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Alexei Kondratyevich Savrasov, born in Moscow on May 24, 1830, is considered one of Russia's most outstanding landscape painters. He was the son of a merchant and showed an early talent for art. As early as 1844 he became a student of Professor Rabus at the Moscow College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, graduating in 1850. Savrasov's passion was landscape painting, a passion he pursued after graduation. Trips to Ukraine in 1852 and Saint Petersburg in 1854 broadened his artistic perspective and led him to his own distinctive depiction of the Russian landscape.
He became a teacher at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture and among his students were notable artists such as Isaak Iljitsch Lewitan and Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin. The avant-garde painter Alexei Alexeyevich Morgunov was also his illegitimate son. Savrasov married Sophia Carlovna Hertz, the sister of art historian K. Hertz, and their house became a meeting place for artists and collectors. He maintained a close friendship with Vasily Grigorievich Perov, and together with other artists he founded the Peredvizhniki artists' movement.
Despite his successes and recognitions, in later years Savrasov struggled with personal and professional setbacks that eventually drove him to alcoholism. He spent the last years of his life in poverty and homelessness until he died in Moscow in 1897. Russian painter Isaac Levitan recognized Savrasov's contribution to art, paying tribute to him in the words, "With Savrasov came lyricism in landscape painting and boundless love for his native land." On Savrasov's tombstone is engraved the inscription, "Savrasov created the Russian landscape, and this undoubted merit will never be forgotten in Russian art." Despite the tragedy of his life, Savrasov left a lasting legacy in the world of art.
Alexei Kondratyevich Savrasov, born in Moscow on May 24, 1830, is considered one of Russia's most outstanding landscape painters. He was the son of a merchant and showed an early talent for art. As early as 1844 he became a student of Professor Rabus at the Moscow College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, graduating in 1850. Savrasov's passion was landscape painting, a passion he pursued after graduation. Trips to Ukraine in 1852 and Saint Petersburg in 1854 broadened his artistic perspective and led him to his own distinctive depiction of the Russian landscape.
He became a teacher at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture and among his students were notable artists such as Isaak Iljitsch Lewitan and Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin. The avant-garde painter Alexei Alexeyevich Morgunov was also his illegitimate son. Savrasov married Sophia Carlovna Hertz, the sister of art historian K. Hertz, and their house became a meeting place for artists and collectors. He maintained a close friendship with Vasily Grigorievich Perov, and together with other artists he founded the Peredvizhniki artists' movement.
Despite his successes and recognitions, in later years Savrasov struggled with personal and professional setbacks that eventually drove him to alcoholism. He spent the last years of his life in poverty and homelessness until he died in Moscow in 1897. Russian painter Isaac Levitan recognized Savrasov's contribution to art, paying tribute to him in the words, "With Savrasov came lyricism in landscape painting and boundless love for his native land." On Savrasov's tombstone is engraved the inscription, "Savrasov created the Russian landscape, and this undoubted merit will never be forgotten in Russian art." Despite the tragedy of his life, Savrasov left a lasting legacy in the world of art.