Masyutin Vasiliy

January 29, 1884 (Riga) - 1955 (Germany)

Graphic artist, painter, sculptor, writer.

graduated Cadet Corps and the Mikhailovsky Artillery School, for two years served as an officer in Moscow. In 1907 he retired. The autumn of 1908 entered MUZhViZ mastered the technique of etching under the direction of SV Ivanov.

in 1907-1908 created a series of drawings "The Seven Deadly Sins" in 1909 - the album of etchings "Sin", in 1910-1911 album "12 etchings».

In 1908 he took part in the exhibition "Crown" in St. Petersburg. Exhibited his works at exhibitions of the Moscow Association of Artists (1908-1918), the Union of Russian Artists (1910-1917), as well as at the International Exhibition of Graphic Arts in Leipzig in 1914. In the same year he graduated from MUZhViZ. By 1913-1914 include etchings "Tavern", "Twilight," "The anniversary of the death of celebrities," "Pain", "Love", "End", "Broken Home" and others, where in a grotesque manner depicted slums and brothels.

the autumn of 1914 was called up for military service, spent two years at the front. At the beginning of 1917 was discharged and returned to Moscow. Came to the Commission for the Protection of works of art and antiquities, the board of the Rumyantsev Museum and the Union of artists prints. In 1918 he was invited professor at the State Free Art Studios.

In the works of 1917-1918, such as "In Bukovina", "Winners", "1917", "demonstration", reflected the military and revolutionary events. In those same years, created a new series of etchings "The Seven Deadly Sins».

in 1919 turned to woodcuts and lithographs. A series of woodcuts in his fiction novel "The Princess Nefret", "Days of creations, as well as to books E.-T.-A. Hoffmann, Don Giovanni, Lunacharskii Ivan in paradise. " At the same time worked on a series of easel woodcuts "Wine, cards and women. In 1920 the engravings in the office Rumyantsev Museum held a personal exhibition of works Masyutin.

In the same year he emigrated to Berlin. In 1921-1923 worked in the German publishing houses, has created illustrations for books Pushkin Bakhchisarai Fountain "," The Bronze Horseman "," Ruslan and Lyudmila, "Belkin", "Boris Godunov"; M. Lermontov's Hero of Our Time "; Sir.doc" Woe from Wit "; Gogol" The Nose "; Dostoevsky "The elder Zosima; Tolstoy's Childhood, adolescence, youth; AABloka" Twelve "and others. Published in German in his works - the story "Two", the story "The dangers of green island", the novels "The Princess Nefret" and "days of creation».

In 1923, reissued series of "The Seven Deadly Sins". Posted by a number of theoretical works devoted to graphic art, in particular, "etchings and lithographs," "The experience of the characteristics of skill engravings and critical review" (both - Berlin, 1922), a monograph on the outstanding masters of graphics - A. de Toulouse-Lautrec, F. Brengvine, P. Dupont, T. Buick.

works of the artist continued to appear on the graphic exhibitions in the Soviet Union. In 1928 in Leningrad, was organized by his personal exhibition.

In 1930-1940 many engaged in applied graphics, performed covers, posters, developed brands, labels, posters. His etchings and articles on Russian artists published in the journal Gebrauchsgraphik. Since mid-1920 often turned to painting portraits and still lifes.

VN Masyutin, along with VD Falileevym, AP Ostroumova-Lebedeva, is one of the leading engravers of the first third the twentieth century - the heyday of this art form in Russia. For his work is characterized by the complexity of composite structure and images, rich symbols and allegories, "acute" grotesque and the inner expression. Masyutin portrayed human emotions and flaws in a dramatic struggle mystical monsters. For the exact words of the historian of art, NI Romanova, who owns the first monograph on the engraver, in his fiction nightmare vision, he expresses the idea of the power of rock and monstrous natural phenomena on human beings ».

Masyutin works are in many museum and private collections, including the Pushkin Museum in them. Pushkin, the State Tretyakov Gallery and others.