Background

Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev was born on March 7, 1878, in Astrakhan, Russian Empire (currently Russian Federation) to a family of Mihail Lukic Kustodiev and Ekaterina Prokhorovna Kustodieva.

Mihail Lukic taught philosophy, history of literature and logic art at the Astrakhan theological seminary. To earn more money, he gave private lessons. He died when Boris was a two-year-old boy.

Boris Kustodiev had two elder sisters named Ekaterina and Alexandra, and a young brother Mihail who was born a few months after the death of Mihail Lukic.

Kustodiev revealed his abilities for painting at the age of five. Since then, he had drawn everything he saw.

At the age of eleven, the young boy made a decision to become a professional painter after his sister Alexandra took him at the show organized by the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions.

Education

Boris Kustodiev entered the Astrakhan religious school in 1887 as a son of a teacher where he had studied holy image painting for five years. Then, he became a student of the Astrakhan theological seminary. At the age of fifteen, the young artist began to take art lessons from the painter Pavel Vlasov. The latter encouraged his pupil to pursue his artistic training at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts.

Kustodiev left the seminary in 1896, relocated to Saint Petersburg where his uncle lived and entered the Academy.

Firstly, he attended the classes of the history painter Vasily Savinsky and after the course of Ilya Repin. At the same time, the young artist learned sculpture under Dmitry Stelletsky and etching under Vasiliy Mate.

Boris Kustodiev graduated on October 31, 1903, with a gold medal and the fellowship which allowed him to travel around his homeland and abroad. A year later, the artist developed his artistic skills in Paris where he took private lessons at the René Ménard’s workshop. The artist also visited Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain.

Career

Boris Kustodiev’s career started from the International exhibition in Brussels of 1900. The next year, he took part in the International art exhibition in Munich, then at the exhibition of the Vienna Secession. These first presentations provided the artist with first success.

In 1904, he co-founded the artistic group called New Society of Artists. The following year Kustodiev started to contribute to such satirical magazines as ‘Zhupel’ (‘Bugbear’), ‘Adskaia Pochta’ (‘Hellish Mail’) for which he produced the caricatures of notable tsarist personalities like Ignatiev, Pobedonostsev and Dubasov. He also showed the revolutionary events and the working class’s struggle against autocracy.

The same period he tried his hand as a book illustrator for the first time. During his lifetime, Kustodiev illustrated the writings of such authors as Nikolai Nekrasov, Nikolai Leskov, Nikolai Gogol, Mikhail Lermontov and Lev Tolstoy.

In 1910, the artist began to teach at the E. S. Zarudnaya-Kavos Art School and later gave lessons in painting at the New Art workshop in Saint Petersburg.

Other activity in which he was involved became the decoration. In 1911, he began to collaborate with various theatres as a scenographer. In particular, he created the scene decorations and the costumes for ‘The Death of Pazukhin’ by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin and ‘The Ardent Heart’ by Nikolai Ostrovsky at the Studio of Moscow Art Theatre. Ostrovsky was one of the favourite Kustodiev’s authors because Ostrovsky shared his passion for the Russian provincial life and the world of the merchant class.

In 1913, Kustodiev received an invitation from A. V. Shchusev to design the Kazansky railway station in Moscow for which he produced the sketches of decorative panels. One more project in this field became the scene design for The Flea by E. I. Zamyatin in the Bolshoi Drama Theatre in 1925-1926.

After the Revolution of 1917, Boris Kustodiev applied his artistic skills to the agitation design for the celebrations in Petrograd (former name of Saint Petersburg). Besides, he created the covers of various periodicals of this period including ‘The Red Cornfield’ and ‘Red Panorama’.

At the beginning of the new decade, Kustodiev had his first solo exhibition at the Petrograd House of Arts. In a couple of years, his artworks were included at the First Russian Art exhibition in the Van Diemen gallery in Berlin. The New York public had a chance to admire Kustodiev’s art in 1924-1925, and the Parisian one – in 1927 at the debut exhibition of the group ‘Mir Iskusstva’ (‘World of Art’) in the gallery Bernheim.

One of the last artist’s paintings became ‘Russian Venus’ which he finished a year before his death.

Achievements

• Boris Kustodiev was an exceptional Russian artist of the 20th century whose excellent painting skills continue to be widely recognized nowadays.
  
  During his career, he received such awards as the Silver Medal of the International Exhibition in Brussels, the Gold Medal of the International Art Exhibition in Munich and the Grand Prix of the Union of Austrian Artists.
  
  The artist was entrusted with the creation of portraits of Alexander I and the famous singer Feodor Chaliapin.
  
  After Kustodiev’s death, the huge retrospectives of his art were organized in 1928-1929 by the State Russian Museum and the State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. This one was followed by many others the subsequent years.
  
  In 1978 and 2003 the special post stamp series were issued to commemorate the artist.
  
  There are two art museums dedicated to Boris Kustodiev – in Astrakhan and in the village Ostrovskoye of the Kostroma Oblast. Many streets in various Russian Cities including Saint Petersburg, Moscow and Astrakhan are named after the painter as well as the aeroplane Boeing 737 of the Aeroflot airlines.
  
  Boris Kustodiev’s heritage is preserved in public and private collections such as the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum, Kiev Museum of Russian Art and others.

Works

More photos

• painting

  • Portrait of the commandant of the Mariinsky Palace, Major General Pavel Shevelev

  • Finance Minister V.N. Kokovtsov

  • Finance Minister Sergei Witte

  • Portrait of Y.E. Kustodieva

  • Portrait of a singer I.V. Ershov

  • Group portrait of painters of the World of Art

  • Portrait of Stepan Nikolsky, the Artist's Uncle

  • Portrait of Y.E. Kustodieva

  • Portrait of N.V. Muraviev

  • From the Books of R. Notgaft. Bookplate

  • Street of City B.

  • Poetry

  • Portrait of I.B. Kustodieva

  • Portrait of Philip IV

  • Portrait of N.I. Zelenskaya

  • Horses of Saint Mark. Venice

  • Self-portrait

  • Portrait of the writer D.L. Mordovtsev

  • Self-portrait

  • Abbess

  • Portrait of E.E. Lansere

  • Children of the Artist

  • Portrait of Julia Evstafievna Kustodieva, the Artist's Wife

  • Bathing

  • At the Icon of the Saviour

  • Portrait of P.L. Barc

  • Alexander Murashko at work on a collective picture of the Model statement

  • Strike

  • Portrait of a Public Servant Nikolai Korevo

  • Abbess

  • Portrait of Y.E. Kustodieva with a Daughter Irina

  • Village Maurino, Kostroma

  • Fist Fight on the Moscow River

  • In the Bois de Boulogne

  • Portrait of Elizabeth Mikhailovna Botkina

  • Portrait of M.I. Heylik

  • Dunka's Grove. In the Polenovs' Estate

  • A Rural Holiday

  • Portrait of the Count N.P. Ignatieff

  • Portrait of E.A. Polevitskaya

  • Chairman of the Council of Ministers I.L.Goremykin

  • Group Portrait of Schwartz family

  • Portrait of F.K. Sologub

  • Red Tower of the Trinity Lavra of Saint Sergius

  • Alexander I

  • Blooming Wisteria

  • State Secretary General Mikhail Galkin-Vrasky

  • Women

  • Portrait of a Woman in Blue (Portrait of P. Sudkovskaya)

  • Akaky Akakiyevich visiting Petrovich

  • Portrait of A.K. Kashparova

  • Etude with a Peasant for a Missing Picture 'From Church'

  • Portrait of S. Somov

  • Appearance of Tsar Ivan the Terrible

  • Introduction. Picture from the magazine ‘Vampire’

  • Portrait of a Governor General of Finland N.I. Bobrikov

  • Portrait of Ilya Repin

  • Portrait of P. Salomon

  • Portrait of A.N. Protasova

  • Irina Kustodieva

  • Portrait of the artist's cousin Yuri Nikolaevich Smirnov

  • Dunja in Red

  • Self-portrait

  • Portrait of Ilya Repin

  • Statement of the model at Ilya Repin's classes in Academy of Arts

  • Portrait of a Lady. Model

  • Self-portrait

  • Portrait of a Woman (A.V. Rzhevuskaya)

  • Portrait of Irina Kustodieva with the dog Shumka

  • In the Rooms

  • Officers near the carriage

  • Illustration for Nikolai Nekrasov’s poem "Grandfather Mazay and the Hares"

  • Portrait of N.A. Podsosov

  • Building a Monastery

  • Portrait of L. S. Bakst

  • In a collector Schwartz's estate Uspenskoe in Staraya Ladoga village

  • Self-portrait near the Window

  • Portrait of A.A. Polovtsev

  • Policeman

  • Portrait of a Russian actor Vasily Luzhsky

  • F.V. Dubasov

  • Girl's Head

  • Portrait of Y. I. Lavrin

  • Assistant Minister of the Interior Count A. P. Ignatiev

  • At the Fair

  • May Day Demonstration at Putilov Factory

  • Nice

  • Grazing Horses

  • Church Parade of the Finlandsky Guard Regiment, December 12, 1905

  • Portrait of the Painter Ivan Bilibin

  • Moscow. Introduction. Picture from the 'Vampire' magazine

  • Peter the Great

  • Portrait of V.N.Argutinsky-Dolgorukov

  • Chief Procurator of the Synod K. Pobedonostsev

  • Festive Gathering

  • Family Portrait of Polenovs

  • Portrait of Count V.N. Kokovtsev

  • Portrait of a Woman

  • Portrait of a Priest and a Deacon

  • Self-portrait

  • Still Life. Pomegranates

  • Frosty Day

  • Portrait of M.V. Dobuzhinsky at the table

  • Archers Walking near Tavern

  • Statement of a model in Ilya Repin’s Studio

  • Seated Model

  • The head of Peter the Great

  • Visiting General

  • Portrait of Julia Petrovna Greek

  • Children

  • Portrait of Ivan Yershov, playing Siegfried

  • Portrait of D.M. Solsky

  • Nobility Assembly Hall in Saint Petersburg

  • General of Infantry Christopher Roop

  • Akaky Akakiyevich in the New Coat

  • Self-portrait

  • In the monastery

  • Children in the costumes

  • Pavlov's Mill on the river Yahrust

  • Paris at Night

  • Alexandre Benois

  • Paris Boulevard at Night

  • Reading of the Manifest

  • Portrait of Z. Proshinskaya

  • Portrait of F.A. Malyavin

  • Fair

  • Abbess

  • Province (Kostroma)

  • Self-portrait

  • Agitator (Man with a Raised Arm)

  • The Khorovod

  • In the Loge

  • Portrait of L.P. Albrecht

  • Illustration for "Singers" by Ivan Turgenev

  • Portrait of the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna

  • Playing the Whist

  • Portrait of T.F. Davydova

  • In the Loge

  • On the Volga

  • Senator P.A. Saburov

  • Fete at the Volga

  • Portrait of a baron Nikolai Karlovich von Meck

  • Flowers at the Balcony on Mountain Backgroumd

  • At marketplace

  • Field with Sheaves

  • Family Portrait

  • Akaky Akakiyevich on Nevsky Prospect

  • Village Boys

  • Portrait of Alexander Golovin

  • Lilac

  • Portrait of D.S. Stelletsky at Work

  • Venice

  • Portrait of Y.E. Kustodieva with a Son

  • Portrait of a sculptor and painter D.S. Stelletsky

  • Portrait of A.D. Romanova

  • Wife wakes up Chertokutsky

  • Portrait of a baron Nikolai Karlovich von Meck

  • Portrait of Y.E. Proshinskaya

  • Merchant Wives

  • In the Manor Vysokovo (Kostroma)

  • At the Window. Portrait of I.B. Kustodieva

  • Joining Kazan to Russia. Allegory

  • Portrait of Dr. S. Y. Lyubimov with a Dog

  • On the Terrace

  • Self-portrait

  • Zemstvo School in Moscow Russia

  • Portrait of the writer A.M. Remizov

  • Holiday in the countryside

  • Threshing

  • Portrait of D.F. Bogoslovsky

  • Kineshma. Steamer at the Pier

  • Portrait of Nicholas Roerich

  • Manor in the Park

  • Wing with a Porch

  • Boy with Teddy Bear

  • Portrait of a Sculptor N.L. Aronson

  • Portrait of an Unknown Woman

  • Morning

  • Self-portrait

  • Portrait of the Poet Sergey Gorodetsky

  • Portrait of Ilya Repin

  • Portrait of K.S. Petrov-Vodkin

  • Akaky Akakiyevich Returned from the Party

  • House in Uspenskoe

  • A dancer in a cabaret

  • Portrait of the Artist’s Wife

  • Square at the exit of the city

  • In the living room in Moscow in 1840s

  • Japanese Doll

  • Portrait of D.S. Stelletsky

  • Policeman Zhigunov

  • Portrait of a writer Alexandra Vasilevna Schwartz

  • The Model Wearing a Greatcoat

  • Joining Kazan to Russia. Allegory

  • Portrait of P.A. Vlasov

  • At the Fair

  • Portrait of R.I. Notgaft

  • Portrait of M.V. Dobuzhinsky

  • Portrait of D.F. Bogoslovsky

  • Revolt against the Boyars in the Old Russia

Politics

Boris Kustodiev told rarely about his political views, but he compassioned the struggle of the working class against autarchy.

Views

Quotations: "I do not know if I have been successful in expressing what I wanted to in my works: love of life, happiness and cheerfulness, love of things Russian – this was the only "subject" of my paintings ..."

Membership

• currently Russian Federation

  Union of the Russian Artists , Russia

  1907

• currently the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts in Russian Federation

  Imperial Academy of Arts , Russia

  1909

• World of Art Group , Russia

  1910

Personality

Physical Characteristics: Boris Kustodiev was diagnosed the spinal tumour in 1909. Although the multiple remedial actions, by 1916 the lower half of the artist’s body became paralyzed. The last ten years of his life he was confined to the wheelchair, but didn’t stop to paint and produced many of his most cheerful canvases.

Quotes from others about the person

• "I have great hopes for Kustodiev. He is a talented artist and a thoughtful and serious man with a deep love of art; he is making a careful study of nature..." Ilya Repin, a Russian painter

Connections

Boris Kustodiev met his future wife, Julia Evstafievna Proshinskaya, in 1900 during the trip to the Kostroma Region in order to find the subjects of his graduate project. They married three years later.

The family produced a son Kirill and a daughter Irina. The second child didn’t survive his infancy.

Father:

Mihail Lukic Kustodiev

Mother:

Ekaterina Prohorovna Kustodieva

Spouse:

Julia Evstafievna Proshinskaya

Sister:

Ekaterina Mikhailovna Kustodieva

Sister:

Alexandra Mikhailovna Kustodieva

Son:

Kirill Borisovich Kustodiev

Daughter:

Irina Borisovna Kustodieva

mentor:

Pavel Vlasov

mentor:

Vasily Savinsky

mentor:

Ilya Repin

mentor:

Dmitriy Stelletsky

mentor:

Vasily Mate

References

• Boris Kustodiev
  1983
• Boris Kustodiev A book by Vladimir Kruglov dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the artist's birth
  2003