Wilhelm Paul Christian Nikolai von Helmersen (, tr. ; August 23, 1873 – December 9, 1937) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

artist and book illustrator. He is known mostly for his illustrations to ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...

''.

Biography

Wilhelm von Helmersen was born in 1873 into the Baltic German noble Helmersen family, and was the grand nephew of the genealogist

Gregor von Helmersen Gregor von Helmersen or Grigory Petrovich Helmersen (, – ) was a Baltic German geologist. Biography Helmersen was born in Duckershof, Livonia (now in Estonia) and went to boarding school in St. Petersburg. He graduated from the Univers ...

. In 1899 he graduated from the

Saint Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

and began his career in the

Ministry of the Imperial Court The Ministry of the Imperial Court () was established in the Russian Empire in 1826, and embraced in one institution all the former separate branches of the Court administration. The Ministry of the Court was under the personal cognizance of Empe ...

. By 1908, he had risen to a Court Councilor and received the rank of Chamber Junker. However, in 1914, he quit the Ministry to work as an assistant director in the Palace Library of

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

. Since 1900, Helmersen was known for his silhouette artworks. He created illustrations to ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

Dead Souls ''Dead Souls'' ( , pre-reform spelling: ) is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The novel chronicles the travels and adventures of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov ...

A Hero of Our Time ''A Hero of Our Time'' ( rus, Герой нашего времени, links=1, r=Gerój nášego vrémeni, p=ɡʲɪˈroj ˈnaʂɨvə ˈvrʲemʲɪnʲɪ) is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839, published in 1840, and revised in 1841. It ...

The Shot The Shot was a game-winning jumpshot by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls during a 1989 playoff game between the Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It took place on May 7, 1989, at Richfield Coliseu ...

''. His works were included in the exhibitions at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...

. After the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, Helmersen worked in the

State Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (), formerly known as the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (), on Arts Square in Saint Petersburg, is the world's largest depository of Russian fine art. It is also one of the largest art museums in ...

and in the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

. In 1930, he was arrested as a result of a ''purge'' in the state institutions and sent to one of the Gulag prison camps. In 1937, he was executed like many other victims of the Great Purge.

''Eugene Onegin''

Helmersen's most famous work was a series of 100 illustrations to ''Eugene Onegin''. One of them was published in Vengerov's six-volume edition of Pushkin's works. In 1910s Nikolay Lerner intended to publish an edition of ''Eugene Onegin'' illustrated by Helmersen, but this was not realized (most likely because of the

World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

and the Revolution). In the Soviet period, another edition of ''Onegin'' with Helmersen's illustrations was prepared in the State Literary Museum to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Pushkin's death, but it was also canceled. The illustrations, however, were displayed in the

State Historical Museum The State Historical Museum () of Russia is a museum of History of Russia, Russian history located between Red Square and Manezhnaya Square, Moscow, Manege Square in Moscow. The museum's exhibitions range from relics of prehistoric tribes that li ...

during the Pushkin Anniversary Exhibition in 1937.«Russian Silhouette» (in Russian)
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Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmersen, Vasily Illustrators from the Russian Empire Russian people of German descent Silhouettists Artists from Saint Petersburg Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire 1873 births 1937 deaths Great Purge victims from Russia Soviet illustrators

Biography

''Eugene Onegin''

Gallery

See also

References