Alexander Konstantinovich Bogomazov () or Oleksandr Kostiantynovych Bohomazov (; March 27, 1880 – June 3, 1930) was a Ukrainian painter, cubo-futurist, modern art theoretician and is recognised as one of the key figures of the Ukrainian avant-garde scene. In 1914, Oleksandr wrote his treatise The Art of Painting and the Elements. In it he analyzed the interaction between Object, Artist, Picture, and Spectator and sets the theoretical foundation of modern art. During his artistic life Oleksandr Bohomazov mastered several art styles. The most known are Cubo-Futurism (1913–1917) and Spectralism (1920–1930).
Early life
Oleksandr Bohomazov was born in Yampil, Kharkiv Region (now Sumy Oblast, Ukraine) as a second child to Kostiantyn & Anisia Bohomazov's. The artist's father was an accountant, who worked at the local sugar factory and later rose to the status of a merchant. The boy hardly knew his mother - she left the family and remarried a visiting officer.
Oleksandr started to show early desire for painting while studying at the gymnasium. However, his father did not approve of his style, considering it too raw, and insisted that the boy graduate from the Kherson Agricultural School, where he majored in agronomy from 1896 to 1902. But the passion for art prevailed, and with the support of his uncle, Oleksandr convinces his father to allow him to move to Kyiv and enter the Kyiv Academy of Arts in 1902.
In Kyiv Art School, Bohomazov was taught by Oleksandr Murashko and Ivan Seleznev, while Oleksandra Ekster and Oleksandr Arkhypenko, future stars of the avant-garde, studied with him. In 1905, he was expelled from the school due to his participation in political demonstrations and strikes. As of 1906, he studied in the Kyiv studio of Serhiy Sviatoslavskyi and spent the summer of 1907 in Crimea with Oleksa Hryshchenko and Vladimir Denisov, fellow-students in the Sviatoslavskyi studio. They rented a wooden house in Vorontsovsky Park just outside Alupka, 8 miles south-west of Yalta, and sketched from dawn till dusk.
Bohomazov thereupon left for Moscow, studying under Konstantin Yuon and Fyodor Rerberg (alongside Malevych), before returning to Kyiv in 1908 to participate in the city's first Modernist exhibition, Zveno (‘The Link’) together with David Burliuk, Wladimir Burliuk, Oleksandra Ekster and others.
Artistic Periods
The Finnish Cycle, 1911
In June 1911, while working part-time in the newspaper Kyivska Dumka (Kyivan Thought), Bohomazov was sent on a business trip to Karelia (back then, Russian Empire, now Finland & Russia), to create paintings and prints of Finnish landscapes for an illustrated supplement to the newspaper.
For one and a half months Bohomazov was travelling along the touristic route along Imatra, Lappeenranta, Vyborg, Punkaharju, Savonlinna. This trip resulted in dozens of paintings, watercolours, and inks. The exact number is unknown, and nowadays, the Finnish Cycle is spread out among private collectors and museums.
While visiting Imatra, he painted The Tower’ (NAMU) and ‘A Castle in Finland’ (collection of K.Grygoryshyn), both depicting the famous architectural marvel of Grand Hotel de Cascade (now Valtionhotelli). The hotel was built in the form of a castle in Art Nouveau style and is reminiscent of Olavinlinna fortress situated on the other side of Lake Saimaa. Another object of painter's attention were the famous rapids Imatrankoski and Vallinkoski. Bohomazov became very fond of them and was enjoying the peaceful Finnish landscapes, which were in tune with artist's inner world. ‘I was painting Little Imatra in oil, a few days ago (Another name for Vallinkoski. – Author). Painting easily, freely, with joy. I have completed a canvas. I was happy!’, - he reported to his wife-to-be Wanda in a letter home. Here he talks about painting ‘The Sea Waves’ (NAMU), as well as series of watercolours picturing the rapids were created here – ‘Stream and Rocks. Istra River-1’ (NAMU), ‘Wave. Istra River-2’ (NAMU), ‘Waves and Rocks. (Istra River-ІІІ)’ (NAMU), ‘Istra River (Finnish waters)’ (private collection), ‘Stormy River’ (collection of K.Grigorishin). At Lappeenranta, he painted two watercolours: Finland (NAMU) and Finnish Landscape (NAMU).
The trip yielded a number of romantic, White Night drawings and watercolours of scenic highlights near Vyborg – including Monrepos Park, the three-towered Olavinlinna Castle in Savonlinna, and the island-dotted Lake Saimaa, whose ‘fairy-tale beauty’ had been extolled by numerous artists and poets. The lake likewise influenced the romantically inclined artist to dedicate the drawing, to his future wife.