Serge Poliakoff
Serge Poliakoff (Russian Серж Поляков ) (* 27 December 1899jul / January 8 1900greg in Moscow, .. † 12 October 1969 in Paris) was a Russian painter. He is considered an important representative of the Ecole de Paris.
Life
The story begins in Kyrgyzstan Poliakoff in the hinterland of Russia near the Chinese border. There possessed his father, Georg Poliakoff, large horse breeds. This nature-loving life with the horses seem to have George Poliakoff so marked that he later, when he settled in Moscow, took place in this area work: he was a member of the imperial horse breeding and tasked with the recruitment of horses for the imperial army. So it was almost inevitable that he passed on his passion to his son Serge. To the knowledge of today's Georg Poliakoff does not seem to have lived in Kyrgyzstan, but in the city of Tula near Moscow, where he also met his future wife Agrippina Stroukoff. As a thirteenth child Serge Poliakoff was born on 8 January in Moscow to the world. His family, which led a comfortable life in prosperity in Moscow seemed to be characterized by strong cohesion. Thus, subject to his education, which received Serge from his parents, and the various influences of his siblings. The children and youth of the future painter was therefore very stimulating and instructive, and promoted the formation of the different facets of his personality. Since his mother was very musical, the corresponding talents Serge Poliakoff was funded by an appealing music education. At twelve, the young Serge was already playing guitar perfectly. The love of painting, or at least the need to express themselves vividly showed up relatively early. With about twelve years ornate Serge, a great admirer of Napoleon, his room with murals of the great deeds of his hero. So he attended painting classes in 1914 in Moscow. However, the revolution would shake profoundly in 1917 fulfilled this life of privilege and end the studies, and this first stage of life Serge Poliakoff.
1920 the situation in Moscow was very critical. Georg Poliakoff decided his two youngest children, Serge and his sister Sophie, with her mother to send to the country, where they should be housed in a former servant. But he had not reckoned with the plans of his son. This had secretly decided to leave Russia, and planned his escape carefully. He took advantage of changing to a train station and taught his sister to his intentions; he asked, his mother - he should never see again - nothing to say, not to be restrained from his purpose, and disappeared. He tried to reach the White Army in the night and finally came to a dramatic train on which he hid under a coal car, in Kiev on. There were other favorable turns, through which he was able to beat up to his uncle Dimitri. Together they crossed the Caucasus, lived some time in Tbilisi and were able to earn with their musical talents livelihood. In Georgia, where his aunt Nastia, a singer who came to them, they finally succeeded after Constantine Opel embark. About Sofia, Belgrade, Vienna and Berlin finally Poliakoff came to Paris in 1923, where he was to spend his life except for a few years.
First, as a musician 's livelihood earning, he began simultaneously with an intense study of painting. From 1929 on, he was enrolled at the Paris Académie Frochot and the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere. In 1935 he went to London for two years and only attended the Chelsea School of Art and then the Slade School of Art
First, he varied the academic traditions and preferred figurative motifs such acts, houses, trees and the like. After 1935 he was successively used for abstraction and color as color without figurative context. Decisive influence he was in this direction by Kandinsky, whom he met on his return to Paris. By Sonia and Robert Delaunay he learned to appreciate the emotive quality of the paint, the interest in simultaneous contrasts was awakened. Even the sculptor Otto Freundlich exercised with its curved color-form compositions relevant Poliakoff imagery. Poliakoff developed a very individual form of abstract painting that represents colorful areas of color next to each other. In the forties, he remained in the gray-brown color range, later, from 1950, he expanded his palette including bright contrasting tones. Poliakoff's work was shown in the 1950s and 1960s in the most important European and American museums. Serge Poliakoff took part in documenta II (1959) and the documenta III in Kassel in 1964. After nationalization in France in 1962 he was awarded his own room at the Venice Biennale. In his late work he reduced the polychrome on earthy tones and showed a monochrome works. On October 12, 1969 Serge Poliakoff died in Paris.
Public collections
- Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich ( Stoffel Collection )