Stepan Grigoryevich Pisakhov (russian: Степан Григорьевич Писахов; ,
Arkhangelsk – 3 May 1960, Arkhangelsk) was a
Russian Empire and
Soviet artist, writer, oral storyteller, and ethnographer.
Biography
Stepan Pisakhov was born into a merchant family; at the same time his father was a craftsman – a jeweler and engraver. His mother came from a family of
Old Believers
Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...
. After completing his early schooling in Arkhangelsk, Pisakhov studied in the
Baron Stieglitz’ Arts College in
Petersburg
Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to:
Places Australia
*Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia
Canada
* Petersburg, Ontario
Russia
*Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg
United States
*Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...
. He continued his education as an artist in
Paris and in a private Petersburg studio.
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 ...
himself invited him to work in his studio. In 1899 Stepan Pisakhov participated in an art exhibition in Petersburg, and in 1907 his paintings were displayed in Rome, and in 1910 in his native Arkhangelsk; in 1912 he was awarded a silver medal at an art exhibition in Petersburg.
His grandmother’s brother, Grandpa Leontiy, was a professional folktale narrator, and from his early childhood the future writer lived amid the rich word-creation traditions of the
Russian North
Russian North (russian: Русский Север) is an ethnocultural region situated in the northwestern part of Russia. It spans the regions of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, Komi Republic, Vologda Oblast and Nenets Autonomous ...
. Stepan Pisakhov started composing and recounting his tales quite early, but rarely put them down on paper. The peculiarity of his texts, which were first and foremost intended for listening audiences, was conditioned by their spoken origin.
Only in 1924 were his tales from the ''Northern Munchausen'' cycle published in the collection ''On the Northern Dvina''. In 1927 northern folktales recorded and commented upon by Stepan Pisakhov were published in the almanac “Sovetskaya Strana”. In 1938–1940 Pisakhov’s own tales (in two volumes) first saw the light in Arkhangelsk.
The geography of Pisakhov’s active creative scope stretched from
Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...
to
Cairo. For an artist he had received myriad impressions from his travels as a young man in
Italy,
France,
Turkey and
Egypt. Yet his major focus, both as a writer and an artist, was his native North - its images, folklore and speech. Pisakhov explored the coastline of the
White Sea, visited
Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...
, the waters of the
Yugorsky Shar Strait
The Yugorsky Strait or Yugor Strait (russian: Югорский Шар, or Yugorsky Shar) is a narrow sound between the Kara Sea and the Pechora Sea. Its maximum width is 10 km and its minimum width only 3 km.
Ostrov Storozhevoy, an i ...
that connects the
Barents Barents may refer to:
*René Barents (born 1951), Dutch judge and legal scholar
*Willem Barents (c. 1550–1597), Dutch navigator and explorer
*Barents AirLink, a Swedish airline
*Barents Island (), an island in the Svalbard archipelago, part of ...
and
Kara Seas, and took part in
Arctic expeditions.
Most of his tales are set in the village of
Uyma, a few kilometres upriver from
Arkhangelsk. The
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
and narrator of the tales, a
Pomor peasant from Uyma, has the name of Semyon (Senya) Malina.
Pisakhov, along with
Aleksandr Borisov and
Tyko Vylka, is considered to be the founder of Russian Arctic painting, and initially his works were featured prominently in the
Arkhangelsk Museum of Fine Arts
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near i ...
. In 2008, the
Stepan Pisakhov Museum
Stepan ( uk, Степань; pl, Stepań; he, סטפאן) is an urban-type settlement in Sarny Raion (district) of Rivne Oblast (province) in western Ukraine. Its population was 4,073 as of the 2001 Ukrainian Census. Current population:
The ...
was opened in Arkhangelsk, and his paintings were then transferred to this museum.
References
External links
Biography of Stepan Pisakhov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pisakhov, Stepan
1879 births
1960 deaths
Folklore writers
People from Arkhangelsk
Pomors
Folklorists from the Russian Empire
Writers from the Russian Empire
Soviet folklorists
Soviet writers