Boris Kustodiev Paintings

Boris Kustodiev (March 7, 1878 - May 28, 1927) was a Russian and Soviet painter and stage designer. Kustodiev’s father died early on, leaving his mother to support the family financially. His family lived in a rented wing of a wealthy merchant's home. This is how Kustodiev was introduced to the lifestyle of better means. Kustodiev wrote about these impressions and how they shaped what he would later paint.

He studied art at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg while also studying theological seminary. Kustodiev’s instructors wrote about their high hopes for Kustodiev, as well as his deep love of art. His instructor invited Kustodiev to assist with a large scale and complex commission. The young artist was tasked with creating portrait studies. Working on these portraits forced him to make a close study of his model.

Kustodiev spent much of his time traveling between France, Italy, Germany, Spain from 1903 to 1909 on a grant from the Imperial Academy of Arts. Sadly in 1909, he contracted tuberculosis of the spine. By 1916, he became paraplegic.