Russia's Great Mikhail Nesterove

Mikhail Nesterov is held as one of the "Masters" of painting poetic landscapes, figurative painting and personal portraitures. The indication of where he was and where he had been, looks as effortlessly as a flash photograph does. Mikhail's combined wisdom, and his artistic beauty has earned his paintings, the convented title of being masterpieces.

Mikhail was born May,1862 a merchants son in the city of Ufa, region of Urals, Russia. In 1874 his parents traveled with him to Moscow. Where he was introduced to K. Trutovsky. Trutovsky was an inspector for the Moscow School of Art by trade. An artist by right. Mikhail captivated Trutovsky and in 1876, Mikhail received a recommendation to attend Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. This was important movement of change in the young man's life. In 1881, he entered St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, where he actively participated in the Itinerants’ Society of Traveling Exhibitions.

Before discovering his art nouveau techniques and love of religious themes in 1890, Mikhail work with historical events and routine daily life scenes. He drew his inspirations straight from the Russian souls he depicted. Taking the Veil, which now hangs in the Russian Museum, is one such painting. In this masterpiece, a girl about thirteen or fourteen, stands in the fore front, in a line of Christian women carrying a candle, in a beautiful forest. The young youth's beautiful, petite size and soft glow radiates as she stands, with her head slightly tilted to the side. It is as if she romanticizing about her love of god, through the dim light of her lit candle.

His painting named Tsarevich Dmitry , located in the famous Russian Museum, is of historical and religious value combined. Tsarevich Dmitry, is an angelic portrait of Ivan the Terrible's slain, youngest son. He was the son of his Ivan's seventh wife. It has also been rumored for centuries, that Boris Gudunov (Ivan the Terrible's son in-law), aspirations were to ascend to thrown after Ivan's death. However Tsarevich stood in his way, so he killed the ten year old child. Boris was married to Ivan's favorite daughter and Tsarevich's sister, Malyuta Skuratov-Belskiy.

An official commission determined the cause of death was an epileptic seizure. They said that the boy had somehow slit his own throat during the seizure. The once forgotten boy named Tsarevich, was the last living heir of Ivan. Mikhail captured the beauty and warmth of the child, as if the child himself was blushing, from being blessed by God. Mikhail Nesterov painted through out his entire career. As a happily married man, Mikhail loved life until his death in 1942.

Itinerants' Society of Traveling Exhibitions was a collected organization that scheduled exhibitions throughout the whole of Mother Russia. The first exhibition of the Society took place in 1871 (in the exhibition halls of the Academy) and consisted of 46 works.

The Itinerants' was an active organization up until 1923. Artists' such as Servo, A. Korin, and K.E. Makovskii participated along with a list of fifty or more of Russia's great artist. For a complete list, please visit the website http://tars.rollins.edu

Many members of the Society joined the organization because they firmly believed that all Russia, not only the elite, needed their art; that their paintings would be a weapon in the battle against social and economic injustices. -The Society of Traveling Exhibitions