Arkhip Kuindzhi

Arkhip Kuindzhi was born in Mariupol, a town in the Yekaterinoslav Governorate of the Russian Empire, to a landowner named Alexey Dyakonov and a serf woman. He was an illegitimate child, and his name was derived from Kypris, one of the Greek names for the goddess of love. He was raised by a serf named Adam Shvalbe, who married his mother and gave him his surname. He studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he showed his talent for portrait painting. He painted his adoptive father in 1804, which impressed his contemporaries and earned him a gold medal. He also painted portraits of famous Russian writers, such as Alexander Pushkin, Vasily Zhukovsky, and Mikhail Lermontov. He traveled extensively in Europe, especially in Italy, where he was influenced by the works of the French Impressionists. He was impressed by their use of light and color, and he adopted their style in his own paintings. He also worked as a theatre artist, designing sets and costumes for Mamontov's opera house and later for the Bolshoi Theatre and the Mariinsky Theatre. He painted scenes from various countries and cultures, such as Norway, North Africa, India, and Japan. He also painted portraits of his friends and famous people, such as Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, and Fyodor Chaliapin. He became a member of the Mir iskusstva (World of Art) movement, which promoted individualism and aestheticism in art. He was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French government in 1900. After the October Revolution of 1917, Kuindzhi's life became difficult. He lost his income and his property, and he suffered from eye problems that affected his vision. He was invited to teach at the Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops, but he found the new Soviet art policies restrictive and oppressive. He decided to leave Russia in 1923, and settled in Paris, where he continued to paint and exhibit his works. He also visited the United States, where he painted a series of portraits of Hollywood stars. He died in 1910 in Paris and was buried in the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery. His works are widely admired for their vibrant and expressive use of color and light, and they are displayed in many museums, such as the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, and the Pushkin Museum.