Nikolai Alexandrovich Clodt von Jürgensburg (, known in Russia as Nikolai Klodt, 14 October 1865 – 23 September 1918) was a Russian painter of landscape and, later in his life, theatre stage-designer.Nikolai Klodt
at the Museum of Russian Impressionism site

Biography

Nikolai Klodt was born on 14 October 1865 in Saint Petersburg to an artistic family. The sculptor

Peter Clodt von Jürgensburg Peter Jakob Freiherr Clodt von Jürgensburg (; 5 June 1805 – 25 November 1867) was a Russian sculptor. He was well regarded by Nicholas I of Russia. Biography Born in Saint Petersburg, Klodt belonged to a distinguished family of Baltic Ger ...

was his grandfather. Two of his uncles, and Mikhail Konstantinovich Klodt, were well-known painters too. He studied at the

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (), also known by the acronym MUZHVZ, was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow ...

which he graduated in 1886. Among his tutors were

Vladimir Makovsky Vladimir Yegorovich Makovsky (; – 21 February 1920) was a Russian painter, art collector, and teacher. Biography Makovsky was the son of collector, Egor Ivanovich Makovsky, who was one of the founders of the Moscow Art School. Vladimir ha ...

and

Evgraf Sorokin Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin, or Yevgraf Semyonovich Sorokin (; 18 December 1821, Nekrasovskoye (Bolshie Soli) – 1892, Moscow) was a Russian artist and teacher; known for historical, religious and genre paintings. Biography His first exposure to ...

.Николай Александрович Клодт фон Юргенсбург
at www.art-catalog.ru In the late 1880s–early 1890s Klodt read fine arts at the Anatoly Gunst Art College. He spent most of the decade on the road, and his works of this period were strongly influenced by his travels to the Russian North, and along the

Volga River The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

.Художественные династии: семья Клодтов
// Art Dynasties. The Klodt family In 1900 Klodt took part in organising and designing of the Russian pavilion for the Paris World Fair, mostly in collaboration with

Konstantin Korovin Konstantin (Constantin) Alekseyevich Korovin (; 11 September 1939) was a leading Russian Impressionist painter. Biography Youth and education Konstantin was born into a wealthy merchant family of Old Believers

, who played the major part in the exposition (and was later awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

by the French government). In 1901 Klodt, now under the strong influence of

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, started to work as stage designer, for the leading theatres of St Petersburg and Moscow. With Korovin he created the stage design for the ballet ''

The Little Humpbacked Horse ''The Little Humpbacked Horse'' () is a Russian literary fairy tale in verse by Pyotr Yershov written in 1830s and first published in 1834. Its protagonist is Ivan the Fool with his magical helper, little humpback horse. It has become a Russi ...

'' by

Cesare Pugni Cesare Pugni (; ; 31 May 1802, in Genoa – ) was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. He studied composition with Bonifazio Asioli and violin with Alessandro Rolla. In his early career he composed operas, symph ...

at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

, in 1901. In 1903, working with set designs by

Alexandre Benois Alexandre (Alexander) Nikolayevich Benois (; Salmina-Haskell, Larissa. ''Russian Paintings and Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum''. pp. 15, 23-24. Published by Ashmolean Museum, 19899 February 1960) was a Russian artist, art critic, historian, ...

, he decorated the scene of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's ''

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). I ...

'' for

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

. Klodt regularly took part in the expositions of the leading Russian art groups, including

Peredvizhniki Peredvizhniki (, ), often called The Wanderers or The Itinerants in English, were a group of Russian realism (arts), realist artists who formed an artists' cooperative in protest of academic restrictions; it evolved into the ''Society for Trave ...

(1894), the Moscow Art Society (1889, 1892–1895, 1897), The Exposition of the Thirty Six (Выставка 36-ти художников, 1901, 1902) and the Union of Russian Artists (1903–1917). His major works are exposed at the

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Muscovite merchant Pavel ...

and

Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (), formerly known as the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (), on Arts Square in Saint Petersburg, is the world's largest depository of Russian fine art. It is also one of the largest art museums in ...

, as well as the regional museums, in Plyos,

Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...

, and

Vologda Vologda (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as ...

.Клодт, Николай Александрович
at www.gelos.ru Nikolai Klodt died on 23 September 1918 in Moscow and is interred in

Vagankovo Cemetery Vagankovo Cemetery () is located in the Presnensky District of Moscow, Russia. It was established in 1771, in an effort to curb 1770–1772 Russian plague, an outbreak of bubonic plague in Central Russia. The cemetery was one of those created ou ...

Legacy

Among the colleagues who valued his legacy exceptionally high was

Igor Grabar Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar (, 25 March 1871 – 16 May 1960) was a Russian Post-Impressionist painter, publisher, restorer and historian of art. Grabar, descendant of a wealthy Rusyn family, was trained as a painter by Ilya Repin in Saint Pe ...

, who considered him to be Russia's "greatly underrated master of art" who "during his endless travels developed extraordinary technical prowess as well as the unique style which made its marks in the history of Russian fine art."

Selected works by Nikolai Klodt

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clodt Von Jurgensburg, Nikolai 1865 births 1918 deaths Painters from Saint Petersburg 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters 20th-century Russian painters Landscape painters from the Russian Empire Realist painters from the Russian Empire Impressionist painters from the Russian Empire Scenic designers from the Russian Empire Ballet designers Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian male artists Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni