Alexei Stepanovich Stepanov (Russian: Алексей Степанович Степанов; 6 May 1858, in

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

– 5 October 1923, in

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 ...

) was a Russian

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

painter, illustrator and art teacher. He was a member of 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 a founder of the "Union of Russian Artists".

Biography

His father, who was from a noble family, served as an officer in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. His mother died not long after his birth, and his father followed in 1863, so he was taken to a special branch of the

Moscow Orphanage The Moscow Orphanage or Foundling Home (russian: Воспитательный дом в Москве) was an ambitious project conceived by Catherine II of Russia, Catherine the Great and Ivan Betskoy, in the early 1760s. This idealistic experime ...

(for children from military families),Brief biography
@ RusArtNet. located on an estate formerly owned by Count Alexey Razumovsky. After completing his public school education, Stepanov entered the and graduated as an official surveyor in 1879. From 1880 to 1883, he audited classes given by

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 ...

and Evgraf Sorokin 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 ...

.Biographical notes
@ Art Catalog. While there, he made the acquaintance of

Leonid Sabaneyev Leonid Leonidovich Sabaneyev or Sabaneyeff or Sabaneev (russian: Леони́д Леони́дович Сабане́ев) (3 May 1968) was a Russian musicologist, music critic, composer and scientist. He was the son of Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneye ...

, who edited the magazine ''Природа и Охота'' (Nature and Hunting), for which Stepanov provided over a hundred drawings from 1883 to 1895. In 1888, he began exhibiting with the Peredvizhniki and, the following year, his painting "Moose Herd" was purchased by

Pavel Tretyakov Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov (russian: Па́вел Миха́йлович Третьяко́в; 27 December 1832 – 16 December 1898) was a Russian businessman, patron of art, collector, and philanthropist who gave his name to the Tretyakov Gal ...

. During that same period, he became a lecturer at the "School of Fine Arts" operated by the architect Anatoly Gunst. Shortly after,

Valentin Serov Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (russian: Валенти́н Алекса́ндрович Серо́в; 19 January 1865 – 5 December 1911) was a Russian painter and one of the premier portrait artists of his era. Life and work Youth and educ ...

invited him to teach at his old alma mater, the Moscow School of Painting. He was later named a Professor and remained there until 1918. Among his notable students there were Sergey Gerasimov,

Boris Ioganson Boris Vladimirovich Ioganson (russian: Борис Владимирович Иогансон, – 25 February 1973) also commonly known as B. V. Johanson, was a Russian and Soviet painter and educator. Biography Ioganson was born on in Moscow ...

Pavel Korin Pavel Dmitriyevich Korin (russian: Павел Дмитриевич Корин; - 22 November 1967) was a Russian painter and art restorer. He is famous for his preparational work for the unimplemented painting ''Farewell to Rus''. Life and ...

and

Leonard Turzhansky Leonard Viktorovich Turzhansky (russian: Леонард Викторович Туржанский; 1875 in Yekaterinburg – 1945 in Moscow) was a Russian impressionist painter. Biography Leonard Turzhansky was born to a family of a medical do ...

. In 1894, he accompanied the art collector Nikolai Medyntsev (1841-1904) and his family on a trip to Europe, visiting Germany, Northern Italy and France, where he was influenced by the

Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. The following year, he married Medyntsev's daughter, Lyudmila. In 1903, he was part of the group that defected from the Peredvizhniki to form the "Union of Russian Artists". Two years later, he received the title of "Academician" from 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 ...

for his painting "Morning Greetings". From 1906 to 1914, he spent his summers at his estate in

Tver Governorate Tver Governorate (russian: Тверская губерния, ''Tverskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a ''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 ...

. After 1920, he became seriously ill, but continued to work. One of his last paintings "Качели" (The Swing) was acquired by the

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are four museums that are operated by the Carnegie Institute headquartered in the Carnegie Institute complex in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Carnegie Institute complex, which includes t ...

Selected paintings

File:Алексей С. Степанов - Деревенские качели.jpg, The Swing File:Stepanov 008.jpg, Moose Herd File:Stepanov 004.jpg, Morning Greetings

References

External links

Arcadja Auctions: More works by Stepanov

An appreciation of Stepanov
@ Plyos {{DEFAULTSORT:Stepanov, Alexei 1858 births 1923 deaths Genre painters Peredvizhniki Artists from Simferopol Russian illustrators Art educators 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

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links