Annenkov Yuri Pavlovich: photo, biography, paintings, portraits

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In 1889, the star of one of the most prominent and progressive artists of the nineteenth century lit up. This year was born Annenkov Yuri Pavlovich - Russian artist, portrait painter, writer.

Origin

The famous master was born in the family of a Russian Narodnaya Volya. Yuri Annenkov spent his earliest childhood with his parents in the Kamchatka Territory. His father, exiled for participation in the Narodnaya Volya organization, was and worked there. In 1893, the family finally managed to return to live in St. Petersburg. At that time they were housed in a small village next to the estate of Ilya Efimovich Repin.

Such an environment had a great influence on Annenkov's subsequent work and worldview. He was constantly surrounded by a society of people of all possible creative professions, which could not but affect his choice of profession.

Study

Yuri Annenkov started drawing from childhood. Moreover, in adolescence, he stronglygot involved in politics. At this time, the artist tried himself in the genre of cartoonist. His ironic sketches for an underground magazine caused a big scandal. For freethinking, Annenkov was expelled from the educational institution. However, this did not undermine the artist's faith in himself. He independently enters the legal speci alty at St. Petersburg University.

Creative career

Despite his early passion for drawing, the master never received a full art education. Even while studying at the gymnasium, the artist attended classes at the St. Petersburg Academy of Art and Industry named after Alexander Ludwigovich Stieglitz. In his student years, Yuri Annenkov studied at the studio of the famous master Savely Moiseevich Seidenberg. It is noteworthy that another outstanding artist, Mark Zakharovich Chagall, studied with him.

Unfortunately, despite diligence and desire to learn, Annenkov could not pass the selection to the Moscow Academy of Arts. After his fiasco, Yuri continues his studies at the studio of Jan Frantsevich Zionglinsky.

Life Abroad

The further fate of Annenkov took shape already outside the Motherland. It was thanks to the advice of his mentor Jan Frantsevich that the young artist left the country in which he was born and moved to Paris. There Annenkov Yuri continued his studies. At this time, he entered the study of such foreign masters as Maurice Denis and Felix Vallotton. These symbolists belonged to the popular Nabis group. It was under the auspices of his mentors that in 1913, Yuri for the first timetook part in an art exhibition with his canvases. The exposition was called the Salon of the Independents. The debut of the artist was successful.

Symbols of creativity

At the very beginning of his artistic career, the author was mainly engaged in painting. It is to this period that his famous works “Adam and Eve”, “Yellow Mourning”, “Self-Portrait”, written in early 1910, belong. After returning to his homeland in 1913, Yuri Annenkov, a photo of whose works can be seen in our review, begins to get involved in such an art form as graphics. Increasingly, his works began to be published on the pages of such publications as "Lukomorye", "Argus", "Fatherland", "Satyricon" and many others.

In addition, during the period of passion for graphics, the master maintained close creative ties with the then popular publishing houses Krasnaya Nov, Vsemirnaya Literature, Raduga and others. The artist was invited as an illustrator to the works of Korney Chukovsky, Jack London, Nikolai Evreinov. The author also continues the long tradition of being published in satirical publications as a cartoonist. Fortunately, now his work has been appreciated.

Political views

During both revolutions, the artist, who was not indifferent to social changes in society, was passionately fond of politics. It can be said that the upheavals in the social system had a very great influence on the further work of the master. This is evidenced by the flourishing of his artistic activity after the coup. It was at this time that new trends and societies appeared in the artistic environment. Annenkov Yuri becomes their active participant. For example, the artist was elected as one of the board members of the House of Arts in Petrograd.

Even in his works, the master constantly touched upon the theme of the revolution. It is in a special manner of depicting interconnected details that Annenkov's attitude to the revolution is revealed, as to a new order. The artist passionately experienced and contributed to the abolition of past attitudes, both in public life and in creativity.

The successes of the young master did not go unnoticed and already in 1920 Yuri was appointed a professor at the Moscow Academy of Arts.

Prose and journalism

In addition to his artistic activities, Annenkov was also engaged in writing. After 1917, he repeatedly tried himself as a publicist. As they say, a talented person is good at everything. Yuri succeeded in this path no worse than painting. Soon he was publishing his articles in print publications like The Life of Art.

Moreover, while living abroad, Yuri Annenkov, an artist and graphic artist, discovered himself from a new side for everyone: he first tried his hand as a writer. From the author's pen came such works as "The Diaries of My Meetings." In them, Annenkov describes the portraits of many Russian artists. Among them you can find Russian writers, artists, musicians. In addition to essays on famous personalities, Annenkov wrote a lot of fictionworks. So, it was Yuri who became the author of the books “The Tale of Trifles”, “The Torn Epoch”. When writing them, the artist took a pseudonym for himself - Bogdan Temiryazev.

Gallery

Yuri Annenkov, whose paintings at the beginning of his career were made mainly in the technique of painting, after the success at the Paris exhibition, he set about creating his own gallery of portraits. The main field of activity of the master was famous personalities of that time. In a short period of time, Annenkov managed to capture the writer Maxim Gorky, the famous poets Vladislav Khodasevich and Anna Akhmatova, as well as Viktor Shklovsky, Mikhail Kuzmin, Velimir Khlebnikov and many others.

But canvases with political figures occupied a separate significance in the artist's work. So, Yuri Annenkov, whose portraits enjoyed extraordinary success, released from under his brush canvases with such prominent people as Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Grigory Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev, Karl Radeki, Isaac Babel, Ilya Ehrenburg, Jean Cocteau, Maurice Ravel, Russian ballerina Olga Alexandrovna Spesivtseva and many others.

Departure abroad

In the middle of 1924, Annenkov went to the Mediterranean coast to participate in an international exhibition. In Venice, the artist had the honor to represent the pavilion of Soviet art. After this event, Annenkov's life paths never returned him to Russia.

After participating in the exhibition, Yuri settled permanently in Paris. There, the curve of recognition of the artist crept up sharply. At this time, he worked mainly as a decorator in the theater and collaborated with such prominent personalities as Nikita Fedorovich Baliev, choreographer Borislav Fominichna Nizhinskaya, actor Chekhov Mikhail Alexandrovich, Sergei Mikhailovich Lifar.

Work in theater and cinema

In addition to active artistic activity, the master has earned recognition in another field. Yuri Annenkov, whose biography is replete mainly with success in the field of painting and portraits, also achieved great success and fame in the theatrical field. In addition to publishing his articles in publications dedicated to this type of art, the artist made a huge contribution as a decorator of almost all performances in the theater named after the famous Russian actress Vera Fedorovna Komisarzhevskaya. Annenkov also painted scenery for the tetra of his old friend Nikolai Evreinov.

However, his influence on art did not end there. The artist became one of the first among the reformers of the old order in the theater. So, already at the beginning of 1920, trends began to appear in which the young Annenkov also took an active part. For example, in 1921, his article was published on the need to proclaim a new theater. It was a breakthrough, picked up by the same enthusiasts. Moreover, the artist soon had the opportunity to bring his bold ideas to life. While preparing for the production of the play by Georg Kaiser on the stage of the Bolshoi Drama Theater named after Maxim Gorky, Annenkov for the first time proposed an unprecedented innovation, namely, to use new ones with moving elements instead of the usual scenery. Thus, the stage seemed to interact with the actors. At that time, this approach to the design of the performance was an unexpected success.

In total, during his long career in the theatrical field, the artist was able to decorate more than sixty performances with scenery. In addition to decorating the stage, the master was also involved in the development of new images for the troupe. Annenkov also tried his hand at filmmaking. Here he managed to achieve even greater recognition than in any other areas of his activity. The master was able to provide scenery for more than fifty films made. For the preparation of costumes for the film crew, the artist even received the extremely prestigious Oscar award at that time.

Criticism

Among all of Annenkov's many-sided work, it is difficult to single out the most outstanding work or even direction. For example, among the artist's legacy in the graphics industry, critics and contemporaries unanimously recognized the author's sketches for the next edition of Alexander Blok's poem "The Twelve" as a triumph. Even the poet himself spoke flatteringly about the artist's abilities and repeatedly admitted that they had a deep meaning. In general, Annenkov's graphics were assessed as being done in an unusual, bold and light manner. He both successfully applied strict lines and played with naughty shadows. With this tactic, the author managed to notice the most important thing in his characters, to bring to the surface those features that threatened to go unnoticed.

As for success in painting, here the style of the artist is completelyopened up in the direction of cubism. Moreover, the master perfectly and easily combines modernist motifs with traditional academic style. Annenkov Yuri Pavlovich, whose paintings are still very popular among collectors, made a truly huge contribution to the art of the 20th century.