Russian Artist. He is remembered for his paintings of Russian peasant life and for the brilliant use of color in his work. Born into a peasant family, he was drawn to art as a young boy. His village was often visited by traveling monks, who would bring with them icons from Mount Athos, in Greece. Fascinated by the icons, at the age of 16 he convinced his parents to allow him to go to Athos to study icon-painting. However, he soon discovered the art of icon painting was not actually practiced there and they only made copies of Russian icons. Having used up his money, he was unable to return to Russia and so he entered the monastery as a novice and was charged with painting icons and murals. In 1891 he met Russian sculptor Vladimir Beklemishev, a professor at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts who was passing through Athos. Beklemishev was greatly impressed by his work and invited him to come to Saint Petersburg. In March 1892 he arrived in Saint Petersburg and was enrolled in the Academy of Arts. He was accepted into the studio of Russian realist Ilya Repin, and it was there he began creating some of his most famous early works, including "Peasant Girl Knitting a Stocking" (1895). In 1900 he traveled to Paris, France and took the country by storm. His painting "Laughter" (1898) was awarded a gold medal and bought by the Museo d'arte moderno in Venice. His work was suddenly in demand, with the Luxembourg Museum in Paris purchasing "Three Women" (1902). He then returned to Russia and devoted himself to his art, with the focus on peasant life. His other notable works include "Two Russian Beauties" (circa 1905), "Whirlwind" (1906), and "Young Woman on a Swing" (circa 1910). In 1918 he moved to Ryazan, where he participated in the Ryazan Commissariat for Education's propaganda of art. Two years later, he went to Moscow, where he was admitted to the Kremlin and made drawings for Vladimir Lenin's portrait. He then left Russia in late 1922 and eventually settled in Paris, where he painted portraits on commission and occasionally exhibited his works on European tours. He died at the age of 71.