RYNDIN Vadim Fedorovich

January 2 (15), 1902 (Moscow) — April 9, 1974 (Moscow)

Painter, graphic artist, scene-designer

Vadim Ryndin studied at Voronezh State Free Art Studios (1918–1922) under the guidance of S. M. Romanovich and N. N. Maksimov, at the Higher State Artistic and Technical Workshops (VKhUTEMAS) in Moscow (1922–1924); at the same time he worked as an assistant of scene-designer.

Ryndin lived in Moscow. In 1920s his art was close to constructivism; he was also interested in postimpressionism and expressionism. In early 1920s he met masters of the future society Makovets.

Since 1925 Ryndin worked as a scene-designer at Moscow Chamber Opera Theatre; in 1931–1934 he was a chief artist of the Chamber Theatre. He was also the chief artist in the E. Vakhtangov Theatre (1934–1944, 1947–1958), in Moscow Drama Theatre (1944–1947), in the Bolshoi Theatre (since 1953). Ryndin designed the performances: The Optimistic tragedy by V. V. Vishnevsky (1933, Moscow Chamber Opera Theatre), Much ado about nothing by W. Shakespeare (1936, the E. Vakhtangov Theatre), The young guard of A. A. Fadeev (1947, Moscow Drama Theatre), Hamlet by W. Shakespeare (1954, Moscow Theatre named after V. V. Mayakovsky), War and Peace by S. S. Prokofiev (1959, the Bolshoi Theatre), Don Carlos, Falstaff by G. Verdi (both — 1963, the Bolshoi Theatre), The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1966, the Bolshoi Theatre) and others.

Since 1924 Ryndin participated in exhibitions. He was a member of the society Makovets (1924–1925), the Society of Moscow artists (1928), the society Four Arts (1929), the Association of the artists of the Revolution (AKhR, 1932). Ryndin exposed his works at the exhibitions of the group L’Araignée (“Spider”) in Paris (1925), the exhibition The works of the theatrical season of Moscow 1928/1929 in Moscow (1929), at the exhibitions of the Soviet art in Amsterdam, Riga (both — 1929), in Danzig (1930) and others.

Ryndin lectured at Moscow Art Institute named after V. I. Surikov (since 1965).

In 1950 Ryndin was awarded the USSR State Prize; in 1962 he was conferred the title of the People’s Artist of the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic); in 1964 he became a member of the USSR Academy of Arts.

Works by Vadim Ryndin are in many museum collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the A. A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum and others.