Dmitry Vlasyevich Aynalov ( rus, Дми́трий Вла́сьевич Айна́лов, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ˈvlasjevʲɪtɕ əjˈnalɐf; 20 February (8 February O.S.) 1862—12 December 1939) was a Soviet and Russian art historian, a

university professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

, a corresponding member of the

Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

(1914), and a member of the

Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (russian: Императорское православное палестинское общество, ИППО), is a scholarly organization for the study of the Middle East, founded on 8 May 1882 by , ...

. Penned more than 200 scholarly publications, including articles, lectures, reviews.

Early life

Aynalov was born in

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast ( Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russi ...

Yekaterinoslav Governorate The Yekaterinoslav Governorate (russian: Екатеринославская губерния, Yekaterinoslavskaya guberniya; uk, Катеринославська губернія, translit=Katerynoslavska huberniia) or Government of Yekaterinos ...

, on 20 February (8 February O.S.) 1862 in the family of a tradesman Vlasiya Dmitrievich Aynalov. His father was of part Greek descent. Dmitry Aynalov graduated from Mariupol Gymnasium in 1884 and then entered the History and Philology Department of the Novorossiya University in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

.Biography
in the

Great Soviet Encyclopaedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya en ...

He majored in art history and studied under the prominent art critic and archaeologist

Nikodim Kondakov Nikodim (or Nikodeme) Pavlovich Kondakov (russian: Никоди́м Па́влович Кондако́в; 1 (13) November 1844, Olshanka, Kursk Governorate, Russian Empire– 17 February 1925, Prague, Czechoslovakia), was an art ...

. He completed his student thesis in collaboration with Yegor Redin on the topic of the painting of the Saint Sophia's Cathedral. It was published in Saint Petersburg in 1889.

Career

After graduation in 1888 Dmitry Aynalov was assigned to the

Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

. For two years he was preparing to become a

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

in the field of art theory and art history. He accepted the position of an assistant professor at the

Kazan University Kazan (Volga region) Federal University (russian: Казанский (Приволжский) федеральный университет, tt-Cyrl, Казан (Идел буе) федераль университеты) is a public research uni ...

. In 1890-1903 he taught art history of the

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations ...

and

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

at that university's Department of Art Theory and Art History. He visited Italy in order to collect material for his dissertation, entitled ''The Hellenistic Foundations of the

Byzantine Art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...

''. He explored the works of art and monuments of Rome, Venice, Naples, Palermo, Parma, Florence and visited other Italian towns. After five years of work he successfully defended the dissertation on 27 November 1895. From 11 July 1903 he was a professor of the Saint Petersburg State University. He also taught at the

Bestuzhev Courses The Bestuzhev Courses (russian: Бестужевские курсы) in Saint Petersburg were the largest and most prominent women's higher education institution in Imperial Russia. The institute opened its doors in 1878. It was named after Konst ...

from 5 December 1906. On November 29, 1914 he became a corresponding member at the Academy of Sciences, the Russian Language and Literature Department. By this time he gained many awards, which earned him the rights to nobility. In 1922-1929 he worked 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 ...

. Aynalov had an interest in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

. As a member of the Russian Archaeological Society, he took part in meetings and fulfilled various requests, e.g. in 1904-1905 as requested by the Moscow Archaeological Society he studied the church architecture of

Chernigov 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 t ...

. He was particularly interested in

Chersonesus Chersonesus ( grc, Χερσόνησος, Khersónēsos; la, Chersonesus; modern Russian and Ukrainian: Херсоне́с, ''Khersones''; also rendered as ''Chersonese'', ''Chersonesos'', contracted in medieval Greek to Cherson Χερσώ� ...

and the

Crimean Peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

architecture. He retired in 1929 due to health issues. In the 1930s Aynalov was arrested, but later rehabilitated. He died 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 ...

in 1939, and was buried at the

Volkovo Cemetery The Volkovo Cemetery (also Volkovskoe) (russian: Во́лковское кла́дбище or Во́лково кла́дбище) is one of the largest and oldest non- Orthodox cemeteries in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Until the early 20th century i ...

with his spouse Nadezhda.

Publications

* ''Saint Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev'' (russian: Киевский Софийский собор), 1890; in collaboration with Yegor Redin * ''The Hellenistic Foundations of Byzantine Art'' (russian: Эллинистические основы византийского искусства), 1900 * ''The Christian Chersonesus Monuments'' (russian: Памятники христианского Херсонеса), 1901 * ''Études in the History of

Renaissance Art Renaissance art (1350 – 1620 AD) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occ ...

'' (russian: Этюды по истории искусства Возрождения), 1908 * ''Sketches and Notes on Kievan Rus' Art History'' (russian: Очерки и заметки по истории древнерусского искусства), 1914 * ''History of Kievan Rus' Art'' (russian: История древнерусского искусства), 1915 * ''Byzantine Paintings of the 14th century'' (russian: Византийская живопись XIV века), 1917 * ''Études about Leonardo da Vinci'' (russian: Этюды о Леонардо да Винчи), 1939

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aynalov, Dmitry 1862 births 1939 deaths People from Mariupol Soviet art historians Soviet male writers 20th-century male writers Russian art historians Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Odesa University alumni Curators from Saint Petersburg Soviet rehabilitations Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925) Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Historians of Byzantine art Russian people of Greek descent Soviet people of Greek descent