MALYAVIN Philipp Andreevich

October 10, 1869 (Kazanki, Samara province) — December 23, 1940 (Nice)

Painter, graphic artist

Malyavin was born to a peasant family. In 1885 he studied icon painting at the St. Panteleimon’s Monastery on Mount Athos. Sculptor V. A. Beklemishev helped him to enter the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. Malyavin studied under the guidance of P. P. Chistyakov. From 1894 till 1899 he studied at the Higher Art School of painting, sculpture and architecture under the Academy of Arts (VKhU) in the studio of I. E. Repin. In 1899 Malyavin painted diploma artwork — the painting Lough. The work was rejected by the Council of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Only due to Repin and V. V. Matai, Malyavin conferred the title of an artist for his portraits, but without a pensioner mission. However the failure of his diploma, the painting achieved success. One year later Malyavin was awarded gold medal for the painting Lough at the International exhibition in Paris; in 1901 the International gallery of modern art in Venice bought this painting to its collection. Malyavin became famous in Europe. Later he created a series of paintings with Russian peasant women.

Malyavin exposed his works at the exhibitions of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions (TPKhV, 1895, 1900–1901), at the exhibitions of the group Mir Iskusstva (“World of Art”, 1899–1903, 1906, 1911, 1921, 1922), the Secession in Berlin (1903–1904). Since 1903 Malyavin was a member and active participant of the exhibitions of the Union of Russian Artists. In 1900 and in 1906 Malyavin made a trip to Paris; in 1906 he exposed his works at the Autumn Salon. In the same year he was conferred the title of academician. He lived in Moscow till 1900; in 1900–1917 — in the Aksinino village near Ryazan; in 1918–1920 — in Ryazan.

After the Revolution, Malyavin worked at Ryazan commissariat of public education; participated in foundation of the picture gallery, studio of painting. He was one of the heads of Ryazan State Free Art Studios (GSKhM).

During All-Russia Conference in 1920, Malyavin was a delegate of the Union of Russian Artists. He drew a lot of sketches of V. I. Lenin from nature.

In 1922 Malyavin left Russia and moved to France. He lived in Paris, Malmö, and Nice. In emigration Malyavin’s manner of painting and subject did not change. He continued to paint Russian peasant women: Wedding (1923), Russian peasant women (1925), Woman in yellow kerchief (1926), Dance (1926, 1928, 1930), Country coquette (1927), Dancing (1930). Malyavin worked a lot as a portrait painter. His works of 1920s–1930s, as early works of 1890s–1910s, were characterized by rich and decorative colors. He formed his own recognizable style. Although Malyavin was criticized for repetition of his works, for duplicating of Russian motifs in his paintings for European public and collectors

Personal exhibitions of Malyavin were held in 1919 in Ryazan, in 1924 — in the gallery Charpentier in Paris, in 1933 — in Prague and Belgrade, in 1934 — in Nice and Stockholm, in 1935 — in London. In 1969 memorial retrospective exhibition of Malyavin’s works was held in the Research Museum of the USSR Academy of Arts in Leningrad and was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Works by Philipp Malyavin are in many Russian museum and private collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, the State Russian Museum and the Research museum of the Russian Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg (works of 1890s — early 1920s, of his period before emigration). A lot of artworks by Malyavin are in foreign private collections, in particular in the collection of Malyavin’s son-in-law and Paris painter L. M. Benatov.