American artist Igor Babailov believes that God bestows our innate talents; they come with a sacred responsibility. They must be used for good and to honor God.
“We [artists] re-create God’s creations in our paintings. We know that we’ll never be as good as God. … But at least we try to get it as close as possible to this beauty in our paintings,” he told The Epoch Times.
Igor Babailov creating his 8-by-6-foot oil painting “CREDO” in 2016. Several families commissioned the painting, which includes their children and grandchildren with saints John Paul II and Mother Teresa. The painting is displayed in the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington. Courtesy of Igor Babailov
These heartfelt beliefs have held him in good stead as a successful, classically trained portrait painter. He’s painted presidents, prime ministers, popes, U.S. supreme court justices, and other VIPs.
In 2002, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had his portrait painted by Igor Babailov in the artist’s studio. Oil on canvas; 48 inches by 40 inches. Courtesy of Igor Babailov
In 2022, he was awarded the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor. It recognized his “outstanding commitment to serving our nation” for his portrait of George Washington at Mt. Vernon and other works.
"’My Beloved Country!’—George Washington,” 2009, by Igor Babailov. Oil on canvas; 28 inches by 22 inches. In 2022, Babailov won the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for this painting. Courtesy of Igor Babailov
None of this may have happened if Babailov hadn’t broken his hand in the early 1970s.
A Child Prodigy
Babailov was born in Glazov in 1965, in the Udmurtia region of the USSR (now west-central Russia). Artistic endeavors and scholarly pursuits occupied every aspect of his family life. His mother was a renowned biology and chemistry teacher, and his father was an accomplished classical artist, poet, and composer, who co-founded Glazov’s first preparatory fine art school.As a child prodigy, Babailov created his first portrait painting at 4 years old but specialized in piano at music school until he was 9. Then a bicycle accident forever changed his life’s path. He broke his left hand, making it impossible to play the piano for a while. His father thought it best that Babailov applied himself to an art that needed just one hand—and that’s how he began his lifelong study of classical fine art, in the school that his father co-founded.
A Testing Time
At 13 years old, Babailov applied to the renowned Moscow Secondary School of Fine Art, one of the few places in the world where children learned classical art principles. His mother was already traveling the 24-hour train journey from their home to a work meeting in Moscow, so she hand-delivered his art portfolio. But her day didn’t go as planned. There had been an advertising error, the school receptionist explained. Only one place was available and they had short-listed other applicants already.Related Stories
Undeterred, Babailov’s mother asked if she could see the short-listed students’ art portfolios. She took her time to study them, then turned to the receptionist and insisted that her son’s work was of the same standard—if not better. Her persistence paid off. The receptionist agreed to pass Babailov’s portfolio to the judges, and he was invited to sit for the entrance exams shortly after.
The 25 short-listed students had six entrance exams at the school. They had to create everything from their imagination—photographs and other visual references were prohibited.
When Babailov read that one of the exam themes was “museum,” he immediately felt as though he was back in a church that he’d seen a few days earlier while sightseeing in Moscow with his father. He’d never been to church; Stalin’s era had eradicated all the churches in Babailov’s hometown. He entered the church in awe. “Everything was so fascinating to me—the huge cathedral ceilings, the frescoes, and the smell of Roman candles. It just created an incredible impact on me,” he said. He felt like he had entered a relic from the recent past—a “museum.” With his paint-loaded brush, he rendered young visitors entering that church in awe.
After the exam, he surveyed the other students’ paintings. One painting of a natural history museum captivated him. The student had rendered a grand, classically designed gallery with visitors viewing all manner of specimens—from dinosaur skeletons to critters in collection cabinets. Admiring the student’s skill and composition, Babailov couldn’t help but feel deflated. He thought: “There’s no way I’m going to get into this school.”
A Test of Faith
For the rest of the summer, he didn’t touch his art, preferring to spend the long hot days outside with friends. His father questioned why he didn’t see him painting or drawing anymore. Babailov explained his predicament and the stiff competition.His father telephoned the school for an update and discovered that Babailov’s concerns were unfounded; he was accepted.
Years later, Babailov graduated with honors. He went on to study at the prestigious Moscow State Academic Art Institute (commonly known as the Surikov Institute, after Russian artist Vasily Surikov).
A Renaissance Apprenticeship
Babailov places utmost importance on a classical art apprenticeship, which includes years of consistent study, critique, and artistic development.Since the Renaissance, classically trained artists have faithfully studied nature, including the human form and its anatomy. In the 1950s, Western art educators stopped that tradition. Artists then had no understanding of the structure of the human body and were therefore inept at rendering the human figure realistically.
Traditionally trained artists practice skill-based art in contrast to modern-trained artists’ expression-based art. Traditional artists focus on re-creating nature as best as they can to uplift humanity, whereas modern artists focus on evoking feelings, and self-expression.
“The Truth, the Way and the Life, Portrait of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI," 2008, by Igor Babailov. Oil on canvas; 72 inches by 48 inches. Vatican Museums, Vatican, Rome. Courtesy of Igor Babailov
Babailov believes that God blessed Picasso (1881–1973) with artistic talents, but he lost his way. “He did study. He took classical art education and started well. Then, he decided to turn his back on God. He started to [destroy] the most beautiful of God’s creation—which is the human form,” he said.
Soviet Russia’s Iron Curtain prevented modernist art ideologies from destroying the country’s long established classical art tradition. Babailov’s dear friend, the author, philosopher, theologian, and diplomat Michael Novak (1933–2017) said: “The one great thing that came out of the Iron Curtain was the great fine art education.”
"Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia," 2012, by Igor Babailov. Oil on canvas; 60 inches by 48 inches. Moscow Patriarchi. Courtesy of Igor Babailov
For years, Babailov studied under the tutelage of Russian masters in a lineage that came directly from his idol Ilya Repin (1844–1930). Babailov believes that Repin is the greatest portrait artist.
Great artists like Repin “worked from life, which is rare today because that requires skill,” Babailov said. In classical art education, observing from life is of the utmost importance. Take the way a baby holds its hands naturally; it differs from an adult, for instance. Babailov now passes on those centuries-old classical art traditions to his students.
He believes that the purpose of any education isn’t to preach, but to define the rules and allow students to see the truth through the contrast of right and wrong. Students then develop their own styles within that framework. He likens artistic styles to handwriting styles. Two artists can be taught the same rules by the same master, yet their styles differ.
"Col. Christoph Graf, Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard," 2020, by Igor Babailov. Oil on canvas; 50 inches by 42 inches. Courtesy of Igor Babailov
Portraits From Life
There’s an almost magical quality to how artists create a quick, accurate likeness of a three-dimensional model on a two-dimensional surface. But it takes years of practice to achieve it.When working on commissioned portraits, Babailov always requests a portrait sitting. He feels it’s the best way to truly sense his subjects. He needs only 30 minutes to create a person’s likeness in pencil—that’s a blessing for time-poor people and fidgety children.
"The Hill Family Portrait," 2023, by Igor Babailov. Oil on canvas; 6 feet by 9 feet. Courtesy of Igor Babailov
Group portraits have their own challenges. He’ll sketch each person from life separately, and then compile a group portrait by adjusting the scale of each figure to realistically convey everyone together.
Artist Igor Babailov paints Thatcher Hill. Babailov painted each Hill family member directly from life for this group portrait. Courtesy of Igor Babailov
Having the person in front of him allows a level of communication that’s impossible from a photograph. Directly sketching a person also puts the sitters at ease and reaffirms his artistic ability for them. After all, an artist immortalizes his subject in paint for generations to come.
The Photograph as a Tool
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, artists like Ilya Repin and John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) could have worked from photographs, but Babailov says they never did. They considered it cheating.Babailov also stresses the importance of creating a portrait from life rather than relying on a photograph. He says that technology should be used as a tool; we shouldn’t depend on it.
A camera takes a two-dimensional image that needs to be re-created in a three-dimensional portrait on a two-dimensional canvas. Only an artist experienced in drawing from life can adjust and correct the imperfections seen in photographs. When you draw from life, you can clearly see the distance between the ear and the tip of the nose, for instance. But in a photograph, these elements appear closer together, losing the three-dimensional effect. Hence, an artist copying a photograph will create a flat image unless he or she is classically trained.
"Theresa Menefee," 2015, by Igor Babailov. Oil on canvas; 64 inches by 48 inches. Courtesy of Igor Babailov
Also, three photographs taken three seconds apart will show the person in three different light effects, he explained. A portrait created from those three photographs would not be reflective of the person, but rather what the photograph showed.
Babailov explains with another example: In nature, there’s a beautiful harmony between cool and warm tones. A warm light creates a cool shadow and vice versa, yet these values are lost in photographs. Even painting a portrait from a monochromatic sketch requires skill and knowledge of the right light and colors to turn it into a lifelike painting.
A classically trained artist like Babailov uplifts humanity, reminding us of the inherent beauty, harmony, and goodness of God’s creations. When his good friend Michael Novak watched Babailov painting in his studio, he told him he felt that artists reside “somewhere between the earth and the angels.”
To find out more about Igor Babailov’s art, visitBabailov.com
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