How many Barkhins did I know?

Memory of an outstanding scenographer and artist

Formally one. Ironic, biliary sometimes. A gentle, delicate, knowing the price, and that is why it is deprived of professional envy, but retaining sarcasm in assessments. Scrupulous in human relations. Careful and subtable to the work of others. Sober connoisseur of the achievements of world art and architecture.

Teachers, categorically devoid of patience for students who do not meet his requirements. The caring friend of her wonderful wife actress and writer Elena Kozelkova. And even an authoritative leader ... At one time, he successfully worked as the chief artist of the Bolshoi Theater, when he was headed by brilliant Vladimir Vasiliev.

Barkhin is a scenographer, architect, painter, graphic, writer, writer of aphorisms (philosopher, of course), also a multiplier. With director Andrei Khrzhanovsky, he painted the film “Leo with a gray beard” according to the tale of his friend, the great Italian screenwriter and poet Guerr. And he published the best book about Tonino with his sister Tanya in their publishing house Gemini. They are really twins.

He was unique and lived, sometimes trying on for the outside world (let at least one person live in it), often bizarre images from the point of view of “normal” citizens. In fact, any barkhin is a real barkhin, because he determined the norm of views, tastes and behavior himself.

In an outstanding contemporary artist of the theater, architect, painter, book graphics, writer and publisher, in close contact, a person is not visible from this world. Not from this world.

If you want to know from which - read the thick (although he categorically did not advise me to make thick folios) The book “Light soot”. It shows how it took place in a beautiful Moscow architectural family, and there are many samples (of course, in the printing performance) of his world, including those drawn by white in black.

Sergei Mikhailovich sometimes wrote books and small ones. Aphoristic. He has such a mindset. Here is a small volume of my favorite volume (naturally well -designed) fragments of memories of different people to which Barkhin applies with respect. Suddenly, there were many such characters for me, and portraits are drawn in two to three lines brilliantly. The book is called "Belief". Barkhin's texts are a high prose of the artist, literature of extremely high quality, accuracy, identity and will of the Russian language.

Last summer, he, without getting up, sat in the country and painted pictures on the topic of poetry of Rimbae and Viyon. Barkhin did more than a hundred work, and when he showed, I remembered his ancient book illustrations (also a white line on the black background) and our long friendship, which makes up more than half of his (and my) life. A variety of good for the most part.

Once, in the 77th year, I came to the Schukin School, where students had to play in the scenery of Barkhin Romeo and Juliet. The sketch was Palladian capitals who dreamed about seven years before the scenery, and Corinthian sand on the stage - probably to absorb blood. This time they did without sand, but the capitals were, they doril their portrait with an orange.

On another sketch, the scene depicting Verona was covered with watermelons. Green, whole, round. During the performance, they split, filling the space with juice - blood.

Now Barkhin is no more. His rich artistic heritage and living performances remain with us, which continue to live next to us.