The most interesting facts from the life of Maykov. Maikov, Apollon Nikolaevich - short biography
Private bussiness
Apollon Nikolaevich Maikov (1821-1897) was born in Moscow into a noble family. Father Nikolai Apollonovich Maikov was an artist, mother Evgenia Petrovna was a writer. Artists, writers, musicians were frequent guests in the Maykovs' house. There were five children in the family, all of them boys. In the summer, Apollo was sent to his grandmother's estate in the Moscow region - to the village of Chepchikha (near the current Solnechnogorsk).
In 1834, the family moved to St. Petersburg, where the older brothers, Apollo and Valerian, were taught Latin and Russian literature at home by the writer Ivan Goncharov. Apollo began to write poetry very early - the debut of the 13-year-old poet was the poem "Eagle", published in the "Library for Reading" in 1835.
In 1837, Maikov entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University, willingly and extensively studied the history of ancient Greece and Rome, studied Latin and Roman poets. At first, he was very fond of painting, dreamed of a career as a painter, but the flattering reviews of Pletnev and Nikitenko about his first poetic experiments and poor eyesight prompted him to devote his life to poetry.
Two more poems - "Dream" and "Picture of the Evening" - appeared in the "Odessa Almanac for 1840". And already in 1842 in St. Petersburg the first book "Poems of Apollo Maikov" was published.
Having received a thousand rubles for this book “by the highest command” of Nicholas I for a trip to Italy, the young man went abroad in the same 1842. Having visited Italy, France, Saxony and the Austrian Empire, he returned to St. Petersburg in 1844. The result of this trip was the "Essays on Rome" published in 1847 and a Ph.D. thesis on ancient Slavic law. Upon his return to Russia, Maykov served in the Ministry of Finance, then as an assistant librarian at the Rumyantsev Museum before moving him to Moscow.
Poems, ballads, lyrical dramas and other poems by Apollon Maikov brought him considerable popularity. He began to constantly rotate in the "higher" literary society - his friends were Belinsky, Nekrasov, Turgenev and many other writers and poets. Maikov published mainly in Otechestvennye Zapiski, even after Nekrasov took many talented authors to the Sovremennik magazine he headed.
Maykov’s liberal moods of the 40s (the poems Two Fates, 1845, Masha, 1846) eventually gave way to conservative views (the poem Carriage, 1854), Slavophile and pan-Slavist ideas (the poem Clermont Cathedral, 1853); in the 60s, Maykov's work was sharply criticized by the revolutionary democrats. Maykov's aesthetic position also underwent changes: a short-term rapprochement with the natural school gave way to an active defense of "pure art".
In the last years of his life he was a real state councilor. After 1880, Maikov practically did not write poetry, concentrating on the civil service, where he achieved significant success - he rose to the rank of a real state councilor, which, according to the table of ranks, corresponded to a major general. Since 1882 - Chairman of the Foreign Censorship Committee. In creative terms, he was only engaged in editing his works for the preparation of a collection of works.
On February 27, 1897, the poet went out into the street dressed too lightly and caught a cold. March 20, 1897 Apollon Maikov died. He was buried at the cemetery of the Resurrection Novodevichy Convent in St. Petersburg.
What is famous
Apollo Maykov
The name of Apollo Maykov does not look too bright against the background of a galaxy of brilliant poets of the 19th century, although Vladimir Solovyov called him "one of the main poets of the post-Pushkin period."
Maikov was not the most outstanding among his contemporaries, and his creative heritage is not so extensive. However, Maikov's poems about Russian nature, created in 1854-1858, became textbooks: “Spring! The first frame is exhibited”, “Summer rain”, “Haymaking”, “Swallow”, “Niva” and others. Many of Maykov's poems were set to music, including by such major composers as N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov and P. I. Tchaikovsky.
Maikov's lyrics often contain images of the Russian village, nature, and Russian history. But a considerable part of his work was devoted to the ancient world, which he studied for most of his life. In addition to the poem "Two Worlds", among the major works of Maykov, the "Wanderer" (excellently reproducing the concepts and language of some Russian sectarian movements), "Princess" and "Bringhilda" also deserve interest.
It is interesting that Maykov acquired a literary name among his contemporaries precisely with poems “of the anthological kind”, and his poems about nature were then considered as “secondary”, but it was they who eventually entered the history of literature.
What you need to know
Maikov also did a lot of translations. For four years he translated in poetic form "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" (completed in 1870). This poetic arrangement of the "Words ..." remains one of its best literary translations to this day.
He translated the works of such poets as Heine, Mickiewicz, Goethe. Translated chapters IV-X of the Apocalypse (1868). He was also engaged in translations of folk poetry in Belarus, Greece, Serbia, Spain and other countries.
Direct speech
Can't be! can't be!
She is alive!.. she will wake up now...
Look, he wants to talk
Opens eyes, smiles.
He will see me, embrace me
And, suddenly realizing that my cry means,
Caressing, gently whispering to me:
"What a funny! What is he crying about! .."
But no! .. lies ... quiet, mute,
Motionless...
“This poem, without the signature of a famous, or at least a familiar name, struck us so much that we transferred it to the pages of our magazine with loud praise and then, with unflagging enthusiasm, recalled it fourteen months later;
When the shadow falls in transparent clubs
On the yellow fields, covered with stacks,
To the blue forests, to the moist grass of the meadows;
When a column of vapors whitens over the lake,
And in a rare reed, slowly swinging,
A sensitive swan sleeps in a sleep, reflecting on the moisture, -
I'm going under my own, thatched shelter,
Spread in the shade of acacias and oaks,
And there, with a smile on the lips of their greetings,
In a crown of bright stars and dark-colored poppies,
And with a white chest under a black muslin,
Goddess of peace, appearing before me,
Shine fawn pours over my head
And closes his eyes with a quiet hand,
And, picking up the curls, bending his head towards me,
He kisses my lips and eyes in silence (p. 9).
This is precisely one of those works of art whose meek, chaste, self-contained beauty is completely mute and invisible to the crowd, and all the more eloquent, brightly brilliant for those initiated into the mysteries of fine art. What a soft, delicate brush, what a virtuoso chisel, revealing a hand that is firm and experienced in art! What poetic content and what plastic, fragrant, graceful images!
V. G. Belinsky on the work of Apollo Maykov (1841)
“According to its main content, Maykov's poetry is determined, on the one hand, by the ancient Hellenic aesthetic worldview, with a clearly predominant Epicurean character, and on the other hand, by the traditions of Russian-Byzantine politics. Themes of both kinds, although internally unrelated to each other, are equally dear to the poet. As a secondary motive, noticeable more in the first half of Maykov's literary activity, one can point to the peaceful impressions of Russian rural nature, to which the poet had special convenience to indulge, due to his passion for fishing. As a secondary motif, noticeable more in the first half of the literary activity of Apollon Maykov, one can point to the peaceful impressions of Russian rural nature, to which the poet had special convenience to indulge, due to his passion for fishing. Apollon Nikolaevich immediately acquired a literary name for himself with poems "in the anthological kind", from which, according to the clarity and completeness of the images, they stand out: "Dream", "Remembrance", "Echo and Silence", "My child, there are no more blessed days", "Poetry" ; above all praise in its kind "Bas-relief".
Vl. Solovyov on Maikov's poetry
“Together with Polonsky and Fet, Maikov made up that well-known triad of poets who spoke with the slogan “art for art’s sake.” This group was on the right flank of the then literature and constituted something like the headquarters of a poetic detachment of serf-owners who did not want to give up their positions to developing capitalism without a fight, and were especially concerned about the growth of the revolutionary-democratic movement.
Literary encyclopedia. 1929-1939.
6 facts about Apollon Maykov
- The surname "Maykov" is pronounced with an accent on the first syllable
- Maikov was married to Anna Ivanovna, née Stemmer. The wedding took place in 1852. They had four children: three sons - Nikolai, Vladimir and Apollo and a daughter, Vera, who died at the age of 10.
- In 1953 Maykov was elected a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
- Mike's favorite pastime was fishing.
- Maikov was in love with history, especially ancient history. He has been abroad more than once - mainly in Italy and Greece. According to critic V.G. Belinsky, Maikov "looks at life through the eyes of a Greek".
- The brothers of Apollo Maykov - Leonid, Valerian and Vladimir - also became widely known people in the literary world, although in different directions (criticism, bibliography, translations and prose).
Materials about Apollon Maikov
Dear friends, today I invite you to plunge into the unique world of poetry of the remarkable Russian poet, translator and... historian. Yes, yes - a historian! In this capacity, he impressed me the most ... I suggest that you discover it for yourself in a new way.
Maykov Apollon Nikolaevich - Russian poet, translator, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1853).
The son of the nobleman Nikolai Apollonovich Maikov, painter and academician, and mother-writer E. P. Maikova; elder brother of literary critic and publicist Valerian Maikov, prose writer and translator Vladimir Maikov, and literary historian, bibliographer and ethnographer Leonid Maikov.
Born on May 23 (June 4), 1821, in Moscow, the family of the academician of painting N. A. Maikov, who came from an old noble family. His father was a famous artist. Childhood years were spent in a Moscow house and estate near Moscow, not far from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which were often visited by artists and writers. Apollo Maykov began to write poetry at the age of fifteen, but in choosing a vocation he hesitated for a long time between painting and poetry.
Since 1834, the family moved to St. Petersburg, and the further fate of Maykov is connected with the capital.
In 1837 - 41 he studied at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, without leaving literary studies. After graduation, he serves in the Ministry of Finance, but soon, having received an allowance from Nicholas I for traveling abroad, he leaves for Italy, where he studies painting and poetry, then to Paris, where he listens to lectures on art and literature. He visited both Dresden and Prague.
In 1844 Apollon Maikov returned to Russia. At first he worked as an assistant librarian at the Rumyantsev Museum, then he moved to the St. Petersburg Committee of Foreign Censorship.
His first poetry collection was published in 1842 and was highly appreciated by V. Belinsky, who noted "genuine and remarkable talent." The collection was a great success.
Confession
So, I am windy, friends! In vain I study
Curb yourself: all in vain! Heavy bonds
My spirit is alienated ... When my languid gaze
I see a smile in the lips of a modest maiden -
I am not myself! Forgive Seneca, Locke and Kant,
And dusty codes an old tome,
The brilliant lyceum and the majestic portico,
And the famous row of names crowned with glory!
Again a playful dream will come to me,
And pale faces, and a name on the lips,
And the eyes are languid, and the thrill of sweet bliss,
And a mysterious pensive elegy verse.
Impressions from a trip to Italy are expressed in Maikov's second collection of poetry, Essays on Rome (1847).
"Ah, wonderful sky, ..."
Oh, wonderful sky, by God, over this classic Rome!
Under such a sky you will involuntarily become an artist.
Nature and people here seem different, like paintings
From the vivid verses of the anthology of ancient Hellas.
Well, here, look: on a stone white fence has grown
Wandering ivy, like a hanging cloak or veil;
In the middle, between two cypresses, a deep dark niche,
Where does the head with the ugly face look from?
Triton. Cold moisture from the mouth, ringing, falls.
On the field I pass a narrow boundary,
Overgrown with porridge and tenacious swan.
Wherever I look, there is thick rye everywhere!
I go - with difficulty sorting it out with my hands.
Flickering and buzzing ears of corn before me,
And they stab my face ... I go, bending over,
As if fighting off alarming bees,
When, jumping over the willow wattle fence,
You walk among the apple trees in the bee house on a clear day.
Oh, God's grace! .. Oh, how gratifying to lie down
In the shade of high rye, where it is damp and cool!
Full of worries, ears of corn above me
They have an important conversation with each other.
Listening to them, I see - in all the fields
And reapers and reapers, diving as if into the sea,
Already knitting merrily heavy sheaves;
There, at dawn, agile flails knock;
In barns the air is full of roses and honey;
Everywhere carts creak; among the noisy people
On the piers the coolies are falling; along the river
Barge haulers pass in single file, like cranes,
Bending your heads, shrugging your shoulders
And hitting the moisture with a long whip ...
Oh my God! You give for my country
Warmth and harvest, gifts of the holy heaven,
But, gilding the expanse of its fields with bread,
She also, Lord, give spiritual bread!
Already above the field, where thoughts are seeds
Planted by you, spring blew,
And undestroyed grains by bad weather
They put forth their fresh sprouts quickly.
Oh, give us sunshine! send us buckets
To ripen their escape along the fat furrows!
So that we, even leaning on our grandchildren, old people
Come to their fat fields to breathe,
And, forgetting that we watered them with tears,
Say: "Lord, what grace!"
In the 1860s, he turned to history, created a number of works on historical topics ("In Gorodets in 1263", "At the Grozny's tomb", "Yemshan", "Who is he?", etc.).
Steppe grass bunch dry,
It smells dry too!
And at once steppe over me
All charm resurrects...
When in the steppes, behind the camp,
Nomadic hordes roamed,
There was Khan Otrok and Khan Syrchan,
Two brothers, dashing batyrs.
And once they had a feast by the mountain -
Great full was taken from Rus'!
The singer sang glory to them, by the river
Koumiss was flowing all over the ulus.
Suddenly a noise and a cry, and the sound of swords,
And blood, and death, and no mercy!
Everything runs apart like swans
Frightened herd by catchers.
That with Russian power Monomakh
The All-Destroying One has appeared;
Syrchan in the Don deposits shallows,
The youth hid in the mountains of the Caucasus.
And the years went by... I walked in the steppes
Only a violent wind in the open...
But here - Monomakh died,
And in Rus' - tightness and grief.
He calls the singer Syrchan
And he sends him to his brother with an order:
"He is rich there, he is the king of those countries,
Lord over the whole Caucasus, -
Tell him to drop everything
That the enemy died, that the chains were sleeping,
To go to his inheritance,
To the fragrant steppes!
You sing our songs to him, -
When does not respond to the song,
Tie in a bundle emshan steppe
Give it to him and he'll come back."
The lad sits in a golden tent,
Around - a swarm of beautiful Abkhazians;
On gold and silver
He honors princes who are subject to him.
Singer introduced. He says,
So that the lad walks in the steppe without fear,
That the way to Rus' is open all around,
That there is no more Monomakh!
The lad is silent, at the brother's call
He answers with a smile,
And the feast goes on, and the chorus of slaves
Him that the sun magnifies.
The singer gets up and he sings
Sings about Polovtsian stories,
About the glory of grandfather's times
And their valiant raids, -
The sullen youth took the form
And, without looking at the singer, I know
To take him away, orders
To his obedient Kunaks.
And he took a bunch of steppe grass
Then the singer, and gave the khan -
And the khan looks - and, not himself,
As if feeling a wound in the heart,
He grabbed his chest ... Everyone is looking:
He is a formidable khan, what does that mean?
He, before whom all tremble,
Kissing a bunch of grass, crying!
And suddenly, shaking his fist:
"I am no longer king to you from now on! -
Exclaimed. - Death in the native land
Mileer than glory in a foreign land!
The next morning, a little donkey fog
And the mountain peaks were golden,
In the mountains there is already a caravan -
Youth with a small retinue.
Passing mountain after mountain,
He is waiting for everything - soon is the native steppe,
And looks into the distance, grass of the steppe
Do not let go of the bundle.
* This story is taken from the Volyn Chronicle. Emshan is the name of a fragrant grass growing in our steppes, probably wormwood.
Note by A.N. Maikov.
Based on the history of ancient Rome, he wrote the poem "Two Worlds", awarded the Pushkin Prize in 1882. If earlier the poet was attracted by antiquity, now his interest has shifted to Christianity as a new moral teaching that opposes the aestheticism of paganism. Fascinated by the era of Ancient Rus' and Slavic folklore, in 1889 Apollon Maikov completed one of the best translations of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, which has not lost its scientific and artistic value to this day.
A WORD ABOUT IGOREV'S POLIC
(excerpt, intro)
Shall we begin our song, O brothers,
From the tales of ancient battles, -
Song of the brave Igor's army
And about him, about his son Svyatoslav!
And sing them, as is now sung,
Not chasing after Boyan!
Composing a song, he used to be prophetic,
I rushed through the forest with a quick veksha,
A gray wolf in an open field prowled,
What an eagle, shiryal under the clouds!
As he remembers the battles of old,
Yes, on a flock of swans and let
Ten fast falcons in pursuit;
And which one will overtake first,
For him, sing that swan song, -
Sing a song about old Yaroslav,
About Mstislav, who slaughtered in battle,
Poborov, Kasozhsky Rededyu,
Al about glorious about Roman Krasny...
But it was not ten falcons;
He put ten fingers on the strings,
And princes, under prophetic fingers,
The strings themselves rumbled glory! ..
Let us, brethren, say
From the time of the ancient Vladimirovs,
Let's bring to Igor's battle,
How he conceived a strong thought,
Sharpened the courage of a brave heart,
Inflamed with a glorious military spirit
And for the land of the Russian squad
He led me to the steppe against the Polovtsian khans.
Maykov's poetry is contemplative, idyllic and distinguished by a touch of rationality, but at the same time it reflects Pushkin's poetic principles: the accuracy and concreteness of descriptions, logical clarity in the development of the theme, simplicity of images and comparisons. Maykov's artistic method is characterized by the allegorical use of landscapes, anthological paintings, plots to the poet's thoughts and feelings. This feature makes him related to the classical poets.
The theme of Maykov's poetry is correlated with the world of culture. The poet's horizons include art (the cycle of poems "In an anthological kind"), European and Russian history (the cycles of poems "Centuries and Peoples", "Reviews of History"), the work of poets of the West and East, whose works Maikov translates and stylizes (the cycle "Imitations ancient"). Maykov's poems contain many mythological symbols, historical and cultural names and titles, but often the color of other centuries and peoples is decorative in him. Maikov is especially close to ancient culture, in which he saw a treasury of ideal forms of beauty.
From the vast heritage of Apollon Maikov, poems about Russian nature stand out and retain their poetic charm “Spring! The first frame is exhibited”, “In the rain”, “Haymaking”, “Fishing”, “Swallows” and others distinguished by sincerity and melodiousness.
"Spring! the first frame is exposed ... "
Spring! the first frame is exposed -
And noise broke into the room,
And the blessing of the nearby temple,
And the talk of the people, and the sound of the wheel.
I breathed life and will into my soul:
There - the blue distance is visible ...
And I want to be in the field, in the wide field,
Where, marching, spring pours flowers!
Remember: we did not expect rain or thunder,
Suddenly a downpour caught us far from home,
We hurried to hide under the shaggy spruce
There was no end to fear and fun!
The rain poured through the sun, and under the mossy spruce
We stood exactly in a golden cage,
On the ground around us like pearls jumped
Raindrops, rolling down from the needles,
They fell, shining, on your head,
Or from the shoulders they rolled directly under the lacing.
Do you remember how quieter our laughter became.
Suddenly, thunder rolled right over us -
You clung to me, blinking your eyes in fear.
Blessed rain! golden storm!
Smells like hay over the meadows...
Cheerful soul in song
Women with rakes in rows
They walk, stirring the hay.
There - dry clean;
The men around him
They throw pitchforks at the cart ...
The cart grows, grows like a house.
In anticipation of a miserable horse
It's worth it dug in...
Ears apart, arched legs
And as if standing asleep ...
Only the bug is removed
In loose hay, as in waves,
Soaring, then diving,
Jumping, barking in a hurry.
My garden withers every day;
It is crumpled, broken and empty,
Even if it blooms luxuriantly
Nasturtium in it is a fiery bush ...
I'm upset! annoys me
And the autumn sun shine
And the leaf that falls from the birch
And late grasshoppers crack.
I'll look out of habit under the roof -
Empty nest above the window;
I don’t hear swallows in it;
Straw weathered in it ...
And I remember how we worked
Two swallows, building it!
How the twigs were fastened with clay
And fluff was dragged into it!
How cheerful was their work, and dexterous!
How did they like it when
Five small, fast heads
They began to look out from the nest!
And all day talkers,
Like children, they were talking ...
Then fly away, flyers!
I haven't seen much of them since!
And now - their nest is lonely!
They're on the other side
Far, far, far...
Oh, if only I had wings!
Alexei Adamov, "Before the Storm" (oil on canvas)
Life and joy reigned all around,
And the wind carried rye fields
Fragrance and sweetness
With its soft wave.
But here, as if in fright, shadows
They run on golden loaves:
A whirlwind rushed - five or six moments,
And, in a meeting with the sun's rays,
Get up with a silver cornice
Slice all the half-sky gates,
And there, behind the gray curtain,
It shines through both brilliance and darkness.
Suddenly, like a brocade tablecloth
Hastily pulled someone off the fields,
And the darkness behind her in pursuit of evil,
And everything is fiercer and faster.
The columns have already blurred for a long time,
The silver cornice is gone
And the rumble went restless,
And fire and water poured...
Where is the kingdom of the sun and azure!
Where is the shine of the fields, where is the peace of the valleys!
But there is charm in the noise of the storm,
And in the dance of ice hailstones!
To catch them - you need courage!
And out like children in the distance
She is honored! like the whole gang
Squeals and jumps on the porch!
1887
Maikov owns translations from H. Heine, Goethe, Longfellow, Mickiewicz.
From Petrarch
When she entered the heavenly villages,
From all sides is the cathedral of heavenly forces,
In awe and quiet amazement,
Having flocked from the depths of heaven, surrounded.
"Who is this? they whispered to each other.
For a long time from the country of vice and sadness
It did not ascend to us, in the radiance of purity,
So strictly virginal and bright beauty.
And, quietly rejoicing, she enters their host,
But, slowing down, your gaze from time to time
With tender care draws to the ground
And waiting to see if I'm following in her footsteps...
I know honey! I am on guard day and night!
I pray the Lord! I pray and wait - when?
From Goethe
Whom do you love - completely
And all, oh Lydia, he is yours,
Yours with all my heart and without division!
Now I have the life that is before me
Noise, and rushes, and sparkles,
The veil seems translucent gold,
Through which only your image shines
One - in all its rays,
In all its charm
As through a trembling aurora
Star still in deep skies...
He is a young demigod, and he is at your feet! ..
You - with a lyre at your knees - sing your verse to him,
He froze, listening - only greedy eyes
Follows light fingers
On strings of gold...
And I? .. I'm right there! here! I'm watching, I'm watching you
Blood rushed to the heart - no strength,
No breath! I feel losing
Consciousness, voice ... The darkness of my eyes eclipsed -
It's dark!.. I'm falling... I'm dying...
His poems inspired composers to write romances.
Many of Maykov's poems have been set to music (Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and others).
Lullaby
Music by P.I. Tchaikovsky
Words by A.N. Maikov
Singing Tamara Sinyavskaya
Sleep, my child, sleep!
Sweet dream mani to yourself:
I took you as a babysitter
Wind, sun and eagle.
The eagle flew home;
The sun disappeared under the water;
Wind, after three nights,
Rushing to his mother.
Vetra asks his mother:
"Where did you want to disappear?
Ali star fought?
Ali drove the waves all the time?
"I did not drive the waves of the sea,
The stars did not touch the gold ones;
I protected the child
Rocked the cradle!"
"About what in the silence of the night..."
Music by N. Rimsky-Korsakov
Words by A.N. Maikov
What in the silence of the night I mysteriously dream about ... "
What in the silence of the nights mysteriously dream,
What do I think about in the light of day,
That will be a secret to everyone, and even you, my verse,
You, my windy friend, are the delight of my days,
I will not give you the soul of my dreams,
And then you will tell, whose voice in the silence of the night
I hear whose face I find everywhere,
Whose eyes shine on me, whose name I repeat.
On February 27, 1897, Maikov went out into the street dressed too lightly and fell ill. He died on March 8 (20), 1897 in St. Petersburg. He was buried at the cemetery of the Resurrection Novodevichy Convent.
Maikov Apollon Nikolaevich is a famous Russian poet. He lived in the 19th century (1821-1897). The creative heritage of this poet is of interest in our time, which speaks of his undoubted talent.
Origin of A. N. Maykov
It should be said that Apollon Maikov was not the only gifted representative of his family name. The ancient family of the poet was rich in talented people. In the 15th century, the famous Russian theologian Nil Sorsky lived, and in the time of Catherine the poet Vasily Maikov worked.
The father of our hero was an academician of painting. The rest of his family also belonged to the creative intelligentsia. Mother is a translator and poetess, brother Valerian is a publicist and literary critic, and Leonid, another brother of Apollo, is a publisher and literary historian.
Childhood and youth, the first book of poems
Apollon Nikolaevich spent his childhood on the estate that belonged to his father. It was located near the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The Maykov family moved to St. Petersburg in 1834. Apollo in childhood was fond of both literature and painting. However, myopia prevented him from following in his father's footsteps. Maikov's first prose experiments show the influence of Gogol. Then Apollon Maikov became interested in poetry. His biography of this period was also marked by his studies at St. Petersburg University, at the Faculty of Law. After graduating from the university, Apollon Nikolaevich published the first book of his poems. This important event took place in 1842.
Trip abroad, new poems
In the same year, Apollo Maykov went abroad. Here he stayed for about two years. Maikov listened to lectures by famous scientists in Paris. While in Rome, he took part in the revelry of Russian artists, wrote poetry, made sketches, went on horseback rides in the Roman valley. The result of the impressions received was Maykov's cycle of verse "Essays on Rome" (published in 1847). It was during his life in Italy that the first scrapping was indicated in the poet's work. Apollon Maikov broke with anthological poetry and began to strive for the so-called poetry of thought and feeling. Maikov ceased to be interested in the old man. He decided to turn to the present. As a result, portraits of the inhabitants of Rome appeared (Lorenzo, "Capuchin", "Beggar").
Homecoming
Returning to his homeland, the poet began working at the Rumyantsev Museum as an assistant librarian. In the second half of the 1840s, Nekrasov, Grigorovich, Turgenev, Belinsky entered his circle of contacts. At that time, Apollon Maikov experienced the influence of the natural school. The poet published a lot in the "Notes of the Fatherland". In the "Petersburg collection" of Nekrasov in 1846 his poem "Mashenka" appeared. A little earlier, another poem was created, "Two Fates", which tells the story of an "extra" person.
Communication with the Petrashevites and the editors of the "Moskvityanin"
Apollon Nikolaevich in those years was ideologically close to Westernism. He became involved in the Petrashevsky movement through his brother Valerian. However, he soon began to be oppressed by their constant criticism of the government. Maikov saw utopianism in the Petrashevist movement, "a lot of selfishness", "a lot of nonsense" and "little love".
Apollon Nikolaevich, who was going through a crisis, ended up in the editorial office of Moskvityanin. Here he unexpectedly found not only participation, but also support for his views. Maikov denied the principles of civilization in Western Europe. This thought went through his entire collection "1854", which accurately reflected Maykov's worldview at that time. Another cross-cutting theme of the book was the historical mission of the Russian state, which blocked the way to the West for the hordes of Batu and thus prevented the death of European civilization ("Clermont Cathedral", etc.). Then Maikov became a staunch monarchist. He believed in the greatness of Nicholas I.
Creativity of the 1850s
As happens with every true poet, Maykov's work of the 1850s is much broader than his ideological guidelines. He created works on a social theme (the idyll "Fool", the cycle "Worldly Thoughts"), poems of an ideological and political nature. Simultaneously Maikov wrote poems that continued the anthological and aesthetic principles of his early poetry. We are talking about such cycles as "Cameos" and "Fantasy". At the end of 1850s. the cycles "At home", "In the wild", "In the rain", "Spring", "Haymaking" appeared. In these works, Maikov's former harmonic view of nature is still felt. However, now he manifests himself in sketches of rural landscapes in Russia.
"Autumn"
In 1856 Apollon Maikov created one of the most famous poems. "Autumn" - so he called it. From a young age, the poet was fond of hunting, but often caught himself thinking that an ordinary walk in the forest without a gun gives him much more pleasure. He really liked to rake in the leaves with his foot, to hear the crackling of branches ... However, in autumn the forest loses its mystery and mystery, because "the last flower has tied up", "the last nut has been plucked". And this world gives rise to hitherto unknown feelings in the poet...
Marine expedition
The Italian theme reappeared in the work of Apollon Nikolaevich in 1859. This was due to the fact that he, together with other researchers, made a sea expedition, visiting the islands of the Greek archipelago. The ship on which the voyage was carried out did not get to Greece. He had to stay in Naples. Therefore, instead of one cycle, as Apollon Nikolayevich Maikov had planned, it turned out to be two. The "Neapolitan Album" was created from Italian impressions. This is a kind of story in verse, the theme of which is the life of the people in Naples. As a result of studying the culture and history of Greece, "Modern Greek songs" ("The Swallow Has Rushed", "Lullaby", etc.) appeared.
One of his most famous poems is "Lullaby ...". Apollo Maykov created this work in 1860. More than 20 composers at one time wrote music for it. Among them are A. Chesnokov, A. Arensky, V. Rebikov, P. Tchaikovsky.
last years of life
In the last 25 years of his life, Maykov was interested in the eternal questions of being. He thought about the development of civilizations. An important place in Maikov's thoughts at that time was occupied by the fate of our country, its past and present, its role in history. In the 1880s, Apollon Nikolaevich also created a number of poems that are distinguished by deep religiosity and the idea that religious humility is a distinctive feature of a Russian person (“Eternal night is approaching ....”, “Leave, leave! ..”, etc.).
Finally
Merezhkovsky in his book "Eternal Companions" wrote that Maikov Apollo is a poet whose life path was bright and even. There was no persecution, no enemies, no passions, no struggle in him. There were poems, books, travel, family joys, fame. Indeed, his biography was not very poetic: he did not die on the scaffold or in a duel, he was not persecuted, he was not tormented by passions. With Apollon Maikov, everything external went inside. His true biography, true destiny was his path from the Romans and Greeks to Russian reality, the history of peoples, the poetry of the Bible and the eternal questions of being.
Born Apollon Nikolaevich Maykov in Moscow, in a family of hereditary nobles in 1821. Several previous generations of this kind are closely associated with art, this fact ultimately influenced his worldview and contributed to the development of creative talents. In 1834, the parents of the future poet moved with their children to St. Petersburg. It is there that Apollon Maikov will receive a legal education that will help him succeed as a civil servant.
Maykov's formation as a writer begins in 1842. Then he publishes his first book, on the basis of which he goes on a trip around the world. Having visited several countries, he returned to St. Petersburg in 1844 and began writing his Ph.D. thesis. The chosen topic (Old Slavic law) will be clearly traced in some of the author's works in the future.
Achievement list
Throughout his life, Apollon Nikolayevich actively builds a career. Having proven himself well while serving in the Ministry of Finance, in 1867 he was appointed State Councilor. Nine years later, he was appointed to the honorary position of senior censor. In 1897, he was approved for the position of acting chairman of the Central Committee of Foreign Censorship.
In parallel with his main employment, he is a member of literary communities, actively writes for newspapers and magazines, and is a member of the commission that organizes public readings in St. Petersburg.
Creation
The early debut of the thirteen-year-old Apollon Nikolaevich was the poem "Eagle", which was published in 1835 in the Library for Reading. However, the first serious publications are "Picture" and "Dream", which appeared five years later in the "Odessa Almanac".
Throughout the creative path, a change in the poet's political moods is clearly visible. Liberal views in early work are later replaced by conservative and pan-Slavic ones. For this reason, in the 1860s, the author's work was seriously criticized. The revolutionary democrats did not like this change of heart.
The main theme of creativity are rural and natural motifs, episodes from the history of his native land. These poems are included in school textbooks and anthologies. Some of them were later set to music by such famous composers as P.I. Tchaikovsky and N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.
In addition to writing poems and poems, he was known for literary translations. He translated the famous works of Goethe, Heine, Mickiewicz. He knew several languages, so he could translate from Greek, Spanish, Serbian and so on. In 1870 he completed the translation of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, which took him four years to complete.
Apollon Nikolaevich's wife was Anna Ivanovna Stemmer, who gave birth to a wife of three sons and one daughter. The poet died on March 20, 1897, after a month-long severe cold. He was buried at the cemetery of the Voskresensky Novodevichy Convent.
Apollon Nikolaevich Maikov was born in Moscow on June 4 (May 23, old style), 1821. Apollo Maykov's father, Nikolai Apollonovich Maykov, was a talented artist who reached the title of academician of painting, and his mother, Evgenia Petrovna, wrote books. The artistic atmosphere of the parental home contributed to the formation of the spiritual interests of the boy, who early began to draw and write poetry. His teacher of literature was the writer I.A. Goncharov. As a twelve-year-old teenager, Maykov was taken to St. Petersburg, where the whole family soon moved.
Almost all family members tried their hand at literature. An idea arose to publish a handwritten journal, which was called simply and beautifully "Snowdrop".
Issues of "Snowdrop" were stitched together and decorated with a massive red cover with gold stamping.
In 1837, A. Maikov entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. Studies in Roman law aroused in him a deep interest in the ancient world, which later manifested itself in his work. Maykov was fluent in several languages, including Latin and ancient Greek.
The debut of A.N. Maikov as a poet took place in 1841. He became a famous poet of his time. Maikov is a painter of the word, the creator of beautiful poems about his native nature. He is the translator of the immortal monument of antiquity "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".
The poet's poems were included in all school anthologies in Russia.
In his declining years, Apollon Nikolaevich acquired a modest dacha in the vicinity of St. Petersburg at the Siverskaya station of the Warsaw Railway. Here, as noted by his contemporaries, "he found his honor and his place", engaging in charitable activities. Thanks to his efforts and efforts, a church, a school and a library-reading room, bearing the name of the poet, were built in Siverskaya.