Arseny Semionov

Arseny Nikiforovich Semionov (Russian: Арсе́ний Ники́форович Семе́нов; January 23, 1911in Maksimovo, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire – September 13, 1992 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) – Soviet Russian painter and art teacher, lived and worked in Leningrad, a member of the Leningrad Union of Artists, regarded as one of the representatives of the Leningrad school of painting, most famous for his landscape and cityscape paintings.

Arseny Nikiforovich Semionov was born January 23, 1911 in the village of Maksimkovo, Polotsk Uyezd, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire in the family of the master-builder of railway bridges. His father died when Arseny was four years old. The future artist spent his childhood in the Belarusian town of Bykhaw.

In 1927, after graduating from high school Arseny Semionov arrives in Leningrad. He works as a general worker, while engaged in painting and drawing at the private art studio of Alfred Eberling, a famous art teacher and a member of AKhRR (Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia). In 1930, Arseny Semionov take preparatory courses at the Academy of Fine Arts and in the same year he became a student of the Institute of Proletarian Fine Art.

Old Ladoga. A View on Volkhov river. 1963

Arseny Semionov years of study coincided with a radically reformed of institute and the whole system of art education. In 1932, the period ended, notorious in the history of the institute as "maslovschina". October 11, 1932 the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars accept the decree "On creation of the Academy of Arts." Institute of Proletarian Art was transformed into the Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Thus was the line be drawn under 15-year period of continuous transformations of the largest art institutions in the Soviet Union. However, it took several years to ensure that assemble disparate teaching force and a new way to build an art education. This process began a new director of the Academy of Fine Arts sculptor T. A. Matveev and his Deputy for Academic Affairs Professor of Painting Akexander Savinov. They invited for the teaching job at the institute professors Dmitry Kardovsky, Alexander Osmerkin, Semion Abugov, Yevgeny Lansere, Nikolai Radlov, Pavel Shillingovsky, Isaak Brodsky, and others, many have made subsequently to the formation of the Leningrad school of painting.

In 1934, the director of the All-Russian Academy of Arts and the Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture was appointed Isaak Brodsky, a pupil of Ilya Repin. To work at the Institute he attracts major artists and educators Konstantin Yuon, Pavel Naumov, Boris Ioganson, Alexander Lubimov, Rudolf Frentz, Nikolai Petrov, Vasily Shuhaev, Dmitry Kiplik, Nikolai Punin, Vasily Meshkov, Mikhail Bernshtein, Yefim Cheptsov, Ivan Bilibin, Matvey Manizer, Piotr Buchkin, Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Alexander Karev, Leonid Ovsyannikov, Sergei Priselkov, Ivan Stepashkin, Konstantin Rudakov, and others. At the department of painting was re-established a system of individual creative workshops in which students continued their studies after the second course. Workshops led by professor Isaak Brodsky, Boris Ioganson, Vladimir Yakovlev, Dmitry Kardovsky, Alexander Osmerkin, Alexander Savinov, Rudolf Frentz, Pavel Shillingovsky. It was in the studio Dmitry Kardovsky Arseny Semionov was lucky to do in the years 1934–1937.

Methodology and views Kardovsky boiled down to the fact that, firstly, the Academy would give the student professional knowledge to the extent necessary for a mature implementation of the finished work of art – school, how loved to talk Kardovsky, common to all students regardless of their artistic inclinations and orientations. Talent does not ruin it, but its mediocre student enough to be useful worker in the life.

Spring day. 1959

Second, studies should be carried out the influence of so-called "trends" in art. The task of the school – to give the student the knowledge and education, which is suitable for its development in any theoretical approach. Foundation of school – a study of the nature, utility – the study of art. The basis of learning – re-experience.

Third, the drawing should not be detached from the painting. A task, basically, need to be addressed comprehensively. Drawing – a means of mastering painting. Tone drawing – a means to organize color. The tone keep the unity of color. Therefore, the analysis of tone – the most important task for any art works. Finally, in the opinion of Kardovsky, the basis of all the work – identification of the disposition of nature.

Classes at the studio of Kardovsky, itself an outstanding personality of the teacher had a great influence on the fate of the young artist. His teaching methods and attitudes are deeply accepted by Arseny Semionov in his own teaching, which he has devoted almost half a century.

In 1937, shortly before graduation Institute in studio of Dmitry Kardovsky, Arseny Semenov became ill and was forced to stop training. After his recovery he obtains a certificate of completion of 5 courses of the department of painting without doing graduate work. He was sent to work in the Penza Art College. In 1938 Arseny Semionov accept membership in the Penza Organization of Soviet Artists.

From 1939 to 1944 Arseny Semionov in the Red Army's armored forces. He served in the Trans-Baikal and Mongolia. Party fights for Khalkhin Gol. From the first day of Great Patriotic War he participated in the battles. He rose from private to commander of a tank battalion. He was wounded five times, marked by military awards, including the Order of the Red Star, Order of the Patriotic War the first and second degrees, and medals. In 1944, Arseny Semionov was discharged on the injury.

Old Ladoga. 1972

From 1944 to 1947 Arseny Semionov taught at the High School of Arts at the Surikov Arts Institute in Moscow. In 1946 Semionov take in members of the Moscow organization of Soviet artists, he start participated in Moscow exhibitions. However, the paintings were created after a long break at work, there were only samples, an attempt to find its way into art.

In September 1947 Arseny Semionov returned to Leningrad and received a lecturer at the faculty of general painting of the Leningrad Higher School of Industrial Arts named after Vera Mukhina, where he worked for over forty years, nurtured several generations of artists. In the same 1947 he was accepted as a member of the Leningrad Union of Artists. Since the late 1940s Arseny Semionov participates in Exhibitions of Leningrad artists. Simultaneously he working under graduate painting "Motherhood", and in 1951 after fifteen years of forced interruption ends Repin Institute of Arts.

Throughout his life, Arseny Semionov combined an active teaching career with creative activity. Its efficiency is striking. He painted cityscapes and landscapes, still lifes, genre scenes, portraits, and numerous etudes done from the life. He made creative trips to Staraya Ladoga, the Baltic States, Transcarpathia and Crimea. His personal Exhibitions were in Leningrad in 1966, 1977, and in Saint Petersburg in 2006.

In the works of late 1940s and early 1950s identified a number of themes and images, which tended artist. Leningrad motifs and ancient Russian cities would dominate in his works throughout life, although the methods of their scenic development will change in the direction of the artificial fixation of transience, the desire to convey the freshness and immediacy of color experience in the work of 1950–1960 years, to the search for more subtle and distributions of colors in the works of the late 1960s and 1970s, more decorative, based on the active use of local color and constructive drawing.

Among studies and landscape paintings featured artist on exhibitions of 1950-1960s, can be called "Spring City Landscape" and "Spring on the outskirts of Leningrad" (both 1956), "Spring Day" (1959), "The Fontanka River" and "Factory motive" (both 1960), "St Isaac's Square in Leningrad", "Okhtinsky Bridge", "The University Embankment" (all 1961), "Construction Zanevsky Bridge on the Neva river", "Leningrad. View at the University Embankment" (both 1964), and others.

Self-Portrait. 1962

In 1950-1970s Arseny Semionov painted enthusiastically ancient Russian city of Pskov, Staritsa, Izborsk, Torzhok, Suzdal, Staraya Ladoga, Kostroma. Among his works shown on exhibitions of these years were "Pskov Cathedral", "Pskov. Blue Gate" (both 1958), "Old Ladoga. Winter Landscape", "Old Ladoga. The Village Council" (both 1961), "Old Ladoga" (1965), "St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod the Great" (1966), "Suzdal. View of the Kremlin", "Suzdal. A Monuments of architecture" (both 1968), "Torzhok city" (1969), "View of Suzdal" (1971), and others.

In the 1950s Arseny Semionov often spends summer time in the Crimea. Here he painted city of Yalta, Gurzuf town, picturesque corners of the old town and the rest on the seaside promenade. In the 1960s Semionov repeatedly travels to the Baltic and the Carpathians, as well as visiting France and Italy. In his paintings appear more subtle and generalized colors. Disappears excessive fragmentation, it replaces the large wholeness and contemplation. Semionov often uses local color. In his painting is enhanced imagery and decorative. In some works of this period discern the influence of Sergei Osipov, a talented painter, with whom Arseny Semionov linked the long-standing friendship, the creative journey, and common pedagogical work at the Department of Painting of the Vera Mukhina Institute.

In the 1970s Arseny Semionov successfully appeals to a relatively rare for him genre of still life, creating a variety of decorative and fine works of art. Among them are marked at the art shows and in publications "Still Life with a Flower" (1972), "Still Life with antique sculpture" (1971), "Still Life with Flowers" (1975), "Still life with teapot" (1972), "Still Life with Jug and Apples" (1971), and others.

Arseny Semenov rarely painted portraits. They were mostly images of family: his wife and daughter. Stand out self-portraits the artist painted them in the years 1950–1960. These works, in particular, "Self Portrait" (1962), open new facets of the artist's talents, making for a different look at the rest of his work. In a small laconic work Semionov used amazingly accurate means of expression, which allow him with the utmost frankness and depth to say about himself, about his generation and epoch.

In 1966 in Leningrad has been shown exhibition of works by Arseny Semionov, dedicated to the 55th anniversary of the artist and 20 years of his teaching work at the Department of Painting of the Vera Mukhina Institute. In 1977, in the halls of the Leningrad Union of Artists has been shown a joint exhibition of paintings by Arseny Semionov, Sergei Osipov, and Cyril Gushchin.

Arseny Nikiforovich Semionov died on September 13, 1992 in Saint Petersburg at the eighty-second year of life. His paintings reside in Art museums and private collections in Russia, Japan, France, in the U.S., England, and throughout the world. In 2006 in Saint Petersburg in the Anna Akhmatova Museum hosted an exhibition of works by Arseny Semionov, timed to the publication of the monograph devoted to the life and art of artist.