Mykola Semyonovich Samokish (russian: Микола Семенович Самокиш;

translit. Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

: ''Nikolay Semyonovich Samokish''; 25 October 1860, Nizhyn, Chernihiv, Russian Empire - 18 January 1944, Simferopol, USSR) was a Ukrainian and Soviet

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and illustrator of Ukrainian Cossack descent who specialized in military art and animal painting. The artist contributed to the development of the Ukrainian national style in art at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20t
century
Samokish is also known as the second husband of the book illustrator Elena Sudkovskaya, with whom he often collaborated.

Biography

His father was a postman; probably of Hungarian ancestry. He spent his youth in

Nosivka Nosivka (, ; russian: Носóвка) is a city in Nizhyn Raion, Chernihiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Nosivka urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: Until 18 July 2020, Nosivka was the admin ...

with the family of his maternal grandfather, who was a

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

. Later, he graduated from Nezhin Lyceum of Prince Bezborodko. His first attempt to enroll at the

St. Petersburg Academy of arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

was unsuccessful, but he gained an endorsement from an associate of Professor Bogdan Willewalde, was admitted, and studied there from 1879 to 1885 with Mikhail Clodt and Valery Jacobi as well as Willewalde, and won several awards.Brief biography
@ Maslovka. His painting "Прогулка" (the Walk) was bought by Pavel Tretyakov.Biography and critique of his illustrations
@ Slovo. SamokishTabunOrlovskihRysistyhMAtok

From 1885 to 1888, he studied in Paris with Edouard Detaille. When he returned, he and Franz Roubaud travelled to the Caucasus to create some large works for a panorama at the military history museum of Tbilisi. In 1889, he married the well-known book illustrator, Elena Sudkovskaya.Brief biography of Elena
@ Лаборатория Фантастики. The following year, he was named an Academician. From 1894 to 1918, he taught at the Academy, where he became a Professor in 1913. In 1904, on behalf of the magazine '' Niva'', he travelled to the front during the Russo-Japanese War and produced an album of paintings. In 1915, he and some of his students at the Academy formed an "Art Squad" and went to the Eastern Front to make sketches. During the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, he became separated from his wife. She went to Paris and apparently died there in 1924, although some sources say she returned to Russia and died in Vyborg.Brief biography of Elena
@ Yandex. In 1918, after the old Academy was abolished, he moved to Yalta with the

Armed Forces of South Russia The Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR or SRAF) () were the unified military forces of the White movement in southern Russia between 1919 and 1920. On 8 January 1919, the Armed Forces of South Russia were formed, incorporating the Volunteer Army ...

then, in 1922, to Simferopol, where he provided support to artistically talented youngsters and eventually organized an art school that received official state recognition. In 1934, he was given what would prove to be his largest commission: acting as managing consultant for a gigantic panorama depicting the Siege of Perekop. After 1936, he worked at the art institute in Kharkiv. Among the thousands of book illustrations he produced, perhaps the most notable are those for stories by

Marko Vovchok Marko Vovchok ( uk, Марко́ Вовчо́к, birth name: Mariia Vilinskа, surname by the first marriage: Markovych, surname by the second marriage: Lobach-Zhuchenko, russian: Мария Александровна Вилинская; 22 Dece ...

, ''Mykola Dzherya'' by Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky, '' Taras Bulba'' by

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

and ''Imperial Hunting in Russia'' by

Nikolai Kutepov Nikolai Ivanovich Kutepov (russian: Николай Иванович Кутепов, —/1907) was the author of fundamental '' Grand Ducal, Tsarist and Imperial Hunting in Russia''. Kutepov has made an extensive research on subject, collecting all ...

. He and his wife worked together to illustrate ''

Dead Souls ''Dead Souls'' (russian: «Мёртвые души», ''Mjórtvyje dúshi'') is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The novel chronicles the travels and adv ...

'' and create murals for the

Tsarskoye Selo railway station Tsarskoye Selo railway station ( rus, станция Царское Село) is a railway station located in Pushkin, Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is 23 km down-line from Vitebsky railway station and is situated between Shushary and Pavlovs ...

. Shortly after the end of World War II, a major exhibition of his early works was held at his workshop in Kharkiv. He was the subject of a documentary film in 1966.

Selected paintings

File:SpeedingTroikaSamokishSaleLondon2006.jpg, Speeding Troika File:Zaporozhians - Korchma.jpg, Cossacks at a Tavern File:СамокишПогоняДневник.jpg, Pursuit File:Raevsky saltanovka.jpg, The Courage of General Raevsky

References

External links

from Samokysh's diary @ Русское воскресение

(Exquisite Illustrator, Mykola Samokysh) @ the Kharkiv Korolenko State Library website.
Arcadja Auctions: More works by Samokysh
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samokysh, Mykola 1860 births 1944 deaths People from Nizhyn People from Chernigov Governorate 19th-century Ukrainian painters 19th-century Ukrainian male artists Ukrainian male painters 20th-century Ukrainian painters 20th-century Ukrainian male artists Russian painters Russian male painters Russian war artists Stalin Prize winners 19th-century war artists 20th-century war artists Imperial Academy of Arts alumni Full Members of the Imperial Academy of Arts

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links