Biography

Konstantin Vysotsky (1864-1938) was one of the most distinguished animalist artists in the Russian and Latvian art scenes. Born in Moscow on May 29, 1864, he was a painter, a graphic artist, and an illustrator in the family of a renowned music composer.

Vysotsky studied at Moscow Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture School (1885-1891) with the guidance of famous artists - E.S. Sorokin, V.Y. Makovsky, V.D. Polenov. He graduated with excellence and the title of the best artist in his class, receiving two silver medals in 1891.

After the Red October Revolution, Vysotsky decided to move to Riga in 1918. During his time in Latvia, he worked as a teacher at a gymnasium, as well as at the Riga City Russian Secondary School. The artist conducted his own painting studio and organized a lot of exhibitions for his pupils and students. He lived In Latvia for the rest of his life and passed away at the age of 73.

After emigrating from the Russian Empire, many of Vysotsky's personal exhibitions took place in the Baltic States - Riga in 1925 and 1938, Kaunas in 1933, and Tallinn (in honor of the 45th anniversary of creative activity) in 1935. He also actively participated in exhibitions of artists, who emigrated from the Russian Empire to Copenhagen, Prague, Berlin, Los Angeles, Helsinki, and London.

After suffering from a severe illness for years, Visotsky died on January 6, 1938. He was buried in the Pokrov Cemetery in Riga. The artist's paintings are located at the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga, as well as at some Russian museums and private collections.

Artist of nature

In the center of many of Vysotsky's paintings, there is a relationship between man, nature, and the Universe in a surreal space. He manages to capture and describe the nature of the winged and four-legged forest dwellers and their passage of life. Such scenes can only be created by an observer with a deep love towards nature. As Vysotsky knew flora and fauna admirably, the landscapes he painted are a great pleasure for every lover of nature. The animal world served the artist as an endless source of inspiration, honoring the beauty and majestic power of its inhabitants.  

Vysotsky's paintings show the hunter's implied perception, underlining and highlighting the appearance of an animal in a landscape. Sly foxes, impassive moose, frightened bunnies, flying swans, wild boars, beavers, and other creatures roam around, undisturbed searching for food in wintery forest tracks, or observing unexpected guests after noticing human presence.

The mastery of Vysotsky is based on academic realism, but there are elements of impressionism that give the viewer a visual impression of the constant movement of nature. The artist remains faithful to the old school's notions, abandoning innovations, thereby winning with sincerity and heartiness. His color palette is fresh and sunny, his drawing – clear and true.

But the artist wasn't confined to animalism only, which is the figurative genre in his artworks. He also depicted landscapes and still life. Although initially, in the 1890s, his paintings related to the historical themes, later he returns to landscapes and domestic genre themes. A silver-gray sense of nature is expressed in Latgale's landscape study cycle when the painter Vysotky had chosen Zogota Manor and its surroundings (Rezekne) as his studio site. Sky-colored snow and quiet forests, rural lands, and tender shades of shadows – this is an essential characteristic of Latvia's mysterious nature.

Vysotsky's painting exhibitions were always crowded, and his art was always an object of interest for buyers. Since he arrived in Latvia in the 1920s, no artist had been able to align his mastery in the animalistic genre, so his name was around and respected by Latvian hunters.

Vysotsky's works could also be found outside the painting format when he was still in his home country. He made many illustrations for the “Niva”, “Rodina” and “Sever” journals. He even continued illustrating in exile in Latvia for local publicists. Some of his most famous illustrations were done for famous literature books – Alexander Pushkin's “The Daughter of the Captain”, "The fairy tales of Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak" and etc.

Interesting facts

Konstantin Vysotsky's grandfather, Mikhail, was a well-known Russian composer, guitar virtuoso and a songwriter. Before applying for the art school, Vysotsky's intention was to study in the Moscow Conservatory, but Mr. Rubenstein, who accepted Vystosky in his class, had suddenly died. Only then fate turned the artist towards visual art.