Aleksandr Nikolayev, known as Usto Mumin (1897-1957) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

painter of Russian origin, who lived and worked in the

Uzbek SSR Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз� ...

Biography

Early years

Alexander Nikolayev was born in Voronezh in 1897. His father was a military engineer, who traveled extensively around

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, taking the family with him, before settling permanently in Voronezh in 1914. Nikolayev studied in the Sumsk Military School from 1908 till 1916. There he met his first painting teacher Nikolay Evlampiev. After military school he served in

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

in 1916–1917. After army studied in

Uhlan Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...

School in

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...

till 1918, when he started to attend the art studio of Alexander Buchkuri in

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...

. He began to study in the Second State Free Art Studio in Moscow in 1919 under

Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich ; german: Kasimir Malewitsch; pl, Kazimierz Malewicz; russian: Казими́р Севери́нович Мале́вич ; uk, Казимир Северинович Малевич, translit=Kazymyr Severynovych ...

. Shortly after the beginning of his studies he was drafted to

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

and sent to the front.

Central Asia

Nikolayev was sent to Tashkent after demobilization in 1920. His mission was to develop art and culture in new Soviet Central Asia and work closely with

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

Central Executive Committee. Nikolayev felt in love with Central Asia. The local culture and traditions started to influence and inspire his life and art. There is a legend that said Alexander Nikolayev converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, which cannot be supported by any official documents because of persecution of religion by Soviet authorities after revolution. He received a new name from his pupils - Usto Mumin, which means "Faithful and Gentle Master".

Arrest and imprisonment

He was working as a director of Uzbek Pavilion at Union Agricultural Exhibition in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, when he was unexpectedly arrested and imprisoned. One of the reasons for his arrest was his homosexuality. Many of his works, painted in his early Uzbek period had homoerotic themes and used

Bacha bazi ''Bacha bāzī'' ( fa, بچه بازی, lit. "boy play"; from ''bacheh'', "boy", and ''bazi'' "play, game") is a slang term used in Afghanistan for a custom in Afghanistan involving child sexual abuse by older men of young adolescent males or b ...

as a subject. One of his most well-known paintings "Pomegranate Zeal", which is in the iconographic tradition, tells the story of two young boys from the moment they meet until their death. He spent four years in prison and was released in 1942. He wasn't allowed to paint while in prison.

Later years

After release, Nikolaev returned to Uzbekistan and continued to work as illustrator and theatre designer. He received a Honorary Award from the Central Executive Committee of

Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз� ...

for his role in establishing the Uighur Theatre in Tashkent. Alexander Nikolayev died in Tashkent in 1957.

Exhibitions and collections

Usto Mumin's works are in collections of museums in post

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

countries, including

State Museum of Oriental Art The State Museum of Oriental Art (russian: Музей Востока) is one of the biggest cultural institutions in the world for preservation, research, and display of Oriental art. The museum was founded in 1918 as a part of soviet programme to ...

in Moscow,

Nukus Museum of Art The Nukus Museum of Art, or more properly the State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan named after I.V. Savitsky ( kaa, I.V.Savitskiy atındaǵı Qaraqalpaqstan mámleketlik kórkem-óner múzeyi, uz, I.V.Savitskiy nomidagi Qoraqal ...

and Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan. He exhibited throughout

during his lifetime, including exhibition "Old Samarkand" in

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

in 1924, Jubilee Exhibition of Soviet Art in Moscow in 1927 and several exhibitions in Tashkent.

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...

exhibited works of Usto Mumin in 2010 as part of Russian Orientalist paintings exhibition.

Notable exhibitions

*2006. "Ecstasy of Usto Mumin".

Ilkhom Theatre Ilkhom Theatre (Ильхом Театр Марка Вайля) is a theatre company based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Founded by Mark Weil (Марк Яковлевич Вайль) in 1976, it was the first independent theatre in the Soviet Union, and ...

gallery.

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

*2013. "Echo of Vanguard".

gallery.

*2017. "Retrospective of XX century Uzbek art". Uzbekistan Academy of Arts.

In modern culture

Tashkent theatre Ilkhom created a project "Pomegranate Zeal" after Usto Mumin. It is a play combined with an exhibition of Usto Mumin's paintings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolayev, Aleksandr 1897 births 1957 deaths Russian painters Artists from Tashkent LGBT artists from Russia People from Samarkand 20th-century LGBT people