Stepanov, Aleksei
Stepanov, Aleksei Stepanovich
Born Apr. 24 (May 6), 1858, in Simferopol’; died Oct. 5, 1923, in Moscow. Russian painter.
Stepanov studied with I. M. Prianishnikov at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture from 1880 to 1884. He was a professor at the school from 1899 to 1918. Stepanov was a member of the Society of Wandering Art Exhibitions (seePEREDVIZHNIKI) from 1891 to 1903, as well as a founding member of the Union of Russian Artists.
Stepanov developed the tradition of plein-air painting. His works executed between roughly 1900 and the early 1920’s are constructed in soft, velvety tonal combinations. They are characterized by a poetic perception of nature and folk life and by the successful integration of landscape and genre scenes with animal themes. Notable examples of Stepanov’s works include The Moose (1889, Tret’iakov Gallery), The Cranes Are Flying (1891, Tret’iakov Gallery), The Wolves (1912, private collection), and drawings in the magazine Priroda i okhota (Nature and Hunting, 1883–95).