Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev: A Life in Russian Art

Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev was a major Russian avant-garde painter and graphic artist of the first half of the twentieth century, a ‘master of penetrating clairvoyance’ as Alexandre Benois called him, and a tormented, troubled soul. Grigoriev has been famous during a large part of his career, and dozens of his works were eagerly bought and going to private collections and museums in Russia, France, the USA, Chile, Czech Republic, and other countries. The artist was born on July 11 (New Style: July 23), 1886 in Rybinsk as an illegitimate child of one of the directors of the commercial bank in Rybinsk, Dmitry Grigoriev and Swedish-born Clara von Lindenberg from Riga, Latvia, coming from the family of a merchant and a ship-owner. Grigoriev was adopted by his own father at the age of four and brought to Rybinsk, a fairly big city on the river Volga, in Russia, where he spent his quite unhappy childhood. The fact that Rybinsk has not been the most picturesque city as well as the artist’s semi-Swedish origin and, also, his past as being a child out of wedlock, which was a heavy burden at that time in Russia, - these circumstances might have influenced Grigoriev's complex character and his critical perception of the world. In 1903, when the artist turned seventeen years old, he returned to Moscow to pursue his artistic aspirations and entered the Stroganov Art School, an important art institution which was responsible for fostering many avant-garde artists during the first part of the twentieth century, where he studied under Dmitry Shcherbinovsky. Shcherbinovsky, and later, Kardovsky, produced an unforgettable effect on Grigoriev with their mastery of line, and, in fact, developed the artist’s appreciation of drawing and instilled the importance of line as a basis for any work which is quite obvious in Grigoriev's subsequent works. Grigoriev graduated from the School in 1907 and relocated to Saint Petersburg in order to deepen his artistic knowledge at the Imperial Academy of Arts, which he attended until 1913. Among his teachers are great and talented people such as Alexander Kiselyov, Dmitry Kardovsky and Abram Arkhipov. The first time, when Grigoriev discovers his Russian soul and an exhausting feeling of homesickness, is when he was invited by his Swedish side of the family to Sweden in 1909. Even though his relatives were trying to persuade him to stay in Sweden, Grigoriev was feeling himself alienated from the Swedish environment, and after a short stay, he came back to Russia. Although the artist’s trip to Paris for several months in 1913 was more successful and inspirational in terms of the artistic output, he still was eager to return. This strange, ambiguous patriotic yearning, especially considering his emigration from the country and being an artist in exile, - these circumstances might have influenced Grigoriev's complex character and his critical perception of the world. Grigoriev’s style evolved through various phases, beginning with Impressionism before embracing avant-garde techniques. In 1909, he joined the “Studio of Impressionists,” demonstrating his initial leanings towards this movement. Became a member of the influential *World of Art* (Mir Iskusstva) movement in 1913, connecting him with leading Russian artists and intellectuals. Influences: While specific influences are debated, his work shows an affinity for European Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, alongside a distinctly Russian sensibility. He was particularly drawn to the expressive landscapes of Ivan Kramskoy and Aleksandr Arkhipov, whose meticulous observation of nature instilled in him a profound respect for the beauty of the Russian countryside. Grigoriev’s most celebrated works include “Rasseïa” (1918), an ambitious album attempting to capture the essence of the Russian people as a natural phenomenon—a project that reflects his deep concern for national identity and social observation. His portraits are remarkable for their psychological depth, capturing the personalities of figures like Vsevolod Meyerhold, Maxim Gorky, and Sergei Rachmaninov with sensitivity and nuance. The series “Faces of Russia” & “Faces of the World” exemplifies Grigoriev’s fascination with portraying diverse individuals and cultures—a testament to his humanist vision. Major paintings such as *Sunflowers* (1917-1919), *Village* (1918), and *Peasants in the Field* (1920) showcase his masterful use of color palettes and rhythmic compositions, embodying the spirit of the Russian avant-garde. Grigoriev’s artistic legacy continues to inspire artists today, cementing his place as one of Russia's foremost visual artists of the early twentieth century. He died in 1939, leaving behind a body of work that speaks volumes about his troubled soul and unwavering devotion to capturing the complexities of human experience.