Georges Annenkov(1889-1974)
- Costume Designer
Georges Annenkov was an Academy Award-nominated Russian-French artist,
active in Russia, France, Germany, and Italy, also known as Yuri
Annenkov in the 'Silver Age' of Russian art.
He was born Yuri Pavlovich Annenkov on July 18, 1889, in
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka province, Russian Empire (now
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia), where his father, Pavel Annenkov,
was serving his sentence in Siberian exile for his anti-Tsar
activities. The Annenkovs belonged to Russian cultural elite, and were
in the opposition to the Tsar's rule. Annenkov's grand uncle, also
named Pavel Annenkov, was among the leading intellectuals of his time,
he was the publisher of
Alexander Pushkin. In 1892, Annenkov's
father was forgiven by the Tsar, and young Annenkov with his parents
returned to their ancestral home in St. Petersburg. There he attended
the private gymnasium of Stolbtsov, then studied at the Law School of
St. Petersburg University, but did not graduate. In 1909, Annenkov
applied to the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, but was not accepted,
because his anti-Tsar caricatures were published in Russian liberal
magazines.
In the 1900s, Annenkov met the famous Russian artist Ilya Repin, who
was a neighbor of the Annenkovs in the St. Petersburg suburb of
Kuokkala. Repin's art made a strong impression on young Annenkov,
albeit he became interested in a more experimental and avant-garde
movements. In 1909-1911, in St. Petersburg, he studied at the Stieglitz
School of Art, and attended the drawing class of Saveli Seidenberg,
where his classmate was Marc Chagall. In
1911 - 1913 Annenkov lived in Paris and studied painting with Symbolist
artists Maurice Denis and
Felix Vallotton. In the summer of 1912
he lived on the Atlantic coast of France, in Bretagne, there he made a
series of drawings of fish and plants for the Department of Zoology at
Sorbonne University. In 1913, Annenkov participated with his two
paintings in the show at 'Salon des Independents', then he traveled and
worked in France and Switzerland. Over the course of his artistic
development, Annenkov absorbed a range of influences, from Russian
Folk-style Lubok and Cubism of
Pablo Picasso to Nabism, Expressionism,
Futurism, Dada, and other Avant-garde movements, and created his own
style called New Synthetism. Annenkov
In 1914, when the First World War broke, he was back in St. Petersburg,
Russia. There Annenkov worked for art magazines, and took part in
several art shows. He made stage design for several stage productions
at the Theatre of Komissarzkhevskoy, and also worked with the director
Nicolas Evreinoff and his Theatre
Krivoe Zerkalo (aka.. The Curved Mirror) in St. Petersburg. By 1917
Annenkov joined the Mir Iskusstva group of artists, where he met such
leaders of Russian art as
Alexandre Benois, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky,
and Yevgeni Lansere among others. During
1910s - 1920s, Annenkov was active as a book illustrator for such
writers and poets as Alexander Blok,
Maxim Gorky, Mikhail Kuzmin, and
Yevgeni Zamyatin among others. In 1918
Annenkov created his well known illustrations for "The Twelve" by
Aleksandr Blok. After the Communist Revolution of 1917, Annenkov
followed his democratic and liberal instincts and became associated
with non-Bolshevik leaders, such as
Lev Trotskiy, Maxim Gorky, and
Anatoli Lunacharsky.
In 1918 - 1921, Annenkov made several large-scale, experimental and
most avant-garde street decorations for mass shows and outdoor
performances in St. Petersburg, Russia. On May 1, 1920, he staged an
outdoor mystery show titled 'Liberated Labour Anthem' for the May Day
Parade. That show started a tradition of grand-scale Soviet parades and
street shows, for which Annenkov made the original designs, working
with the group of such artists as Dobuzhinsky, Maslovsky, Kugel, and
Shchuko. In the fall of 1920, Annenkov designed and directed a massive
show 'Revolutionary Takeower of the Winter Palace' at the Palace Square
in St. Petersburg. At that time, Annenkov invested his experimental
ideas in such innovative stage productions as 'Gaz' by G.Keiser (1920)
and 'The Mutiny of the Machines' by A. Tolstoy (1924) at Bolshoi Drama
Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg. Annenkov's design for 'The Mutiny of
the Machines' was involving several consecutive stage sets with
large-scale moving mechanisms symbolizing the domination of industrial
technology over human life.
Annenkov was among organizers of 'Segodnya' publishing house in St.
Petersburg. In 1922, he published a book of his original portraits of
eighty leading cultural and political figures of Russia of that time,
such as Anna Akhmatova, Fedor Sologub,
Yevgeni Zamyatin, Maxim Gorky,
Boris Pasternak, and
Lev Trotskiy,
Vladimir Lenin, and
Aleksandr Kerensky among many others.
Annenkov's portraits show his mastery of blending several styles for
better representation of complex, multi-faceted personalities of his
famous sitters. In 1923 Annenkov collaborated with
Korney Ivanovich Chukovskiy on the popular
children books series, of which "Moidodyr" with illustrations by Yuri
Annenkov had over 30 re-printings, and became one of the best known
Russian books for children.
In the summer of 1924, Annenkov emigrated from the Soviet Union
together with his wife, actress and ballerina Elena (Helen) Galperi. He
took part in the 1924 Venice art show, then worked in Berlin, Germany,
and exhibited his art in several shows across Europe. Eventually he
settled in Paris, France. He also made set designs for about 60 stage
productions of operas, ballets, and dramas, in collaboration with such
directors as George Balanchine,
Léonide Massine,
Bronislava Njinska,
Michael Chekhov and
Serge Lifar. He also made numerous portraits
of such cultural figures as Maurice Ravel
and Jean Cocteau, among others. In the
1930s Annenkov became involved in film productions. He first
collaborated with such film directors as
F.W. Murnau and
Viktor Tourjansky. Georges Annenkov is
best known for his costumes for
The Earrings of Madame De... (1953), for which he
earned an Academy Award-nomination for Best Costume Design, shared with
Rosine Delamare. Annenkov's costumes and set designers had won him much
critical acclaim, especially his costumes for
Gérard Philipe in
Montparnasse 19 (1958)
and
The Charterhouse of Parma (1948),
among other films. Among his works for television was his lavish design
for 'The Cherry Orchard', a 1959 WD production of the eponymous play by
Anton Chekhov.
From 1945 - 1955 Annenkov was president of the French Syndicate of
Cinema Technicians. Annenkov's witty and bitter-sweet memoirs were
published in Russian and French and had success among intellectuals in
Europe. His book 'Journal of my meetings' (1966) was translated in
several languages, albeit the book was banned in the Soviet Union,
until the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Georges Annenkov died of
natural causes, aged 83, on July 12, 1974, in Paris, France, and was
laid to rest in the Russian Cemetery at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, in
Paris, France.
Georges (Yuri) Annenkov was married to Russian ballerina Elena (Helen)
Annenkov (nee Galperi), who was also his Muse and inspirational model
for numerous drawings, oil portraits, and design ideas for cinema.
Annenkov's works are now in permanent collections of the State Russian
Museum in St. Petersburg, the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, and in
private collections and galleries across the world.
active in Russia, France, Germany, and Italy, also known as Yuri
Annenkov in the 'Silver Age' of Russian art.
He was born Yuri Pavlovich Annenkov on July 18, 1889, in
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka province, Russian Empire (now
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia), where his father, Pavel Annenkov,
was serving his sentence in Siberian exile for his anti-Tsar
activities. The Annenkovs belonged to Russian cultural elite, and were
in the opposition to the Tsar's rule. Annenkov's grand uncle, also
named Pavel Annenkov, was among the leading intellectuals of his time,
he was the publisher of
Alexander Pushkin. In 1892, Annenkov's
father was forgiven by the Tsar, and young Annenkov with his parents
returned to their ancestral home in St. Petersburg. There he attended
the private gymnasium of Stolbtsov, then studied at the Law School of
St. Petersburg University, but did not graduate. In 1909, Annenkov
applied to the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, but was not accepted,
because his anti-Tsar caricatures were published in Russian liberal
magazines.
In the 1900s, Annenkov met the famous Russian artist Ilya Repin, who
was a neighbor of the Annenkovs in the St. Petersburg suburb of
Kuokkala. Repin's art made a strong impression on young Annenkov,
albeit he became interested in a more experimental and avant-garde
movements. In 1909-1911, in St. Petersburg, he studied at the Stieglitz
School of Art, and attended the drawing class of Saveli Seidenberg,
where his classmate was Marc Chagall. In
1911 - 1913 Annenkov lived in Paris and studied painting with Symbolist
artists Maurice Denis and
Felix Vallotton. In the summer of 1912
he lived on the Atlantic coast of France, in Bretagne, there he made a
series of drawings of fish and plants for the Department of Zoology at
Sorbonne University. In 1913, Annenkov participated with his two
paintings in the show at 'Salon des Independents', then he traveled and
worked in France and Switzerland. Over the course of his artistic
development, Annenkov absorbed a range of influences, from Russian
Folk-style Lubok and Cubism of
Pablo Picasso to Nabism, Expressionism,
Futurism, Dada, and other Avant-garde movements, and created his own
style called New Synthetism. Annenkov
In 1914, when the First World War broke, he was back in St. Petersburg,
Russia. There Annenkov worked for art magazines, and took part in
several art shows. He made stage design for several stage productions
at the Theatre of Komissarzkhevskoy, and also worked with the director
Nicolas Evreinoff and his Theatre
Krivoe Zerkalo (aka.. The Curved Mirror) in St. Petersburg. By 1917
Annenkov joined the Mir Iskusstva group of artists, where he met such
leaders of Russian art as
Alexandre Benois, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky,
and Yevgeni Lansere among others. During
1910s - 1920s, Annenkov was active as a book illustrator for such
writers and poets as Alexander Blok,
Maxim Gorky, Mikhail Kuzmin, and
Yevgeni Zamyatin among others. In 1918
Annenkov created his well known illustrations for "The Twelve" by
Aleksandr Blok. After the Communist Revolution of 1917, Annenkov
followed his democratic and liberal instincts and became associated
with non-Bolshevik leaders, such as
Lev Trotskiy, Maxim Gorky, and
Anatoli Lunacharsky.
In 1918 - 1921, Annenkov made several large-scale, experimental and
most avant-garde street decorations for mass shows and outdoor
performances in St. Petersburg, Russia. On May 1, 1920, he staged an
outdoor mystery show titled 'Liberated Labour Anthem' for the May Day
Parade. That show started a tradition of grand-scale Soviet parades and
street shows, for which Annenkov made the original designs, working
with the group of such artists as Dobuzhinsky, Maslovsky, Kugel, and
Shchuko. In the fall of 1920, Annenkov designed and directed a massive
show 'Revolutionary Takeower of the Winter Palace' at the Palace Square
in St. Petersburg. At that time, Annenkov invested his experimental
ideas in such innovative stage productions as 'Gaz' by G.Keiser (1920)
and 'The Mutiny of the Machines' by A. Tolstoy (1924) at Bolshoi Drama
Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg. Annenkov's design for 'The Mutiny of
the Machines' was involving several consecutive stage sets with
large-scale moving mechanisms symbolizing the domination of industrial
technology over human life.
Annenkov was among organizers of 'Segodnya' publishing house in St.
Petersburg. In 1922, he published a book of his original portraits of
eighty leading cultural and political figures of Russia of that time,
such as Anna Akhmatova, Fedor Sologub,
Yevgeni Zamyatin, Maxim Gorky,
Boris Pasternak, and
Lev Trotskiy,
Vladimir Lenin, and
Aleksandr Kerensky among many others.
Annenkov's portraits show his mastery of blending several styles for
better representation of complex, multi-faceted personalities of his
famous sitters. In 1923 Annenkov collaborated with
Korney Ivanovich Chukovskiy on the popular
children books series, of which "Moidodyr" with illustrations by Yuri
Annenkov had over 30 re-printings, and became one of the best known
Russian books for children.
In the summer of 1924, Annenkov emigrated from the Soviet Union
together with his wife, actress and ballerina Elena (Helen) Galperi. He
took part in the 1924 Venice art show, then worked in Berlin, Germany,
and exhibited his art in several shows across Europe. Eventually he
settled in Paris, France. He also made set designs for about 60 stage
productions of operas, ballets, and dramas, in collaboration with such
directors as George Balanchine,
Léonide Massine,
Bronislava Njinska,
Michael Chekhov and
Serge Lifar. He also made numerous portraits
of such cultural figures as Maurice Ravel
and Jean Cocteau, among others. In the
1930s Annenkov became involved in film productions. He first
collaborated with such film directors as
F.W. Murnau and
Viktor Tourjansky. Georges Annenkov is
best known for his costumes for
The Earrings of Madame De... (1953), for which he
earned an Academy Award-nomination for Best Costume Design, shared with
Rosine Delamare. Annenkov's costumes and set designers had won him much
critical acclaim, especially his costumes for
Gérard Philipe in
Montparnasse 19 (1958)
and
The Charterhouse of Parma (1948),
among other films. Among his works for television was his lavish design
for 'The Cherry Orchard', a 1959 WD production of the eponymous play by
Anton Chekhov.
From 1945 - 1955 Annenkov was president of the French Syndicate of
Cinema Technicians. Annenkov's witty and bitter-sweet memoirs were
published in Russian and French and had success among intellectuals in
Europe. His book 'Journal of my meetings' (1966) was translated in
several languages, albeit the book was banned in the Soviet Union,
until the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Georges Annenkov died of
natural causes, aged 83, on July 12, 1974, in Paris, France, and was
laid to rest in the Russian Cemetery at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, in
Paris, France.
Georges (Yuri) Annenkov was married to Russian ballerina Elena (Helen)
Annenkov (nee Galperi), who was also his Muse and inspirational model
for numerous drawings, oil portraits, and design ideas for cinema.
Annenkov's works are now in permanent collections of the State Russian
Museum in St. Petersburg, the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, and in
private collections and galleries across the world.