Contemporary Russian Realistic Art
Review by Vladimir London
Nikolai Blokhin Drawings – Album
68 Drawings by Nikolai Blokhin.
Right-click and choose “Save Link As” to save this Album.
Nikolai Blokhin
is a contemporary fine artist from Russia. He was born in 1968 in St. Petersburg and spent fifteen years studying art from the age of twelve. Since 2000, he has been a professor of drawing in St. Petersburg Academy of Art.
Nikolai graduated from the St. Petersburg Repin Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he is teaching drawing now. Repin Academy is the successor to the Imperial Academy of Arts and one of the strongest schools of fine art in the world today.
Many famous Russian artists of the past are associated with this Academy, such as Losenko, Bryullov, Ivanov, Repin, Vrubel, Serov, Malyavina, Feshin, as well as masters of the Soviet era, Moiseenko, Mylnikov and many others.
Nikolai Blokhin has his own unique drawing style. His drawings are very dynamic, full of complex rhythm lines and beautifully rendered. All of his artworks are made with passion and virtuosity. The gamut of lines and marks are very broad – from delicate thin lines, when a drawing tool gently touches the surface, to thick and bold expressive marks done with pressure and confidence.
Many preliminary drawings done by Nikolai are fully accomplished masterpieces in their own rights. Characters on Nikolai’s drawings are full of life, personality, and expression. He skilfully portrays the models’ psychological characteristics and inner world through their facial expressions, postures and drawing compositions.
Personages on Nikolai’s artworks live their days to the fullest. They are lyrical and brutal, hysterical and thoughtful, romantic and sophisticated. Single portraits and multi-figure compositions tell stories of people from all facets of life: ballet dancers, carnival goers, clowns, theatre actors and peasants.
And Nikolai groups his drawings into series, such as “peasants,” “clowns,” “ballet dancers,” “fighters,” and others.
By using minimal means of expression – a silhouette, tone spots, lines and gradations, Nikolai is able to create a phenomenal range of feelings depicted from life. He draws an expressive array of characters, while keeping his own style and viewpoint. They are full of spirit and soaked with Russian soul.
Nikolai Blokhin is continuing the proven, time-honored traditions of masters like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, and many others, who were interested in depicting the human nature. In all his masterpieces, Nikolai focuses on a human being, on all the complexity of character types, facial expressions, emotions, and relationships.
His realistic yet stylish and vibrant drawings are full of living energy and Russian culture. Contemporary artists like Nikolai Blokhin keep the old traditions of the Russian art school alive. At a time when Western European and North American art is rapidly losing its original roots, the Russian art discipline still stands on the solid ground of traditional drawing skills that have developed since the times of the Old Masters.
If you are touched by these drawings, please leave your comments below.
fantastic stuff; thanks for the upload
These are beautiful.
These works of art are excellent, masterpieces.
Engaging figurative expression. Thank you for the introduction to the art of Nikolai Blokhin.
I like these drawings very much. Would like to do it myself as good as this.
Splendide
Amazing! Every single work amazing ! I wish I could be like him one day :)
Thank you for sharing this. This is a formidable body of work. Strong yet extremely sensitive and emotional.
A lost art today!
Powerful & beautiful drawing,the focus is impressive. Thanks for the introduction.
WOW!!!!! SUPER Fantastic work. This is truly the works of a master. Wonderful Expression.
This is really great and highly skilled work.
They are like a drink of cool, clear water in a desert.
Here is an artist of the highest caliber. I am so impressed and inspired by the work of this artist. He has a rare gift for capturing the depth of the human personality, and his drawing style is very beautiful, very powerful and full of life. The St. Petersburg Academy must be very good if they have teachers like this. Are their painting teachers as skilled?
Thank you for sharing this video.
Kind regards,
Lawrence Heyda
Unbelievable sketches.
whata Talent and a relief from the artists who hide behind abstraction when they never learnt to draw in the first place
Nikolai’s work has a magical quality. It’s like he not only drew the subjects character, but trapped their spirit within the lines. I could only hope to ever achieve that kind of mastery. Thank you for sharing his work. It gives me something to aspire to.
Beautiful,lively and expressive. A modern day master.Thanks for sharing.
Chris Ajayi-Obe.
This is really great and highly skilled work.
This is really great and highly skilled work.Very nice work
Very good drawings, a bit theatrical, but very skillful. Another proof that nothing beats drawing from nature.
Absolutely Beautiful!!
Its a wonderful and amazing drawings. I wish to learn and draw a sketch of my children and family.
thanks
Thanks! He is so perfect I wish I could come to Russia to see his exhibition and maybe to see him at work. He is grate!
BRAVO,EXQUISITO.
This is amazing! Great artwork!
Fantastic art! So simple and yet so full of life. Thank you for sharing with us. Hope I’m able to learn from this.
I take my hat off to Nikolai. It’s people like him that will keep the abilities if the old master alive.
Thank you very much for sharing Nikolai Blokhin’s work. Amazing artist of the masters ways, a dream of mine is to be able to capture the sole and essence of a person in this way.
Beautiful, Scott
Amazing profound drawings..Live Nikolai Blokhin..
I thank him for keeping the orthodoxy of true Russian art ( the best of ), alive.
His work is beautiful and shows the human spirit of his culture.
Beautiful art is alway a blessing to the whole world.
Thank you Mr.Blokhin.
so beautiful art…I’m truly in love
Thank you for showing Nikolai’s beautiful art work.
Whether I get there or not is something I would like to aspire to.
Very inspiring. Thank you for sharing.
The best of luck for Nikolai!
love this work! reminds me i have a long way to go but its possible.
Incredible and amazing fine art work! I thought this was almost forgoten nowadays. It is my first contact with the russian school of art, and i am surprised indeed.
The only one artist i know that can draw/painting such dramatic and wonderfull realistic expressions of the human figure is the swedish norwegenien artist Odd Nerdrum.
Great Artist. Thanks for sharing :)
I love his work. Expressive, dramatic, a great inspiration an a way to go
God given talent, amazing really!!
I hope one day to reach a level where I can teach and give back now I have seen something else to aspire to because the work shown here is awe inspiring If I had a wish to bw granted I would wish to go to that Russian school for the arts or atleast make enough money to become a member on this sight
Fabulous work,most inspiring.
Fluid marks with exhibited with confidence . He definitely been inspired by Rembrandt and Caravaggio.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
Loved it .
Amazing drawings! Very inspirational. Thanks for the upload!
Thank you for showing me, I love how he draws attention to the subject and captures the esencense of the moment.
Fantastic works. Thank you for sharing.
Hands down the best drawings I have ever seen
Thank you for sharing.He has magic in his hands.wonderful .very inspiring.
Great Artist, Fantastic and Very inspirational Thanks for sharing
beautiful work, very inspiring, thanks for sharing!
The works are intense and very personal. These works set the bar for young artists.
Great Drawings. Fantastic Stuff. Just love them.
Obviously, his work is talking for itself, more far clear than what I can say!. In This unique expressive drawings, I can feel artist’s soul and his adoption of human forms and reality, into the lines, shapes and magical rendering. Thus, it is the mirror of our own self through artist’s hand.
Que de vie dans ces œuvres d’art! La beauté des lignes, le rendu des volumes, les touches de couleur m’emeuvent. Tous mes sens sont touchés!
Through his art you can see how much he loves what he does you can see it in every stroke. It is such a joy to see some one with such command with the tools of their trade and allowing their inner vision to come out for others to enjoy. I’m envious.
Charming art. I’ve thought this expressiveness was not possible to achieve by drawing on paper with pencils
Sublime ❤️
These drawings are the reflection of this artist’s soul & good nature.
That’s a shame how the art is turning ugly in the modern world, some artist (or so called) are loosing their track of the real art.
All these pieces will live for ever.
It is like reading a sign language to convey specific meanings. I love it.
True human spirit excelent captured! Thank you for sharing Nicolai Blokhin´s great work/art.
Thanks YOU very much for these page. I LOVE it. Cristina from MEXICO. I live in Atlixco Puebla. On September I would like to be member in your academy.
I haven’t seen such pure talent and emotion in a very long time. I love how he breaks some of the rules by drawing in detail in certain places and only suggesting in other parts of his subject. That brings it alive for me and shows so much emotion, energy and originality. By doing that, he tells us what is important and what is not. His subjects nearly jump out at you as though they are going to speak. A reemergence of the old masters that is missing in modern times. Would love to see more of his work with info on his choice of mediums.
Very exciting!
This man’s work is amazing. thank you for introducing his work to us. You don’t need to be a master to recognize one.
these are beautiful. the style I want to develop in my portrait drawings. I would like to enroll when I am ready financially in your academy.
elizabeth
They look so real , he has caught live on paper . They look like they could start moving @ any time .
loved the faces…these paintings are so beautiful.
Des dessins qui me plaise beaucoup merci encore!
great!
amazing work, with love and practice u can do any thing
Bravissimo !!!!! Un grande Maestro, vorrei essere una sua allieva.
Beautiful Work!! I loved the ballet drawings
frigging awesome work!
i love your sketch stroke
Some of the best drawings I’ve seen.
Amazing! Inspiring! Brilliant!!!
I’m speachless! This is eally inspiring and beautiful
I can only dream of having the opportunity to learn from such a great master!
It is of a level of Elia Repin & Nicholai Fechin!! Fabulous!
Bright paintings. enormous talent. Thank you, Elisabeth.
Wow that is the type of feeling i really want to portray in my drawings/paintings.
Thanks DA.com
I purchased the Anatomy Master Class more or less two weeks ago. I have to express my deep gratefulness for your unlimited generosity in sharing such wonderful works as the one of Nikolai Blokhin (to name only one of many), whose technique is so extremely powerful, expressive and appealing to me. Thank you so much.
Потрясающе!!!! Нет слов… Спасибо!!!
I love this work and many of the Russian artists. There isn’t words to explain how much I appreciate Nikolai Blokhin style and works. Thanks again
Incredible work! thank you for sharing so wonderful fine artist.
Wow I loved these drawing ,thanks for the chance to see them.
Spellbinding! Deeply moving! These drawings talk to you! Don’t remember when was I last moved so much by any drawings. I wish I could kiss Nikolai’s hands. Honestly, it is unfair for one person to have this much talent.
I am studying figure drawing in the traditional methods. My professor told me to look into your work. It is truly awe inspiring. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope one day to visit the academy.
Beautiful. There is so much feeling and emotion in these sketches. I dream of one day being able to express feelings and emotion in my work. A very long way to go still. Thank you so much for sharing these sketches.
These drawings are breathtakingly intimate moments which captivates me and inspires me! Beautiful!
The most moving drawings I have seen thank you for sharing.
Awesome and inspiring!
What a talent!
Wonderful drawings.I loved all of them.An awesome talent.
Masterful expression of contemporary traditional art!
siempre me han gustado más los trazos preliminares (sketches), y los que hace este hombre (blokhin) son sensacionales!
Wonderful drawings. They encourage on to keep working hard. Thank you
super suelto, ojalá que fuera mi profesor de dibujo algún dia.
No words can describe his work every drawing comes to life and jumps at you. I only wish I could produce any drawing nearing to his masterpieces. There was only one Michal Angelo, DaVinci and now one Blokhin.
Just returned from the Raphael Drawings exhibition at The Ashmolean in Oxford, England, and searching for more great artists and their drawings came across the work of Nicolai Blokhim. The energy and life of his mark-making is inspiring, and the gestural dynamics of his bodies and his sensitivity to anatomical detail places him up there with past masters.
Life has given itself to these images. I felt the personality of each one.
Mesmerizing..thank you for sharing.
A skillful master
Wow..
I am so glad you shared this with me. I have never heard of this artist until today. Thank you.
Thanks Drawing Academy for giving us this most precious new year gift in the form of these master pieces by Nikolai. Indeed great work with distinctive style and expressions. Hats off. Wish you all a fantastic creative year ahead.
“A picture tells a thousand words”. These portraits definitely tell more than a thousand words! I can see the facial muscles in action. Touched.
I enjoy learning about other cultures and art is one of the ways that I do learn. These painting are really good I was moved.
Thanks
fantastic drawings… it ‘s realism with artistic flair.
Thank you for sharing.
Wow Great skill – I was really feeling the emotional of each character drawn……. Thanks for sharing!!.
He is a great artist who mastered his drawings!
These drawings and paintings by Nikolai Blokhin are wonderful.
Thank you so much for sharing them,
Alice M. Edwards
Magnificent
I love the drawings and paintings by Nikolai Blokhin. The artistic energy in his work is such a joy to see. Thank you for sharing this information – what an inspiration.
Ha! Elegantlly WOW! How is it even possible to find words descriptive of this work. How it is even possible to use any word other than WOW.
In a text “Drawing”, Daniel M. Mendelowitz refers to apprentices copying the works of the Master of the Atelier or older established masters in which it became an established practice. I wonder if we can legitimately copy these works, or some of them and it would classify as copying the old masters? Do contemporary masters classify as being copyable? Blokhin certainly does not classify as an “older” established master but it cannot be argued that his work is not just as good to be copied and studied?
Thank you very much for sharing these drawings. They are truly superb.
Amazing and i love your work. Thank you for sharing:-)
Anne-Mette
I really enjoy seeing your work. It is fantastic, thanks for sharing it with us.
Nikolai is the greatest artist of our times, every work is a masterpiece. I am impressed
Absolutely beautiful portraits. Thank you for sharing them
Mr. Blokhin is a very fine artist, living up to the traditions of the Russian Masters. Traditions that must be preserved if Art will survive.
Best Wishes from Clearwater, FL.
Cordially,
Hector
Beautiful work. Thank you for sharing.
Kathleen M. White
Fabulous work! Thank you for this video!
Thanks for this wonderful upload. It is inspiration and teacher.
What an amazing arts.fantastic
The drawings are beautiful, and full of life. These drawings remind me more of the old masters than any I have ever seen.
Thank you for sharing them.
Best Wishes,
Linda Leslie
This is drawing at its finest. What a draughtsman.
Exceptional. High sense for a fraction of the time.
wow – wow.
I love every “moment” of Nikolai’s paintings and drawings! He is a great storyteller who captures in his art the culture of his people the same may as a poet or actor or writer would do. Bravo, bravo, bravo!
Thank you for sharing his talent on our Academy site!
I love these works! I could watch and study Nicholi’s work and technique a long time.
Im inspired by the raw depth of live action and emotions depected in his artworks. Onky few as Nikolai can master this rare calibre of expression. Rveals to me also his effort, finesse and fiery for his work that I someday hope to emulate.
So sensitive and beautiful! Reminiscent of Fechin!
Oh!amazing
You are the best, thank you so much for sharing.
No one does it better than you. Ive been admiring your work for years…and now I say Hello!
I have never been to Russia and probably will never go, but these works of art are so powerful that I feel as if I have already met the people there.
Thank you sincerely,
Paris
Thank you for this… it was a gift. I will study each one. I love his work.
Nikolae displays superb draughtsmanship reminiscent of Da Vinci. He is able to achieve beautiful realistic images in a free and uninhibited style. I love them all!!!
Thank you for sharing this drawings with others. Absolutely Beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful work. I could spend hours studying each one. Thank you for sharing this album.
Your realism emphasizes the thyme of the painting. Detail is of the most importance in art as it renders feeling. You has no doubt accomplished that.
Outstanding!
personalmente me gustan mucho más sus trazos con carbón sobre papel que las pinturas…
tienen una soltura impresionante…
soy de México…
Inspirational!
These drawings are really superb ! Lines are very expressive and compels one to see closely the awesome art created!
Until I found the Academy’s(Life Drawing, Drawing, Watercolor and Old Madter oils) I genuinely had no idea what true Fine Art was. I have just begun each program after 7 years of oil painting and I now see clearly I am a master of copying (even if it is a photo I have taken) and keeper of shortcuts that undermine what my art has the potential of becoming.
I loved this post because it inspires and encourages me; I am glad to begin again – correctly!
I am on a new journey to becoming all that I can, and producing work that mesmerizes and moves the viewers, like those we just saw.
I am sending deep gratitude and come in humility to soak up all that I can.
If you see my works and critiques along the way, know that I am starting from ground zero (unable to draw – the foundation of all fine arts).
This is unsolicited, if you want to become a professional true master…join me on this journey. I recommend the path that includes a lifetime tutor – you can’t fail if you listen, practice, learn, and put in the time daily.
I am so grateful and so glad I found you Vladimir, Natalie and Alex.
Absolutely amazing amount of work that most of us amateurs aspire To. Thank you for sharing.
I struggle to find the right words to express the beauty of these images.I just stare, hoping that I can absolve something. Anything! I stare, then I attempt to draw the style. Hummm-I have a long way to go.
Very human and deeply emotional. Reminiscent of the old masters. Wonderful work!
Qué expresivo, cuanto taleto. Maravilloso
Nikolai Blokhin – Amazing artist! Genius!
so talented!
O desenho é o esqueleto da pintura… o Nikolai domina o desenho e tira partido dos seus modelos. trata-se de um artista genial…
Masterpiece!
beautiful human expressions, ordinary people, every day faces one sees on the street. remarkably captures the essense of the person.
These are stunning. So glad I took this course. Yes, charcoal plaster heads and life drawing and painting, but EU academies have forgotten what art is all about. So for me back to the basics, to improve, and these stunning artworks definitely are an inspiration.
Wunderbare Bilder, sie geben mir Kraft weiter zu üben. Danke
I see the “soul” behind the shapes, the lines, the shading.
I “feel” the artist at work and the person who is being drawn.
Love those artworks.
Incredible work. Thank you for sharing.
Exquisite!
Admirable virtuosismo, elevada sensibilidad, un goce visual intenso.
Siente hondamente la realidad y la interpreta magistralmente.