Anatoly Zverev (November 3, 1931 – December 9, 1986) – Soviet avant-garde artist and graphic artist, a legendary figure of Moscow bohemia of the second half of the 20th century. Anatoly Zverev entered the history of painting as a master who managed to combine the traditions of the Russian avant-garde with the latest discoveries of Western art. The biography of the artist is an example of the tragic fate of a genius in a totalitarian society.

Anatoly Zverev went down in history as the founder of Russian tachisme, a type of abstract art in which expression is conveyed with the help of free strokes and color spots. A characteristic feature of the master’s work is the amazingly accurately conveyed movements and images that he created on plain paper using cheap watercolors and gouache.

Biography of Anatoly Zverev

Anatoly Timofeevich Zverev was born on November 3, 1931 in a dilapidated wooden house on the outskirts of Moscow. The boy grew up sickly and weak, and from early childhood he loved to draw. Parents encouraged their son’s passion and tried to find funds from the meager budget to buy colored pencils. At school, Anatoly did not study well, and was very proud that he still managed to finish the seven-year plan.

During the war years, Zverev lost his father, and the family was in desperate need of money. After graduating from the vocational art school, the young man got a job as a designer in Sokolniki Park, and his duties included, among other things, painting work. Anatoly devoted his free time to trips to museums, where he carefully studied the paintings of his idols. Among the Russian masters, the artist valued the Wanderers more than others. On small pieces of cardboard, Zverev painted Russian landscapes, adding dynamics and tension to them on his own.

Talent helped the young man to enter the Moscow Regional Art School.

But he did not study there for long. Already in the first year, Anatoly was expelled due to frequent disputes with teachers and claims to appearance. Due to the poor financial situation, the young man dressed too poorly even for post-war times.

The turning point came in 1954, when the famous actor and teacher of the Institute of Cinematography Alexander Rumnev saw the artist’s paintings. Thanks to the artist, the whole capital learned about the talent of the painter. From the mid-1950s, Zverev’s works regularly appeared at bohemian apartment exhibitions, where they were bought by connoisseurs of painting.

The artist worked at incredible speed, often using a rag, knife or shaving brush, but the result was always impeccable. When looking at the paintings, it was hard to guess that they were created in such an unusual way.

A friend and collector of the painter’s works, Georgy Costakis, called the late 1950s and early 1960s the most productive period in Zverev’s creative biography. Each picture of the artist became a search for new forms in avant-garde art. In 1957, a significant event took place in the life of the master – his works were exhibited at the exhibition of the World Festival of Youth and Students, where they earned recognition from the famous graphic artist and muralist David Siqueiros (José David Alfaro Siqueiros).

Popularity

In 1960, thanks to a publication in Life magazine, the Russian genius of the avant-garde became known to the whole world. Five years later, the composer and conductor Igor Markevich organized personal exhibitions and sales of the artist’s paintings in Copenhagen, Geneva and Paris. Major American and European museums became interested in Zverev’s work.

By the end of the 1960s, Zverev moved away from experiments and began to pay more attention to minor details and pure colors, which did not benefit his paintings. At the same time, the artist was calm about criticism and continued to create. He often created his masterpieces on the floor, spreading out whatman paper and wielding the most inappropriate objects for painting – salt, flour, a broom and even cigarette butts.

Exhibitions

In the USSR, during the lifetime of the artist, there were only two major exhibitions with his participation. One was held in 1975 at VDNH in the pavilion “Beekeeping”, and the second, personal – in 1984 in the City Committee of Graphics. The master did not fit into the framework of the concepts of “Soviet art”, and avant-garde art was then under an unspoken ban. The master did not hesitate to publicly criticize the authorities and called socialism “a mess and deceit.” As a result, the district policeman repeatedly visited his apartment and threatened to send Zverev for compulsory treatment in a psychiatric hospital.

Despite a good income, Zverev did not like his housing in Sviblovo and spent most of his time with numerous friends and acquaintances. Staying away was certainly accompanied by a feast. Drunkenness was often called the natural state of the master. He wandered from one apartment to another, in gratitude leaving many of his drawings to the owners.

Addiction to alcohol caused the death of the artist. Anatoly Zverev died on December 9, 1986 from a stroke that developed against the background of a severe withdrawal syndrome. The funeral of the master was attended by the entire Moscow beau monde.