SOKOLOV Mikhail Ksenofontovich

September 6, 1885 (Yaroslavl) — September 29, 1947 (Moscow)

Graphic artist, painter

Sokolov was born to a family of artisan K. N. Sokolov. He began to study drawing at the school classes under the guidance of P. A. Romanovsky. In 1903 Sokolov moved to Moscow, entered the Stroganov School of Industrial Art, where he studied under S.-V. Noakovsky and S. I. Yaguzhinsky. However he did not finish the course.

In 1907 Sokolov was called up for military service in the Baltic Fleet. In 1909–1914 he lived alternately in Moscow and in Yaroslavl. In 1912 Sokolov participated in the exhibition of Moscow Association of Artists. At the beginning of the First World War, he was called up for service again. Till 1917 he was seaman under the headquarters of the second Baltic Fleet crew in Petrograd. In 1917 he was at the detachment of the revolutionary seamen; he took part in the February revolution and the July Bolshevik uprising.

All that time Sokolov did not leave the art studies. He was interested in art of avant-garde painters. He became friends with art critic N. N. Punin. In 1916–1917 Sokolov took part in the exhibitions of the group Mir Iskusstva (“World of Art”) in Petrograd. In 1916 he married the painter N. V. Shtemberg (the marriage was annulled in two years).

In 1918 Sokolov left Petrograd; for some time he lived in Yaroslavl. He exposed his works at the exhibition of Yaroslavl art society. In 1918–1919 Sokolov taught at the gymnasium in Sergach, Nizhny Novgorod province. In 1919 he headed the regional workshops of decorative art under Yaroslavl Regional Educational Department. Sokolov participated in the organization of the State Yaroslavl Free Art Studios. In 1921 he lectured at the Free Art Studios in Tver.

In 1923 Sokolov moved to Moscow, worked as a head of the studio of the ProletCult (Proletarian Culture). Since 1925 he lectured at Moscow State College of Fine Arts in memory of the revolt of 1905 and at Yaroslavl artistic and teachers’ training college.

In 1928 Sokolov married for the second time. He was married to his wife M. I. Baskakova till 1935. In 1929 the first personal exhibition of Sokolov was held in the house of A. I. Herzen in Moscow. In mid 1920s he painted and drew some cycles: Passions, Wandering comedians, Circus, Imaginary portraits. In 1933 Sokolov took part in the exhibition Artists of the RSFSR for 15 years. Graphic art in Moscow. In 1934 he became a member of Moscow Section of the Union of Artists (MOSKh).

Sokolov was also engaged in book graphic art, collaborated with the publishing house Academia. He drew illustrations to the books Oliver Twist, Dombey and Son by Ch. Dickens (1932–1933), The Virgin of Orleans by Voltaire (1934–1935), The Divine Comedy by Dante (1936). In 1930s Sokolov worked on the series Leaving Moscow, French Revolution, Musicians, Horsemen and continuation of the cycle Imaginary portraits.

In 1936–1938 Sokolov taught at the Institute for advanced studies. In 1936 he took part in the exhibition of painting, sculpture and graphic art The exhibitions of the unnoticed (after the title of the article by A. M. Efros) in Moscow.

At the end of 1938 Sokolov was arrested by false denunciation. He was accused of propaganda of the Soviet power overthrow and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. He was sent to the station Taiga in Kemerovo province. In 1943 Sokolov was released from prison because of serious illness. He was rehabilitated in 1958. For some time he lived in Sverdlovsk, later in Yaroslavl. In November 1943 Sokolov moved to Rybinsk, headed the art circle under the local Palace of Pioneers. He drew illustrations to the books Dead Souls by N. V. Gogol; Anna Karenina, War and Peace by L. Tolstoy; Mozart and Salieri by A. S. Pushkin.

In 1947 Sokolov was hospitalized with cancer in the hospital of Sklifosofsky in Moscow, where he died soon. He was buried at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery in Moscow.

In 2005 the retrospective exhibitions of Sokolov’s works were held in the State Tretyakov Gallery and Yaroslavl Art Museum.

Mikhail Sokolov was one of the most skilful graphic artists and the most significant book illustrators of his time. His art biography could be divided into three periods: till 1923, from 1923 till 1938, and after 1938. In his early works the artist was interested in symbolism, then in impressionism, cubism and futurism. Works of that period are rare, as in mid 1920s Sokolov crushed all his paintings and drawings, which he created till 1923. Only those works of that period were preserved, which were given to the friends or were bought by the State museum fund. In early 1920s Sokolov lost interest to the left movements in art; he became a follower of the Old masters. The second period of Sokolov’s art biography was the most fruitful. His cycle Passions consisted of more than 500 works. The favorite technique of Sokolov was Indian ink, pen and brush. The main part of works of the last period was created by Sokolov in imprisonment. There were miniatures with imaginary landscapes and scenes. These works are considered the acme the Sokolov’s art. When he created them he had very few traditional technical means; that is why Sokolov often used different improvised material: leads of the colored pencils, charcoal, chalk, matches, tooth powder and even broken bricks. It made Sokolov’s works more expressive.

Works by Mikhail Sokolov are in many museum and private collections. The biggest collections of his works are in the State Tretyakov Gallery, Yaroslavl Art Museum, and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Art.