02 Works, The Art of War, Alexander Bubnov and Adolphe Yvon's The Battle of Kulikovo, with footnotes

Alexander Bubnov

Morning on Kulikovo Field, c.1943 1947

Oil on canvas

96,1х186,3

The State Tretyakov Picture Gallery in Moscow

Valued at 1500000-2500000 rub. in April 2024

The moment before the Battle of Kulikovo, on September 8, 1380, against the Mongolian golden horde, Russian forces lined up and in arms, led by Dimitri IV Donskoi (1350-1389).

Alexander Bubnov was a Soviet painter, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1954), winner of the Stalin Prize of the second degree (1948). Bubnov created his paintings in a difficult time for creative people.

Bubnov was born on February 20 (March 4), 1908 in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia). In 1919, he studied at the art school in Atkarsk, Saratov province. After the school was closed because of the Civil War, he continued to draw privately with the school teacher N.Ya. Fedorov. But he still managed to enter the best at that time Moscow Art University.

In 1930, 22-year-old future artist went to build the famous Kuznetskostroy, where he worked as a junior architect. After returning to Moscow two years later, he continued to paint. From that time, he began to work very hard.

During the Great Patriotic War, he worked a lot on agitation posters, made drawings for magazines and leaflets. Alexander Pavlovich was very fond of graphics. The artist made very interesting illustrations for Alexander Pushkin’s poems, Nikolai Gogol’s stories. While creating a modern film Taras Bulba make-up artist took the image created by A. Bubnov for the main character.

His Eastern paintings are a real riot of colors, and you can even study oriental ethnography looking at them. Using bright colors Bubnov wanted to understand and express new and important aspects of the life of the people.

In the Soviet era Bubnov was known, mainly, only as a master of historical painting, but he was a versatile artist, a wonderful landscape painter.

Alexander Bubnov died in 1964 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. More on Alexander Bubnov

Adolphe Yvon  (1817–1893)

The Battle of Kulikovo, c. 1849

Oil on canvas

Grand Kremlin Palace

Dmitri Donskoy in the thick of the fray

Adolphe Yvon (1817-1893) was a French painter renowned for his works depicting historical and military scenes. Born in Eschviller, Lorraine, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under the tutelage of Paul Delaroche. Yvon quickly gained a reputation for his exceptional talent in depicting historical battles and figures, rooting his style in realism and romanticism.

His career took off after his stay in Russia between 1843 and 1848, where he was invited to teach at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg. On his return to France, Yvon was entrusted with numerous official commissions, notably for works intended to adorn public buildings and palaces. 

Yvon played an important role in art education, serving as a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he trained a generation of artists who would become influential in their own right. His teaching methodology and his works had a significant impact on the development of French art in the 19th century, particularly in the field of historical and military painting.

Adolphe Yvon died in Paris in 1893, leaving behind a lasting legacy as one of France's most important historical and military painters. More on Adolphe Yvon

The Battle of Kulikovo was fought between the forces of Mamai, a powerful Mongol military commander of the Golden Horde, and Russian forces led by Grand Prince Dmitry of Moscow. The battle took place on 8 September 1380, at Kulikovo Field near the Don River (now Tula Oblast, Russia) and was won by Dmitry, who became known as Donskoy ("of the Don") after the battle.

Although the victory did not end Mongol domination over Russia, it is traditionally regarded as the turning point at which Mongol influence began to wane and Moscow's power began to rise. The battle would allow Moscow to strengthen its claims of ascendancy over the other Russian principalities, in which it would ultimately become the centre of a centralized Russian state

The victory at Kulikovo is commemorated in Russia as a Day of Military Honour. More on The Battle of Kulikovo

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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