Talented people are talented in everything. A good proof of this expression is known figure Dmitri Mendeleev. His discoveries, work and interests known to many. Far less mention of it artistic tastes and hobbies. And art occupies a special role in his life. Moreover, his home for several decades been a center of attraction for many famous artists.
Art, he was always interested. In 1870, he was with some artists and amateurs photos (remember when it was a completely new thing, which required special knowledge and skills) even arranged a circle, with the objectives of which was to "use photos dissemination of works of Russian art." But the real fascination began with the romantic story it love. Anna Popova - his future second wife - was much younger than him. When they met, he was already world-renowned scientist, and she has just been accepted into the first group of female student at the Imperial Academy of Arts. At that time Anna had lived in the family of the native Mendeleev sister Katerina Ivanovna, with whom Dmitry was very close. Soon her family moved to an apartment to periodic, where he had lived alone, and they were meeting daily. But because of the age difference and, more importantly, through marriage, which, however, effectively stopped existing long before that, he was a long time to confess. For a long time, before the official divorce from his first wife, he found his love hopeless and only girl wrote letters every day, which, however, never sent. She read them again after the wedding. There, in particular, he dreamed of becoming a "stepping stone" that would help to rise above his beloved.
His desire to be a "stepping stone" to a young girl, which tried marry Dmitri Ivanovich began to implement very quickly and in a peculiar way. As later wrote in his memoirs periodic Anna, "he would relieve me with the time available in the art world, which began to attend exhibitions, artists' studios, meet with them and fascinated by the way that he began to buy paintings. Artists began to spend time with him, and soon started known mendelyeyevski "Wednesday".
The tradition of these meetings is preserved after the wedding Dmitry Ivanovich and Anna Ivanovna. To their welcoming home came the most prominent Russian artists of that time - Ilya Repin, Ivan Kramskoy, Ivan Shishkin, Nikolai Yaroshenko, brothers Victor and Apollinaris Vasnetsov, Vasily Surikov, Gregory Myasoedov Elias Ostroukhov Mikhail Savitsky, Vladimir Makovsky, sculptor Leonid Posen, the famous art critic Adrian Prakhov and many others. But the special affection he felt for the great master of landscape Arkhip Kuindzhi friendship which lasted for several decades until the death of the scientist.
Contemporary atmosphere in the artistic environment of the capital of the Russian Empire was extremely tense. Artists were divided into two great camps - the "academics" who advocated the principles of "high art" and "Wanderers", members and participants of the exhibitions of the Society of traveling exhibitions, which insisted on the necessity of bringing in painting the truth of life and critical attitude towards reality. In passing, we note that among the Wanderers was no unity of views on the objectives and methods of art, especially in the last years of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and then there were also controversial in them. And no matter how it was, even bitter rivals in artistic matters were agreed at the Mendeleev, as recalled Anna, on "neutral ground." Although, truth to say, supporters of "democratic art" among the regulars "among" was still more. Holders of traditional views have tried to go to Mendeleevs on other days. However, in any situation, the presence of Dmitry Ivanovich always had extremes.
Gradually, the family living room of the great scholar has become a real art club. Guests learn about the latest art news. These specialty stores sent for review art editions, sometimes appearing here and the article that they did not miss censorship. It argued and reach consensus on the mission of the artist and the role of art in society, there were talks about the business organization of exhibitions here discussing specific technical issues of painting, to solve some technical problems contributed and scientists. Moreover, the meeting went beyond just his flat. Ilya Repin recalled: "In a large physical office at the university backyard we, the artists, the Wanderers, gathered in the company and Mendeleev Petrushevsky to study under their guidance properties of different colors ..." Interestingly, the famous physicist Theodore Petrushevsky of whom wrote Repin, acquaintance to a close with artists worked mainly problems of electricity and magnetism, but eventually became interested in painting technology issues, began to study the properties of pigments and dyes inks to experiment with the aperture study of painting surfaces, was to promote the doctrine of basic and advanced color and value, and finally, began to lecture at the Academy of Arts. In 1883 he published the book "Light and Color itself and in relation to the painting." Active participation in these meetings was another famous scientist - Professor of Zoology, University of St. Petersburg and at the same time, art critic and writer Nicholas Wagner.
No event in the artistic life of St. Petersburg did not pass by Dmitri Mendeleev attention. Actually, one of these events and began his friendship with Kuindzhi. It was 1880. Master has just finished work on his painting "Night on the Dnieper river," it has never exhibited, but the rumors about a miracle has gone town. Before the workshop started coming Kuindzhi art lovers and correspondents. Someone brought him and Mendeleev, and he delighted, he returned again, this time with Anna. In her memories just in Arkhip Ivanovich studio he first expressed the thoughts about art, including landscape painting and its relationship to science, which set out a little later in his famous article was first published in the newspaper "The Voice" and so called - "In front of Kuindzhi painting."
"I have long been interested in the question of why the landscape impact on the viewer right now, in our time - he wrote. - Because in ancient times the landscape was not held in high esteem ... then inspired man worshiped the human mind. In science, this meant the fact that its crown was mathematics, logic, metaphysics, politics. In art inspired artists only human form ... but later when desperate to original power of the human mind and that the correct path to the truth can only be found venturing into themselves, becoming metaphysics realized that exploring nature, will better understand themselves and because be taken to external bravely . They began to study nature, science was born ...
At the same time ... if no earlier with this change in the form of knowledge was born and landscape ... Both derive from the nature outside of man ... Man is not lost as an object of study and art, but it is not now as the owner and the microcosm as well as a unit in including ".
It should be noted that Mendeleev love for painting and his selfless assistance to the development of national art has not gone unnoticed among his numerous honorary titles and was an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Arts, which he received in 1893.