Mitrofan Borisovich Grekov (Russian: Митрофан Борисович Греков; born: Mitrofan Pavlovich Martyshchenko; 15 June O.S. 3 June">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 3 June 1882 – November 27, 1934) was a Russian and Soviet painter, considered to be the "father of Soviet battle painting".

Biography

Born in a Cossack family, at the age of 15, he went to study painting, first at the Odesa Art School (with Kiriyak Kostandi), then 5 years later, after successfully passing the exams, he ended up at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he studied with Ilya Repin">Imperial Academy of Arts">St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he studied with Ilya Repin and Franz Roubaud. During his studies, he worked on Roubaud's panoramas "Defense of Sevastopol" and "Battle of Borodino". In 1911, for the competitive work "Oxen in the Plow" he was awarded the title of artist. From 1912 he served in the Life Guards Ataman Regiment. During the First World War he fought for three years at the front, from where he made many sketches. As a result of a serious injury and health problems, he was demobilized in 1917. During the

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 ...

, he volunteered for the

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 ...

in 1920. In the 1920s, he painted the First Cavalry Army of Budyonny and created a series of battle paintings dedicated to the victories of the Reds over the Whites.''Лазарев С. Е.'' Между белыми и красными: судьба военного художника М. Б. Грекова (к 135-летию со дня рождения) // Преподавание истории в школе, 2017 Mitrophan Grekov - photo 2

In 1927, the first personal exhibition of Mitrofan Grekov was held in Novocherkassk. In 1930 he became a member of the

Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia The Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (, ''Assotsiatsia khudozhnikov revolutsionnoi Rossii'', 1922–1928), later known as Association of Artists of the Revolution (Ассоциация художников революции, ''Assots ...

(AHRR). In 1931 he moved to Moscow. He died on November 27, 1934, in Sevastopol, working on the Perekop panorama. He was buried in Moscow at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Memory

* Grekov Odesa Art School, the Rostov art school, and the studio of military artists in Moscow (working since 1934) are named after M. B. Grekov. * The House-Museum of Mitrofan Grekov operates in Novocherkassk. * The M. B. Grekov Medal was established in 1966 by the Ministry of Culture of the USSR, the

Union of Artists of the USSR The Artists' Union of the USSR () was a creative union of the Soviet artists and art critics embracing the Republics A republic, based on the Latin phrase '' res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which politic ...

and the GPU of the SA and the Navy for the best works of fine art on a military-patriotic theme. From 1967 to 1991, one gold and three silver medals were awarded to them on Victory Day. * Grekova street in Minsk. * The artist's works are kept in the collections of the House-Museum, the

State 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 ...

, etc

Gallery

File:Mitrophan Grekov 01.jpg File:Mitrophan Grekov 02.jpg File:Mitrophan Grekov 03.jpg File:Mitrophan Grekov 34 - On the way to Tsaritsyn.jpg File:Mitrophan Grekov 33 - Stalin, Voroshilov and Shchadenko in the trenches Tsaritsyn.jpg File:Mitrophan Grekov 27.jpg File:Mitrophan Grekov 19.jpg File:На пути к Царицыну.jpg

References

External links

Mitrofan Grekov studio website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grekov, Mitrofan 1882 births 1934 deaths Painters from the Russian Empire Soviet painters War artists from the Russian Empire Repin Institute of Arts alumni Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery People from Don Host Oblast