Serov

A Double Portrait: Sargent and Sorolla

Tom Birchenough

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#2 2007 (15)

One of the main exhibitions of Winter 2006 in Madrid was an unprecedented “double” exhibition of the artists John Singer Sargent and Joaquin Sorolla, staged in two locations – the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and the major central city exhibition hall, the Fundacion Caja Madrid. After its closure in Spain in January, it will run at the Petit Palais in Paris until May 13.

A Double Portrait: Sargent and Sorolla

ONE OF THE MAIN EXHIBITIONS OF WINTER 2006 IN MADRID WAS AN UNPRECE­DENTED "DOUBLE" EXHIBITION OF THE ARTISTS JOHN SINGER SARGENT AND JOA­QUIN SOROLLA, STAGED IN TWO LOCATIONS - THE THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA MUSEUM, AND THE MAJOR CENTRAL CITY EXHIBITION HALL, THE FUNDACION CAJA MADRID. AFTER ITS CLOSURE IN SPAIN IN JANUARY, IT WILL RUN AT THE PETIT PALAIS IN PARIS UNTIL MAY 13.

Creative Discoveries of the Russian Artist-travelers

Margarita Krylova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#2 2010 (27)

The late 18th century saw the appearance in Russia of the “artist-traveler” - artists who accompanied official delegations to new lands, or visited Europe on Academy fellowships, or traveled independently, always recording their impressions of their journeys. Drawing was the most direct form in which to do so: their sketches from nature - the first step towards final, finished compositions - were created using different media (pencil, quill, watercolour or pastel), and preserved intact the freshness of the artistic perception of nature, architectural landmarks, and people. An exhibition of graphic artwork from the Tretyakov Gallery collection, held from June 2009 through January 2010, featured more than 350 pieces from the late 18 th to the early 20th century (up until the 1930s), created by artists during their travels across the Russian empire and the world.

Creative Discoveries of the Russian Artist-travelers

The "Girl with Peaches": who is she?

Sergei Chernyshev

Article: 
EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS
Magazine issue: 
#3 2015 (48)

Serov’s famous painting “Girl with Peaches” depicts my grandmother Vera Mamontova in her childhood. I never met her. She died when her daughter, my mother, was only just two. During her short life she managed to accomplish everything that was expected from a woman of her milieu at that time. She was an obedient daughter, a loving sister, a bride who suffered separation from her bridegroom, a caring mother... Her surviving letters, as well as the reminiscences of those who knew her, reveal much about her life.

The "Girl with Peaches": who is she?

Serov’s famous painting “Girl with Peaches” depicts my grandmother Vera Mamontova in her childhood. I never met her. She died when her daughter, my mother, was only just two. During her short life she managed to accomplish everything that was expected from a woman of her milieu at that time. She was an obedient daughter, a loving sister, a bride who suffered separation from her bridegroom, a caring mother... Her surviving letters, as well as the reminiscences of those who knew her, reveal much about her life.

A master of Children’s Portraiture

Suzanna Serova

Article: 
FOUNDATION “GRANY. ART - CRYSTAL - BRUT” PRESENTS
Magazine issue: 
#3 2015 (48)

Artists have always been drawn to the singularity of childhood, that time in an individual’s life when one’s perception of the world is not yet clouded, and when a child looks at everything in it with happiness and trust. In Western European art, images of the Madonna and child express the inseparability of motherhood and childhood, the connection of both blood and spirit that demands protection, love and empathy.

A master of Children’s Portraiture

Artists have always been drawn to the singularity of childhood, that time in an individual’s life when one’s perception of the world is not yet clouded, and when a child looks at everything in it with happiness and trust.

In Western European art, images of the Madonna and child express the inseparability of motherhood and childhood, the connection of both blood and spirit that demands protection, love and empathy.

From "Memoirs" by Maria Favorskaya (Derviz)

Publication by Ivan Shakhovskoy[1]

Article: 
FOUNDATION “GRANY. ART - CRYSTAL - BRUT” PRESENTS
Magazine issue: 
#3 2015 (48)

The painter and graphic artist Maria Favorskaya (1887-1959) wrote her “Memoirs” in the 1950s. Her father Vladimir (von) Derviz (1859-1937), a watercolour artist, studied at the Academy of Arts together with Valentin Serov and Mikhail Vrubel, who became his lifelong friends. Vladimir Derviz also graduated from the Imperial School of Jurisprudence, and in 1885 he married Nadezhda Simonovich (1866-1908), Serov’s cousin. With his inheritance from his father, a St. Petersburg senator, Vladimir bought an estate close to Tver, Domotkanovo. Nadezhda had always wanted to live in the country, and her husband, while enjoying painting watercolours of the surrounding countryside, actively participated in the work of the “Zemstvo” (local council) and, until his wife’s death, in the improvement of his household and those of local peasants.

From "Memoirs" by Maria Favorskaya (Derviz)

The painter and graphic artist Maria Favorskaya (1887-1959) wrote her “Memoirs” in the 1950s. Her father Vladimir (von) Derviz (1859-1937), a watercolour artist, studied at the Academy of Arts together with Valentin Serov and Mikhail Vrubel, who became his lifelong friends. Vladimir Derviz also graduated from the Imperial School of Jurisprudence, and in 1885 he married Nadezhda Simonovich (1866-1908), Serov’s cousin. With his inheritance from his father, a St. Petersburg senator, Vladimir bought an estate close to Tver, Domotkanovo.

Serov’s Women: two portraits, two lives

Irina Mironova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#3 2015 (48)

Behind the images of women in portraits by Valentin Serov, as well as Mikhail Vrubel, Boris Kustodiev and Konstantin Somov, are lasting notions of a certain look, disposition and character typical of “the fair sex”. Both Cleopatra Obninskaya and Yelena Balina belonged to the type called a “Serov woman”, whose beauty was equal to their soulfulness, dignity and grace.

Serov’s Women: two portraits, two lives

Behind the images of women in portraits by Valentin Serov, as well as Mikhail Vrubel, Boris Kustodiev and Konstantin Somov, are lasting notions of a certain look, disposition and character typical of “the fair sex”. Both Cleopatra Obninskaya and Yelena Balina belonged to the type called a “Serov woman”, whose beauty was equal to their soulfulness, dignity and grace.

The Artist’s Wife: Olga Serova

Natalya Ilyina, Olga Kovaleva

Article: 
FOUNDATION “GRANY. ART - CRYSTAL - BRUT” PRESENTS
Magazine issue: 
#3 2015 (48)

The Department of Manuscripts of the Tretyakov Gallery has about one hundred letters written by the Russian artist Valentin Alexandrovich Serov to his wife Olga Fyodorovna Serova. Purchased from the couple’s daughter Olga Valentinovna Serova in the 1930s, they form a key part of the great artist’s documentary heritage, and although his wife’s letters have not survived, the collection is testimony to the huge affection Serov felt towards his life companion.

The Artist’s Wife: Olga Serova

"Await me not with impatience, but with patience''1
(Valentin Serov, in a letter to his wife, Olga)

Valentin Serov and Leon Bakst. Seeking an ideal

Yelena Terkel

Article: 
EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS
Magazine issue: 
#3 2015 (48)

Valentin Serov (1865-1911) appeared reserved, earnest, and sombre; Leon Bakst (1866-1924) was vibrant, unpredictable and a little funny - a dedicated dandy. What was it that brought together these two artists, so unlike one another? Why did their fondness for one another grow in the years after they met while publishing “Mir Iskusstva” (World of Art) magazine? The answer seems simple and complicated at the same time: deep down, they were looking for something indiscernibly similar. While their public personas were so different, both used them to protect their respective creative selves from the rude intrusions of outsiders. Both artists were successful and famous, each in his own unique way; both were chasing their dreams and looking for new paths and expressions, while remaining honest and true to themselves in their artistic pursuits.

Valentin Serov and Leon Bakst. Seeking an ideal

Valentin Serov (1865-1911) appeared reserved, earnest, and sombre; Leon Bakst (1866-1924) was vibrant, unpredictable and a little funny - a dedicated dandy. What was it that brought together these two artists, so unlike one another? Why did their fondness for one another grow in the years after they met while publishing “Mir Iskusstva” (World of Art) magazine? The answer seems simple and complicated at the same time: deep down, they were looking for something indiscernibly similar.

Valentin Serov: experimenting with sculpture

Irina Krasnikova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#3 2015 (48)

Serov’s contribution to the art of sculpture should not be seen as the result of any serious professional application, being instead a kind of “intermission” in his hard work as a painter. Most of his “non-painterly” works seem to have appeared spontaneously: they had nothing to do with the general direction that his artistic career was taking at any point, were confined to separate periods of his career, and may be characterized as “trying his hand at sculpting”.

Valentin Serov: experimenting with sculpture

Serov’s contribution to the art of sculpture should not be seen as the result of any serious professional application, being instead a kind of “intermission” in his hard work as a painter. Most of his “non-painterly” works seem to have appeared spontaneously: they had nothing to do with the general direction that his artistic career was taking at any point, were confined to separate periods of his career, and may be characterized as “trying his hand at sculpting”.

Valentin Serov, the teacher

Svetlana Yesenina

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#3 2015 (48)

Any discussion of Serov as a teacher ought to focus mainly on his work at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (MSPSA), since it afforded the exceptional artist an opportunity to interact with talented youth and unlocked his outstanding teaching talents. Teaching at private schools from time to time, Serov understood, however, that a consistent approach to the training of the young generation could only be achieved using the solid foundations that had been formed at MSPSA over decades. Perhaps this explains why he accepted the offer of the position as a life-drawing instructor in 1897, after the school’s inspector, and then director, Alexei Lvov had spent several years trying to persuade him to take the job. That was the beginning of Serov’s nearly 12-year-long service, which left an indelible mark in the school’s history.

Valentin Serov, the teacher

Any discussion of Serov as a teacher ought to focus mainly on his work at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (MSPSA), since it afforded the exceptional artist an opportunity to interact with talented youth and unlocked his outstanding teaching talents. Teaching at private schools from time to time, Serov understood, however, that a consistent approach to the training of the young generation could only be achieved using the solid foundations that had been formed at MSPSA over decades.

Syndicate content