The creative heritage of the Altai artist Gennady Fedorovich Borunov

Abstract

The article deals with creativity, main themes and stages of the art of the Altai artist, Honored Artist of the RSFSR Gennady Fedorovich Borunov (1928–2002). G.F. Borunov comes from a hereditary family of icon painters. The basis on which the whole life and work of the painter was built was the Orthodox faith, which he received from his mother and grandmother. All that entered the soul of G.F. Borunov from childhood: selfless labor and the years of collectivization, the destruction of Orthodox shrines and hard wartime, love for the native land and people who work on it, forever remained in it and responded with a desire to express these experiences, capture the history and tell about their countrymen. Thus, the key ideological foundations of the painter's work include: the Christian Orthodox theme, the philosophical comprehension of life; the theme of the motherland as a whole and of Siberia in particular; features of the Siberian character, its spiritual foundations. The artist's independent creative career begins in the early 1960s. At this time, the most pronounced in the works of artists is the so-called «severe style». Works of this period are characterized by adherence to the peasant theme, the focus on the development of subject-thematic canvases and portraits. The main color scheme in which the artist works is determined. This is the color of the earth – brownish-red and bread – yellow, «golden». The emotional state of the heroes of the 1960s was due to a common thought about land, bread, harvesting, which was expressed in concentration, some gloominess, static works. Beginning in the 1970s and in the 1980s, G.F. Borunov is increasingly involved in socio-historical issues. In the works of this period, more emphasis is placed on dynamics, culminating moments of intense plot action are selected, images of heroes of the 1970s and 1980s are endowed with more diverse psychological shades. In 1990–2000, G.F. Borunov turns to philosophical and religious topics. G.F. Borunov – the master of the subject-thematic picture, this genre is the defining one in the artist's work; In addition, he writes portraits and landscapes, turns to a still-life.