Artists
Behteev Vladimir Georgievich
1878 (Moscow) — 1971 (Moscow)
878 (Moscow) - 1971 (Moscow)
Painter, graphic artist, set designer. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1968).
Descended from a noble family. He studied at the Moscow Real School (1888-1894), Nikolayev Cavalry School in St. Petersburg (1894-1896). After graduation he served in the cavalry Mitavsky regiment in Czestochowa, in 1901 he retired in the rank of lieutenant. From the same time began to systematically deal with painting and drawing.
He took private lessons in the studio of Ya. F. Tsionglinsky (1901), filed a petition for admission to the IAH, which was rejected. In 1902 he moved to Munich, continued his studies in the studio of Professor H. Knirre, then at the School of F. Cormon in Paris. Since 1905 - participant of exhibitions (the 2nd exhibition of the "New Society of Artists" in St. Petersburg). In 1906-1908 traveled to France, Italy, Tunisia. In those same years he became friends with AG Yavlensky, MV Verevkina, and VV Kandinsky. Since 1909 - member and exhibitor of the New Association of Artists in Munich. In 1910 he took part in the first exhibition of the association "Jack of Diamonds" in Moscow. In 1911 he became a member of the group "Blue Horseman".
At the beginning of the First World War, he was drafted into the army and returned to Russia; as a reserve lieutenant served in Borisoglebsk. In 1917 he joined the Red Army.
In 1918-1921 he worked as the head of the sub-department of the capital's protection in the Department for Museums and Protection of Monuments of the Narkompros. For some time he served as the head of the artistic part and the main artist of the First State Circus in Moscow (1921-1922).
In 1922 he worked a lot as a book and magazine schedule. Collaborated with the publishing houses Krug, Mospoligraf, Molodaya Gvardiya, Academia, Gosizdat, Detgiz, the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and others. He created series of illustrations for the Japanese fairy tale The Invincible Bogatyr (1923), Y. Fin's books The Phoenician Ship, Lights on the Mounds (1928-1930), E. Mayne Roman Lady Byron, T. Gautier's The Maiden's Maiden , Nodier "Jean Sbogar" (all - 1932-1933), Long "Daphnis and Chloe" (1933), J. Sand "Consuelo" (1934), V. Hugo "The Cathedral of the Notre Dame" (1934-1935) and others. Illustrated the works of M. Yu. Lermontov, L. N. Tolstoy, A. Pushkin.
Participated in the International Exhibition of Art and Decorative Arts in Paris (1925), the exhibition "Art of the Book" in Leipzig (1927), exhibitions of the association "4 Arts" (1928, 1929), exhibitions of Soviet art in Koenigsberg, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia New York, Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, London, all-Union exhibitions. In 1926-1929 he was a member of the Association of Graphic Artists.
He made creative trips to the Caucasus (1929, 1932, 1935), at the metallurgical plant in the city of Sartana (1930-1932), which reflected in a series of watercolors and drawings. In 1939-1945 he lived and worked in Chimkent, after the end of the Great Patriotic War he returned to Moscow. He held solo exhibitions in Moscow (1955, to the 50th anniversary of creative activity, 1961), Leningrad (1962, 1969), Kiev (1964).
Bekhteev is one of the greatest masters of easel and book graphics of the first half of the 20th century. In his early work (1910s - early 1920s) he was close to Cubism, abstractionism, constructivism. Since the second half of the 1920s, he turned to figurative art in line with the artistic tendencies of that time. In the book illustration, which was the main application of the artist's forces in the 1930s-1950s, proved to be a skillful stylist, finding an individual artistic solution for each of the works. In the easel graphics was made as an excellent colorist and draftsman, who has his own style. Subtle color transitions, exquisite sheet tonality, rigorous compositional construction, harmonious distribution of masses are characteristic features of his works.
The works of Bekhteev are in many private and museum collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin Museum. A. Pushkin, in the museums of Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm and others.