Serov Valentin Alexandrovich

Born on January 19, 1865 in St. Petersburg. Son of composer Alexander Nikolaevich Serov. Famous and outstanding Russian artist of the 19th century. He became famous for his portraiture and landscape themes. He studied painting in Germany, took lessons from I. E. Repin (in Paris and Moscow), then moved to the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1880-1885), where P. P. Chistyakov became his teacher. He was friends with M.A. Vrubel and A.I. Kuindzhi, who had a significant influence on him, and was a member of the Abramtsevo circle of artists. In his early paintings (“Girl with Peaches”, 1887; “Girl Illuminated by the Sun”, 1888) and landscapes (“Pond in Abramtsevo”, 1888; “October. Domotkanovo”, 1895), Serov managed to convey a joyful, bright feeling of the world, the beauty of nature. In revealing portrait images, he skillfully uses gesture, posture, a person’s appearance, his demeanor (“Children”, 1889; “Mika Morozov”, 1901; “Sharp-Eared”, 1902). Over time, the style of writing becomes different. The artist pays less attention to detail; the multicoloredness of his canvases gives way to restrained, soft grayish-brown shades. In the 90s Serov turns to the image of writers, scientists, artists, artists. He created portraits of K. A. Korovin, N. S. Leskov, I. I. Levitan, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, M. Gorky, M. N. Ermolova, F. I. Chaliapin, T. P. Karsavina, Tsar Nicholas II. At the beginning of the 20th century. Serov was closely associated with the creative association “World of Art”. During the revolution of 1905-1907. he expressed his outrage at the actions of the authorities in a series of satirical drawings and left the Academy of Arts. In recent years, Serov has been fascinated by historical and mythological themes. In the painting “Peter I” (1907), the artist gave one of the most memorable images of the tsar - the transformer of Russia. The work “The Rape of Europe” (1910) leaves a vivid impression. The author’s works are presented in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, and in many large regional museums and private collections around the world.