Nikolay Alekseyevich Kasatkin (Russian: Никола́й Алексе́евич Каса́ткин; 13 December 1859,

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 ...

– 17 December 1930, Moscow) was a Russian painter; considered to be one of the founders of

Social Realism Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

in Russia.

Biography

His father was an engraver and lithographer.Brief biography
@ Russian Painting. From 1873 to 1883 he studied at the

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (russian: Московское училище живописи, ваяния и зодчества, МУЖВЗ) also known by the acronym MUZHZV, was one of the largest educational insti ...

with

Vasily Perov Vasily Grigorevich Perov (russian: Васи́лий Григо́рьевич Перо́в; 2 January 1834 (21 December 1833 Old Style, O.S.) – 10 June (29 May O.S.) 1882) was a Russian painter, a key figure of the Russian Realism (arts), R ...

and

Illarion Pryanishnikov Illarion Mikhailovich Pryanishnikov (russian: Илларио́н Миха́йлович Пря́нишников; – ) was a Russian painter, one of the founders of the Peredvizhniki artistic cooperative, which broke away from the rigors ...

.Brief biography
@ RusArtNet. Upon graduating, he received a medal for his painting "Beggars at the Church Door". In 1891, he began exhibiting with the

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 ...

and, from 1894 to 1917, was a teacher at his alma mater. For thirty years, beginning in 1883, he worked with

Ivan Sytin Ivan Dmitrievich Sytin (russian: Ива́н Дми́триевич Сы́тин; 5 February 185123 November 1934) was a Russian publisher. The son of a Soligalich peasant, he built the largest publishing house in pre-revolutionary Russian Empire, ...

, providing illustrations for his popular almanac/calendars and teaching lithography. He also contributed to ' (The Great Reform), an encyclopedia that celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the

Emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchis ...

, and a collection called "Russian History in Pictures". In 1903, he became a member of 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 ...

. He participated in the

Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...

, where he won a silver medal, and the

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

(1904), among others. The following year he produced a series of works inspired by the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

, his school was closed and later incorporated into "

Svomas Svomas or SVOMAS (russian: Свомас or СВОМАС), an abbreviation for ''Svobodnye gosudarstvennye khudozhestvennye masterskiye'' (russian: Свободные Государственные художественные мастерские) ...

" as the "Second Free Art Studio". He continued teaching, however, for the Department of Education of the

Sokolniki District Sokolniki District (russian: райо́н Соко́льники) is a administrative divisions of Moscow, district of the Eastern Administrative Okrug of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Moscow located in the north-east corner of the ...

Council. In 1923, following the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he was named the first "People's Artist of the Republic" and became a member of the

AKhRR The Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (russian: Ассоциация художников революционной России, ''Assotsiatsia Khudozhnikov Revolutsionnoi Rossii'', 1922–1928), later known as Association of Artists ...

(Association of Artists). In 1924, he went to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to document the lives of the proletariat there. Two years later, he created portraits for the "Museum of the Revolution" (since 1998, the ""). He is considered to be one of the forerunners of

Socialist Realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

in the arts and was sometimes called the " Gorky of Painters". He died suddenly while giving a presentation of his latest painting at the above Museum. In 1956, the Soviet Union honored him with a 40

kopeck The kopek or kopeck ( rus, копейка, p=kɐˈpʲejkə, ukr, копійка, translit=kopiika, p=koˈpʲijkə, be, капейка) is or was a coin or a currency unit of a number of countries in Eastern Europe closely associated with t ...

commemorative postage stamp. In 1971, his painting of a female mine worker was featured on a 6 kopeck stamp as part of a series of works by Soviet artists. A street in Moscow has been named after him.

Selected paintings

Nikolaj Alexejewitsch Kassatkin - Who?.jpg, Who!? File:Nikolaj Alexejewitsch Kassatkin 001.jpg, A Worker's Family Сбор угля бедными на выработанной шахте.jpg, The Poor, Picking up
Pieces of Coal В коридоре окружного суда.jpg, In the Corridor of
the District Court

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasatkin, Nikolay 1859 births 1930 deaths Artists from Moscow People from Moskovsky Uyezd Peredvizhniki Russian avant-garde 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters 20th-century Russian painters Socialist realist artists Soviet painters 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian male artists Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture faculty Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links