Yury Pavlovich Annenkov (, also known as Georges Annenkov; – 12 July 1974),Names by which he is credited for his work on films include ''Georges Annenkov'', ''Georges Annet'', and ''D'Annenkoff''. Sometimes he signed his work ''G. Annenkoff.'

was a

Russian avant-garde The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of avant-garde modern art that flourished in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, approximately from 1890 to 1930—although some have placed its beginning as early as 1850 and its e ...

draughtsman and painter mostly known for his book illustrations and portraits. He also worked in theatre and cinema (design). Annenkov was a leading member of

Mir Iskusstva ''Mir iskusstva'' ( rus, «Мир искусства», p=ˈmʲir ɪˈskustvə, ''World of Art'') was both a Russian magazine and the artistic movement it fostered, playing a significant role in shaping the Russian avant-garde. The movement was d ...

. In his essay "On

Synthetism Synthetism is a term used by Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist artists like Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard and Louis Anquetin to distinguish their work Style (visual arts), stylistically from Impressionism. Earlier, ''Synthetism'' has been conne ...

" (1922),

Yevgeny Zamyatin Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin ( rus, Евге́ний Ива́нович Замя́тин, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ zɐˈmʲætʲɪn; – 10 March 1937), sometimes anglicized as Eugene Zamyatin, was a Russian author of science fictio ...

writes that " nnenkovhas a keen awareness of the extraordinary rush and dynamism of our epoch. His sense of time is developed to the hundredth of a second. He has the knack--characteristic of Synthetism--of giving only the synthetic essence of things." Yury Annenkov was born into a well-known family (among his ancestors was Pavel Annenkov,

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

's publisher); his father, Pavel Annenkov was involved with revolutionary activities that led him to exile in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. The Annenkovs moved back to St. Petersburg in 1892. In 1908, Annenkov entered the University of St. Petersburg and attended Savely Seidenberg's studio classes, together with

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

. Next year, 1909, he attended Jan Ciągliński's studio. In 1911–1912, Annenkov moved to Paris to work in the studios of

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, ...

and

Félix Vallotton Félix Édouard Vallotton (; December 28, 1865December 29, 1925) was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as '. He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portra ...

. In 1913, Annenkov worked in Switzerland. Upon his return to St. Petersburg in 1914, Annenkov mostly contributed to magazines (''Satirikon'', ''Teatr i Iskusstvo'', ''Otechestvo'') and worked for theatres.

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

's fairy-tale book, ''Samovar'', published in 1917 was his first work as a book designer. His recognition as a book illustrator came in the wake of his most known work — designing

Alexander Blok Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...

's poem, " The Twelve", published in 1918 and going through three printings within a year. In the next few years Annenkov designed numerous books for

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

authors ( Mikhail Kuzmin and

Aleksey Remizov Aleksey Mikhailovich Remizov (; in Moscow – 26 November 1957 in Paris) was a Russian modernist writer whose creative imagination veered to the fantastic and bizarre. Apart from literary works, Remizov was an expert calligrapher who sought to ...

, to name a few). In 1919 Annenkov designed and staged "First Distiller, or How an Imp Earned a Hunk of Bread", a comedy by Count Lev Tolstoi. Commissioned by the Bolshevik government, Annenkov together with Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, S. Maslovski and A. Kugel, designed and staged the open-air mystery "Liberated Labour Anthem" on 1 May 1920 in

. Later that year, Annenkov staged and designed another mass show, The Storming of the Winter Palace, part of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

anniversary celebrations in

Palace Square Palace Square ( rus, Дворцо́вая пло́щадь, r=Dvortsovaya Ploshchad, p=dvɐrˈtsovəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ), connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersb ...

, Petrograd. In 1919-1920 Annenkov made a series of abstract sculptural assemblages and collages, influenced by the

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

movement. 1922 saw his book "Portraits". It contained 80 pictures of the key-figures of Russian art of the time ( Gorki, Zamyatin, Remizov, Sologub, Blok, Akhmatova a.o.) made in 1906–1921. The book also included essays by

and Mikhail Kuzmin. He joined the

. Annenkov left the Soviet Union in July 1924, first living in Germany and later settling in Paris. He continued to work as an artist and served as a costume designer for motion pictures. He was co-nominated with Rosine Delamare for the

Academy Award for Best Costume Design The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design. The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 1948 ...

for their work in the film '' The Earrings of Madame de...'' (1953). In 1934 he wrote a satyrical novel ''A Tale of Trivia'' (''Повесть о пустяках'') under a pen name ''B. Temiriasev''. The novel takes place between the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

and

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Annenkov, Yury 1889 births 1974 deaths People from Petropavl People from Akmolinsk Oblast (Russian Empire) 20th-century Russian painters

Yury Jury, Jurij, Iurii, Iouri, Yury, Yuri, Youri, Yurii, Yuriy or Yurij is the Slavic (, or , or , or ) form of the masculine given name George; it is derived directly from the Greek form Georgios and related to Polish Jerzy, Czech Jiří, and Slo ...

Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Burials at the Cimetière parisien de Bagneux Soviet emigrants to France Soviet costume designers Soviet novelists 20th-century pseudonymous writers Mir iskusstva artists