Konstantin Apollonovich Savitsky (russian: Константи́н Аполло́нович Сави́цкий; 25 May 1844 — 31 January 1905) was a Russian
realist painter born in the city of
Taganrog
Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population:
History of Taganrog
The ...
in the village Frankovka or Baronovka, named after former governor
Otto Pfeilizer-Frank Baron Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Pfeilitzer gen. Franck, sometimes referred to as ''Otto Romanovich Franck'' or ''Otto Romanovich Pfeilitzer-Franck'' (russian: Пфейлицер-Франк, Отто Романович, February 29, 1788 – March ...
. Today this area is occupied by the Taganrog Iron and Steel Factory TAGMET.
Early life
Savitsky's family lived in the building of the
Taganrog Gymnasium for Boys, where his father worked as a doctor. In Frankovka the family rented a summer house. Savitsky spent his childhood and youth in
Taganrog
Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population:
History of Taganrog
The ...
. He showed an interest for painting in early childhood. Being on the shore of
Azov Sea
The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...
with his parents, he loved to make sketches, and drawing lessons at the Gymnasium were his favorite subject.
When Konstantin was fifth-grader at Taganrog Gymnasium, his teenager's life changed unexpectedly. Both of his parents died suddenly. Kostya was taken by his uncle who lived in present-day
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
and became his guardian. There Savitsky entered a private boarding-school and in 1862 he graduated and left for
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, where he entered The
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. Personal contacts with outstanding representatives of Russian culture –
Ilya Repin
Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...
,
Ivan Shishkin
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Ши́шкин; 25 January 1832 – 20 March 1898) was a Russian landscape painter closely associated with the Peredvizhniki movement.
Biography
Shishkin was born to a Russian me ...
,
Viktor Vasnetsov
Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov (russian: Ви́ктор Миха́йлович Васнецо́в; May 15 ( N.S.), 1848 – July 23, 1926) was a Russian artist who specialized in mythological and historical subjects. He is considered the co-founde ...
,
Mark Antokolski
Mark Matveyevich Antokolsky (russian: Марк Матве́евич Антоко́льский; 2 November 18409 July 1902) was a Russian Imperial sculptor of Lithuanian Jewish descent.
Biography
Mordukh Matysovich Antokolsky''Boris Schatz: The ...
,
Stasov
Stasov (sometimes spelt Stassov; russian: Стасов) is one of the oldest aristocratic families in Russia founded in the 15th century by the 1st Duke Stasov Dmitri Vasilevich. It’s a quintessential family of Russian intelligentsia.
...
,
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin
Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best remembered for ...
– had a great influence on the development of the young artist.
Education and career
Soon Savitsky became one of the best students of the Imperial Academy of Arts. His student paintings were awarded with silver medals and for his painting ''Cain and Abel'' (1871) he received a gold medal.
After graduation from the Imperial Academy of Arts and two years abroad, the artist became co-partner of mobile art exhibitions (
Peredvizhniki
Peredvizhniki ( rus, Передви́жники, , pʲɪrʲɪˈdvʲiʐnʲɪkʲɪ), often called The Wanderers or The Itinerants in English, were a group of Russian realist artists who formed an artists' cooperative in protest of academic restr ...
), a group of Russian realist artists who in protest at academic restrictions formed an artists' cooperative, which evolved into the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions in 1870. The artwork ''Repairing Railway'' was one of the first paintings of that time dedicated to the life of the working class.
Konstantin Savitsky is a co-author of the famous painting ''Morning in the Pine Forest''. On the original Peredvizhniki exhibition the painting was shown by two authors
Ivan Shishkin
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Ши́шкин; 25 January 1832 – 20 March 1898) was a Russian landscape painter closely associated with the Peredvizhniki movement.
Biography
Shishkin was born to a Russian me ...
and Konstantin Savitsky. It was assumed that Savitsky had painted the bears and Shishkin the forest but later the scholars found that preparational drawings of the pine forest were made by both Savitsky and Shishkin. Later Savitsky withdrew his signature from the painting and it is currently attributed solely to Shishkin.
The titles of his artworks – ''Lost all their possessions in the fire'', ''To the War'', ''Herdsmen'', ''Krutchnik'', ''Argument at the Bound'' – speak about the direction of his art.
After graduation from the Imperial Academy of Arts the artist dedicated more than 20 years to teaching arts in the art schools of Moscow,
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and
Penza
Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-l ...
; including the
. In 1897 Konstantin Savitsky became a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts.
Works
Konstantin Apollonowitsch Sawizkij 001.jpg, ''Repairing the Railroad'' by Konstantin Savitsky (1874)
Utro v sosnovom lesu.jpg, Savitsky painted the bears on Shishkin's landscape ''Morning in a Pine Forest
The ''Morning in a Pine Forest'' (russian: Утро в сосновом лесу) is a painting by Russian artists Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky. The bears were painted by Savitsky, but the art collector Pavel Tretyakov effaced his signatu ...
'' (1886).
Savitsky na voinu.jpg, ''To the War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
'' by Konstantin Savitsky (1888)
Константин А. Савицкий - Путешественники в Оверни.jpg, ''Travellers in Auvergne'' by Konstantin Savitsky
Konstantin Savitskiy Inok 1897.jpg, Inok (1897)
К. А. Савицкий. Встреча иконы.jpg, Ikon on the road
See also
*
List of Russian artists
This is a list of Russians artists. In this context, the term "Russian" covers the Russian Federation, Soviet Union, Russian Empire, Tsardom of Russia and Grand Duchy of Moscow, including ethnic Russians and people of other ethnicities living in Ru ...
External links
Savitsky and Morning in the Pine Forest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savitsky, Konstantin
1844 births
1905 deaths
Artists from Taganrog
People from Yekaterinoslav Governorate
Peredvizhniki
19th-century painters from the Russian Empire
Russian male painters
20th-century Russian painters
Russian realist painters
Imperial Academy of Arts alumni
Full Members of the Imperial Academy of Arts
19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire
20th-century Russian male artists
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture faculty