Sergei Svetoslavsky

Painter, graphic artist, illustrator, decorator, teacher. Born in the family of a court councillor called Ivan Svetoslavsky in Kiev (1857). Studied under Alexei Savrasov, Vasily Perov, Yevgraf Sorokin, Illarion Pryanishnikov and Vasily Polenov at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1875–83). Travelled across the Ukraine and Crimea (1880, 1883). Lived in Kiev (1884–90) and Moscow (1884–90). Married Alexandra Jurgenson (1890), daughter of Tchaikovsky’s music publisher Peter Jurgenson (1836–1904). Member of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions (1891–1900). Returned to Kiev (1895), where he painted a series of panels for timber merchant Semyon Mogiltsev on subjects from Count Alexei Tolstoy’s historical novel Prince Serebryany (1904–08). Taught painting at his private studio in Kiev (1905–07) and drew satirical cartoons for Hornet magazine (1906). Travelled across Central Asia (1910–11). Suffered from eyesight problems and abandoned painting (1920s). Died in Kiev and buried at Lukianov Cemetery (1931). Contributed to exhibitions (from 1884). Contributed to the exhibitions of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions (from 1884), Moscow Society of Lovers of the Arts (1890–91, 1907), Kiev Fellowship of Art Exhibitions (1894, 1896), Fellowship of South Russian Artists (1900), World of Art (1901–02), 36 Artists (1902), Imperial Academy of Arts (1907), The Four Seasons: Landscapes in Russia (19th–20th Centuries) at the Russian Museum in St Petersburg (2006–07), Pan-Russian Exhibition of Industry and Agriculture in Nizhny Novgorod (1896) and the Exposition Universelle in Paris (1900, bronze medal).