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In 1998–1999 Pavel taught at an artistic college that was found by a Petersburg’s artist V. Chebatar’. He taught painting techniques and helped students to master copying technique.

Pavel Tychinin’s aim, as of an artist, is create multifigure compositions. Yet as a student, Pavel worked on painting plots from Russian history: “Evpaty Kolovrat” (1982) and “The Eve of the Battle of Kulikovo” (1983). Historical episode was assumed as a basis for the first painting. The plot was drawn from a well-know novel ”Baty” by V. Yan. In order to define more precisely the historical truth and documentary details — swords, axes and cloth of citizens of Ryazan in the 13th century, — Pavel worked in the Moscow historical museum.

In the first variant of the painting “Neither a stone, nor a cross tell, where they lay…” (1983) the artist depicts a moment of wreck of a battleship “Petropavlovsk” that fought in the Russian-Japanese war of 1904. The great painter of battle scenes Vasilyi Vereshagin and admiral Segei Makarov were committed to the deep. They shared tragic destiny with the sailors of the ship. Six hundred forty people died heroically then. The painter explains: “In my attempt to depict this tragedy I was guided by historical memoirs of a captain N. Yakovlev, who by a lucky accident escaped the awful destiny of the rest. According to his words, “minutes before the explosion he saw Vereshagin for the last time who was hastily sketching the raised to view panorama”. A mine officer Isneesh wrote about the last seconds of Vereshagin: “I remember a group of seamen and Vereshagin in an undone coat among them. Some of the people are throwing themselves into the water. Astern there is ominous noise of a screw spinning in the air. A few seconds later the boilers exploded. The whole middle part of the ship, with terrible noise, was powerfully dislodged out into the air. The right sided 6-inch turret bounced back to the sea. An enormously big steel jib for lifting boats on a spar-deck is disappearing before my very eyes. I can only hear it howling in bass above my head. The explosion it was thrown off onto the stern, and a spot where the people and Vereshagin were standing was empty — they were smashed and swept away…”^[3].

In a painting “Requiem” (1983) a moment of sorrow is interpreted through generalized images and symbols; important roles play here the contrast black and white. The solution found in this work, constructed on geometric figures, their correlations as well as gradations of perspective backgrounds, correctly passes over the idea of the plot — sorrow. The artist mastered monumentality and laconism. The downfall of the classic world is symbolically described in a sketch “Atlantis” (1983) where a figural method of painting ( found in the “Requiem”) continues to develop.

Since November 1983 till October 1985 Pavel served in armed forces. During fleet leisure hours he painted compositions: “Orfeo ed Eurydice”, “Sadko”, “Joan of Arc”, “Russia”, “End of the Yoke”, “Solitude”. He as well accomplished a sketch for the painting of ”Defenders”. Until the end of 1988 Pavel worked on a large historic canvas “Defenders” that had been sketched in the army already. The composition is deep in its perspective. This is so , because there is a well-defined contrast between the forefront figures and the action happening inside the fortress. In the plot the artist wanted to send to a spectator a sensation of alarming anticipation of a battle. In contrary to the Pavel’s first paintings on historical themes, colors here are much lighter and brighter.

Reflecting on religious themes resulted in 1987 in a painting “In Front of the Cross”. Christ, standing before the cross, is raped in contemplation. Compositional solution furthers spatial location of His figure, as well as helps perceive it in a landscape. Strict range of colors, blue and purple predominantly, plunges into the inner, mental feelings (?) of Christ — God and Man. The artist has repeatedly come round to a small painting “Oprichniks. Kazan” (1988) and overworked it. Paintings “Blok. The Twelve” and “Leda” were created in 1988. In the first version “In Front of the Mirror” (1990) and “Dream” (1991) Tychinin turned to nude. Symbolic cyclus was continued by a pair-painting to the “Requiem” — “Birth of Life” (1986). This painting is in contrast to the “Requiem” and adds to it.

Sketches “Love” (1986) and “Solitude” (1986) are separated compositions. Characters from these paintings are included into the “Birth of Life”. Imaginary nuclear catastrophe is depicted in a painting “Explosion” (1992) as symbolical characters, inwrought in one crowd. This is the pair-painting to the “Atlantis”, especially to its second version of 1991.

A large personal exhibition took place at a show hall of the Leningrad Institute of Railway transport in 1988. Creative work of the artist was then widely represented — 32 canvases were been demonstrated. And, in a newspaper “Smena” was the first statement about Pavel Tychinin published. And in February, 1992 in a cinema “Svet” a film “The Art” by Elena Tychinina (Pavel’s wife) based on the Pavel’s creative work was shown. Music was composed by I. Glushakov exactly for that film. At a film festival of the Baltic countries the film’s creators were awarded with a second prize in amateur documentary nomination.

To the 300 years anniversary of the Russian fleet the painting “Neither a Stone, nor a Cross shows where they lay”. As a final version, it became a three-part composition. This painting was placed in a workshop of Pavel’s brother, Boris Tychinin, in a Nakhimov (naval) College, where he completed the painting. In Mai, 1997 this work was shown at an Exhibition hall of a Central Railway transport museum. That exhibition was called “Creation works of restorers Boris Pevsner (marquetry) and Pavel Tychinin (painting)”. 27 painted works from the forgoing ten years (since 1988). Religious themes were predominant in that series: “Crucifixion”, “Golgotha”, and “Last Supper” (all three of the year 1990). For the “Last Super” keeping in mind a traditional way of depicting composition Pavel tried find a new vision of the plot. Jesus Christ is depicted standing with his back to a spectator, only the great artists can see His face: Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo Buanarotti, Ticiano (Ticiano Vechellio), Tintoretto (Jacopo Comin), Peter Paul Rubens, Albrecht Durer, Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge, Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov, Salvador Dali. Although all twelve artists belonged to different epochs, they all had painted Jesus Christ, whose image, according to Pavel Tychinin, cotemporary people know due to their painterly works.

All works by Pavel Tychinin that were showed at these exhibitions, are reflected in two catalogues of 1988 and 1997^[4].

Restoration work, museums, educational work, intercommunication with artists and art historians broadened the potential of his brush work. The impact of the artists of the past can be especially well percept in a painting «Continuity» (1991). «Solidarity» (1994) was created with tempera in nude genre. A large amount of sketches in different painting techniques preceded the painting. They were executed in aquarelle, gouache, and tempera as well as oil technique. This painting is musical and poetic. Women on the canvas emanate purity and lyricism. The painter succeeded in delivering over their complete integration into the landscape. Blue with silver reflections, melting in pearl shades color scale intensifies even more poetic sense of peace and harmony. “Dreams of Love”, illusive definitions come in tune to this painting.

There are three female figures on the painting “Fall” (1999). They are symbolic. “September is mantled in cloth — the leaves, October is covered with yellowed foliage, November — undraped nature sinks into a sleep”, - the artist describes the plot. “In the autumnal Leningrad the bridges cool above leaden black water of the canals and the sky dialogues with the water, seeing its own reflection in its surface. Indeed, one can talk not with the words but with color. Pictorial art talks that way. A man sees it all and listens to the dialogue, but he wants to interfere, and, he enters this cold aloofness by a bright orange color of a autumn maple and keeps in mind to paint the houses yellow — a color of the Sun”, — come back to memory accordant words of the well-know actor Oleg Dal’^[5].

Symbolical paintings — “The Kiss” and “Flower. Love” (both date back to 1999) have their couples, in oil and tempera.

“There is so much disaster in the world, so much of vulgarity и sewerage; so if the art is projected on itself atrocities as well as villainies, then, life would be just intolerable”, - a well-known Russian artist Vasily Polenow in January 1888 wrote to his college Victor Vasnetsov^[6]. And the circumstances have not developed much in our time. Pavel inspires himself by turning to antique stories in order to dive into the world of beauty and harmony, bright colors and handsome faces. In the year 2000 Pavel started patiently working on a painting “Orpheus and Apollo”, that was finished by 2001. A complex composition required large preparation. Sketches for every figure on the canvas — Orpheus, Muses and Apollo — were made. Significant size of the canvas (2 х 3 meter) determines caliber of the figures as well as the grouping.

During the passed years the artist Pavel Tychinin has created a particularly large amount of paintings. This is even more surprising, for, working in a museum, he does not possess much time for creative work. He takes an active part in exhibition work of the museum. Since 2002 Pavel Tychinin was admitted as a member of the Union of Museum Workers. His landscapes, portraits, still-life paintings are parts of private collections in Russia, Russia’s “near-abroad” and in Europe. The painter has immensely a lot of creative plans and ideas that he is to embody. Every summer is a time period when landscapes and sketches for future masterpieces.

Ol’ga Krivdina, Ph.D. in Art history,
Member of the Artists' Union of Russia
Автор перевода на английский Полина Хакайна (Трихина).