Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
Encyclopedia
Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin, (1878, Khvalynsk
, now Saratov Oblast
—February 15, 1939, Leningrad
) was an important Russia
n and Soviet painter and writer.
(Saratov Oblast
) into the family of a local shoemaker. His first exposure to art was in his early childhood, when he took some lessons from a couple of icon
painters and a signmaker. Still, Petrov-Vodkin didn't quite see himself in art at that time; after graduating from middle school, he took a summer job at a small shipyard with plans to get into railroad college in Samara
. After failing his exam, he turned to "Art Classes of Fedor Burov" in 1893.
In April 1895, Burov died and for some time Petrov-Vodkin took different painting jobs in the vicinity of Saratov. By chance, his mother's employer invited a well-known architect, R. Meltzer. Petrov-Vodkin was introduced to the guest and impressed him enough to get an invitation to study art at Saint Petersburg
. The education was financed by a charitable subscription among local merchants.
He also met at this time Borisov-Musatov, an important painter resident in Saratov, who encouraged Petrov-Vodkin to continue his studies.
Petrov-Vodkin stayed in Saint Petersburg from 1895 to 1897 studying at the Baron Stieglits School, before moving to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
. There Petrov-Vodkin was a student of Valentin Serov
, Isaak Levitan and especially Konstantin Korovin
. In 1901 he travelled to Munich
to take classes with Anton Ažbe
.
He graduated in 1904.
Even during his college years, Petrov-Vodkin managed to enter into conflict with the Russian Orthodox Church
, which discarded his work on a chapel in Samara and ultimately destroyed it as unacceptable. A number of his early works were deemed too erotic. His first well-known work was The Dream (1910), which sparked a discussion among contemporary Russian artists. The main defender of the painting was Alexandre Benois
; his main detractor was Ilya Repin (hence, Petrov-Vodkin was discussed by two of the major Russian painters of the time). Other major works of that time include Boys at play, and, notably, Bathing of a Red Horse, his most iconic work. The latter became an instant classic, and, in a sense, trademark for the artist.
During this stage in his artistic development, Petrov-Vodkin extensively used an aesthetic of Orthodox icon together with brighter colours and unusual compositions. His works were often deemed blasphemous
and erotic.
From 1924 to 1926 Petrov-Vodkin lived in France with his family. In 1922 he painted a portrait of the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova
.
During his earlier years, Petrov-Vodkin developed his "spherical perspective
": a unique twist that distorted the drawing as to represent the viewer high enough to actually notice the spherical curve of the globe.
He used it extensively through his works like Death of a Commissar and In the Line of Fire, which make the observer seem more distant, but actually close. It is argued that this twist has been built upon Byzantine perspective
- an inverted perspective used in iconography.
Petrov-Vodkin used darker tones with time, but his paintings became more detailed. He started painting still life
and portraits, stepping further away from his previous themes.
With help from the Soviet government, he made several trips across the Soviet Union, producing many works with didactic purposes.
In the spring of 1932 the Central Committee of the Communist Party decreed that all existing literary and artistic groups and organizations should be disbanded and replaced with unified associations of creative professions. Accordingly, the Leningrad Union of Artists was established on 2 August 1932, which brought the history of post-revolutionary art to a close. The epoch of Soviet art began. K. Petrov-Vodkin was elected the first president of the Leningrad Union of Artists in 1932.
Petrov-Vodkin's other important pieces during this period include 1919. Alarm. (1934).
Petrov-Vodkin died of tuberculosis in February 1939.
Petrov-Vodkin writings were republished in the 1970s to a great acclaim, after a long period of neglect. His most famous literary works are the 3 self-illustrated autobiographical novellas: "Khlynovsk", "Euclidean Space" and "Samarcandia". The second of these is of particular importance, as it transmits Petrov-Vodkin worldview as an artist in great detail.
Khvalynsk
Khvalynsk is a river port town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located by the Volga River. Population: 16,000 .It was founded in 1556 as a Russian outpost on the Sosnovy Island on the Volga. In 1606, the whole settlement was relocated to the spot of today's Khvalynsk and came to be known as Sosnovy...
, now Saratov Oblast
Saratov Oblast
Saratov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. Population: -Demographics:Population:...
—February 15, 1939, Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
) was an important Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n and Soviet painter and writer.
Early years
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin was born in KhvalynskKhvalynsk
Khvalynsk is a river port town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located by the Volga River. Population: 16,000 .It was founded in 1556 as a Russian outpost on the Sosnovy Island on the Volga. In 1606, the whole settlement was relocated to the spot of today's Khvalynsk and came to be known as Sosnovy...
(Saratov Oblast
Saratov Oblast
Saratov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. Population: -Demographics:Population:...
) into the family of a local shoemaker. His first exposure to art was in his early childhood, when he took some lessons from a couple of icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
painters and a signmaker. Still, Petrov-Vodkin didn't quite see himself in art at that time; after graduating from middle school, he took a summer job at a small shipyard with plans to get into railroad college in Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
. After failing his exam, he turned to "Art Classes of Fedor Burov" in 1893.
In April 1895, Burov died and for some time Petrov-Vodkin took different painting jobs in the vicinity of Saratov. By chance, his mother's employer invited a well-known architect, R. Meltzer. Petrov-Vodkin was introduced to the guest and impressed him enough to get an invitation to study art at Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. The education was financed by a charitable subscription among local merchants.
He also met at this time Borisov-Musatov, an important painter resident in Saratov, who encouraged Petrov-Vodkin to continue his studies.
Petrov-Vodkin stayed in Saint Petersburg from 1895 to 1897 studying at the Baron Stieglits School, before moving to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow in 1832, and the Palace School of Architecture, established in 1749 by Dmitry Ukhtomsky. By...
. There Petrov-Vodkin was a student of Valentin Serov
Valentin Serov
Valentin Alexandrovich Serov was a Russian painter, and one of the premier portrait artists of his era.-Youth and education:...
, Isaak Levitan and especially Konstantin Korovin
Konstantin Korovin
Konstantin Alekseyevich Korovin was a leading Russian Impressionist painter.-Biography:Konstantin was born in Moscow to a merchant family officially registered as "peasants of Vladimir Gubernia". His father, Aleksey Mikhailovich Korovin, earned a university degree and was more interested in arts...
. In 1901 he travelled to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
to take classes with Anton Ažbe
Anton Ažbe
Anton Ažbe was a Slovene realist painter and teacher of painting.Ažbe, crippled since birth and orphaned at the age of 8, learned painting as an apprentice to Janez Wolf and at the Academies in Vienna and Munich. At the age of 30 Ažbe founded his own school of painting in Munich that became a...
.
He graduated in 1904.
Beginning of independent work (1899-1912)
While in Paris in 1906 he met and married Maria Jovanovic (1885–1960), a daughter of Serbian immigrant hotel-keepers. She remained his lifelong companion. They had two daughters, one of whom died [unverified] in childhood.Even during his college years, Petrov-Vodkin managed to enter into conflict with the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, which discarded his work on a chapel in Samara and ultimately destroyed it as unacceptable. A number of his early works were deemed too erotic. His first well-known work was The Dream (1910), which sparked a discussion among contemporary Russian artists. The main defender of the painting was Alexandre Benois
Alexandre Benois
Alexandre Nikolayevich Benois , an influential artist, art critic, historian, preservationist, and founding member of Mir iskusstva , an art movement and magazine...
; his main detractor was Ilya Repin (hence, Petrov-Vodkin was discussed by two of the major Russian painters of the time). Other major works of that time include Boys at play, and, notably, Bathing of a Red Horse, his most iconic work. The latter became an instant classic, and, in a sense, trademark for the artist.
During this stage in his artistic development, Petrov-Vodkin extensively used an aesthetic of Orthodox icon together with brighter colours and unusual compositions. His works were often deemed blasphemous
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
and erotic.
Maturity (1912-1928)
Anna Akhmatova
Anna Andreyevna Gorenko , better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova , was a Russian and Soviet modernist poet, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Russian canon.Harrington p11...
.
During his earlier years, Petrov-Vodkin developed his "spherical perspective
Perspective (graphical)
Perspective in the graphic arts, such as drawing, is an approximate representation, on a flat surface , of an image as it is seen by the eye...
": a unique twist that distorted the drawing as to represent the viewer high enough to actually notice the spherical curve of the globe.
He used it extensively through his works like Death of a Commissar and In the Line of Fire, which make the observer seem more distant, but actually close. It is argued that this twist has been built upon Byzantine perspective
Reverse perspective
Reverse perspective, also called inverse perspective, inverted perspective or Byzantine perspective, is a convention of perspective drawing where the further the objects are, the larger they are drawn. The lines diverge against the horizon, rather than converge as in linear perspective...
- an inverted perspective used in iconography.
Petrov-Vodkin used darker tones with time, but his paintings became more detailed. He started painting still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
and portraits, stepping further away from his previous themes.
With help from the Soviet government, he made several trips across the Soviet Union, producing many works with didactic purposes.
Later years (1928-1937)
In 1927, Petrov-Vodkin contracted pulmonary tuberculosis and had to curtail painting for several years. He turned to literature and wrote three major semi-autobiographical volumes, Khvalynsk, Euclid's Space and Samarkandia. The first two of these are considered on a par with the finest Russian literature of the time.In the spring of 1932 the Central Committee of the Communist Party decreed that all existing literary and artistic groups and organizations should be disbanded and replaced with unified associations of creative professions. Accordingly, the Leningrad Union of Artists was established on 2 August 1932, which brought the history of post-revolutionary art to a close. The epoch of Soviet art began. K. Petrov-Vodkin was elected the first president of the Leningrad Union of Artists in 1932.
Petrov-Vodkin's other important pieces during this period include 1919. Alarm. (1934).
Petrov-Vodkin died of tuberculosis in February 1939.
Legacy
Until the mid-1960s, Petrov-Vodkin was nearly forgotten in the Soviet Union after his curtailment of painting and turn towards writing.Petrov-Vodkin writings were republished in the 1970s to a great acclaim, after a long period of neglect. His most famous literary works are the 3 self-illustrated autobiographical novellas: "Khlynovsk", "Euclidean Space" and "Samarcandia". The second of these is of particular importance, as it transmits Petrov-Vodkin worldview as an artist in great detail.