Artist Bakst Lev Samoilovich: biography, creativity

Bakst Lion is a Byelorussian by origin, Russian in spirit, who lived for many years in France, known in history as an outstanding Russian artist, theater designer, stage designer. His work anticipates many tendencies of the 20th century in art, it combines features of impressionism, modernism and symbolism. Bakst - one of the most stylish and refined artists of Russia at the turn of the century, had a powerful influence not only on the domestic, but also on the world culture.

Family and childhood

Bakst Lev Samoilovich was born in 1866 in an orthodox Jewish family in the Belarusian city of Grodno. The family was big, with patriarchal foundations. His father was a Talmudic scholar, he was also engaged in trade, his income was low, so his son often stayed with his grandfather in Petersburg. He was rich enough, he was a fashionable tailor, he loved luxury and social life, he led a Parisian way of life, which he liked very much his grandson. He was a great theater-goer and instilled this passion for Leo. It is in honor of his grandfather that the young man takes the surname of Bakst, slightly reducing it, instead of his real - Rosenberg, which seemed to him not at all poetic. In his childhood, the future artist liked to play before the sisters scenes of his own work, the boy had a violent imagination and obvious propensity for drawing.

Vocation and study

At the age of 12 he won a competition for the best portrait of A. Zhukovsky in the gymnasium. Bakst Lion dreamed of learning painting, but his father did not recognize such a frivolous occupation in life as drawing, and for a long time the boy had to indulge in his favorite occupation secretly, at night. As the last argument, the father decided to ask advice from the sculptor Mark Antokolsky, drawings of the future painter were sent to Paris for him. And when the answer was received, that in the works the talent of the author is clearly visible, the father surrendered.

In 1883 a young man entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts as an auditor . Lev Bakst, whose biography is now forever associated with art, studied with such teachers as Chistyakov, Asknazia, Wenig, showed good results for four years. However, after losing the Academy competition for a silver medal, the young man leaves the school. His work was deleted from the list of participants due to the fact that all the characters in the picture on the biblical theme had Jewish features. This artist could not stand. The skills of academic drawing, obtained at the academy, will be useful to him in the future.

The search for a way in art

Leaving his studies, Bakst Leo is forced to look for money, his father died, and he needed to help the family, which mainly contained his grandfather. He was helped by the fact that even during his studies he started contacts in the publishing house, where he began to make inexpensive books. Pleasure this work he did not deliver, but money brought. In 1890, he approaches the Benois brothers, they introduce Bakst into a circle of progressive creative youth. Under their influence, the artist is fond of watercolor. It is this circle, which will later grow into the art association "World of Art", formed the views of Bakst and his direction in painting. In 1891, Leo first traveled abroad, he traveled to Germany, Italy, Belgium and France, visiting museums. From 1893 to 1896 he studied at the studio of French artists in Paris. At this time, Leo gets first fame as a good watercolorist.

Bakst-portraitist

The artist Leo Bakst was forced to constantly carry out orders that did not give him pleasure. He rested and embodied his plans in portraits, which gradually become popular. They showed the artist 's exquisite manner , his skill as a draftsman and his ability to penetrate into the psychology of the character. Beginning to paint portraits in 1896, he periodically turned to this genre throughout his life. Among his best works are portraits of A. Benois, I. Levitan, mature works of the early 20th century, portraits of Z. Gippius, I. Rubinshtein, S. Diaghilev with a nanny, J. Cocteau, V. Zukini. Most of the artist's artistic heritage is made up of drawings, he made sketches of those who attracted his attention, sketched portraits of acquaintances and friends.

Bakst-painter

Leo Bakst, whose paintings amaze with variety, experimented a lot with the picturesque technique. He could write thick strokes, and could create a complex canvas with the help of a glaze. He worked little in the genre of landscape, but the available works show the artist's impressionistic vision. In works "Near Nice", "Olive Grove", "Sunflowers under the Sun", light and air of nature are felt, the optimistic outlook of the author is transmitted. Lev Bakst, whose exhibition today could gather a large number of fans of his work in any city in the world, did not feel confident in himself as a painter. He too easily succumbed to the influence from the outside and did not develop a clear, own manner of writing. But undoubted masterpieces are his works "Dinner", "In a cafe", "Ancient horror".

Bakst and theater

Most of all his talents Bakst Lev Samoilovich showed in theatrical works. He was very fond of this art form. Lev Bakst, an exhibition of theatrical scenery and costumes of which is invariably accompanied by a soldier, works a lot and with great pleasure for the theater of S. Diaghilev. He paints with brilliance the ballets Shakherezada, Cleopatra, Narcissus, Firebird. Bakst became a real co-author of the spectacles, organically embodying the director's intention in the scenery, lighting, costumes. Since 1910, the artist lives in Paris and cooperates with the theater S. Diaghilev. It is in collaboration with him that Bakst commits a real revolution in scenography and theatrical design.

A variety of talent

Bakst Leo not only proved himself in painting and scenography, in fact, he was a designer. He often came up with costumes, and not just for the stage. It was he who invented the logo, as the logo would say today, for the magazine The World of Art. He created interior design for exquisite ladies' boudoir, for placing Diaghilev Entreprise. Bakst also worked on the creation of exhibition expositions. Working on theatrical costumes, Leo discovered the talent of the stylist, he drew sketches of ladies' outfits and became a true fashion trendsetter in the Art Nouveau style. He also turned out to be a good teacher. Elizaveta Zvantseva invited Bakst to his art school in 1900, where he tried to help young talents find their style in painting. It was he who first saw the talent in his disciple - Marc Chagall.

Personal life

Lev Bakst, whose paintings enjoyed such success and brought him great fame, was completely unsuccessful in his personal life. His first love for the French actress Marcel Jossé was very unhappy. It ended only thanks to the departure of the artist from Paris. In Petersburg, he falls in love with P. Tretyakov's daughter, who by that time was a widow with a child in her arms. Bakst accepts Lutheranism in order to marry a lover. The marriage was unsuccessful, although the son of the artist, Andrei, was born in it. Spouses spent a lot of time in separation and eventually divorced in 1910. But he continued to be friends with his ex-wife and stepdaughter, in 1921, at his invitation, they were able to leave the Soviet Union and settle in Paris.

In the last years of his life, Bakst worked very hard in Paris, America, England, this undermined his health, and on December 28, 1924, he died suddenly.