Painter Vasily Nefyodov in the biography and work of sculptor Stepan Erzia (Nefyodov)

The relevance of the topic is due to the need for a comprehensive study of the creative personality of an outstanding sculptor of the 20th century Stepan Dmitrievich Erzya (Nefyodov, 1876-1959). Object of the article: biography and creative (including art-pedagogical) activities of sculptor S.D. Erzia; subject of the article: creative, mentoring relationship of the sculptor with his nephew, the painter Vasily Ivanovich Nefyodov (1890-1918). The study is of a historical and cultural nature; it uses comparative-historical and biographical methods. The sources of the study are the works of S.D. Erzia and V.I. Nefyodov (both located in museums and archives of the Russian Federation, including the Republic of Mordovia, and not preserved, known only from photo reproductions), press materials of the first third of the 20th century, archival documents. The author reconstructs the biography of V.I. Nefyodov, reveals the role of S.D. Erzia in his creative development. As a result of the study, it has been proved that a number of surviving paintings, which are considered by researchers as the works of S.D. Erzia, actually had been created by his nephew. The author attributes the photo of V.I. Nefyodov, made in the suburbs of Paris Seaux in 1912, sculptural portraits of V.I. Nefyodov created by S.D. Erzia and other works dedicated to him. It is proved that the unpreserved statue “Prayer for a Chalice” made in the Urals, which some researchers (for example, the Ural archivist E.V. Shimonek) call “an unknown creation of Erzia”, is a grave monument for V.I. Nefyodov, made exactly from this photo.