Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (Russian: Василий Иванович Суриков; 24 January 1848 – 19 March 1916) was a Russian Realist history painter. Many of his works have become familiar to the general public through their use as illustrations.

Biography

He was born to an old family descending from Don Cossacks that had settled in Siberia.Brief biography
@ RusArtNet. His father was a

Collegiate Registrar The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a s ...

, a civil service rank that often served as

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

s. In 1854, as a result of his father being reassigned, the family moved to the village of

Sukhobuzimskoye Sukhobuzimskoye (russian: Сухобу́зимское) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Sukhobuzimsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located from Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́р� ...

, where he began his primary education. In 1859, his father died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

so the family returned to Krasnoyarsk and were forced to rent the second floor of their house to survive financially. He began drawing while attending the district school and was encouraged by the local art teacher. His first formal work dates from 1862, but his family could not afford to continue his education and he became a clerk in a government office. This brought him into contact with , the Governor of

Yenisei The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat language, Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan language, Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas language, K ...

, who was able to find him a patron: , a local merchant who owned several small gold mines.Brief biography
@ Russian Paintings. In 1868, he rode on horseback to Saint Petersburg, but was unable to qualify for admission to 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 ...

, so he studied at the drawing school of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. After a year there, he was allowed to audit classes at the Academy and became a full-time pupil toward the end of 1869. From 1869 to 1875, he studied with

Pavel Chistyakov Pavel Petrovich Chistyakov (russian: Павел Петрович Чистяков; 5 July 1832, Prudy, Vesyegonsky Uyezd, Tver Governorate — 11 November 1919, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian Imperial painter and art teacher; known for historical ...

Bogdan Willewalde Bogdan Pavlovich Willewalde (russian: Богдан Павлович Виллевальде, german: link=no, Gottfried Willewalde; January 12, 1819, Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg – March 24, 1903, Dresden) was a Russian Imperial artist, academic, ...

and

Pyotr Shamshin Pyotr Mikhailovich Shamshin (Russian: Пётр Михайлович Шамшин; (10 January 1811, Saint Petersburg – 6 February 1895, Saint Petersburg) His great attention to composition earned him a nickname, "The Composer". In 1875, he graduated with the title of Artist, first degree.

Career in Moscow

Vasily Surikov - Suvorov Crossing the Alps in 1799 - Google Art Project

In 1877, he received a commission to paint murals at the

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour ( rus, Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, r=Khram Khristá Spasítelya, p=xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskv ...

(then still under construction) and he moved to Moscow. Unable to afford a house, he lived in rented apartments and hotels and visited Krasnoyarsk whenever possible. In 1878, he married Elisabeth Charais (1858–1888), a French woman who was descended from the Decembrist, , on her mother's side. They had two daughters. After that, he chose to remain in Moscow and began the series of historical paintings that would establish his reputation, starting with ''

The Morning of the Streltsy Execution ''The Morning of the Streltsy Execution'' is a painting by Vasily Ivanovich Surikov, painted in 1881. It illustrates the public execution after the Streltsy's failed attempted uprising before the walls of the Kremlin. It shows the display of ...

''. In 1881, he had his first exhibition with the Peredvizhniki, an artists' cooperative. In 1883, '' Menshikov in

Beryozovo Berezovo (russian: Березово) or Beryozovo () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. The name is derived from the Russian береза (''bereza''), "birch." Modern localities Altai Krai As of 2012, two rural localities in A ...

'' was bought by Pavel Tretyakov for a sum that allowed him to take a European tour. In 1887, he added portraits to his repertoire, beginning with one of his mother. In 1888, his wife died, and he returned to Krasnoyarsk with his daughters for two years. There he painted his most lighthearted picture, ''The Capture of Snow Town''. This was followed by a visit to his ancestral home in Siberia. There, on the

Ob River } The Ob ( rus, Обь, p=opʲ: Ob') is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia; and together with Irtysh forms the world's List of rivers by length, seventh-longest river system, at . It forms at the confluence of the Biya (river), Biya ...

, he made sketches for one of his most familiar works, ''The Conquest of Siberia by Yermak Timofeyevich'' (an event in which some of his ancestors had participated). This brought him a full membership in the Imperial Academy. In 1897, he visited Switzerland and painted ''

Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Râmnicu Sărat, Rymnik, C ...

Crossing the Alps'', which was purchased by Tsar

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

. In 1907, he left the Peredvizhniki and joined the Union of Russian Artists. Three years later, he visited Spain, together with his son-in-law,

Pyotr Konchalovsky Pyotr Petrovich Konchalovsky (''also trans.'' Petr; russian: Пётр Петрович Кончаловский; 21 February 1876 – 2 February 1956) was a Russian and Soviet painter, a member of the Knave of Diamonds group. Biography Ear ...

. That same year, he and the architect

Leonid Chernishyov Leonid Aleksandrovich Chernishyov (Russian: Леонид Александрович Чернышёв ; (15 May 1875, Sukhobuzim, Yeniseysk Governorate - 1932, Krasnoyarsk) was a Russian and Soviet architect and designer. Biography He was born i ...

opened an art school. Four years later, he had an extended stay in Krasnoyarsk, painting landscapes. Суриков Василий Иванович

By this time, he was suffering from chronic coronary disease. A trip to

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

for treatment in 1915 failed to ameliorate the problem and he died early the following year after returning to Moscow. He was buried at Vagankovo Cemetery, next to his wife. In 1948, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, his estate in Krasnoyarsk became a museum. Two monuments have been erected there, in 1954 and in 2002. A biographical movie of his life ('' Vasily Surikov'') was made by Mosfilm in 1959, written by

Emil Braginsky Emil (Emmanuel) Veniaminovich Braginsky (russian: link=no, Эми́ль (Эммануэль) Вениами́нович Браги́нский, 19 November 1921 – 26 May 1998) was a Soviet/Russian screenwriter and an Honored Art Worker of the RS ...

and directed by , with

Yevgeni Lazarev Yevgeni Nikolayevich Lazarev ( be, Яўген Мікалаевіч Лазараў, Jaŭhen Mikałajevič Łazaraŭ; russian: Евге́ний Никола́евич Ла́зарев; 31 March 1937 – 18 November 2016), also credited as Eugene ...

as Surikov and

Larisa Kadochnikova Larisa Valentinovna Kadochnikova (russian: Лариса Валентиновна Кадочникова, uk, Лариса Валентинівна Кадочникова; born 30 August 1937, Moscow, USSR) is a Ukrainian actress. She appeared in ...

as Elisabeth. Numerous streets and squares throughout Russia have been named after him, as well as a crater on Mercury.

Principal works

Image:Surikov streltsi.jpg, ''

'' File:Vasily Surikov - Боярыня Морозова - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Boyarina Morozova'' Image:Surikov-Horseman2.jpg, ''The Bronze Horseman'' Image:SurikovMenshikovBerezovo.jpg, ''Menshikov in Beryozovo'' Image:SurikovSnowFortress.jpg, ''The Capture of Snow Town'' Image:Surikov_Pokoreniye_Sibiri_Yermakom.jpg, ''The Conquest of Siberia by Yermak Timofeyevich''

References

External links

Vasily Surikov Russian Web site. Biography, full galleries, memories, etc.
(in Russian)
Vasily Surikov. Picturesand Biography
@ Арт-Рисунок
Vasily Surikov Museum Estate, Russia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surikov, Vasily 1848 births 1916 deaths People from Krasnoyarsk People from Yeniseysk Governorate 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters 20th-century Russian painters Russian watercolorists Peredvizhniki 19th-century painters of historical subjects Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian male artists

Biography

Career in Moscow

Principal works

References

Further reading

External links