Aleksandr Golovin (artist)

Aleksandr Yakovlevich Golovin (OldStyleDate|March 1|1863|February 17, Moscow - 17 April 1930, Detskoye Selo) was an important Russian artist and stage designer who designed sets for many productions by Sergei Diaghilev.

Golovin initially studied architecture, later switching to painting. He also attended the Académie Colarossi. Due to financial difficulties, upon graduation worked as an interior painter and decorator tradesman. He also tried his hand at various artistic fields such as furniture design. In 1900 he took part in designing the Russian Empire pavilion at the Paris World's Fair together with his friend K.A. Korovin. In 1901 he moved to the Saint Petersburg region from Moscow. It was here that he came into his own as a stage designer, combining symbolism and modernism on operatic and dramatic productions for Diaghilev, Meyerhold and others. After the Revolution of 1917, Golovin found work in theatre less and less often, and so delved into painting and graphic illustration. He died in Detskoye Selo on April 17, 1930.

References

* [http://www.peoples.ru/art/painter/golovin/ Biography (in Russian)]