Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov
Encyclopedia
Sergey Vasilyevich Gerasimov ' onMouseout='HidePop("27120")' href="/topics/Mozhaysk">Mozhaysk
, current Moscow Oblast
- 20 April 1964 in Moscow
) was a Soviet
Russian
painter.
Gerasimov was one of the most important of all Soviet artists. A student of Konstantin Korovin
as a young artist he later went on to join the Makovets group. His early watercolor
s are considered masterpieces and show a tendency toward modernism
that is less pronounced in his later work. In the 1920s and 1930s, he taught at the state art school Vkhutemas
, and designed posters and painted works sympathetic to the new Communist government
in a style later known as Socialist realism
.
Despite this he was known throughout the Russian art world to be a liberal thinker whose paintings showed the influences of Impressionism
and other modern movements. Under Joseph Stalin
these tendencies placed him in aesthetic opposition to his arch-nemesis (and ironic namesake) Alexander Gerasimov
.
During the Stalin era, Sergey Gerasimov was demoted from his position of director of the Russian Artists' Union and replaced by Alexander Gerasimov. During the period of World War II
, Sergey Gerasimov, along with most of the faculty and student body of the Surikov Art Institute
were moved from Moscow to the ancient caravan city of Samarkand
.
Some of Gerasmov's most famous works were painted during this period and show scenes of the old oriental city of Samarkand. Many of these paintings are on display to this day at the Tretyakov Gallery
in Moscow. With the death of Stalin and the rise of Nikita Khrushchev
, Sergey Gerasmimov was re-instated as the head of the Russian Artists' Union, a position he held until his death in 1964.
Some of Gerasimov's most famous students that he came in contact with and taught at the Surikov Art Institute include; Fedor Z. Zakharov, Vladimir Stozharov, Alexey and Sergey Tkachyov, Yury P. Kugach, Aleksei Gritsai
, Gely Korzhev, and many other important Soviet artists.
Mozhaysk
Mozhaysk is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the west from the Russian capital, on the historic road leading to Smolensk and then to Poland. Population:...
, current Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
- 20 April 1964 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
painter.
Gerasimov was one of the most important of all Soviet artists. A student of 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...
as a young artist he later went on to join the Makovets group. His early watercolor
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
s are considered masterpieces and show a tendency toward modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
that is less pronounced in his later work. In the 1920s and 1930s, he taught at the state art school Vkhutemas
VKhUTEMAS
Vkhutemas ) was the Russian state art and technical school founded in 1920 in Moscow, replacing the Moscow Svomas. The workshops were established by a decree from Vladimir Lenin with the intentions, in the words of the Soviet government, "to prepare master artists of the highest qualifications for...
, and designed posters and painted works sympathetic to the new Communist government
Politics of the Soviet Union
The political system of the Soviet Union was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , the only party permitted by Constitution.For information about the government, see Government of the Soviet Union-Background:...
in a style later known as Socialist realism
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
.
Despite this he was known throughout the Russian art world to be a liberal thinker whose paintings showed the influences of Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
and other modern movements. Under Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
these tendencies placed him in aesthetic opposition to his arch-nemesis (and ironic namesake) Alexander Gerasimov
Alexander Gerasimov
Alexander Mikhaylovich Gerasimov was a leading proponent of Socialist Realism in the visual arts, and painted Joseph Stalin and other Soviet leaders....
.
During the Stalin era, Sergey Gerasimov was demoted from his position of director of the Russian Artists' Union and replaced by Alexander Gerasimov. During the period of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Sergey Gerasimov, along with most of the faculty and student body of the Surikov Art Institute
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...
were moved from Moscow to the ancient caravan city of Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
.
Some of Gerasmov's most famous works were painted during this period and show scenes of the old oriental city of Samarkand. Many of these paintings are on display to this day at the Tretyakov Gallery
Tretyakov Gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world.The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Moscow merchant Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov acquired works by Russian artists of his day with the aim of creating a collection,...
in Moscow. With the death of Stalin and the rise of Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, Sergey Gerasmimov was re-instated as the head of the Russian Artists' Union, a position he held until his death in 1964.
Some of Gerasimov's most famous students that he came in contact with and taught at the Surikov Art Institute include; Fedor Z. Zakharov, Vladimir Stozharov, Alexey and Sergey Tkachyov, Yury P. Kugach, Aleksei Gritsai
Aleksei Gritsai
Aleksei Mikhailovich Gritsai was a Russian artist. From 1924 to 1931 he studied in Leningrad in the studios of S.M. Zaidenberg and from 1932 to 1939 at the Academy of Arts under P.S. Naumov, Vasili Yakovlev, and Isaak Brodsky....
, Gely Korzhev, and many other important Soviet artists.