Childhood and youth
Alexander Maksovich Shilov was born in Moscow in 1943. His childhood was during the difficult post-war period, when the country was being rebuilt from the ruins. The family of the future artist also had a hard time. The mother stopped living with the father and raised three children in the company of their grandmothers. The six of them lived in one room in a communal apartment. At the age of 13, the boy became seriously interested in painting, going to study at the art studio of the House of Pioneers in Timiryazevo, where he studied for 5 years.
Alexander Shilov in his youth / Official website
When the guy turned 15, he got a job. He worked as a laboratory assistant and loader, and in the evenings he went to school and took painting lessons. At the age of 25, Shilov entered the Surikov Art Institute, where he studied in the workshop of Yu. Korolev.
At first, the young man painted landscapes and genre paintings, but by the time he graduated from university in 1973, he decided on the vector direction of his creativity, which became the portrait genre. It’s no wonder that my graduation work was a series of portraits of Soviet cosmonauts.
Biography of Alexander Shilov
Alexander Maksovich Shilov was born during difficult war times on October 6, 1943 in Moscow. Poverty and gloomy life accompanied little Sasha’s childhood. However, need did not prevent the boy from taking up drawing in the art studio of the House of Pioneers. The difficult financial situation of the family forced the future artist, at the end of his seven-year school, to go to a school for working youth and work as an auxiliary loader. During this difficult period, an art studio teacher took the talented young man to an exhibition on Gorky Street. There, Alexander Shilov met the professor of the Academy of Arts, Alexander Ivanovich Laktionov.
Alexander Shilov, already a fairly experienced painter, entered the MGAHI named after. Surikov only in 1968. Graduate Shilov's diploma work included portraits of Soviet cosmonauts. The Republican exhibition, held in 1976 in Manege, brought fame to the painter. Alexander Shilov was accepted into the Union of Artists of the USSR. Orders for portraits appeared from the top party leadership and representatives of elite circles.
However, the master’s talent and inspiration gravitated towards ordinary people, aging front-line soldiers and home front workers. Shilov's fame and his life principles did not allow people rejected by the turning point to be consigned to oblivion. The heroes of the paintings are masterfully drawn images of ordinary members of society. Somewhere there is an airy romantic story, and somewhere there is a dramatic fate.
The years 1979-1990 were marked by trips abroad and numerous exhibitions in Russia. The artist wrote a lot, his efficiency amazed his colleagues. A sensitive portrait painter, he responded to social events and noted newly emerging social phenomena.
After the death of his beloved daughter Masha in 1996, the State Duma considered Alexander Shilov’s appeal to transfer his works to the state. In 1997, a personal art gallery was opened, where the master’s works are presented from the earliest to those painted in his mature period. Alexander Shilov continues to create today. His museum collection is constantly updated with landscapes, portraits, and still lifes. All works are the property of Russia.
Alexander Shilov, a recognized artist of the modern era, has been awarded numerous state prizes, medals and orders.
Creation
Shilov took part in his first exhibitions while still a student. Then he receives his first diplomas and awards. The artist decided to follow the canons of realism, without experimenting with styles and genres. In the early 1970s, the painter carried out orders to paint portraits of party leaders, who brought him his first dose of fame. He becomes an official portrait painter, to whom representatives of the Soviet elite line up.
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Painting by Alexander Shilov “The wild rosemary has blossomed”
At the same time, even in his youth, Shilov began to paint genre portraits of unknown sitters, who touched with sentimentality and sincerity. It is works such as “Ledum Blossomed” and “The Old Tailor” that are now on display at the Tretyakov Gallery. In his work, Alexander Maksovich was guided by eminent predecessors, Russian masters of past centuries - Karl Bryullov, Orest Kiprensky, Dmitry Levitsky.
Shilov does not recognize abstract painting and declares the concreteness and realism of art, which should be understandable to any viewer. His paintings are distinguished by photographic similarity, detailed drawing, and love for textures. The artist pays no less attention to pieces of furniture, fabric patterns and furnishing details than to the faces of his characters.
Biography of the artist. Students
Artist Alexander Shilov was born into a family of intellectuals on October 6, 1943. When Sasha was 14 years old, he entered the art studio of the House of Pioneers, which was located in the Timiryazevsky district of the capital. The post-war years were difficult, and the young man had to help his family; he worked as a loader. Studied at evening school. His life was firmly connected with the fine arts. The boy’s abilities were immediately noticed by the artist Laktionov, who helped develop the young talent. Later Laktionov played a significant role in Shilov’s work.
Since 1968, Alexander Shilov studied at the Surikov State Art Institute. I studied painting there for five years. During his student years he painted many paintings. His works were popular at many art exhibitions of young talents. Even then, Shilov’s works stood out among others for their expressiveness.
Personal life
The artist’s personal life interests fans no less than his work. Repeatedly, individual facts of the biography of Alexander Maksovich came under the strict attention of journalists, with whom Shilov’s former lovers willingly talked. Officially, the painter was married twice. His first wife, Svetlana Genievna, gave birth to his son in 1974. Alexander followed in his father's footsteps and became an artist, specializing mainly in landscapes.
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Painting by Alexander Shilov “Self-Portrait with Daughter Maria”
The man met the spectacular brunette Anna in 1968 and warmly invited the woman to become a model for the paintings. She was married and was going through a difficult period, but after 6 years she left her first husband and went to Shilov, becoming his wife in 1977.
In the summer of 1979, the couple had a daughter, Maria, whom the artist loved more than his other children. However, the marriage relationship was not cloudless. In an interview, Anna admitted that her husband forbade her to communicate with her daughter Elina from her first marriage, and during outbursts of anger, he completely kicked her out of the house. In 1996, tragedy struck: 16-year-old Maria died of sarcoma, and the parents’ already shaky relationship could not withstand this test.
Gallery of artist Shilov
In 1996, Alexander Maksovich Shilov addressed the State Duma with a request that all his works be donated to the state. This idea came to the artist more than once after his exhibitions, when visitors asked to create a permanent gallery of Shilov’s works.
On March 13 of the same year, with a unanimous decision of all factions, a resolution was passed by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on the acceptance of Shilov’s collection by the state. A request was sent to the Russian Government to allocate space for the artist’s exhibition. At first they planned to allocate three halls directly on the territory of the Kremlin, but due to the security restrictions of the facility, the decision was changed. The gallery of the artist Shilov was located at Znamenka, 5. The founder of the gallery was the Moscow Government, 355 works by the artist Shilov were accepted and placed.
Alexander Shilov now
Alexander Maksovich continues to be creative and oversee the work of the gallery he calls home. In addition to the permanent exhibition of paintings, there are musical evenings, lectures on art, charity events and creative meetings called “Stars Visiting Alexander Shilov.”
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Alexander Shilov in 2021
In June 2021, the artist invited Timur Kizyakov here along with the “When Everyone is Home” program, where he told stories from his life and shared his creative plans.
Mature years
In 1976, Alexander Shilov was accepted into the Union of Artists of the USSR. After this, he is allocated a personal workshop, and he receives a series of orders from the country’s party. The artist Shilov begins work as a recognized master. By order of the Government, in 1997, a personal gallery of Alexander Shilov was opened in the very center of Moscow, not far from the Kremlin. In the same year, People's Artist of the USSR Shilov became a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Arts.
In 1999, Alexander Maksovich held a post on the Russian Council for Arts and Culture. Political activities began to occupy more and more time, and the master began to visit the art studio less and less. 2012 finally drew the artist into politics. Shilov becomes a confidant of President Putin and joins the Public Council under the Federal Security Service. In March 2014, Alexander Shilov signed the president’s appeal; it concerned the political position regarding the events in Ukraine.
Education
From 1968 to 1973, Alexander Shilov studied at the Surikov Moscow State Academic Art Institute (Moscow State Academic Art Institute). During his student years, he constantly painted paintings, which were then exhibited at numerous opening days and exhibitions dedicated to the work of young artists. Already then, Alexander Shilov’s canvases stood out for their expressiveness.
In 1976, he was admitted to the Union of Artists of the USSR, after which he received a workshop and several orders from the country's party leadership. The talented painter began to work as an already recognized master. And in 1997, in accordance with the order of the Moscow government, Alexander Shilov’s personal gallery was opened in the very center of the capital, near the Kremlin.
In the same year, the painter became a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Arts. Since 1999, Alexander Shilov has sat on the Council for Arts and Culture under the President of the Russian Federation. New responsibilities demanded full commitment from the artist in terms of participation in the political life of the country; he began to visit his art studio less often.
In 2012, Alexander Shilov, the artist, finally went into politics and joined the Public Council under the Federal Security Service of Russia. Then he became one of Vladimir Putin’s confidants. In March 2014, he signed an appeal in support of the president’s political position regarding the events taking place in Ukraine.
