22 Facts About Konstantin Somov

Konstantin Somov was born on 30 November 1869 in Saint Petersburg.

Konstantin Somov was the second son of Andrei Somov, an art historian and senior curator at the Hermitage Museum.

Konstantin Somov instilled in her children a love of theatre, music, and painting.

Young Konstantin Somov dreamed of becoming an artist from a very young age.

At the age of 20, Konstantin Somov entered the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he studied under Ilya Repin, from 1888 to 1897.

Konstantin Somov traveled to Italy in 1890 and 1894, and the two winters he spent in Paris, in 1897 and 1898, he later recalled as the happiest days of his life.

In 1898 and 1899, Konstantin Somov was a founding member of Mir iskusstva, a Russian artistic movement and magazine that was a major influence on the Russians who revolutionized European art during the first decade of the 20th century.

Konstantin Somov served on the editorial board and contributed illustrations and designs.

Konstantin Somov had his first solo exhibition in Saint Petersburg in 1903.

Konstantin Somov's work was particularly appreciated in Germany, where the first monograph on him, by Oskar Bie, was published in 1907.

The colorful, festive visions created by Konstantin Somov had a darker side.

From 1907 to 1919, Konstantin Somov drew over 120 ink drawings, some merely suggestive, some quite explicit, for multiple editions of Le Livre de la Marquise.

Konstantin Somov's apartment was nationalized, and he was later evicted.

Konstantin Somov struggled to retain the rights to his art.

Konstantin Somov left Russia in 1923 to accompany the seminal exhibition of Russian Art that took place in New York in 1924.

Konstantin Somov never returned to his homeland, declaring Soviet Russia "absolutely alien to his art".

Konstantin Somov chose instead to settle in Paris in 1925, joining the community of Russian emigre artists, writers, dancers, and musicians that included his old friends Benois, Leon Bakst, and Zinaida Serebryakova.

Konstantin Somov helped Somov run his household and organize exhibitions, and served as Somov's trusted advisor and critic.

In 1918, Konstantin Somov painted a large portrait of Methodiy Lukyanov sitting on a sofa in pajamas and a dressing gown, which is in the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg.

In great distress, Konstantin Somov wrote to his sister in Russia:.

Konstantin Somov was buried in the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois Russian Cemetery, south of Paris.

In 2019, to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth, the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg mounted the exhibition Konstantin Somov, which brought together over 100 works by the artist.