The artist's double surname is an echo of a family tragedy
Petrov-Vodkin's grandfather, Petr, in a bout of delirium tremens killed his own wife and then died himself. Since then Petr's descendants were nicknamed Petrovs with the addition 'Vodkins' — that was what they called everyone who liked to drink.
He was born in the town of Khvalynsk into the family of a shoemaker
His mother came from a serf family and worked as a servant in the household of the Kazarin merchants. She had not learned to read, but knew many folk tales and even some of Pushkin.
The first to recognize Petrov-Vodkin's talent was the architect Roman Meltzer
The Kazarin merchant family, in whose household the artist's mother served, provided the young man with a monthly allowance of 25 rubles so that he could live and study in the capital. Meltzer and the Kazarins played a major role in the life and career of the distinctive artist.
Petrov-Vodkin's teacher was the famous Valentin Serov
Petrov-Vodkin studied at the St. Petersburg Central School for Technical Drawing of Stieglitz, but ultimately graduated from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He was distinguished by diligence in his studies, began early to paint commissioned works and portraits, worked on making ceramic tiles and gave private lessons.
He set off to Europe by bicycle
With the monthly subsidy of 25 rubles Petrov-Vodkin rented a bicycle and went on a journey. He visited Warsaw, Prague, Munich, Genoa and Paris. In each city he attended various lectures on painting, geophysics, cosmogony and astronomy to fill gaps in his education. While traveling he earned a living by painting small landscapes and portraits.
He brought his wife from France
Petrov-Vodkin met his future wife, Margarita Jovanovich, at a boarding house in Fontenay-aux-Roses near Paris. 'Mara', as the artist called her, became his devoted life companion and returned with her husband to Russia. A daughter, Elena, was born in the marriage.
The painting 'Bathing of the Red Horse' made Petrov-Vodkin world-famous
The canvas was first shown at the 'World of Art' exhibition in 1912 and was a sensational success. Even Ilya Repin, who mercilessly criticized Petrov-Vodkin's work, called him a 'tremendous talent'. The subject of the painting is still interpreted ambiguously. In one interpretation the red horse is a symbol of Russia led by a strong young man; in another, the red horse predicts the country's communist future. The artist himself conceived the painting as a genre scene.
Petrov-Vodkin developed a unique painting style
His art combined ancient Russian icon-painting traditions, the Italian Renaissance and Post-Impressionism. Instead of faces he painted icon-like visages, and he made the perspective of his paintings spherical, which gave many of his canvases the effect of an outside observer hovering above worldly bustle.
The artist wrote prose and did not hesitate to show it to Maxim Gorky
However, Gorky publicly commented on the book 'The Space of Euclid' as follows: 'Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin invents so poorly that it is impossible to believe him,' and 'his book is a repository of verbal rubbish.' Not only his literary work but also Petrov-Vodkin's art was criticized. He was repeatedly accused of eroticism and unpleasant color combinations.
He died of tuberculosis at the age of 60
In memory of his friend the painter Pavel Kuznetsov wrote: 'He was a master devoted to his craft, passionate, straightforward, profound. ...From his school years K. S. always sought new pictorial ways, thought a great deal about things before painting them. He subjected his works to thorough analysis, being by nature not only an artist but also a thinker.'
