Children

Filipp Malyavin prints burst with red. Malyavin was a Russian painter of peasant background who studied with Ilya Repin and became famous for his huge, swirling pictures of laughing and dancing village women in bright red dresses and shawls. This collection gathers art prints of his peasant women, dancers, portraits, family pictures and country scenes, painted with energetic brushwork and strong, joyful color.

About Filipp Malyavin

Filipp Malyavin was born in October 1869 in the village of Kazanka, in the Samara region, into a poor family with many children. As a boy he copied icons and painted his neighbors. At sixteen he traveled with a monk to Mount Athos in Greece to learn icon painting, and stayed at a monastery there as a novice, painting icons and murals.

In 1891 the sculptor Vladimir Beklemishev, a professor at the St Petersburg Academy of Arts, saw his work on Athos and invited him to the capital. Malyavin entered the Academy in 1892 and from 1894 studied in the studio of Ilya Repin. His graduation painting Laughter, showing women in red on a green meadow, was rejected by the professors but in 1900 won a gold medal in Paris and was bought for the modern art museum in Venice.

In 1906 he painted Whirlwind, his greatest work, and was made an Academician. After the revolution he lived and taught in Ryazan and in 1920 made drawings of Lenin in the Kremlin. He later left Russia, settled with his family in Paris, exhibited across Europe, and died in Nice on 23 December 1940.

Style and Subjects

Malyavin is best known for his peasant women, painted on a large scale with sweeping, energetic brushwork. Red was his favorite color, and his canvases often fill with billowing skirts and shawls in scarlet, crimson and orange, set against green fields or snow.

His figures laugh, dance and gossip with great vitality, and the paint itself seems to move. He also painted lively portraits, including fellow students from Repin's studio, children, family groups and commissioned portraits during his years in Paris.

Famous Works

• Igor Grabar (1895), Russian Museum, St Petersburg. A portrait of a fellow student in Repin's studio.
• Peasant Girl Knitting a Stocking (1895), Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. The first painting in which he made red his main color, bought by Pavel Tretyakov.
• Laughter (1899), International Gallery of Modern Art, Venice. Women in red laughing in a green meadow, his gold-medal success in Paris in 1900.
• Women's Happiness (1900), Chelyabinsk State Art Museum. A cheerful group of village women.
• Peasant Women (1905), Russian Museum, St Petersburg. A strong, colorful group of women from the countryside.
• Whirlwind (1906), Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Peasant women dancing in a storm of red, his greatest painting.

Decorating with Malyavin Prints

Malyavin's red-filled pictures are bold statement pieces for a living room, dining room or open-plan kitchen. Their scarlet and crimson tones look striking against white, cream or deep green walls, and suit both modern and folk-inspired interiors.

His smaller portraits and studies of laughing women work well in a hallway or reading corner, and his snowy troika scenes add a festive touch in winter.

FAQ

What art movement was Filipp Malyavin part of?

Malyavin trained in the realist tradition of Ilya Repin but developed a bold, expressive style of his own. He is often counted among the "Russian Impressionists" and was a member of the World of Art and the Union of Russian Artists.

What is Filipp Malyavin's most famous painting?

Whirlwind (1906), in the Tretyakov Gallery, is considered his greatest work. It shows peasant women dancing in swirling red dresses.

Where can I see Malyavin's original paintings?

The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Russian Museum in St Petersburg hold his major works. Laughter is in the modern art gallery in Venice, and other paintings are in regional Russian museums.

How can you recognize a Malyavin painting?

Look for large figures of village women in billowing red clothes, painted with fast, sweeping brushstrokes, and a joyful, energetic mood.

Why did Malyavin paint so many peasants?

Malyavin came from a poor village family himself, which was unusual among Russian artists of his day. His own background made peasant life a natural and lifelong subject.

Related Artists

• Ilya Repin — his teacher at the St Petersburg Academy
• Boris Kustodiev — fellow student in Repin's studio, also known for colorful Russian scenes
• Konstantin Korovin — leading Russian Impressionist of the same generation
• Anders Zorn — Swedish painter of vigorous peasant women and folk life