| Nikolay Chekhov | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 23, 1858 Taganrog, Russia |
| Died | June 29, 1889 (aged 31) Kharkiv Province, Russia |
Nikolay Pavlovich Chekhov (Russian: Николай Павлович Чехов; May 23, 1858 – June 29, 1889) was a Russian painter and the brother of Anton Chekhov.
As a child Nikolay showed talents for art and music. He attended the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He was unable to finish his studies due to chronic alcoholism and the periods of time, often weeks, which he would spend living in the Moscow streets.[1]
Nikolay was a talented artist, and he often illustrated Anton's stories. Anton wrote to him, advising him to stay sober and to pursue writing, but to no avail.[2] He died at the age of 31 of tuberculosis.[1] Nikolay's death influenced Anton's A Dreary Story, finished in September 1889, about a man who comes to the end of a life he realizes has been without purpose.[3]