On 12 September, a painting exhibition by Anatoly Fomenko opened in the hall of the 3rd floor of the main building. Anatoly Fomenko is a painter, a writer, a Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, DSc in Physics and Mathematics, a National Prize laureate, and an author of 200 scientific papers.
“Mathematics is indeed the mother of all sciences. Mathematics can describe any process. Anatoly Fomenko is both an outstanding mathematician and an outstanding painter”, said VSU Rector Dmitry Endovitsky.
Every piece of art has several layers.
Anatoly Fomenko is an expert in topology. All his works are connected with mathematical objects. But at the same time each work has its own mythology. Without knowing this mythology it’s hard to understand the work”, said Maria Burlutskaya, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics.
The exhibition displays illustrations for Bulgakov's “The Master and Margarita”. Anatoly Fomenko first read the novel, when he was a student. He knew the writer’s wife and often visited her. He made illustrations even for those parts that were not included in the final version of the novel. For instance, the part where Begemot watches the execution of Yeshua and two other criminals:
“Although the sun over Mount Golgotha had already begun its descent, the heat was still unbearable. The troops in both cordons were suffering from it; stupefied with boredom, they cursed the three robbers and sincerely wished them a quick death”. This picture is one of the most popular with students.
Another great work is the “Dawn after Yeshua’s execution”: “The moon was fading and on the other edge of heaven there appeared the whitish speck of the morning star. The candles had long been put out. The Procurator lay on his couch. He was sleeping with his hand under his cheek and breathing noiselessly. Beside him slept Banga. Thus Pontius Pilate, fifth Procurator of Judaea, met the dawn of the fifteenth of Nisan.”
As an artist Anatoly Fomenko was influenced by many painters including Bosch, Bruegel, Dali, Escher, Böcklin, and Dürer. He became interested in drawing and painting, when he studied at university. He was them struggling with topology, the science that made him an internationally recognised expert. To understand abstract formulas, Anatoly Fomenko started drawing them. This is how he became a co-author of a study guide “Homotopic Topology” which includes a lot of his drawings. The study guide became very popular with mathematicians. In 1990, the American Mathematical Society published a book Mathematical Impressions with 84 paintings by Anatoly Fomenko. Anatoly Fomenko’s art was also praised by Vladimir Tarasov, a director at Soyuzmultfilm animation studio. An animated film “The Pass” written by Kir Bulychov was based on his drawings.
The exhibition that opened at VSU displays 20 paintings made between 1967 and 1983. Anatoly Fomenko also made high quality computer copies of his works and presented them to VSU as a gift.
