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Russian artist Boris Kustodiev

Russian artist Boris Kustodiev and his wife

Russian artist Boris Kustodiev and his wife


Boris Kustodiev was a Russian and Soviet artist, portrait painter, theater artist, decorator. He was Academician of Painting (1909) and member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (since 1923).
Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev was born on February 23 (March 7), 1878 in Astrakhan. His father, Mikhail Lukich Kustodiev (1841-1879), was a professor of philosophy, history of literature and taught logic in a local theological seminary. The father died when the future artist was two years old. Boris studied at the parish school, then at the gymnasium. P. Vlasov, a graduate of the Petersburg Academy of Arts, gave lessons to the 15-year-old boy.
In 1896 Boris entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. His teachers were V. Savinsky and I. Repin. Kustodiev took part in the work on Repin’s painting Solemn meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901 (1901-1903, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg).

Despite the fact that the young artist gained wide popularity as a portraitist, for his competitive work Kustodiev chose a genre theme (At the Bazaar) and in the autumn of 1900 he went to the Kostroma province in search of inspiration. There Kustodiev met his future wife – 20-year-old Yulia Evstafyevna Proshinskaya. Subsequently, the artist painted several picturesque portraits of his beloved wife.
On October 31, 1903 Boris finished the training course with a gold medal and the right to an annual pensioner trip abroad and across Russia. Even before the end of the course he took part in international exhibitions in St. Petersburg and Munich (the big gold medal of the International Association).
A.N. Protasova. 1900

A.N. Protasova. 1900


In December 1903, Kustodiev together with his wife and son came to Paris. During his trip the artist visited Germany, Italy, Spain, studied and copied the works of old masters. Six months later, Kustodiev returned to Russia and worked in the Kostroma province on a series of paintings Fair and Village Holidays. In 1904 he became a founding member of the New Society of Artists. In 1905-1907 he worked as a cartoonist in the satirical magazine Zhupel, then in the magazines Hell’s Mail and Iskra. In 1907 he became a member of the Union of Russian Artists and in 1909 the artist became an elected member of the Academy of Arts. At the same time Kustodiev was asked to replace Serov as a teacher at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, but he refused.
In 1909 Kustodiev had the first signs of a tumor of the spinal cord. Several operations brought only temporary relief. The last 15 years of life the artist spent in a wheelchair. However, his brightest, most temperamental, and cheerful works appeared during that difficult period of his life.
Boris Kustodiev died on May 26, 1927 in Leningrad and was buried at the Nikolsky Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1948, the ashes and the monument were transferred to the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Russian artist Boris Kustodiev

Accordion. 1927

Accordion. 1927

Academician P. L. Kapitsa. 1926

Academician P. L. Kapitsa. 1926

Artist N.F. Monakhov. 1926

Artist N.F. Monakhov. 1926

Architect I. Zolotarevsky. 1922

Architect I. Zolotarevsky. 1922

Autumn (painted linocut) 1926

Autumn (painted linocut) 1926

Autumn. Tea drinking. 1926

Autumn. Tea drinking. 1926

Before the ball

Before the ball

Commandant of the Mariinsky Palace, Major-General Pavel Arkadievich Shevelev (1846). 1903

Commandant of the Mariinsky Palace, Major-General Pavel Arkadievich Shevelev (1846). 1903

D.F. Bogoslovskiy. 1902

D.F. Bogoslovskiy. 1902

E.E. Lanceray. 1913

E.E. Lanceray. 1913

F.I. Chaliapin. 1922

F.I. Chaliapin. 1922

Fair. 1906

Fair. 1906

Fair. 1927

Fair. 1927

Forest Lake. 1917

Forest Lake. 1917

Governor-General of Finland N.I. Bobrikov. 1902-1903

Governor-General of Finland N.I. Bobrikov. 1902-1903

Grazing horses. 1909

Grazing horses. 1909

Haymaking. 1917

Haymaking. 1917

I.E. Grabar. 1916

I.E. Grabar. 1916

I.Ya. Bilibin. 1901

I.Ya. Bilibin. 1901

Ice-cream maker. 1926

Ice-cream maker. 1926

Irina Kustodieva. 1926

Irina Kustodieva. 1926

Lebedyan. Kosmodemyanskaya church. 1926

Lebedyan. Kosmodemyanskaya church. 1926

M.I. Heilick. 1901

M.I. Heilick. 1901

Merchant is drinking tea. 1918

Merchant is drinking tea. 1918

Merchant is drinking tea. 1920

Merchant is drinking tea. 1920

Merchant with a mirror. 1920

Merchant with a mirror. 1920

Morning. 1904

Morning. 1904

N.K. Roerich. 1913

N.K. Roerich. 1913

N.K. von Meck. 1913

N.K. von Meck. 1913

Night feast on the Neva. 1923

Night feast on the Neva. 1923

Nun. 1908

Nun. 1908

Portrait of F.I. Chaliapin. 1920-21

Portrait of F.I. Chaliapin. 1920-21

Portrait of F.K. Sologub. 1907

Portrait of F.K. Sologub. 1907

Portrait of Philip IV. 1904

Portrait of Philip IV. 1904

Portrait of Professor of Engraving V.V. Mate. 1902

Portrait of Professor of Engraving V.V. Mate. 1902

Portrait of R.I. Notgaft. 1909

Portrait of R.I. Notgaft. 1909

Portrait of Stepan Lukich Nikolsky, the artist's uncle. 1901

Portrait of Stepan Lukich Nikolsky, the artist’s uncle. 1901

Portrait of the sculptor and painter D.S. Stelletskiy. 1901

Portrait of the sculptor and painter D.S. Stelletskiy. 1901

Portrait of the sculptor N. L. Aronson. 1904

Portrait of the sculptor N. L. Aronson. 1904

Portrait of Ya.I. Lavrin. 1909

Portrait of Ya.I. Lavrin. 1909

Portrait of Yu. E. Kustodieva. 1926

Portrait of Yu. E. Kustodieva. 1926

Portrait of Yu.E. Kustodieva. 1903

Portrait of Yu.E. Kustodieva. 1903

Russian artist Boris Kustodiev

Russian artist Boris Kustodiev

Self-Portrait, 1905

Self-Portrait, 1905

Sergei Nikolsky. 1901

Sergei Nikolsky. 1901

Shrovetide. 1916

Shrovetide. 1916

Shrovetide. 1919. Museum-apartment of I. I. Brodsky

Shrovetide. 1919. Museum-apartment of I. I. Brodsky

Sketch for the scenery of Flea. Tula. 1925

Sketch for the scenery of Flea. Tula. 1925

Sketch of Katerina's costume for the drama by A. Ostrovsky The Thunderstorm, 1920

Sketch of Katerina’s costume for the drama by A. Ostrovsky The Thunderstorm, 1920

Sketch scenery for the play

Sketch scenery for the play

Stepan Razin. 1918

Stepan Razin. 1918

Still life

Still life

Strawberries. 1927

Strawberries. 1927

Street saleswoman. 1926

Street saleswoman. 1926

The Easter ceremony. 1916

The Easter ceremony. 1916

The Bolshevik. 1920

The Bolshevik. 1920

The Fair. 1906

The Fair. 1906

The feast in the Uritsky square

The feast in the Uritsky square

The merchant, 1914-15

The merchant, 1914-15

The Moscow Inn. 1916

The Moscow Inn. 1916

The Parisian Boulevard at night. 1913

The Parisian Boulevard at night. 1913

The seller of balloons. 1915

The seller of balloons. 1915

The seller of balloons. 1926

The seller of balloons. 1926

The Volga. 1926

The Volga. 1926

Village Maslenitsa. 1916

Village Maslenitsa. 1916

Writer D.L. Mordovtsev. 1901

Writer D.L. Mordovtsev. 1901

Z.E. Proshinskaya. 1901

Z.E. Proshinskaya. 1901