Masyutin Vasily Nikolaevich

Graphic artist, painter, sculptor, writer. He graduated from the Cadet Corps and the Mikhailovsky Artillery School, and served as an officer in Moscow for two years. In 1907 he retired. In the fall of 1908 he entered the MUZHVIZ, mastered the technique of etching under the guidance of S. V. Ivanov. In 1908 he took part in the “Wreath” exhibition in St. Petersburg. He exhibited his works at exhibitions of the Moscow Association of Artists (1908–1918), the Union of Russian Artists (1910–1917), as well as at the International Exhibition of Printing in Leipzig in 1914. In the same year he graduated from MUZHVIZ. In 1918 he was invited as a professor at the State Free Art Workshops. In 1919 he turned to woodcuts and lithographs. In the same year he emigrated to Berlin. He wrote a number of theoretical works on graphic art, in particular “Engraving and Lithography”, “An Experience in Characterizing the Mastery of Engraving and a Critical Review” (both Berlin, 1922), monographs on outstanding masters of graphics - A. Toulouse-Lautrec, F. Brangwin, P. Dupont, T. Buick. In 1930–1940, he did a lot of applied graphics, made covers, posters, developed trademarks, labels, and advertising posters. His etchings and articles about Russian artists were published in the magazine Gebrauchsgraphik. From the mid-1920s, he often turned to painting, painting portraits and still lifes. V. N. Masyutin is one of the leading engraving masters of the first third of the twentieth century - the heyday of this art form in Russia. His works are characterized by the complexity of compositional structure and images, rich in symbols and allegories, “sharp” grotesque and internal expression. Masyutin's works are in many museum and private collections, including the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. A. S. Pushkin, State Tretyakov Gallery and others.