{"id":1045,"date":"2021-03-04T10:54:10","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T07:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/polenovo.ru\/estate-and-park\/shkola-v-d-polenova-v-sele-strahovo\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T17:01:47","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T14:01:47","slug":"polenov-art-school-strakhovo-village","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/polenovo.ru\/en\/estate-and-park\/polenov-art-school-strakhovo-village\/","title":{"rendered":"POLENOVO Learning Centre, Strakhovo village"},"content":{"rendered":"

V. D. Polenov\u2019s School in the Village of Strakhovo<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the Polenov family settled on the banks of the Oka River, they remained true to their educational values. They built two schools \u2013 one in Strakhovo (1911) and another in Bekhovo. The school building in Strakhovo, which has been preserved to this day, is quite simple and was designed by Vasily Dmitrievich himself. He also designed a sliding wall between two classrooms, which could transform them into a stage and an auditorium. This theatrical idea was practically implemented by a carpenter from the Bolshoi Theater. In the Dining Room exhibition of the Great House, there are two beautiful carved wooden dishes, a gift to the Polenovs from the peasants of Strakhovo in gratitude for the school. Later, the artist\u2019s wife organized foreign trips and excursions for the teachers of the Strakhovo school. She also established carpentry and bookbinding workshops in the school and personally organized classes in Russian folk embroidery for peasant girls.<\/p>\n

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V.D. Polenov. School. 1910s.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here, I would like to quote a letter about the school\u2019s opening by D. V. Polenov, the artist\u2019s son, to S. M. Golitsyn, the author of the book \u201cThe Sunny Palette\u201d about V. D. Polenov: \u201cWith the help of my diary, I managed to establish the exact date of this event: it happened on Kazanskaya, that is, November 4. Here are some brief details. When we settled in Bekhovo in 1891, there were very few schools in the area. The Alexinsky district zemstvo administration appointed my mother, Natalya Vasilyevna Polenova, as the trustee of the Strakhovo school, which was housed in a separate building but was still just an ordinary peasant hut with small windows, and all three classes were in one room. The only teacher was Kapitolina Mikhailovna Rudneva. <..> My mother dreamed of building a good, well-equipped school. When she received an inheritance, she allocated some funds for the construction of the school in Strakhovo. The zemstvo administration technically oversaw the school\u2019s construction, but my mother handled the calculations and paid the suppliers and contractors herself. The school plan was also created by her, with the initial drawings made by my father. <..> In addition to two large classrooms separated by a sliding wall that could create a large auditorium, she ensured good living quarters for the teachers, which were located in one wing of the school. <..> Every winter break, teacher Kapitolina Mikhailovna would visit Moscow, stay after the start of the school year, attend classes in city schools, and take a tourist trip to Europe at my mother\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n

I helped my mother in every way possible with the school\u2019s construction, substituting for her when she traveled abroad, and it was a good construction school for me. The peasants of Strakhovo helped transport building materials and perform other auxiliary work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The daughters of V. D. Polenov paid great attention to working with village children. Since the early 1950s, Olga Vasilyevna Polenova, the artist\u2019s daughter and a museum researcher, regularly lectured on the history of fine arts at the Strakhovo school and organized an art enthusiasts\u2019 club for museum friends. The younger daughter, Natalya Vasilyevna, created a puppet theater in the estate: she was the author of the puppets, and the actors were young residents of the nearby villages.<\/p>\n

This work continues today at a qualitatively new level. From 1970 to 1981, the Strakhovo school served as a base for testing B. M. Nemensky\u2019s experimental program in fine arts: N. N. Gramolina and museum staff taught aesthetic education at the school.<\/p>\n

In 1989, the school closed and was transferred to the balance of the SPK \u201cPolenovo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, the V. D. Polenov Museum conducts classes in the History of World Culture (HWC), hosts the \u201cYoung Tour Guide School,\u201d and the children\u2019s \u201cNew Year\u2019s Tree Theater,\u201d which brings together village children from the Strakhovo secondary school.<\/p>\n

In 2012, the old school building was transferred to the museum\u2019s balance. Major repairs are being carried out to open a museum branch in the Strakhovo school premises. After the major repairs, museification, and improvement works, the school will become part of the memorial and exhibition complex of the reserve, with the Polenovo estate remaining its compositional core. The plan is to create a Children\u2019s Cultural Center in the school: a model of education and cultural upbringing for the younger generation, organizing leisure activities and vocational guidance for youth; with a system of special educational programs for all age groups of children and adolescents.<\/p>\n

In our plans for the Children\u2019s Leisure Center:<\/strong><\/p>\n