D.V. Miliev

Russian (fl. 1895-1917)

D.V. Miliev lived and worked in the Novgorod area of Russia, situated about halfway between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Because of the high number of monasteries in the area, Novgorod has been an important city for Russian icon painting from the 15th century to the present. Miliev was active as an artist from 1895 until the beginning of the Russian Revolution in 1917, painting primarily in the small villages in and around Novgorod. His subjects were Isbushki (small log houses prevalent in Northern Russia), Russian Orthodox churches, fishing boats, and the local people going about their day-to-day life. His watercolors and drawings are quite accomplished and suggest that Miliev might have received artistic training in France. His style is loose, confident and colorful while never overlooking the finer details of the scene. Many of Milievís works are influenced by the Art Nouveau style, which evolved out of France, Germany, and Austria. France had a great deal of influence in Russia, and when Peter the Great was building St. Petersburg, completing the city in 1712, he looked to Europe for assistance, especially Italian, French and German architecture. However, Miliev is truly a Russian painter at heart, often choosing Russian subjects which express the poverty and hopelessness that led up to the Russian Revolution. The work of prominent Russian contemporaries such as Illya Repin and V. Serov obviously affected Milievís artistic style.