Sergey Sergeyevich Solomko (russian: Сергей Сергеевич Соломко; 22 August 1867 in

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 ...

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. ...

– 2 February 1928 in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Imperial painter, watercolorist, illustrator and designer.

Life and work

He was the son of Colonel (later, Major-General) Sergey Solomko (1835-1897),Brief Biography
@ ArtRZ. who was employed in the service of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, and he grew up in the

Konstantinovsky Palace Strelna ( rus, Стре́льна, p=ˈstrʲelʲnə) is a municipal settlement in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, about halfway between Saint Petersburg proper and Petergof, and overlooking the shore of ...

. He was born in a well known Noble family. His ancestors paternal sides were Cossacks of Korop hundred in the Nezhin regiment. On his mother's side, he was one of the Russian nobles from Zanodvorov family. From 1883 to 1887, he attended 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 ...

then, for a year, audited classes at the

Imperial 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 T ...

.Biographical notes
@ RusArtNet. Around this time, he began work as a magazine illustrator. His first known work of this type was for ''Север'' (North) a weekly literary journal that began publication in 1888. Shortly after, he was employed by '' Нива'' (Grainfield), which was Russia's most popular magazine at the end of the 19th century. He also worked for ' (World of Art) and a satirical journal called ''Шут'' (The Fool). In the 1890s, he worked for

Aleksey Suvorin Aleksei Sergeyevich Suvorin (Russian: Алексей Сергеевич Суворин, 11 September 1834, Korshevo, Voronezh Governorate – 11 August 1912, Tsarskoye Selo) was a Russian newspaper and book publisher and journalist whose pub ...

, providing illustrations for stories by

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

and

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

and the poem ''

The Song of the Merchant Kalashnikov A Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, the Young Oprichnik, and the Valorous Merchant Kalashnikov (Russian: Песня про царя Ивана Васильевича, молодого опричника и удалого купца Калашни ...

'' by

Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

. In 1901, he was one of several artists who illustrated a special edition of '' Dead Souls'' by

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

, published by

Adolf Marks Adolf Fyodorovich Marx (russian: Адо́льф Фёдорович Маркс; 2 February 1838 – ), last name also spelled Marcks and recently Marks, known as A. F. Marx, was an influential 19th-century German publisher in Russia best known fo ...

. He also designed theater posters and a popular series of postcards depicting old Russia, published by Maison Lapine of Paris. Solomko-Pillory

After 1900, his popularity led him to try his hand at a wider variety of design projects. He created models for the Imperial Porcelain Factory and worked with the

House of Fabergé The House of Fabergé (; Russian: Дом Фаберже) was a jewellery firm founded in 1842 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, by Gustav Faberge, using the accented name ''Fabergé''. Gustav's sons – Peter Carl and Agathon – and grandsons follo ...

. In 1903, for the famous Ball in the Winter Palace, he consulted with experts and created sketches for elaborate historical costumes. Guests at the ball paid a fortune for them, as many were made with real jewelry. Later, a limited edition gift album with photographs of the participants was published, with "donations" benefitting Russian troops in the Far East. Some of the original costumes were displayed at the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest ...

in 2003."Images from Russia's Last Imperial Ball"
@ the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, an ...

. In 1910, he moved to Paris, but continued to exhibit in Russia and contribute to Russian magazines. During World War I, under the direction of the "Комиссия для сбора и хранения трофеев настоящей войны" (Commission to Collect and Store the Spoils of War), he painted portraits of the officers of the

Russian Expeditionary Force in France The Russian Expeditionary Force EF(french: Corps Expéditionnaire Russe en France, russian: Экспедиционный корпус Русской армии во Франции и Греции) was a World War I military force sent to France a ...

for eventual use in a war museum. After the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, he fell out of favor with the new government, became a self-imposed exile, and began to work with those who had recently left Russia. Drawing on his earlier costume design experience, he created costumes for the dancers

Mathilde Kschessinska Mathilde-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinska ( pl, Matylda Maria Krzesińska, russian: Матильда Феликсовна Кшесинская; 6 December 1971; also known as Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya after her marriage) was a Polish ...

and

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...

. He also created illustrations for books by French authors, including Émile Gebhart, Ernest Renan and

Albert Samain Albert Victor Samain (3 April 185818 August 1900) was a French poet and writer of the Symbolist school. Life and works Born in Lille, his family were Flemish and had long lived in the town or its suburbs. At the time of the poet's birth, his fat ...

. In 1921, he participated in an exhibition staged by exiles from the former

(renamed the "Petrograd Free Art Educational Studios"). Four years later, he helped establish the "Russian Art and Industry Institute". He became seriously ill not long after, and died while convalescing at the "Maison Russe", a retirement home for

White émigré White Russian émigrés were Russians who emigrated from the territory of the former Russian Empire in the wake of the Russian Revolution (1917) and Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and who were in opposition to the revolutionary Bolshevik commun ...

s just south of Paris. During the Soviet period, he was criticized for "decadence" and "bourgeois vulgarity". In the 1990s, interest in his work was renewed. It is especially valued for its accurate and detailed depictions of old Russian culture.

Selected postcards

File:Sergey Solomko 015.jpg, Beguiled File:Sergey Solomko 006.jpeg, Seventeenth-Century Scene File:Sergey Solomko 027.JPG, Fantasy File:Sergey Solomko 011.jpg, The New Russia

References

External links

More works by Solomko
@ WikiArt
An appreciation of Solomko
and his postcards @ Slawa {{DEFAULTSORT:Solomko, Sergey 1867 births 1928 deaths 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters 20th-century Russian painters Russian illustrators Russian watercolorists Russian costume designers Russian poster artists Postcard artists Jewellery designers Russian emigrants to France Painters from Saint Petersburg 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian male artists Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni Imperial Academy of Arts alumni

Life and work

Selected postcards

References

Further reading

External links