From 1888 till 1897, he studied at the Academy of Arts, where from 1894 he took a course at Ilya Repin’s studio. Later he wrote that the first five years in the Academy were a lost and fruitless time. Nevertheless he took the studies very seriously and got a number of awards in the academy. The work with Repin can be felt in some of his paintings of those years, e.g. portraits of N. Ober, wife of the sculptor Ober (1896), Portrait of Father (1897), Self-Portrait (1898).
Since his childhood Somov was a friend of Alexander Benois; during their students’ years they often gathered together in the house of Benois, there Somov got acquainted with Sergei Dyagilev, future theatre interprener, and Lev Bakst.
In 1896, the new subjects appeared in his works: ladies and gentlemen in the 18th century garments, e.g. Rest after a Walk, Lady by the Pool, Promenade after Rain, etc. Such works, full of intimite poetry, elegant and refined, were far from the ideals of realistic art. The “gallant” 18th century was admired in Benois’ circle. Somov more than others was fond of French Rococo - Watteau, Fragonard, light chamber music by Rameau and Grétry, Gluck and Mozart. The artist preferred to work with watercolors, but sometimes used mixed techniques – combined watercolor with goache, whitewash and bronze. Somov’s works of 1896-97 are not those of a student, he found already his own theme and his individual style.
In autumn of 1897 he left Academy and went to Paris, where his friends, Benois, Lanceray, Bakst, Ober, Ostroumova had already left for. In Paris they frequented various private studios and the Académie Colarossi. In 1898 after return to St. Petersburg, the friends founded World of Art (Mir Iskusstva) society, with their own magazine. Sergei Diaghilev made much for founding of the society. The World of Art exhibitions attracted talented young artists of St. Petersburg and Moscow. The society played very important role in development of Russian art of the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1897-1900, Somov worked on a beautiful portrait of his childhood friend, and a peer in the Academy of Arts, the artist Elisabeth Martynova. She was often sick and he left abroad several times, and the work on the portrait took so long time. The portrait became known as “Lady in Blue”. Martynova’s colleague-painters remembered her as highly emotional, proud and easily wounded. She was sure that one day she would be a great artist. Unfortunately, she got ill with tuberculosis and died early.
In 1901 Somov painted another woman-artist, Anna Ostroumova (1901). “My portrait has likeness with me and has not. The features are mine, and even the pose is mine. But at the same time there is a lot of from Somov, some characteristics do not belong to me. This dreaming melancholic figure… I, though sometimes was sad of course, on the whole was energetic, businesslike and liked to laugh too much…”
Portraits and landscapes form the most realistic part of Somov’s work; his individual style reveals in original subject paintings, love scenes in interior and in the open air, retrospective views, such as Echo du temps passé, Enchantment, The Laughed Kiss, In the Bosquet, etc.
Since 1910, Somov more and more often turns to the subject of Arlequine, e.g. Lady and Harlequin (1912), Italian Comedy (1914), etc., traditional masks of commedia dell’arte. In 1906-10 the artists created a series of graphic portraits of Russian artists and poets for magazines and books: Alexander Blok (1907), Eugene Lanceray (1907), poet M.A. Kuzmin (1909), ballet-dancer N. Pozdnyakov (1910).
In 1900-1910, Somov’s works shown at exhibitions of “World of Art” society, Union of Russian painters, Munich and Berlin Sessecions, autumn Salon of 1906 in Paris and others became widely known in Europe. The artist was especially popular in Germany, where, in 1907, the first monograph about him was published by Oscar Bic. (Constantin Somov. by Oscar Bic. Berlin. 1907).
In 1913 Somov became an Academician, and in 1918 a professor of the Art College.
At the end of 1923 Somov immigrated to the USA. He stayed in the USA for 1 year. “…my art is absolutely alien to America,” he wrote in one of his letters. In summer of 1925, he moved to France, where, near Paris, the last 14 years of his work would pass. In this period he painted mainly portraits. Unfortunately, we can show you only one of his late works, the Portrait of Rahmaninov.
Constantin Somov died in Paris in 1939.
Somov, Andrei Ivanovich (1830-1909),
father of the artist; he was an art historian and senior curator
at the Hermitage, editor of the magazine ‘Vestnik Izyazhnyh Iskusstv’
(News of the World of Fine Arts), author of many articles and catalogues.
He collected many works of European and Russian artists; was a painter
and graphic artist himself.
See: Constantin Somov. Portrait of A.I.
Somov, the Artist's Father.
Blok, Alexander Alexandrovich (1880-1921)
Russian poet, born in St. Petersburg. In 1903 he married the daughter of
Mendeleyev. His first book of
poems, Songs about the Lady Fair (1904), was influenced by mysticism
of the philosopher Vladimir Soloviev, a Tolstoyan vision of reality beyond
appearances, where truth is embodied in ideal womanhood. In Noctural
Hours (1911) the ideal had given way to the realism of city squalor.
He welcomed the 1917 revolution and in 1918 wrote two poems, The Twelve
(translated into English in 1920), a symbolic sequence of revolutionary
themes, and The Scythians, an ode, inciting Europe to follow Russia.
He was soon disillusioned, however, and suffered greatly in the hard times,
which followed the revolution. Other works include the romantic verse drama
The Rose and the Cross.
See: Constantin Somov. Portrait of Alexander
Blok.
Lanceray, Evgeni Evgenievich (1875-1946)
Russian artist, born in Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg. Friend of C. Somov,
member the ‘World of Art’ movement.
See: Constantin Somov. Portrait of Eugine
Lanceray.
Kuzmin, Mikhail Alexeevich (1875-1936),
Russian poet-symbolist, author of sonnets, misteries, lyrical dramas, excellent
translator, art critic, composer, he was close to the artists of the World
of Art movement, and especially to Somov.
See: Constantin Somov. Portrait of the
Poet M. Kuzmin.
Rakhmaninov, Sergey Vasilyevich (1873-1943),
Russian composer and pianist, born in Nozhni-Novgorod. He studied in St.
Petersburg Conservatory and later in Moscow, where he won the gold medal
for composition. A brilliant performer he traveled all over Europe on concert
tours. In 1918, after Bolshevik’s revolution, he immigrated from Russia
and settled in the USA. An accomplished composer, he wrote operas, orchestral
works and songs, but is best known for his piano music, which includes
four concertos, the first three of which achieved enormous popularity,
and the inveterate Prelude in C Sharp Minor, the demand for which
at his own concerts nauseated even the composer himself. His style, devoid
of national characteristics, epitomizes the lush romanticism of the later
19th century, which is still apparent in his last major composition, Rhapsody
on a Theme of Paganini (1934) for piano and orchestra, which has remained
a concert favorite.
See: Constantin Somov. Portrait of the
Composer Sergey Rahmaninov.
Nosova, Euthymia, nee Ryabushinskaya, wife
of the Moscow manufacturer, she came from the bankers family of Ryabushinskys,
patrons of arts; in 1906-1909 they published magazine ‘Golden Fleece’
for which Somov made graphic works.
See: Constantin Somov. Portrait of Euthymia
Nosova, nee Ryabushinskaya
Bibliography:
Constantin Somov by irina Pruzhan. Moscow, 1972.
‘The World of Art’ Movement. by Vsevolod Petrov and Alexander
Kamensky. Aurora Art Publishers. Leningrad. 1991.