Sergei Jurijewitsch Sudeikin ( * 1882 † 1946 )

Biography of Sergei Yuriyevich Sudeikin

A virtuous set designer

Sergei Yurievich Sudeikin was born on March 19, 1882 in St. Petersburg. He was one of the most famous Russian set designers of the Silver Age.

In 1897 he entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Among his teachers were A. E. Arkhipov, A.S. Stepanov, A.M. Vasnetsov, N.A. Kasatkin, K. Korovin, L.O. Pasternak. In 1902 he was expelled from the art school because he demonstrated his works with frivolous content at a student exhibition.

Sergei Sudeikin participated in the exhibition "The Red Rose" in 1904 and, in 1907, he was involved in the origin of the symbolist art association "The Blue Rose". The association brought together all representatives of Russian Symbolism. But the artist developed his own style called "ironic Symbolism". He presented fairs, markets and folk scenes from the life of Russian provincial towns. Many of his paintings looked a little improvised. It is said that they are perceived as part of a sketch for theater backdrops. He combines a modern style with the avant-garde art techniques ("Carousel" 1910, illustration to M. Kusmin's book "Liebesspiele" 1910). In 1909 Sergei Sudeikin studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In 1911 he became a member of the Association "World of Arts" and thus always took part in the exhibitions organized by the Association.

In January 1907, Sudeikin married the actress and dancer Olga Glebova. In 1915 he married again. His second wife was also a dancer: Vera de Bosset. But she left Sudeikin again in 1922.

Sudeikin's friendship with Konstantin Somow had a great influence on his style. Romantic scenes interpreted the artist in his own way and in the form of Lubok (Russian satirical, patriotic or sociocritical folk scenes) with grotesque theater elements. This is how his favorite themes emerged: theater, ballet and the Italian comedy. Sudeikin became in the time to one of the main characters of the Petersburg literary and artistic life. He received numerous orders for the design of books, designed the most famous cabarets and centers of Petersburg cultural life: "Wandering dog" and "Rest of the comedians". As a graphic designer he worked with the magazines "Libra", "Apollo", "Satyricon" and "New Satyricon".

The artist lived in St. Petersburg and often traveled to Moscow. In St. Petersburg he worked with the theater of W. F. Komissarzhevskaya and Maly Drama, in Moscow with the Hermitage Theater, W. E. Meyerhold (Russian director and actor). He invited him to work on his comedy performances. Sudeikin designed dozens of theater and opera performances. The best known were "Orfeo ed Euridice" by Christoph Gluck and "Die Walküre" by Richard Wagner. In 1913, Sudeikin participated in the "Russian Seasons" (tour performances of Russian ballet and opera artists, organized by the famous art critic and impresario Sergey Dyagilev) in Paris and arranged the performances.

During the Russian Revolution in 1917 drew Sudeikin to the Crimea, 1919 to Tbilisi and 1920 he went to Paris. After he emigrated, he continued to work as a theatrical artist. He cooperated with the "Russian Opera" and the "Apollo" Theater, designed the design for the ballet "Sleeping Beauty" of the A. Pavlova troupe. As set designer of the cabaret "Bat" by N.F Baliyev in Paris, he came in 1922 on tour to the United States and settled in New York. In the United States, he worked a lot with the Meropolitan Opera. Created the setting for the Hollywood movie "Sunday" (1934-1935), based on a novel by L.N. Tolstoy.

His last years in the US were marked by illness and poverty. Sudeikin died in New York in August 1946.

 

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Wall art prints and famous paintings by Sergei Jurijewitsch Sudeikin
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