Ivan Alekseyevich Vladimirov, also John Wladimiroff () ( – 14 December 1947) was a Russian artist: painter and graphic artist. During the wars of 1904–1916, he became known as a

war artist A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Imperial War Museum (IWM)header phrase, "war shapes lives" ...

("batalist"). Afterwards, his reputation has become controversial. In the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, he was known for paintings that glorified 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 ...

."Владимиров Иван Алексеевич", in: ''

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') 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 ''Great Russian Enc ...

'' However, in the West and in Russia after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, he has become known for harshly critical imagery of the aftermath of the Revolution."The Double Vision of Battle Artist Ivan A. Vladimirov"
Russian print version: ''Окаянные годы : революция в Россииглазами художника Ивана Владимирова'', London : Ruzhnikov Publishing, Vicenza, Italy : Artveneto 2019Peter Harrington
"Views of War and Revolution in Russia"
/ref>Natalya Batorevich, ''Всю жизнь я служил России... Жизнь и творчество И. А. Владимирова'', Sankt-Petersburg, 2013, , a detailed biography by Vladimirov's granddaughterAnatoli Roshchin, ''Иван Алексеевич Владимиров. Жизнь и творчество. 1869 – 1947.'', Leningrad, 1970Иван Владимиров
/ref>

The two sides of the Revolution

Down with the eagle (2).jpeg, ''Down with the Eagle'' (tearing down symbols of the

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 ...

), 1917 Ivan Vladimirov on-the-streets-of-petrograd-1918.jpg, ''On the Streets of Petrograd'', 1918 Ivan Vladimirov requisitioning.jpg!HD.jpg, ''

Prodrazvyorstka ''Prodrazverstka'', also transliteration of Russian, transliterated ''prodrazvyorstka'' ( rus, продразвёрстка, p=prədrɐˈzvʲɵrstkə, short for , ), alternatively referred to in English as grain requisitioning, was a policy and ...

'' (grain requisitioning) Ivan Vladimirov russian-clergy-on-forced-labor-1919.jpg, ''Clergy on forced labour'', 1919 Ivan Vladimirov from-their-homes.jpg!HD.jpg, From their homes Некому защитить.jpg, ''No one to protect'', 1921

Biography

Ivan Vladimirov was born in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

to Russian intellectual Aleksei Porfirievich Vladimirov, a priest, and a British mother, Catherine Waghorn, a watercolor artist. In non-Russian documents, the family spelled their name as Wladimiroff and the artist spelled his name in English as John Wladimiroff. He is interred in the Serafimovskoe Cemetery, St. Petersburg.

Awards and decorations

*1946:

Honored Artist of the RSFSR Honored Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Zasluzhenny artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achievements in the ...

*1945:

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

, for the "fruitful activity in the field of Soviet art" *Various medals *1897: " of the first degree" title for the painting "Бой адыгейцев на реке Малке" ("The Battle of

Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...

by Malka River") *1890s: Awards for battle scenes

References

1869 births 1947 deaths 20th-century Russian artists Socialist realist artists Burials at Serafimovskoe Cemetery {{russia-artist-stub