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 million ...

- 21 August 1935, Moscow) was a Russian painter and

scenographer A scenographer or production designer, develops the appearance of a stage design, a TV or movie set, a gaming environment, a trade fair exhibition design or a museum experience exhibition design. The term originated in theater. A scenographer work ...

Biography

He graduated from 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 ...

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. Busine ...

, 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

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone ( lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

s. 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 Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

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 Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Soviet Russian th ...

.''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 out ...

in collaboration with the architect,

Leonid Vesnin Leonid Aleksandrovich Vesnin (Леони́д Александрович Веснин; 28 November .S. 10 December1880 – 8 October 1933), was a Russian and Soviet architect. The oldest of Vesnin brothers, who were influential in developing Constr ...

.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 Theat ...

, and the Opera Theatre at Stanislavski's acting studios. Simov-Khovanshchina

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 Ivan Stepanov (1887–1953) was a Soviet art director.Barsacq p.251 Selected filmography * '' The Stationmaster'' (1925) * '' The Nightingale'' (1936) * ''The Childhood of Maxim Gorky'' (1938) * ''In the Rear of the Enemy In the Rear of the Enem ...

, 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

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

Biography

References

Further reading

External links