Life and work of V. I. Khabarov
The full name of the painting is “Portrait of a Girl in a Chair”, it was painted in 1974 by the artist Valery Iosifovich Khabarov. The author is known not only in Russia, but also in France, Italy, Germany, and the USA. The artist was born in 1944, on August 4, in the city of Michurinsk, Tambov region. The war deprived the boy of his father, so he was raised by his mother Zinaida Dmitrievna. Valery began to show creative abilities early; his first teacher was A.V. Platitsin. On the recommendation of the teacher, the boy was taken to the Ryazan Art School in 1958. And in 1967, Khabarov V.I. entered the Moscow Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov. His studies continued in the creative workshop until 1977.
In the same year he married I. Guryanova. His main genre was and remains portraiture. He puts a special meaning into each of his creations.
The artist’s most popular creations are “Portrait of V. I. Kushilova and S. A. Gonozova, painted in 1989; “Portrait of a Boy”, “Still Life with Willow”, “Portrait of K. Shatov”, painted in 1977.
In the work “Portrait of a Girl in a Chair,” the essay describing the painting reveals a lot. Khabarov considers “Portrait of Mila” to be the apotheosis of his work. V.I. Khabarov also paints icons for the Elias Church in the city of Michurinsk. The Virgin Mary holding a baby in her arms is impressive with its expressiveness and depth. Most of his works are kept in the museum-estate of A. M. Gerasimov.
"Eclectic Painting Material" by Robert Falk
Robert Falk.
Nude in a chair. 1923. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow Robert Falk became interested in painting in his early youth. At first he was going to enter the conservatory, but soon changed his mind and began taking private lessons from artists Konstantin Yuon and Ilya Mashkov. In 1905 he was enrolled in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. There Falk studied with famous masters of that time: Valentin Serov, Konstantin Korovin, Leonid Pasternak. However, five years later he was expelled from the school for rebelling against the authoritarian teaching system.
Robert Falk. Self-portrait in a white shirt (fragment). 1924. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
In 1910, Robert Falk joined the artistic association “Jack of Diamonds,” which included Ilya Mashkov, Aristarkh Lentulov, Vasily Rozhdestvensky, Pyotr Konchalovsky and Alexander Kuprin. Falk did not limit himself to one genre of painting: he created landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and interior sketches. According to the artist’s own recollections, he “adhered to an orientation: first impressionistic, then, through Cezanne, a certain bias towards cubism.” At different times he was inspired by the works of Titian and El Greco, Claude Monet and Rembrandt. Kazimir Malevich, in his statements about Falk and his favorite artists, mentioned that “all of the above are eclectic pictorial material from which the author builds his painting activity.”
Description of Khabarov’s portrait “Portrait of Mila”
The portrait of Mila Holdevich is also filled with deep meaning. It is worth studying the description of the painting in detail. Khabarov sees “Portrait of Mila” from a special angle. It depicts a 12-year-old girl reading a book with interest. The depth of the foreground is expressively emphasized by the play of halftones - light and dark, bright and muted, warm and cold. A blue chair against the backdrop of warm shades of the walls and floor, light details of the girl’s clothing - everything is presented here in a single composition and fits harmoniously into the overall idea. The play of contrasts creates the impression of fullness and completeness of the image. It is surprising that the foreground is not at all opposed to the background.
Khabarov, “Portrait of Mila,” tells a lot. An essay describing his paintings reveals the essence and meaning of all his work. The painting has an extraordinary magnetic property. Every detail on it is imbued with a special filling warmth and comfort. Looking at the picture, it’s as if you feel the warmth spreading through your body after a long winter walk, when you enter a cozy room. The description of Khabarov’s portrait “Portrait of Mila” allows us to see how the everyday genre in the picture was very successfully combined with a portrait image of a girl.
The heroine of the portrait: pose, clothes, shoes, book
Here we move on to a description of the appearance of the person in Khabarov’s painting “Portrait of Mila.”
The portrait depicts a 12-13 year old girl with her feet up on a chair and enthusiastically reading a book. The girl is completely immersed in reading: her mouth is half open, as if she is pronouncing phrases in her mind that bring the plot closer to the denouement. This is probably how we all look from the outside when we are passionate about something. It’s as if we are inside ourselves, as if in some wonderful capsule. Maybe that’s why the artist depicted his heroine inside a round chair, her legs tucked under her.
The last pages of an interesting book are about to turn, and the girl is in a hurry. These pages are always the most fascinating, so it is not surprising that the girl, running from the skating rink, barely had time to undress, grabbed the book.
This picture offers many options for presenting previous and subsequent events, and this is precisely what is always interesting to the viewer (or, for example, reader) of a work of art. By discussing these supposed events, we seem to be participating in the creation of a picture along with the artist.
In the essay on “Portrait of Mila” by Khabarov, it can be noted that the heroine of the portrait is most likely a purposeful, active, developed girl. She reads a lot (a lazy person would never force herself to read such a thick book to the end), plays sports (this can be seen from her posture, abandoned skates, and also from the fact that she is wearing trousers - girls at that time did not often wear trousers). And she is not yet at all subject to girlish concerns about her appearance: she is wearing a simple T-shirt, and strands of her straight hair are simply and modestly scattered over her shoulders.
But the jeans... It must be recalled that the portrait was painted in the 1970s, when jeans were not yet sold in Soviet stores, they could only be purchased on the black market. And this suggests that Mila is from a wealthy family with connections. She can afford the luxury of denim pants for a teenage girl. But even these jeans speak in favor of her modesty - Mila has no time to be distracted by the street and walks with friends, she is all about her studies and her extracurricular activities.
Portrait art
But this is not only what the author wanted to convey in his work. Many artists paint pictures of famous people of that time. But history is usually hidden in the monotonous and familiar way of life of the common people. Habits, traditions, culture penetrated deeply into their life. It is believed that a portrait is a link between the past and the present. This is a mirror of history.
Looking at a portrait is like reading an entire book. From the external description of the picture you can learn a lot about the world around the depicted hero. It is no coincidence that the modern school curriculum includes a description of the painting. Khabarov writes “Portrait of Mila” in a language understandable for modern times.
Requirements for a portrait
A true artist always cares not only about external resemblance, he tries to convey the feelings, thoughts and character of a person. Before the first stroke of the brush, the author will definitely ask: “Who is this person in front of me? What is he? Is he strict or kind? What does he like? What is the hero doing? What does he dream about? In a genre such as a portrait, it is necessary to think through every detail, capture every facial feature, every detail of facial expressions in order to tell as much as possible about the person and the story. The art of portraiture originated a long time ago and had a cult significance, but became a separate genre during the Renaissance. But at all times, the main requirement for a portrait was external resemblance and revealing the essence of a person.
What is “Portrait of Mila” about?
Through paints and canvas, the artist is able to capture the sparkle of the eyes, blush or pallor. From them you can draw conclusions about the mood of the person depicted and get in touch with his inner world. An experienced master, in addition to the image on canvas, will always give free rein to the viewer’s imagination. So in the painting “Portrait of Mila” there is a lot to think about. The description of Khabarov’s portrait “Portrait of Mila” allows you to see the concentration on the girl’s face, which indicates a great passion for reading. It can be assumed that the girl is interested in figure skating and just recently came either from training or from the skating rink, where she was having fun with friends. The carelessly lying skates speak of the haste with which the girl sat down to read the book. A fascinating story can be read in the girl’s eyes. Perhaps this is an adventure novel or a historical narrative about the exploits of knights.
An excursion into childhood of the 1970s
If you write an essay based on the painting “Portrait of Mila,” then you must definitely convey your impression of it. Yes, those were wonderful times when schoolchildren stood in lines at the library; when a book had to be submitted on time, and it was read, contrary to parental prohibitions, under a blanket with a flashlight; when figure skating skates were considered the best gift. Nowadays, fashionable clothing brands are important for the girl Mila’s age; all kinds of gadgets have long replaced books, and computer games are preferred to sports. And this makes me a little sad.
But modern schoolchildren writing an essay based on Khabarov’s painting “Portrait of Mila” are unlikely to feel nostalgia for the years in which they did not live. But, on the other hand, the artist’s message here is obvious: he wanted not just to draw a cute girl, but to talk about the values of his era. This is typical for all his works.
Well, anyone can write an essay based on Khabarov’s painting “Portrait of Mila.” You just need to try to understand its essence, and not just grab in a hurry what lies on the surface.
Captured thoughts of V. I. Khabarov
If you carefully consider the description of Khabarov’s portrait “Portrait of Mila”, you can see the special depth and significance of the painting for the author. The girl is wearing home clothes - a T-shirt and jeans. Her brown hair is scattered over her shoulders. She represents an ordinary girl of our time. No one has so accurately depicted the passion of young people, their constant employment, as Khabarov, “Portrait of Mila.” An essay describing his work allows us to understand a lot. In the overall composition of the picture one can read that the author also reflected himself in childhood. Perhaps this is his desire and dreams, or sadness about his past childhood - the most carefree period when you can calmly read a book that interests you and walk with friends. This is a time of real personal freedom, flights of thoughts and fantasies. When even an ordinary blue amber chair with legs, standing in the corner of the room, becomes for you your own world, into which you go to be alone with yourself. The description of V. Khabarov’s painting “Portrait of Mila” conceals a special meaning. Creative individuals have their own subtle vision of the world. Therefore, V.I. Khabarov’s painting captures those important moments that we eventually lose sight of and stop appreciating. This is the time of children's thoughts, unclouded by extraneous emotions, and reflecting only your vision of the world.
Childhood years of the distant 70s
What were they like, those childhood years of the 70s? A certain idea can be obtained in an essay - a description of V. Khabarov’s painting “Mila”. It allows you to plunge into the past. Someone will remember how things were before. And for some, fantasy will help them imagine what the childhood of our older generation was like.
Here is one example from those years. In those days, people borrowed books from libraries. Many were fond of sports, such as ice skating, which was an essential part of childhood in that period.
The presence in the essay on Khabarov’s painting “Portrait of Mila” of a description of the details of everyday life or the heroine herself is, first of all, also the ability to see the story itself. The image of one moment of life, the life that was more than forty years ago, reflects the human values of people of past years. How sweet and touching it is to the depths of your soul when you can see and feel with all your heart the history of an entire era.
