Piotr Konchalovsky

Piotr Konchalovsky (1876-1956) was a Russian painter and major contributor to the development of the Russian avant-garde during the first decades of the 20th century. Greatly inspired by Cézanne, he was a founding member of the Jack of Diamonds group, a collection of avant-garde artists who looked to fuse recent innovations in French painting with the themes of Russian folk art. Konchalovsky later underwent a drastic stylistic shift, as he embraced the tenants of socialist realism that were increasingly emphasized by the state during the Soviet period, yet he remained one of the most eminent Russian artists of the 20th century.