In the span of "human" time, it really was not so many years ago that artists were trained in a variety of arts. I'm not talking about related arts as in drawing and painting, but more, such as -wood carving, bronze casting, sculpting, architecture, literature,music, poetry,..............
Russian born Nicolai Fechin, 1881-1955. Fechin received instruction from his very skilled father in drawing & sculpting. At 14, Fechin enrolled in the Art School of Kazan in St. Petersburg. The Art School was a branch of the Imperial Academy of Art & was operated by graduates of the Academy. Individual development was promoted with a variety of classes including Russian literature, architecture, & art history.
After graduating in 1900, Fechin went on to study at the Imperial Academy, studying under Ilya Repin who emphasized northern European masters such as Rembrandt.
Fast forward, Fechin along with his wife and daughter moved to Taos, New Mexico in 1927 - a long way from Russia! Fechin produced a large body of work during the six years that he lived with his family in Taos.
In 1928 he purchased an adobe house which also included a seperate building which he turned into his studio. Fechin extensively remodeled the house while also creating a Russian atmosphere in his home.
Having learned wood carving from his father, he spent afternoons & evenings carving furniture, sculpting decorative motifs in the woodwork while blending Russian design elements such as tripticych windows, and intricately carved doors within his traditional Southwestern adobe home.
I have visited this house that is now the Taos Art Museum, and I was astonished at the amount of beautifully carved furniture and woodwork this man produced in his 5 years at this house along with a vast array of paintings.
No, he didn't leave the world at this time, but he & his daughter did leave Taos. If you would like to know more about this very interesting artist, you can find out more at: http://www.taosartmuseum.org/fechin.php, clicking on the home page will allow you see a few pictures of this beautiful Southwestern adobe home - I wish there were more pictures of the interior!
To Be Continued.
