Russian artist’s works on display

Kimberley McGee

Monday, Feb. 11, 2002 | 8:32 a.m.

In the 1930 self-portrait of 20th century painter Ivan Djeneeff, the mustachioed man seems wary and unsure of his importance as a subject.

As an artist, Djeneeff's finished works are considered masterpieces.

The Las Vegas Art Museum presents a chronicle of the artist's early works through March 17 in the exhibit "A Russian Odyssey: The Art and Times of Ivan Djeneeff."

The exhibit showcases Djeneeff's oil paintings and sketches from pre-Revolutionary Russia (1910) to the United States (1955).

A large portion of Djeneeff's works feature Russian religious, historical and fairy-tale subjects.

Among his more well-known works are "Olga by the Donets River," (1914) and "Tsar Yaroslav the Wise" (1920s). The portrait of the Russian leader, who is considered a founder of both literary tradition and architecture in Russia, melds meaning and form -- two attributes favored by Djeneeff in art.

The LVAM hosted the exhibit because many Americans have little access to Russian art, Marianne Lorenz, executive director of the LVAM, said.

"Most of the (Russian) art is still in Russia and you'd have to go there to experience it," Lorenz said. "(Djeneeff) is one of the best realists that ever lived."

In 1868 Djeneeff was born into a wealthy Russian family. He studied art at Russia's top academies, including the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, where he trained under painter Ilia Repin.

With the onset of World War I in 1916, Djeneeff was called to military duty and sent to Erie, Pa., to supervise the manufacturing of allied artillery shells at the General Electric Plant.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Djeneeff, who remained in Erie, was separated from his family in Russia. He was forced into exile in America, where he painted portraits of proud Russian czars, triumphant moments in Russian history and, later, scenes that blended his Russian roots and Americanization.

He became a member of the Russian emigre artistic community in the United States, which included Sicholai Roerich, David Burliuk, Naum Gabo and Alexander Archipenko.

Although he lived most of his life in the United States, Djeneeff's works are heavy with a romantic view of Russia, according to Las Vegas resident Dr. Rupert Perrin.

Perrin, 72, is considered one of the top-10 collectors of Russian art nationwide. He has collected more than 40 paintings by artists from the former Soviet Union.

Djeneeff is one of a handful of artists from the Russian avant garde art movement of the 1920s, Perrin said.

"His work is very realistic, very interesting," Perrin said.

Throughout his life Djeneeff illustrated magazine covers, lipstick advertisements featuring chilly Russian landscapes and idyllic scenes.

Djeneeff was commissioned to do more serious work, such as paintings and religious icons for New York Churches, until his death in 1955 at age 86.

"Those were the types of paintings that were desirable then and reflects the Russian philosophy of life," Perrin said. "His work (depicts) Russia in its glory."