Konstantin Bogaevsky

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Konstantin Fyodorovich Bogaevsky (Russian: Констанитин Фёдорович Богаевский, 24 January [O.S. 12 January] 1872-17 February 1943) was a Russian painter notable for his Symbolist landscapes.

[edit] Biography

Konstantin Bogaevsky was born in the Eastern Crimean city of Theodosia (currently Ukraine) to an old Italian-German family of the Genoa extraction on 24 January [O.S. 12 January] 1872. He took first lessons in art from Ivan Aivazovsky.

In 1891-1897 he studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in the class of Arkhip Kuindzhi. The art of young Konstantin was not popular with the Academy and he was even at some stage temporarily discharged from the Academy for the "Lack of the Talents". Despite this, Kuindzhi always had a high respect for his pupil and protected him. In 1898 Konstantin traveled to Italy and France where he became acquainted with works of Claude Lorrain, whom he proclaimed as his true teacher. His first exhibition was in Moscow in 1898.

Ships. Evening Sun 1912

Since 1900 Bogaevsky works in Theodosia. The main theme of his works became the symbolist landscapes of a non-existent land (known to his friends as Bogaevia) that he saw only in his dreams. Konstantin Bogaevsky became a popular painter after Maximilian Voloshin published a series of essays titled Konstantin Bogaevsky. Voloshin highly praised the symbolism of Bogaevsky's paintings. Contemporaries often drew parallel between Bogaevsky and Nicholas Roerich.

Bogaevsky was member of Mir iskusstva, Union of Russian Artists and the Zhar-Tsvet. In 1906 he exhibited his paintings on Exposition de l'Art Russe organized by Sergei Diaghilev. In 1911 he visited Italy and discovered for himself paintings of Andrea Mantegna, he felt strong influence of Mantegna's palette ever since.

Since 1912 to the end of his life Bogaevsky lived in Theodosia. He kept good relations with another famous Theodosian and a bard of a non existent land Alexander Grin, as well as with the Koktebel group of Russian Intelligentsia including Maximilian Voloshin, Marina Tsvetaeva, Osip Mandelstam.

After the October Revolution Bogaevsky went into an obscurity, although the Soviets did not prosecute him, and the work of 1932 Port of an Imaginable City was even praised as Socialist Realism painting of the DnieproGES.

He died in Theodosia on 17 February 1943.

[edit] Works

Consul Tower. Sudak, 1903	Stary Krym, 1903	Tropical Landscape, 1906	Sea Shore, 1907
South Country. A cave town 1908	Palms, 1908	Morning, 1910	Italian landscape, [[1911]
Cimmerian twilight, 1911	Cloud, 1920ies	Kefa, Old Theodosia 1927	Rainbow, 1931
Port of an Imaginable City 1932