Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
1878-1939
Petrov-Vodkin, who was born in Khvalynsk (Saratov Oblast) into the family of a shoemaker, became one of the most important and influential Russian painters of the first half of the 20th century.
Petrov-Vodkin’s first exposure to art was in the studio of an icon painter, a theme that remained with him for much of his career. Having failed to find a place at a railway college in Samara, he turned to art classes before an introduction to the architect R Meltzer earned him an invitation to study art in St Petersburg, an education that was financed by a charitable subscription among local merchants. At this time, he met Victor Borisov-Musatov, also from Saratov.
Petrov-Vodkin stayed in St Petersburg from 1895 to 1897, studying at the Baron Stieglits School, before moving to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In 1901 he travelled to Munich to take classes with Anton Ažbe, graduating in 1904.
Even during his early years, Petrov-Vodkin’s work caused controversy. Part Symbolist, part erotic, it sparked discussion throughout society. His 1912 masterpiece, Bathing the Red Horse (1912), became his most iconic work – a symbol of impending social changes.
Petrov-Vodkin used ‘spherical perspective’, a unique approach that distorted his drawing to make the viewer appear high enough to notice the spherical curve of the globe. He deployed the technique extensively in works like ‘Death of a Commissar’ and ‘In the Line of Fire’, which make the observer seem more distant, but actually close. It is argued that this is a development of Byzantine perspective – an inverted viewpoint used in iconography.
In 1927, Petrov-Vodkin contracted pulmonary tuberculosis and had to curtail painting for several years. He turned to literature and wrote three major semi-autobiographical volumes: ‘Khvalynsk’, ‘Euclid’s Space’ and ‘Samarkandia’. In 1932 he was elected the first president of the Leningrad Union of Artists.
