Stepan Grigoryevich Pisakhov (russian: Степан Григорьевич Писахов; , Arkhangelsk – 3 May 1960, Arkhangelsk) was a Russian Empire and Soviet artist, writer, oral storyteller, and ethnographer.

Biography

Stepan Pisakhov was born into a merchant family; at the same time his father was a craftsman – a jeweler and engraver. His mother came from a family of

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...

. After completing his early schooling in Arkhangelsk, Pisakhov studied in the Baron Stieglitz’ Arts College in

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

. He continued his education as an artist in Paris and in a private Petersburg studio.

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 ...

himself invited him to work in his studio. In 1899 Stepan Pisakhov participated in an art exhibition in Petersburg, and in 1907 his paintings were displayed in Rome, and in 1910 in his native Arkhangelsk; in 1912 he was awarded a silver medal at an art exhibition in Petersburg. His grandmother’s brother, Grandpa Leontiy, was a professional folktale narrator, and from his early childhood the future writer lived amid the rich word-creation traditions of the

Russian North Russian North (russian: Русский Север) is an ethnocultural region situated in the northwestern part of Russia. It spans the regions of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, Komi Republic, Vologda Oblast and Nenets Autonomous ...

. Stepan Pisakhov started composing and recounting his tales quite early, but rarely put them down on paper. The peculiarity of his texts, which were first and foremost intended for listening audiences, was conditioned by their spoken origin. Only in 1924 were his tales from the ''Northern Munchausen'' cycle published in the collection ''On the Northern Dvina''. In 1927 northern folktales recorded and commented upon by Stepan Pisakhov were published in the almanac “Sovetskaya Strana”. In 1938–1940 Pisakhov’s own tales (in two volumes) first saw the light in Arkhangelsk. The geography of Pisakhov’s active creative scope stretched from

Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...

to Cairo. For an artist he had received myriad impressions from his travels as a young man in Italy, France, Turkey and Egypt. Yet his major focus, both as a writer and an artist, was his native North - its images, folklore and speech. Pisakhov explored the coastline of the White Sea, visited

, the waters of the

Yugorsky Shar Strait The Yugorsky Strait or Yugor Strait (russian: Югорский Шар, or Yugorsky Shar) is a narrow sound between the Kara Sea and the Pechora Sea. Its maximum width is 10 km and its minimum width only 3 km. Ostrov Storozhevoy, an i ...

that connects the

Barents Barents may refer to: *René Barents (born 1951), Dutch judge and legal scholar *Willem Barents (c. 1550–1597), Dutch navigator and explorer *Barents AirLink, a Swedish airline *Barents Island (), an island in the Svalbard archipelago, part of ...

and Kara Seas, and took part in Arctic expeditions. Most of his tales are set in the village of Uyma, a few kilometres upriver from Arkhangelsk. The

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

and narrator of the tales, a Pomor peasant from Uyma, has the name of Semyon (Senya) Malina. Pisakhov, along with Aleksandr Borisov and Tyko Vylka, is considered to be the founder of Russian Arctic painting, and initially his works were featured prominently in the

Arkhangelsk Museum of Fine Arts Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near i ...

. In 2008, the

Stepan Pisakhov Museum Stepan ( uk, Степань; pl, Stepań; he, סטפאן) is an urban-type settlement in Sarny Raion (district) of Rivne Oblast (province) in western Ukraine. Its population was 4,073 as of the 2001 Ukrainian Census. Current population: The ...

was opened in Arkhangelsk, and his paintings were then transferred to this museum.

References

External links

Biography of Stepan Pisakhov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pisakhov, Stepan 1879 births 1960 deaths Folklore writers People from Arkhangelsk Pomors Folklorists from the Russian Empire Writers from the Russian Empire Soviet folklorists Soviet writers