Vladimir Bougrine
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Bougrine also known as Wladimir Bugrin (10 June 1938, Leningrad - 10 August 2001, St. Petersburg) was a Russian painter.
. He was brought up in two rooms at his ancestral home on the Neva River
, transformed after the Revolution into community accommodation.
When the German army surrounded Leningrad in September 1941 beginning the 900 day Siege, Vladimir and his sister suffered the famine and the cold that would kill mostly the young and the old.
Their food ration was 125 grams of bread a day, and Volodia spent his days like the other children looking for food. They were left alone, their parents working or fighting; they ate what they could find, one day he consumed a jar of mustard and the hospital doctors saved his life. He was fortunate, a quarter of the population died, most of them children, but they were the older ones, whose food needs to survive were greater.
Between 1956 and 1959, Vladimir attended the Mukhina Institute for art and industrial design and from 1960-65 the academy of Beaux-Arts in Leningrad.
He then taught art and theatre sets, painted portraits, and restored icons. From the beginning of the 1970s he painted religious topics, against state orders. Like other painters in the Soviet Union
, he was courted by Western diplomats and journalists who had their own agenda. From them, he obtained a gilded picture of life in the West. When painters in the Soviet Union
tried to break the yoke of the state which commissioned portraits of political leaders and forbade creativity, dissident artists gathered in a movement for free creation and exhibition of their work. Non-conformist artists in Moscow
attempted to reach the public by organising in the open-air what was to become known as the Bulldozer Exhibition
on 15 September 1974. Police dispersed the artists and their exhibits.
In Leningrad, Vladimir and his mother were among the leaders of the same movement. When the authorities learnt of the exhibition that was being organised, they placed him under house arrest, with police at the door. Vladimir left through a window and with a group of friends marched towards the square where the exhibition would take place. But the square was full of police, and no-one could approach.
Although these attempts were thwarted, the artists continued their fight for free expression. The more they fought, the greater the repression from the Soviet authorities. Vladimir was imprisoned in Leningrad, and then, like many other dissident painters, was expelled from his native land. As emigration from the Soviet Union
was forbidden for all but Jewish people, the dissident painters, seen as dangerous because rebellious, were expelled as Jewish emigrants.
The plane stopped in Vienna
. Those who did not continue to Israel
were housed in a transitville in the city; here they awaited visas for emigration to either America
or France
. Vladimir Bougrine had much success in Vienna
thanks to his patron Princess Ghislaine Windisch-Graetz
and his award-winning portrait of Cardinal Koenig of Vienna
.
But his intention was to come to France
, where he had friends, the Droin family, who had given him support after his imprisonment in Leningrad.
In 1977, a few months after arriving in Paris
, the French Ministry of Culture introduced him to the Moulin d'Ande, a community of writers, musicians and film-makers, run by Suzanne Lipinska and Maurice Pons. The Moulin was to play a central role in his life thereafter.
He was awarded a studio at the Cité des Arts in Paris, and continued the rest of his life to paint in Paris
, Saint Germain en Laye, Aigremont and Normandy
. He continued painting in St. Petersburg in the last two years of his life.
From 1969, Vladimir Bougrine participated in over 40 exhibitions, 12 personal ones, in Leningrad, Vienna
, Salzburg
, Paris
, Tokyo
, Milan
, Bologna
, Bari
, Bochum
, Hamburg
, Aubonne
, Switzerland
, and in the following museums: Russian Museum, Leningrad
; Cathedral and diocesan museum, Vienna
; Musée du Luxembourg, Paris
; Museum of Tokyo, Japan; Museum of the city Bochum
, BRD.
When Vladimir was granted French nationality in 1984, he was able to return to his homeland to visit his family in St. Petersburg. Although he and his fellow-artists were instrumental in Glasnost
which resulted from the spirit of rebellion that was fermenting throughout the land, he was much distressed by the wild capitalism that resulted in gangs of famished children who followed him around the city on his return. He then began to regret the change in society and politics and the deleterious effect on children and old people.
Vladimir died in St. Petersburg on 10 August 2001. He is survived by five children of different nationalities.
Biography
Vladimir was the second child of two academic painters. His father, Alexander Bougrine, was an icon restorer and his painter mother Nathalie Anikina also worked at the HermitageHermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
. He was brought up in two rooms at his ancestral home on the Neva River
Neva River
The Neva is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length , it is the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge .The Neva is the only river flowing from Lake...
, transformed after the Revolution into community accommodation.
When the German army surrounded Leningrad in September 1941 beginning the 900 day Siege, Vladimir and his sister suffered the famine and the cold that would kill mostly the young and the old.
Their food ration was 125 grams of bread a day, and Volodia spent his days like the other children looking for food. They were left alone, their parents working or fighting; they ate what they could find, one day he consumed a jar of mustard and the hospital doctors saved his life. He was fortunate, a quarter of the population died, most of them children, but they were the older ones, whose food needs to survive were greater.
Between 1956 and 1959, Vladimir attended the Mukhina Institute for art and industrial design and from 1960-65 the academy of Beaux-Arts in Leningrad.
He then taught art and theatre sets, painted portraits, and restored icons. From the beginning of the 1970s he painted religious topics, against state orders. Like other painters in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, he was courted by Western diplomats and journalists who had their own agenda. From them, he obtained a gilded picture of life in the West. When painters in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
tried to break the yoke of the state which commissioned portraits of political leaders and forbade creativity, dissident artists gathered in a movement for free creation and exhibition of their work. Non-conformist artists in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
attempted to reach the public by organising in the open-air what was to become known as the Bulldozer Exhibition
Bulldozer Exhibition
Bulldozer Exhibition was an unofficial art exhibition on a vacant lot in the Belyayevo urban forest by Moscow avant-garde artists on September 15, 1974...
on 15 September 1974. Police dispersed the artists and their exhibits.
In Leningrad, Vladimir and his mother were among the leaders of the same movement. When the authorities learnt of the exhibition that was being organised, they placed him under house arrest, with police at the door. Vladimir left through a window and with a group of friends marched towards the square where the exhibition would take place. But the square was full of police, and no-one could approach.
Although these attempts were thwarted, the artists continued their fight for free expression. The more they fought, the greater the repression from the Soviet authorities. Vladimir was imprisoned in Leningrad, and then, like many other dissident painters, was expelled from his native land. As emigration from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was forbidden for all but Jewish people, the dissident painters, seen as dangerous because rebellious, were expelled as Jewish emigrants.
The plane stopped in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Those who did not continue to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
were housed in a transitville in the city; here they awaited visas for emigration to either America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
or France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Vladimir Bougrine had much success in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
thanks to his patron Princess Ghislaine Windisch-Graetz
Windisch-Graetz
The House of Windisch-Graetz, also spelled Windisch-Grätz, was a princely family in the Austrian Empire, serving the Habsburg dynasty.The name derives from the town of Windischgrätz in the Duchy of Styria, which is today Slovenj Gradec in the Carinthia region of Slovenia...
and his award-winning portrait of Cardinal Koenig of Vienna
Franz König
Franz König was an Austrian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958...
.
But his intention was to come to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he had friends, the Droin family, who had given him support after his imprisonment in Leningrad.
In 1977, a few months after arriving in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the French Ministry of Culture introduced him to the Moulin d'Ande, a community of writers, musicians and film-makers, run by Suzanne Lipinska and Maurice Pons. The Moulin was to play a central role in his life thereafter.
He was awarded a studio at the Cité des Arts in Paris, and continued the rest of his life to paint in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Saint Germain en Laye, Aigremont and Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. He continued painting in St. Petersburg in the last two years of his life.
From 1969, Vladimir Bougrine participated in over 40 exhibitions, 12 personal ones, in Leningrad, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Aubonne
Aubonne
Aubonne is a municipality in the district of Morges in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-History:The municipality was settled very early. The oldest remains are from the Bronze Age. From Roman times, there remain foundations of villas, and from early medieval times, graves.The first documentation...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and in the following museums: Russian Museum, Leningrad
Russian Museum
The State Russian Museum is the largest depository of Russian fine art in St Petersburg....
; Cathedral and diocesan museum, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
; Musée du Luxembourg, Paris
Musée du Luxembourg
Musée du Luxembourg is a museum in Paris, France. It occupies the east wing of the Palais du Luxembourg, whose matching west wing originally housed Ruben's Marie de' Medici cycle. Since 2000 it has been run by the French Ministry of Culture and the Senate and is devoted to temporary exhibitions...
; Museum of Tokyo, Japan; Museum of the city Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
, BRD.
When Vladimir was granted French nationality in 1984, he was able to return to his homeland to visit his family in St. Petersburg. Although he and his fellow-artists were instrumental in Glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
which resulted from the spirit of rebellion that was fermenting throughout the land, he was much distressed by the wild capitalism that resulted in gangs of famished children who followed him around the city on his return. He then began to regret the change in society and politics and the deleterious effect on children and old people.
Vladimir died in St. Petersburg on 10 August 2001. He is survived by five children of different nationalities.