Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi

Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi was a Russian painter of Azov-Greek origin, one of the most famous landscape painters of the post-reform era. Arkhip Kuindzhi was born in Mariupol into a poor family of a Greek shoemaker. He was orphaned at an early age and was raised by relatives on his father's side. Kuindzhi showed artistic talent early and drew a lot from childhood. He worked as a retoucher in a photo studio and studied painting under Ivan Aivazovsky.

 

In the late 1860s Kuindzhi moved to Saint Petersburg and a few years later became an auditor at the Imperial Academy of Arts. His artistic debut at the Academy exhibition in 1868 marked the beginning of a brilliant career. The artist became an outstanding master of landscape painting. The pinnacle of his work was the painting "Ukrainian Night" (1876). Kuindzhi constantly studied light effects and strove to convey on canvas the unique sense of luminosity and a magical atmosphere. This innovative approach defined his unique artistic style and brought him wide recognition.

 

In the latter part of his life, Kuindzhi was actively involved in public affairs: he led the landscape studio of the Higher Art School at the Academy of Arts, financially supported young painters and helped organize the annual spring exhibitions; with his personal funds he organized trips for his painting class to Crimea and abroad. Among his pupils were Nikolai Roerich, Arkady Rylov, Konstantin Bogaevsky and Alexander Borisov. In his final years, at the initiative of the master, his associates and students, the Kuindzhi Art Society was founded, which existed until 1930. Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi died in Saint Petersburg on July 24, 1910, and was buried in the Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.