Aleksandr Vasilievich Nikolayev (; 30 August 1897 – 27 June 1957), also known as Usto Mumin (), was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

painter of Russian origin, who lived and worked in the

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

Biography

Early years

Alexander Nikolayev was born in Voronezh in 1897. His father was a military engineer, who traveled extensively around

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, taking the family with him, before settling permanently in Voronezh in 1914. Nikolayev studied in the Sumsk Military School from 1908 till 1916. There he met his first painting teacher Nikolay Evlampiev. After military school he served in

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

in 1916–1917. After army studied in

Uhlan Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Polis ...

School in

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

till 1918, when he started to attend the art studio of Alexander Buchkuri in

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

. He began to study in the Second State Free Art Studio in Moscow in 1919 under

Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (

. Shortly after the beginning of his studies he was drafted to

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and sent to the front.

Central Asia

Nikolayev was sent to Tashkent after demobilization in 1920. His mission was to develop art and culture in new Soviet Central Asia and work closely with

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

Central Executive Committee. He moved to

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

in spring 1921. Nikolayev fell in love with Central Asia. The local culture and traditions started to influence and inspire his life and art. Nikolayev became a member of the circle of artists around Daniil Stepanov (1921– 1924). The group shared a common interest in Italy, specifically the

Quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...

. There is a legend that said Alexander Nikolayev converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, which cannot be supported by any official documents because of the persecution of religion by Soviet authorities after the revolution. He received a new name from his pupils - Usto Mumin, which means "Faithful and Gentle Master". In 1925, Usto Mumin moved back to Tashkent. He moved to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 1929 and a year later, in 1930 returned to Uzbekistan.

Arrest and imprisonment

He was working as a director of Uzbek Pavilion at Union Agricultural Exhibition in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, when he was unexpectedly arrested and imprisoned. One of the reasons for his arrest was his homosexuality. Many of his works, painted in his early Uzbek period had homoerotic themes and used

Bacha bazi ''Bacha bāzī'' (, Pashto and Dari: بچه بازی, Literal translation, lit. 'boy play') refers to a pederasty, pederastic practice in Afghanistan in which men exploit and Slavery, enslave adolescent boys for entertainment and/or Sexual ...

as a subject. One of his most well-known paintings "Pomegranate Zeal", which is in the iconographic tradition, tells the story of two young boys from the moment they meet until their death. He spent four years in prison and was released in 1942. He was not allowed to paint while in prison.

Later years

After release, Nikolaev returned to Uzbekistan and continued to work as illustrator and theatre designer. He received a Honorary Award from the Central Executive Committee of the

Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Communist ...

for his role in establishing the Uighur Theatre in Tashkent. Nikolayev died in Tashkent in 1957.

Exhibitions and collections

Usto Mumin's works are in collections of museums in post-Soviet countries, including the

State Museum of Oriental Art The State Museum of Oriental Art () is one of the biggest cultural institutions in the world for preservation, research, and display of Oriental art. The museum was founded in 1918 as a part of soviet programme to support unique cultures of USSR ...

in Moscow, the Nukus Museum of Art and the Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan. He exhibited throughout the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during his lifetime, including the exhibition "Old Samarkand" in

in 1924, the Jubilee Exhibition of Soviet Art in Moscow in 1927 and several exhibitions in Tashkent. The

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Muscovite merchant Pavel ...

exhibited works of Usto Mumin in 2010 as part of its Russian Orientalist paintings exhibition.

Notable exhibitions

*1935. "Exhibition of Six". Curated by Fedor Shmit. Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan,

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

*2006. "Ecstasy of Usto Mumin". Ilkhom Theatre gallery.

*2013. "Echo of Vanguard". Ilkhom Theatre gallery.

*2017. "Retrospective of XX century Uzbek art". Uzbekistan Academy of Arts.

In modern culture

Tashkent theatre Ilkhom created a project "Pomegranate Zeal" after Usto Mumin. It is a play combined with an exhibition of Usto Mumin's paintings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolayev, Aleksandr 1897 births 1957 deaths Artists from Tashkent Russian LGBTQ painters People from Samarkand 20th-century Russian painters 20th-century Russian LGBTQ people Soviet LGBTQ people