ALEXEY PETROVICH BOGOLYUBOV (1824-1896). Astrakhan. Admiralty.

Alexey Bogolyubov. Astrakhan. Admiralty. A variant of the work of the same name from the collection of the Russian Museum, the reason for which was the shipyards of Astrakhan. It is a documentary and at the same time a loving view of Russian realism on the unsettled life of provincial towns, seen by the future chief artist of the General Staff, during a trip along the Volga. Between the verticals of the masts of ships and steamers in the center are dilapidated houses of artisans. They can see the collected logs for the repair of masts, oars, an anchor, a drying canvas and a resin tank. A kind of diagonal is made up of bundles of inclined boards, oars and a patch of sail on the ground. This unhurried movement is stopped by a pause, an inactively sitting foreground figure. Bright spots of drying linen and clothes of fishermen enliven the clay color of the Volga backwaters. The hard shadows of the midday sun, against the background of the sky faded from the heat, immerse you in the atmosphere of the southern Russian steppes. At the same time, the artist, along with the fishing launch and the simplicity of life, does not ignore paddle steamers - a sign of new industrial opportunities. They form industrial, merchant contrasts and the background of the work. In the lower right corner in a telegraph line, a documentary message: Astrakhan. Bogolyubov. Oil on canvas: 36x57 cm. Literature: Catalog of the Russian Museum. Marina Smirnova p.69. The canvas is duplicated.