NIKOLAI ROMADIN (1903–1987) Summer in the village

signed in Cyrillic ‘N. Romadin’ (lower right) oil on canvas 60 × 47.7 cm Nikolai Mikhailovich Romadin (1903–1987) was one of the leading Soviet landscape painters of his generation. Born in Samara on the Volga, he studied at the Samara Art College in 1922 and subsequently at Vkhutemas–Vkhutein in Moscow (1923–1930), under Petr Konchalovsky, Ilya Mashkov, Robert Falk and Dmitrii Shcherbinovsky. The influence of his teachers, particularly Falk, is reflected in his sensitive approach to colour and composition. Romadin began exhibiting in 1924 and participated in more than 200 exhibitions in the Soviet Union and abroad, including the Venice Biennale in 1956. From 1938 onwards, he travelled extensively throughout the Soviet Union, drawing inspiration from the landscapes of the Volga region, Karelia, northern and central Russia, Central Asia and Crimea. His artistic oeuvre was devoted primarily to lyrical and atmospheric depictions of the Russian countryside, particularly the landscapes of central Russia. Romadin received numerous official distinctions, including the title of People’s Artist of the USSR, and was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Arts. His works are represented in major Russian museum collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. In 1981, his self-portrait was presented to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.