Mr. Borisov-Musatov was born in Saratov, Russian Empire (nowadays Russian Federation), on April 14, 1870, in the family of a minor railway official who had been a serf. In his early childhood he had suffered a bad fall, which left him humpbacked for the rest of his life. The tact and understanding of his parents, who encouraged his fondness for art, and the lessons of the young painter Konovalov contributed much to the formation of his artistic personality.
In 1890 Victor Borisov-Musatov left his native town to enroll in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (since 1933, Moscow Architectural Institute). Dissatisfied with the system of teaching at the school, which was then going through a severe crisis, he left for St. Petersburg a year later, hoping to receive better professional training at the capital's Imperial Academy of Arts (later St. Petersburg Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture). But the conservative academic system of training did not appeal to him, and only in the private school of Tchistyakov, a well-known teacher of the Academy, could he work with real enthusiasm.
The damp climate of St. Peterburg told on Mr. Musatov's health and made him return to Moscow in 1893, where he renewed his studies at the Moscow School. His earliest works, shown at a students' exhibition, were sharply criticized and labeled decadent. They brought the displeasure of the school authorities upon him, but at the same time evoked warm sympathy in his fellow students. Due to his energy and resolution he finally became the leader of a circle of young painters bent on discovering new methods in art. In 1895 Musatov left the Moscow School and went to Paris, where he worked for three winters, perfecting his drawing skills in the school of Fernand Cormon, a mediocre painter of historical subjects who was, however, an excellent teacher. His contact with contemporary French painting had a decisive effect on his life and work.
Victor Musatov spent the summer months of 1896 and 1897 in Saratov, working tirelessly on his studies. In his little garden on a quiet street leading down to the Volga he painted small boys in the nude, attempting to convey the changes of color caused by the changing daylight. He also did many sketches and studies of his younger sister, who constantly sat for him. All this was preparatory work for the large canvases he was to paint later.
In 1898 Mr. Musatov finally left France for Russia. Almost immediately after his return, Musatov fell into depression, which is now termed "fin de siècle nostalgia." The reason for this was his painfully acute reaction to many aspects of the reality which surrounded him, the social contradictions of "the cruel, the truly iron age." Musatov's desire to escape from this "dirt and boredom," this "devil's bog," from the spirit of money-grabbing and the petty bourgeois life around him became more pressing. He found a way out, at least spiritually, in creating a unique pictorial world, half invented, half realistic. These were also the years when Musatov abandoned the technique of oil painting. Tempera, along with watercolor and pastel, became his favorite medium.
The 1901 was the beginning of a period when Viktor Musatov's talents came into full bloom. His main work of 1901 was Tapestry. In the second half of 1902 the artist painted The Pool. For Mr. Musatov himself The Pool was his most important picture. For a number of years, Musatov was prominent as one of the organizers of exhibitions of the Moscow Association of Artists, a progressive organization that had brought together his followers, Pavel Kuznetsov, Peter Utkin and Alexander Matveyev, Martiros Saryan, Nikolai Sapunov, and Sergei Sudeikin. His reputation grew.
Early in 1904 Mr. Musatov had highly successful one-man shows in a number of cities in Germany; in the spring of 1905 his paintings, including The Pool, were exhibited at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Française in Paris. Nevertheless Viktor Musatov's financial position remained difficult, and it was only during the last two years of his life that art collectors began to buy his pictures.
Musatov's last work was Requiem, a large, minutely detailed watercolor, dedicated to the memory of Nadezhda Staniukovich, a close friend of the artist. Despite a greater detailing than in his other pictures, the women in Requiem are transformed into shadows. Replacing a living image with a symbol, Musatov comes here much closer to Symbolism in its mystical aspect than in any other of his earlier paintings: the elements of Art Nouveau in his Requiem come into contact or actually merge with the strict and impressive forms of Neo-Classicism.
Requiem
Boy at the seashore
Two Ladies
Lady Seated, with a Tapestry in the Background
Reapers
Self Portrait with Sister
Emerald Necklace
Peasant Women
Poppies in the Garden
A Path in a Garden
A garden in Blossom
Window
Autumn Mood
The Pool
Girl in the Sunlight
Autumn Evening (sketch for a panel)
On a Balcony in Tarusa
In a Boat
Lady in a Garden
Garlands of Cornflowers
Agave
Still Life with Flowers
A Walk in the Park
Three Ladies on the Terrace
Hazel Bush
Daphnis and Chloe
Spring Scene
Tapestry
Cabbage Field with Willows
Lady Embroidering
On a Balcony
Harmony
A Tree
Portrait of Nadezhda Staniukovich
Walk at Sunset
Bluebells
Portrait of a Lady
Spring Sun
May Flowers
A Caucasian Study
Slumber Divine (sketch for a panel)
Cherry Trees in Blossom
Boy Seated
In the Park
Boy in the garden
Silence (Indoors)
Woman in rocking chair
Woman in Blue Dress
Flowers
Roses and Catkins
Prayer on the railway station
Summer Melody (sketch for a panel)
Phantoms
Woman in a Yellow Shawl
Young Girl on the Balcony
The Boy nearly broken jug
Autumn Mood
Self Portrait
Boy with a Dog
In the Light of the Setting Sun
Autumn Song
Spring Tale (sketch for a panel)
A Walk
Young Girl with a Necklace
Manor House at Zubrilovka
Lady in Blue
Mr. Borisov-Musatov was a member of the Union of Russian Artists, the Moscow Association of Artists, a progressive artistic organization that brought together Pavel Kuznetsov, Peter Utkin, Alexander Matveyev, Martiros Saryan, Nikolai Sapunov, and Sergei Sudeikin, and in 1905 he became a member of the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français society.
