The Modern Chișinău in the painting of Yurii Shibaev

Abstract

Yurii Shibaev approached all genres of easel painting, but he established himself with the urban landscape. The plastic artist fell in love with Chișinău. This fact is attested by the numerous works dedicated to the city. In the custody of the Fund of the National Art Museum of Moldova are several urban landscape paintings by Yurii Shibaev: „Chișinău under construction. Râșcani Sector”, „Renewed Chișinău. Circus under construction”, „Râşcanii renewed”, „After the rain”, „The New Chișinău” etc. In his paintings we can see the representations of the old city, but also of the areas with modern elements, which are in constant evolution. The artist wanted to present the beauty of the city with lots of vegetation, populated with people, crowded with public transport: everything being in constant motion. The artist of realistic training tends to work with large decorative spots that are meant to give expressiveness to the painting. The predominant colors in his creation are white, green and gray. Thus, the artist resorts to a limited range of colors, using colored accents in the representation of people and cars. In the paintings „Old Chișinău”, „Chișinău under construction. Râşcani Sector”, „Chișinău is being built”, „The New Chișinău”, „After the rain”, etc. Yurii Shibaev confirms the image of Chișinău as a „white stone city”. Residential, ecclesiastical and cultural buildings are elevated above the rich city with abundant vegetation.