Mikhail Yakovlev

Painter, graphic artist, theatrical designer. Grandfather of Vladimir Yakovlev. Born in the family of an Old Believer peasant called Nikolai Yakovlev in the town of Mikhailov in Ryazan Province (1880). Studied at the Stroganov School (1898–1900), under Konstantin Savitsky at the Penza School of Art (1900–01) and under Ilya Repin and Dmitry Scherbinovsky at the Princess Maria Tenisheva School of Art in St Petersburg (1901). Passed through periods of interest in Symbolism and Art Nouveau (1900s), Impressionism (late 1900s) and Fauvism (1910s). Designed for theatres in Moscow (from 1910). Member of the Union of Russian Artists (1911). Lived in France and Belgium (1923–37), Moscow (1937–41) and Tbilisi (1941–42). Died in Tbilisi (1942). Contributed to the exhibitions of Wreath (1908), Vladimir Izdebsky Salon (1909–10) and the Union of Russian Artists (1909–23).