his vestment, which is complemented by a large icon on his chest, a long snow-white beard, a branch clutched in his left hand. And one thing only distinguishes him: a heavy staff, with which the Tsar never parted, with which he would kill his son in a fit of anger ... However, it is known that Ivan Vasilievich, being in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, called himself Abbot, and the oprichnikov - brotherhood. And his whole way of life at that time resembled a monastery. At night, the formidable Tsar repented of his bloody crimes, and early in the morning he served with the "brethren" for matins. Perhaps, after one of such sleepless nights, full of horror and remorse, John is depicted in Ryzhenko's painting. The Tsar's face is gloomy, and his gaze is directed forward, at one point. What gloomy thoughts is Grozny immersed in? Does he think about his sins? Or, perhaps, with anguish he recalls all those numerous betrayals that were in his life? The most offensive and unexpected - betrayal of a friend and associate of Kurbsky? And mentally, again and again, John answers the accusations that the fugitive prince showered him with in his letters ... Sunray entered the open door, lay down at the feet of the autocrat, but did not illuminate his gloomy, slightly bent figure. On the stone floor at his feet, birds that have flown in are swarming: tits, pigeons ... They are chirping something cheerful and light. Do their sonorous songs reach the tyrant's ears? Will their gentle trills awaken in him any feelings? There, outside the walls of this gloomy room, spring is fragrant, and the trees are already shrouded in a light green haze. Life goes by its own laws, life is bright and beautiful! But the regal hypochondriac does not see her. And the rays of the sun do not look into his tormented soul, fearing its blackness ...

Blessing of St. Sergius of Radonezh

Pavel Ryzhenko's brush also belongs to a cycle of paintings dedicated to the Battle of Kulikovo. Here we find an amazing image of St. Sergius of Radonezh, blessing the Russian army, led by Prince Dmitry Donskoy, to battle with the Mamaev horde. The holy elder put his hand on the shoulder of the prince bowing before him, behind whom his numerous squad drowned. With the other hand, dry and sinewy, the Reverend leaned on the sword. His bright face, framed by a snow-white beard, is turned to us, and the gaze of faded old age eyes is directed somewhere upward, perhaps, into those heavenly spaces, invisible to the eye a mere mortal, from where the Lord Himself blesses the Russian army for a holy cause ... And, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, Saint Sergius advises Prince Dmitry ...

Malyuta Skuratov. Royal decree

And, here, another prominent figure of that time, the tsar's satrap, executioner Malyuta Skuratov. This is perhaps one of the most odious and bloody figures in our history. Malyuta knew his business very well: on his conscience there are more than one hundred tortured people, including his recent friends. It was Skuratov who, at the direction of the Terrible, strangled Metropolitan Philip, who was glorified as a saint, who denounced the Tsar's atrocities.
From the picture, a stern and gloomy man with a stone, impassive face looks at us. Over the menacing, deep-set eyes, gloomy hangs, thick eyebrows... The face of a real executioner! The sight of this man thrilled many. Where is he going now with the scrolls of orders in his hand? Whose other destinies should they destroy? Whose soul is the Tsar's favorite going? What is this cruel satrap thinking? Is he inventing another torture in his devil's brain, even more terrible than all the previous ones? Does he look forward to how he will beat out the necessary confessions from innocent victims? And the tsar's gratitude for this will be great! The Tsar appreciates Malyuta. And Skuratov is faithful to him like a dog. The paradox of history: a brilliant warrior, hero, Prince Kurbsky fled to Lithuania and fought against Russia. And he ended his life ingloriously, cursed in home country, which changed. And the cruel executioner Malyuta Skuratov, who terrified many people, would lay down his head in battle in Livonia. Will die a brave death ... For the Tsar and the Russian Land.

Imprisonment in Tsarskoe Selo

Ipatiev House after the regicide

Janitor 1918

And, here, a picture relating to the 18th year - "Janitor 1918", striking with an outlandish calmness for that frenzied time. Late fall. The park is a noble, apparently a manor house. Most of the trees are already bare, and only the golden helmet of a young birch peeps out from the edge. Quiet alley, covered with a cover of discarded leaves. The water gets cold in the puddles. At the gazebo there is a table with fruits, a samovar, flowers ... There is a colorful shawl on the chair. A small dog is freezing next to him. Everything breathes in a peaceful, unshakable way of life. Just not to see the owners of the estate anywhere, as if they were forced to flee somewhere suddenly, abandoning everything in a hurry and not even finishing the already poured tea. And only the janitor, a strong, imperturbable-looking man, continues his usual work. He slowly walks along an empty alley, sweeping foliage. Somewhere outside of this unspoiled islet peaceful life the revolution is thundering, people are dying in internecine strife, rivers of blood are pouring across the Russian plain, and the janitor is sweeping everything, sweeping, immersed in his thoughts. And it seems that he is assembling this garden, preparing for the death awaiting him ...

Choice of Faith. Holy Martyr George the Victorious

Choice of Faith (detail)

In the III century, Saint George, in all the splendor and power of his power, is a kamida, i.e. a commander close to the emperor makes his moral choice. He is surrounded by a crowd filled with passion, eternally unsure of anything and lustful, old and experienced warriors, young people striving for truth, wise elders and the emperor. Standing in front of the cross, the Great Holy Martyr does not give this crowd a single chance for indifference. A recent pagan in his soul feels the call of conscience to Christ. The Empress rushes after the sufferer and dies of a broken heart. A recent friend betrays and sends his boss to execution. The emperor, who entrusted the most important affairs to George, is now the executioner. Truth, the Cross of Christ, did not leave anyone neutral in the 3rd century. He does not leave anyone even now.

Alexander Nevskiy

On autumn landscape Pavel Ryzhenko depicts a stone cliff towering over a wide dark blue ribbon of the river. Behind her are visible naked birch groves shrouded in a misty haze. Their outlines are vague because of the ongoing rain, only in the gray-brown haze thin birch trunks whiten pristinely white. The wind excites the dark surface of the river, coloring it with various shades. At the foot of the cliff, stately, huge pines grow. Their slender peaks rise above it, enclose with a living wall, like giants-watchmen. And at the very edge of the cliff, over the abyss, there is a lonely wooden cross. Who found his last refuge in this remote place, between heaven and earth? Unknown. And only the sky sobs over it, and long raindrops break on the stone surface of the cliff and wash the lonely cross ...

The secret of Tsar Fyodor Ioanovich

Princely son

Andrey Kurbsky

And, here, and a portrait of the traitor Prince Andrei Kurbsky, the first "political emigrant" in the history of Russia. Boyarin, friend of the Tsar, member of the Chosen Rada, participant of the Kazan campaign, hero, one of the best minds his time ... This man fled from Russia, fearing disgrace. To be torn to pieces by the Tsar, he threw his family: mother, wife, children. And without a twinge of conscience he entered the service of Lithuania, hostile to Russia. Like many future “emigrants”, the prince argued that he had not betrayed Russia, that he was a patriot of her and served another country only for the good of the motherland, because only being at a distance from the “Moscow tyrant” could one work to free the fatherland from the “barbarian”. And for this good purpose, you can use the services of enemies! And bring them to Russia! And let them burn Pskov and exterminate thousands of Russian people, but liberate Russia from the "bloodthirsty despot"! For such a good purpose, all means are good! And you can enter into an alliance with everyone. The classic excuse for a traitor! More than once we will not have to hear it in our history. We are patriots, but we will better carry the light from abroad. It's safer this way. But all this is only for the benefit of the beloved Motherland. And there is the Russian prince, the hero of the Kazan campaign with the Lithuanian army to Russia, and storms ancient Pskov, not caring about its shrines ... Here, he looks at us from the portrait: an old face distorted by some kind of hidden torment, lowered corners of his lips, a look, extinct, a little lowered ... The prince feels that his life is not going as it should. He dreamed of returning to Russia on a white horse when the "tyrant" was defeated. And he rules to this day. And Prince Andrew was already exhausted in the struggle. He had nothing left: no homeland, no family, no faith ... All that remained was hatred, great anger, which he pours out in letters to his former friend, and now to his first enemy, Tsar John. Kurbsky writes on sleepless nights, for he has long since lost sleep. He writes, blaming Grozny for everything, so as not to blame himself, in order to convince himself of his righteousness, to drive away the conscience that reminds of himself from time to time ... but against Russia. But it's too late to change something! And with the war the prince goes to his native land, fights against it, sheds Russian blood ...

Natalia Naryshkina

And, here, the second wife of Alexei Mikhailovich Natalya Naryshkina at the cradle of her son, little Tsarevich Peter ... Surrounded by icons, in the dim light of the lamp, the fair-haired youth Petrusha is dozing, lulled by his mother. And, looking at this picture, it is difficult to imagine that soon this peacefully sleeping child will turn into the omnipotent Emperor Peter the Great, who will completely change the face of Holy Russia, turning it into the harsh face of a giant Empire, destroy the centuries-old way of life, to which Russians have become attached to their souls. the people in which he was brought up will twist him beyond recognition and dress him ancient Russia in a German dress ... Who would have thought what instincts sleep in the soul of this charming youth! Who would have thought what a great revolution he was destined to accomplish! But there is still time until that moment. And while young Peter is peacefully dozing in his cradle, growing up to the delight of his father and mother, Russia is living out the last relatively calm years in its usual, developed way of life for centuries ...

The last judgment

“I deliberately left one seal unbroken when entering the heavenly gates to the Judgment. So that everyone imagines himself in the center of the canvas and defines his place on the heavenly canvas ".

In the picture, paradise is conditionally on the right. This is the East. Hell is on the left, like the image of the West, with its truly double morality. WITH right side it is as if Russia itself, with its martyrs, is climbing up the hill. I showed there and real personalities- for example, Dmitry Donskoy, Reverend Seraphim... There is a sailor from the Kursk, a simple guy who could drink, swear, but at the moment of knowing the truth, at the cost of his earthly life, he stopped the reactor. This is a generalized image common man who, when necessary, will cover his neighbor with his chest. Therefore, in the picture you can see the soldiers who shed blood for Faith, for our opportunity to live in the Fatherland, to love, to build, to continue life. There is also a hero of our time - the soldier Zhenya Rodionov, who is revered by representatives of different religious denominations. He didn't just refuse to take off Orthodox cross... He still bears it with dignity for all of us. My goal was to show how a person weighs himself on a heavenly scale. This is a procession to the throne of the Lord and a kind of concept of a procession of the cross.

Pavel Ryzhenko

On July 16, 2014, the Russian world suffered an irreparable loss - one of the greatest creators 20th century - artist Pavel Ryzhenko, whose cause of death - stroke - in the twentieth century is predominant among young talented people.

Pavel Ryzhenko is a genius creator of historical composition

In the vastness of Europe in modern world very hard to find talented artist, working in the style of classical realism. The character of such a creator should be revealed to match the era - contradictory in its revolutionary striving for development and simultaneous passive inaction. It is because of this sinful inaction, which carries a contentment of despondency, that the genius of Russian realism grew up - Pavel Ryzhenko, whose paintings were painted exclusively in this classical style.

The artist lived a short but extremely fruitful life, being an icon of God's chosen creator and a role model for artists of realistic traditions. The death of Pavel Ryzhenko marked the final transition contemporary art from the channel of realism into the framework of avant-garde, the departure of the classical canons of construction and color arrangement of the composition from the field visual arts into the expressive voyage of the futuristic brevity of the idea and the straightforwardness of the compositional image.

Biographical note

Pavel Ryzhenko, whose biography does not differ from several hundred similar biographies of artists, anticipating the interest of fans in this topic, left several notes about his past.

The future artist was born in 1970, in the city of Kaluga. In his autobiographical texts, Pavel Ryzhenko, predicting how much his fans would be interested in his biography, recalled that his childhood was completely and completely filled with the joy of communicating with his grandmother and mother. Creative way was started by Pavel Viktorovich not by chance - from the very early years he was characterized by liveliness of mind and excellent memory: "This is for me the Motherland, bright, quiet, full of love, which many have forgotten, but many have not."

Since 1988, Pavel has been a graduate of Moscow at the Surikov Institute. He went to the army, where, according to him, he had already clearly realized his vocation in painting. After her, since 1990, he studied at the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where his teacher was a professor, folk artist Russia I.S.Glazunov.

Pavel Ryzhenko

Since 1997, after in 1996, Pavel Ryzhenko begins an active pedagogical activity at the Department of Architecture, and then restoration and even later - the composition of his native academy. There he taught until his death. Pavel Ryzhenko is an artist whose cause of death was the result of a fruitful creative activity.

Features of the spiritual content of the composition

Pavel Viktorovich Ryzhenko was instantly glorified as a genius of the all-Russian scale after defending his thesis - the canvas "Kalka", where the semantic center of the composition is tied with ropes the figure of Prince Mstislav the Old, proudly standing opposite the Mongolian governor, who is resting after the battle. Pavel Ryzhenko, whose paintings are reminiscent of this unbending, honest, but simple and humble character, showed the features of the Russian people in the best possible way.

The artist is a preacher of the divine idea

The artist has always talked very openly about his spiritual and practical searches. Embark on a path of gratitude Orthodox artist, immersing the viewer with his art in wonderful world the land inspired by God and the Russian nation as a whole, according to him, it was his training at the academy and his acquaintance with the priests that helped him. He idolized the Orthodox national idea and unwittingly became her mouthpiece, the gospel. "Oslyabya", "Blessing of Sergius", "Victory of Peresvet", "Prayer of Peresvet" - in all these images, with their unshakable calmness and prudence, there is invisibly the appearance of a holy man, not at all similar to the canonical icon-painting image. Pavel himself explained this feature of his images by the fact that he considers classical Orthodox icon painting to be a monstrous hybrid of Eastern and Byzantine painting, with their European standards and manner of painting, and not the original Russian cult painting.

Pavel Ryzhenko collaborated a lot with monasteries and senior priests, writing religious paintings and portraits for them. His last work, a diorama. The client was the Kaluga St. Tikhon's hermitage. Unfortunately, Pavel Ryzhenko, an artist whose cause of death made the Russian world shudder by its suddenness, could not be present at its opening.

Pavel Ryzhenko and his paintings in the historical genre of painting

Throughout his life, with all his heart and consciousness radiating his son's love for his homeland and filling every stroke and every smear on his canvases with this love, Pavel Ryzhenko wholly and completely "impregnated" his paintings of unprecedented power with greatness. It was the greatness of the Russian Spirit, enclosed in the images of the hero Peresvet, in the majestic but submissive pose of Emperor Nicholas II, the monumental tragic greatness of the battles of the past and sunlight monastic apiaries.

As a master of battle scenes, the composition and color scheme of which was imbued with the idea of ​​a Divine battle with Darkness, the artist accepted Active participation in military-patriotic actions on the territory of Russia. He was included in the Studio of Military Artists named after M. B. Grekov as one of the leading master painters, and the first published information that Pavel Ryzhenko died, the cause of death, made public a few days later, was reported to the press by the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Defense ...

During the political coup in the spring of 2014 in Ukraine, Pavel Ryzhenko more than once expressed his support for the emerging states of Novorossia. In addition, in the process of writing his painting "Stokhod", the artist continuously consulted with Igor Ivanovich Strelkov about the uniform of the Russian officers and became very friendly with him, even capturing him on the canvas in the main triangle of the composition. Upon learning that Pavel Ryzhenko, whose cause of death directly depended on the enormous mental activity, died, Strelkov wrote: “I grieve. He was a bright man. When I consulted him, he already complained that his hands were going numb. "

People's Artist

Pavel Ryzhenko sincerely believed in an enlightened, morally pure and spiritually rich Russia, with all my heart I was rooting for the formation of New Russia and its political arrangement in line with the Russian state, while always remaining a monarchist. A huge number of his canvases, created since the early 1990s, are dedicated to the Battle of Kulikovo, the era of Nicholas II, as well as the First World War. In his workshop there were six ready-made dioramas, which were periodically presented for exhibitions.

Parting words to descendants

When Pavel Ryzhenko died, the cause of death was not announced immediately. Only a few days later it became known that due to the tense professional activity he had a stroke.

The artist was buried at the Zhdamirovsky treasure in the village of the same name near Kaluga.

During his lifetime, he was a very progressively oriented person, an adherent of Orthodox thought as a historically changing content of human life, the essence of which can be excellently reflected in the principles of classical pictorial realism.