Mykola Semyonovich Samokish (russian: Микола Семенович Самокиш; translit.: ''Nikolay Semyonovich Samokish''; 25 October 1860,

Nizhyn Nizhyn ( uk, Ні́жин, Nizhyn, ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It ...

Chernihiv Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

- 18 January 1944,

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

) was a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

painter and illustrator of

Ukrainian 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 ...

descent who specialized in

military art Military art is art with a military subject matter, regardless of its style or medium. The battle scene is one of the oldest types of art in developed civilizations, as rulers have always been keen to celebrate their victories and intimidate po ...

and

animal painting An animal painter is an artist who specialises in (or is known for their skill in) the portrayal of animals. The '' OED'' dates the first express use of the term "animal painter" to the mid-18th century: by English physician, naturalist and wr ...

. 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 with the family of his maternal grandfather, who was a Cossack. Later, he graduated from Nezhin Lyceum of Prince Bezborodko. His first attempt to enroll at the St. Petersburg Academy of arts was unsuccessful, but he gained an endorsement from an associate of Professor

Bogdan Willewalde Bogdan Pavlovich Willewalde (russian: Богдан Павлович Виллевальде, german: link=no, Gottfried Willewalde; January 12, 1819, Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg – March 24, 1903, Dresden) was a Russian Imperial artist, academic, ...

, was admitted, and studied there from 1879 to 1885 with Mikhail Clodt and

Valery Jacobi Valery Ivanovich Jacobi (russian: Валерий Иванович Якоби or Якобий; , Kudryakovo, Kazan Governorate, Russia - 13 May 1902, Nice, France) was a Russian painter Brief biography
@ Maslovka. His painting "Прогулка" (the Walk) was bought by

Pavel Tretyakov Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov (russian: Па́вел Миха́йлович Третьяко́в; 27 December 1832 – 16 December 1898) was a Russian businessman, patron of art, collector, and philanthropist who gave his name to the Tretyakov Ga ...

.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 Franz Roubaud (russian: Франц Алексеевич Рубо, translit=Franc Alekseevič Rubo; french: François Iwan Roubaud; June 15, 1856 - March 13, 1928) was a Russian painter who created some of the largest and best known panoramic pain ...

travelled to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

to create some large works for a panorama at the military history museum of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

. 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 The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

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, 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 Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus n ...

.Brief biography of Elena
@ Yandex. In 1918, after the old Academy was abolished, he moved to

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Cri ...

with the Armed Forces of South Russia 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 Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Marko Vovchok, ''Mykola Dzherya'' by

Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky Ivan Semenovych Nechuy-Levytsky (born Levytsky; – 2 April 1918) was a well-known Ukrainian writer. Biography Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky was born on to the family of a peasant priest in Stebliv (Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine). In 1847 he en ...

, ''

Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (russian: «Тарас Бульба»; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons And ...

'' by Nikolai Gogol and ''Imperial Hunting in Russia'' by Nikolai Kutepov. He and his wife worked together to illustrate '' Dead Souls'' and create murals for the Tsarskoye Selo railway station. 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 Troika or troyka (from Russian тройка, meaning 'a set of three') may refer to: Cultural tradition * Troika (driving), a traditional Russian harness driving combination, a cultural icon of Russia * Troika (dance), a Russian folk dance Pol ...

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