Soviet Art

USSR Culture

Soviet Russian artist Viktor Trofimovich Ni 1934-1979

Soviet Russian artist Viktor Trofimovich Ni

Returning from the field. 1968. Hardboard, gesso. Perm Art Gallery. Painting by Soviet Russian artist Viktor Trofimovich Ni (December 10, 1934, Vladivostok – December 6, 1979, Tyumen)

Soviet Russian artist Viktor Trofimovich Ni

Born in Vladivostok, far east of the USSR, Viktor Trofimovich Ni was Korean by birth. He graduated from the Penza Art College of K.A. Savitsky (1953-1958). Then, studied in the studio of the famous Soviet artist Dmitry Zhilinsky at the Moscow State Art Institute of Surikov (1958-1964). After graduation, in 1964 he moved to Orenburg and taught at the art department of the Orenburg Musical College (1975-1979).
Member of the Union of Artists of the RSFSR (1969), Viktor Ni was a regular participant of republican and foreign exhibitions of Soviet Art. He loved and studied the art of old masters (Leonardo, Vermeer, Cranach, Rublev, Dionysius), and the Italian Early Renaissance. Among Soviet artists, he appreciated Arkady Plastov and Pavel Korin, and from the art of the East – Japanese engraving.
Meanwhile, his main works include 15 canvases. Among them – “Seeing Off” 1969, “Return from the Field” 1969, “Crew of the Local Line” 1973, “Summer” 1978, and “Combiners” 1979. In addition, he repeatedly addressed to the theme of the Great Patriotic War (“Seeing off”, “1941” 1969, Liberation 1973, “Return, 1945” 1970, The soldier returned from the war, 1979). In the paintings devoted to the war, Ni never portrayed fights and deaths, but sought a poetic, song, and emotional plot.

Lab technician. 1974

Lab technician. 1974. Painting by Soviet Russian artist Viktor Trofimovich Ni (1934-1979)

Traditionally, an important motive of the artist’s work was the inner connection between man and nature. And the earth in his paintings is as individual as people. While figures always stand firmly on the ground. Also, his female portraits are variations of themes of purity, femininity, emotional sensitivity and dreaminess, “soaring” over the everyday realities. Besides, in the landscape genre, he created many sketches resembling postimpressionism.

According to contemporaries, Ni “first rebelled against the severe style.” In fact, he was one of the first Soviet easel painters to departure from the severe style in the moan of a professional (neo) primitive. Thus, he worked in the ancient technique of levkas, suggesting clarity, elevation of images, combined with the subtlety of psychological characteristics. The painter considered the picture not only spiritual, but also material. In addition, to work on gesso, according to the artist himself, you need a steady hand, as it is difficult to correct mistakes, and impossible to afford to relax.

Sadly, a talented artist died of heart failure, before he reached the rank of Honored Artist of the RSFSR. Contemporaries say: “It’s amazing: a Korean by birth, he seemed to the bone of a Russian man!”

The works of Viktor Trofimovich Ni are in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the museums of the city of Orenburg, Perm, private collections in Russia and abroad.

Soviet Russian artist Viktor Trofimovich Ni

Artist. 1977. Oil on canvas

Artist. 1977. Oil on canvas

Combiners.1979 (Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts)

Combiners.1979 (Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts)

Footballers. 1970s

Footballers. 1970s

Pilots. 1967

Pilots. 1967

Portrait of a son. 1967. Oil, canvas

Portrait of a son. 1967. Oil, canvas

Returning. 1972

Returning. 1972

Seeing off. 1941 year.1969. Organic, levkas (Perm Art Gallery)

Seeing off. The year of 1941. 1969. Organic, levkas (Perm Art Gallery)

Self-portrait. (Artist and model). 1977. Oil, canvas.Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts

Self-portrait. (Artist and model). 1977. Oil, canvas.Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts

Summer, 1978. Gesso, tempera. State Russian musem

Summer, 1978. Gesso, tempera. State Russian musem

The crew of the local line. 1973. gesso, tempera (the Russian Union of Artists)

The crew of the local line. 1973. gesso, tempera (the Russian Union of Artists)

A girl on a background of a carpet. 1973. Oil, canvas

A girl on a background of a carpet. 1973. Oil, canvas

Artist NM. Ledyaev's portrait. 1970. Oil, canvas. The Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts)

Artist NM. Ledyaev’s portrait. 1970. Oil, canvas. The Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts)

Bashkir interior. 1972. Oil on cardboard

Bashkir interior. 1972. Oil on cardboard

Bread. Gesso, tempera. The USSR Union of artists

Bread. Gesso, tempera. The USSR Union of artists

Brigade 20 years to the GDR. 1972. Gesso, tempera. The USSR Union of Artists

Brigade 20 years to the GDR. 1972. Gesso, tempera. The USSR Union of Artists

Diesel locomotive repair. 1974

Diesel locomotive repair. 1974

On the grain stock. 1979. Gesso, tempera

On the grain stock. 1979. Gesso, tempera

V. Nozina's portrait. Oil on canvas, 1978

V. Nozina’s portrait. Oil on canvas, 1978

Source
Illustrated album “Victor Ni” (L.S. Medvedev), the publishing house “Orenburg Book”, 2008