![Viktor Simov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Viktor_Simov.jpg)
Viktor Andreyevich Simov (Russian: Виктор Андреевич Симов, 14 April 1858,
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 millio ...
- 21 August 1935, Moscow) was a Russian painter and
scenographer.
Biography
He graduated from the
in 1882. From 1885 to 1886, he worked as a decorator for
Savva Mamontov
Savva Ivanovich Mamontov (russian: Са́вва Ива́нович Ма́монтов, ; 3 October 1841 (15 October N.S.), Yalutorovsk – 6 April 1918, Moscow) was a Russian industrialist, merchant, entrepreneur and patron of the arts.
Bus ...
, at his
Private Opera
The Private Opera (russian: Частная Опера), also known as:
*The Russian Private Opera ();
*Moscow Private Russian Opera, ();
*Mamontov's Private Russian Opera in Moscow ();
*Korotkov's Theatre (, 1885-1888);
*Vinter's Theatre (, ...
. He also created some paintings and
lithographs. In 1896, he held a joint exhibition, with
Isaac Levitan
Isaac Ilyich Levitan (russian: Исаа́к Ильи́ч Левита́н; – ) was a classical Russian landscape painter who advanced the genre of the "mood landscape".
Life and work
Youth
Isaac Levitan was born in a shtetl of Kibarty ...
and , in
Odessa.
![Simov-Sisters2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Simov-Sisters2.jpg)
In 1898, he decided to devote his career to working with the newly founded
Moscow Art Theatre, where he would create designs for fifty-one performances and earn the admiration of the iconic actor,
Konstantin Stanislavski.
[''Большая советская энциклопедия'' (]Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...
). B. A. Vvedensky (Ed.) 2nd ed., Vol.39. Сигишоара — Соки. 1956. Simov not only created a new aesthetic for set design, he was also involved with ideological interpretations of the material, and the directing process. Together with Stanislavski, he began the practice of doing field research.
He expanded his activities in 1909, by designing a
dacha
A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...
in collaboration with the architect,
Leonid Vesnin.
[A. G. Chinyakov, ''Братья Веснины'' (The Vesnin Brothers), Стройиздат, 1970] In 1912, for unknown reasons, he left the Art Theatre; working instead at the , the
Maly Theatre The Maly Theatre, or Mali Theatre, may refer to one of several different theatres:
* The Maly Theatre (Moscow), also known as The State Academic Maly Theatre of Russia, in Moscow (founded in 1756 and given its own building in 1824)
* The Maly Thea ...
, and the Opera Theatre at Stanislavski's acting studios.
![Simov-Khovanshchina](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Simov-Khovanshchina.jpg)
In 1924, he designed sets depicting Mars, for the groundbreaking science-fiction film, ''
Aelita
''Aelita'' (russian: Аэли́та, ), also known as ''Aelita: Queen of Mars'', is a 1924 Soviet silent science fiction film directed by Yakov Protazanov and produced at the Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio. It was based on Alexei Tolstoy's 1923 ...
'', by
Yakov Protazanov
Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (russian: Яков Александрович Протазанов; 4 February ( O.S. 23 January ) 1881 – 8 August 1945) was a Russian and Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of ...
. The following year, he also served as an artist, under the direction of
Ivan Stepanov, for ''
The Stationmaster'', a dramatic film based on a story by
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
.
Later that same year, he returned to the Art Theatre, where he would stay until his death in 1935, aged seventy-seven.
References
Further reading
* Paul Fryer and Anastasia Toros (Eds.) ''Viktor Simov: Stanislavsky’s Designer'', Routledge, 2019
* Y. I. Nekhoroshev
''Декоратор Художественного театра Виктор Андреевич Симов''(full text) Советский художник, 1984, 208 pages
External links
''Aelita: Queen of Mars''(complete film) @ YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simov, Viktor Andreievich
1858 births
1935 deaths
Russian scenic designers
19th-century painters from the Russian Empire
Russian male painters
20th-century Russian painters
19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire
20th-century Russian male artists
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni