Artist
Alexei Kondratievich Savrasov
Timeline
In 1838, Savrasov enrolled at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture under Karl Rabus. After graduating in 1850, he specialized in landscape painting, pioneering the lyrical landscape style.1
In 1854, at the invitation of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolayevna, President of the Imperial Academy of Arts, he moved to the St. Petersburg area, a connection that significantly impacted his early career.1
From 1857, he taught at his alma mater, mentoring future masters like Isaac Levitan and Konstantin Korovin, who remembered him with profound admiration and gratitude.1
He was close with Vasily Perov and they collaborated on works; Savrasov painted landscapes for Perov's paintings, while Perov added human figures to Savrasov's landscapes.1
Traveling to England and Switzerland in the 1860s, he was influenced by John Constable and Alexandre Calame. The International Exhibition inspired him more than any academy could.1
In 1870, he became a founding member of the Peredvizhniki (The Wanderers), breaking away from government-sponsored academic art to seek more realistic and free expression.1
His 1871 masterpiece 'The Rooks Have Returned' is a pinnacle of Russian landscape art, establishing the 'mood landscape' style by emotionally depicting the transition from winter to spring.1
The death of his daughter in 1871 triggered a downward spiral into alcoholism, leading to a crisis in his art and the eventual collapse of his professional and personal life.1
Due to worsening alcoholism, he was dismissed from his teaching position in 1882. Despite help from friends, he fell into extreme poverty and spent his final years wandering between shelters.1
When he died in poverty in 1897, only Pavel Tretyakov and a school doorkeeper attended his funeral, a lonely end for a master who revolutionized Russian landscape painting.1