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While in Paris in 1906 he met and married Maria Jovanovic (1885–1960), a daughter of Serbian immigrant hotel-keepers. She remained his lifelong companion. They had two daughters, one of whom died nverifiedin childhood.
Even during his college years, Petrov-Vodkin managed to enter into conflict with the
From 1924 to 1926 Petrov-Vodkin lived in France with his family. In 1922 he painted a portrait of the Russian poet
Image:Kiss (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Kiss
Image:Petrograd Madonna (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Petrograd Madonna
Image:Motherhood (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Motherhood
File:On the Line of Fire (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, On the Line of Fire
Image:Sleep (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Dream
File:1919 Alarm (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, 1919. Alarm.
File:Boys playing (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Boys at play
File:Bathing of a Red Horse (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Bathing of a Red Horse
Image:Moving party (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, House-warming party
Image:Theatre Farce (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Theatre. Farce.
Image:Teatr drama (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Theatre. Tragedy.
Image:Herring (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Still-life with a Herring
Image:Bather's moring (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Bather's morning
Image:Fisherman's daughter (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Fisherman's Daughter
Image:Thirsty Warrior (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg, Thirsty Warrior
Image:Lenin (Petrov-Vodkin).jpg,
VIRTUAL TOUR Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. On the 140th Anniversary of the Artist’s Birth (Russian Museum, 2018)
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. Online gallery of Russian Museum works (130 items)
Art and Memorial Museum of Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Saratov Region, Russia
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painter. His early iconographic work used special creative effects based on the curve of the globe, but its images were considered blasphemous by the Russian Orthodox Church. However he went on to become the first president of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists">Leningrad Union of Soviet Artists. His autobiographical writings attracted much praise, and have enjoyed a later revival.
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_painter._His_early_iconographic_work_used_special_creative_effects_based_on_the_curve_of_the_globe,_but_its_images_were_considered_blasphemous_by_the_Russian_Orthodox_Church._However_he_went_on_to_become_the_first_president_of_the_Saint_Petersburg_Union_of_Artists.html" ;"title="USSR.html" "title="Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 24 October">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 24 October1878 – February 15, 1939) was a Russian and USSR">Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...Biography
Early years
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin was born in Khvalynsk (Saratov Oblast) into the family of a local shoemaker. His first exposure to art was in his early childhood, when he took some lessons from a couple of icon painters and a signmaker. Still, Petrov-Vodkin didn't quite see himself in art at that time; after graduating from middle school, he took a summer job at a small shipyard with plans to get into railroad college inSamara
Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population ...
. After failing his exam, he turned to "Art Classes of Fedor Burov" in 1896
In April 1895, Burov died and for some time Petrov-Vodkin took different painting jobs in the vicinity of Saratov. By chance, his mother's employer invited a well-known architect, Robert Meltzer ( ru). Petrov-Vodkin was introduced to the guest and impressed him enough to get an invitation to study art at Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. The education was financed by a charitable subscription among local merchants.
He also met at this time Victor Borisov-Musatov
Victor Elpidiforovich Borisov-Musatov (russian: Ви́ктор Эльпидифо́рович Бори́сов-Муса́тов), ( – ) was a Russian painter, prominent for his unique Post-Impressionistic style that mixed Symbolism, pure de ...
, an important painter resident in Saratov, who encouraged Petrov-Vodkin to continue his studies.
Petrov-Vodkin stayed in Saint Petersburg from 1895 to 1897 studying at the Stieglitz Academy, before moving to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (russian: Московское училище живописи, ваяния и зодчества, МУЖВЗ) also known by the acronym MUZHZV, was one of the largest educational insti ...
. There Petrov-Vodkin was a student of Valentin Serov
Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (russian: Валенти́н Алекса́ндрович Серо́в; 19 January 1865 – 5 December 1911) was a Russian painter and one of the premier portrait artists of his era.
Life and work
Youth and educ ...
, Isaak Levitan
Isaac Ilyich Levitan (russian: Исаа́к Ильи́ч Левита́н; – ) was a classical Russian landscape Painting, painter who advanced the genre of the "mood landscape".
Life and work
Youth
Isaac Levitan was born in a shtetl o ...
, and especially Konstantin Korovin
Konstantin Alekseyevich Korovin (russian: Константи́н Алексе́евич Коро́вин, first name often spelled Constantin; 11 September 1939) was a leading Russian Impressionist painter.
Biography
Youth and education
Konstan ...
. In 1901 he travelled to Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
to take classes with Anton Ažbe
Anton Ažbe (30 May 1862 – 5 or 6 August 1905) was a Slovene realist painter and teacher of painting.
Ažbe, crippled since birth and orphaned at the age of 8, learned painting as an apprentice to Janez Wolf and at the Academies in Vienna and ...
.
He graduated in 1904.
Beginning of independent work (1899-1912)
While in Paris in 1906 he met and married Maria Jovanovic (1885–1960), a daughter of Serbian immigrant hotel-keepers. She remained his lifelong companion. They had two daughters, one of whom died nverifiedin childhood.
Even during his college years, Petrov-Vodkin managed to enter into conflict with the Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
, which discarded his work on a chapel in Samara and ultimately destroyed it as unacceptable. A number of his early works were deemed too erotic
Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scu ...
. His first well-known work was ''The Dream'' (1910), which sparked a discussion among contemporary Russian artists. The main defender of the painting was Alexandre Benois
Alexandre Nikolayevich Benois (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Бенуа́, also spelled Alexander Benois; ,Salmina-Haskell, Larissa. ''Russian Paintings and Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum''. pp. 15, 23-24. Published by ...
; his main detractor was Ilya Repin
Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...
(hence, Petrov-Vodkin was discussed by two of the major Russian painters of the time). Other major works of that time include ''Boys at play'', and, notably, ''Bathing of a Red Horse'', (1912) his most iconic work - a symbol of the coming social changes. The latter became an instant classic, and, in a sense, trademark for the artist.
During this stage in his artistic development, Petrov-Vodkin extensively used an aesthetic of Orthodox icon together with brighter colours and unusual compositions. His works were often deemed blasphemous
Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...
and erotic.
Maturity (1912-1928)
From 1924 to 1926 Petrov-Vodkin lived in France with his family. In 1922 he painted a portrait of the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova
Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; uk, А́нна Андрі́ївна Горе́нко, Ánna Andríyivn ...
.
During his earlier years, Petrov-Vodkin developed his "''spherical perspective''": a unique twist that distorted the drawing as to represent the viewer high enough to actually notice the spherical curve of the globe.
He used it extensively through his works like ''Death of a Commissar'' and ''In the Line of Fire'', which make the observer seem more distant, but actually close. It is argued that this twist has been built upon Byzantine perspective - an inverted perspective used in iconography.
Petrov-Vodkin used darker tones with time, but his paintings became more detailed. He started painting still life
A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, bo ...
and portraits, stepping further away from his previous themes.
With help from the Soviet government, he made several trips across the Soviet Union, producing many works with didactic purposes.
Later years (1928-1937)
In 1927, Petrov-Vodkin contractedpulmonary tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
and had to curtail painting for several years. He turned to literature and wrote three major semi-autobiographical volumes, ''Khlynovsk'', ''Euclid's Space'' and ''Samarkandia''. The first two of these are considered on a par with the finest Russian literature of the time.
In the spring of 1932 the Central Committee of the Communist Party decreed that all existing literary and artistic groups and organizations should be disbanded and replaced with unified associations of creative professions. Accordingly, the Leningrad Union of Artists was established on 2 August 1932, which brought the history of post-revolutionary art to a close. The epoch of Soviet art began. Petrov-Vodkin was elected the first president of the Leningrad Union of Artists in 1932.
Petrov-Vodkin's other important pieces during this period include ''1919. Alarm.'' (1934).
In February 1939, Petrov-Vodkin died of tuberculosis in Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
Legacy
Until the mid-1960s, Petrov-Vodkin was nearly forgotten in the Soviet Union after his curtailment of painting and turn towards writing. Petrov-Vodkin writings were republished in the 1970s to a great acclaim, after a long period of neglect. His most famous literary works are the 3 self-illustrated autobiographical novellas: "Khlynovsk", "Euclidean Space" and "Samarkandia". The second of these is of particular importance, as it transmits Petrov-Vodkin worldview as an artist in great detail. Petrov-Vodkin also gave professional support to Rachel Kogan, who was his protégé and friend. The largest collection of Petrov-Vodkin's works is in the Russian Museum in St Petersburg, where, as of 2012, a whole room in the permanent exhibition is devoted to the painter. A memorial museum was also set up to Petrov-Vodkin in the house he built for his parents in his home town of Khvalynsk. It displays a selection of his works, as well as works by other Khvalynsk painters.Art and Memorial Museum of Kuzma S Petrov-Vodkin, listing at the Artist's Studio Museum Network http://artiststudiomuseum.org/studio-museums/art-and-memorial-museum-kuzma-s-petrov-vodkin/Works
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
See also
* Fine Art of LeningradReferences
External links
VIRTUAL TOUR Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. On the 140th Anniversary of the Artist’s Birth (Russian Museum, 2018)
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. Online gallery of Russian Museum works (130 items)
Art and Memorial Museum of Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Saratov Region, Russia
Bibliography
* Ivanov, Sergei. ''"Unknown Socialist Realism. The Leningrad School"''. Saint Petersburg, NP-Print, 2007, , {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrov-Vodkin, Kuzma 1878 births 1939 deaths People from Khvalynsk 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Modern painters Russian avant-garde Russian symbolism 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters 20th-century Russian painters Soviet painters Painters from Saint Petersburg Russian watercolorists Russian writers Soviet writers Tuberculosis deaths in the Soviet Union Tuberculosis deaths in Russia 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian male artists Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni