Eugene Lanceray

23 August] 1875 – 13 September 1946), also often spelled Eugene Lansere, was a Russian graphic artist, painter, sculptor, mosaicist, and illustrator, associated stylistically with Mir iskusstva ("World of Art").

His father Eugene Lanceray, who was also an artist, died early, aged forty; when the boy was eleven years old.

Already a mature and experienced master, Eugene Lanceray noted that “his search for the right everyday gesture, interest in the ethnographic characterization of characters”, and, finally, “attraction to the Caucasus” were received from his father “as a heredity” characteristic of his work.

[2] After returning from France to Russia, Lanceray joined Mir iskusstva, an influential Russian art movement inspired by an artistic journal of the same name, founded in 1899, in Saint Petersburg.

[6] Other prominent members of Mir iskusstva' included Lanceray's uncle Alexandre Benois, Konstantin Somov, Walter Nouvel, Léon Bakst, and Dmitry Filosofov.

His creative method and aesthetic views evolved under the influence and guidance of Benois, although, by some aspects of his talent, Lanceray may have exceeded his teacher.

Being a representative of traditional painting (not avant-garde movement) and the bourgeoisie, he was not in great demand with the new Soviet government for a long time.

[9] Lanceray left Saint Petersburg in 1917, and spent three years living in Dagestan,[2] where he became infatuated with Oriental themes.

[2] During his stay in Georgia, he lectured at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts (1922–1934) and illustrated the Caucasian novellas of Leo Tolstoy.

Schusev, the famous Russian architect and a frequent character of Lanceray's diaries, was responsible for the whole process from the very beginning.

Lanceray, an experienced monumental painter with conservative views, was invited from Tbilisi to Moscow to continue working at The Central Railway Station decorations.

For instance, Murmansk displays a busy crew ship, while Crimea is depicted by a smiling Tatar woman against the background of a clear sky, exotic trees and a working carpenter.

"[13] Because of the irregular construction of the building, high ceilings and unpredictable light, the artist faced difficulties to make the painting bright and noticeable.

Today this part of the building is used as a superior lounge, where people who buy business class tickets can wait for their departure.

Although there were a lot of wall paintings in Kharkiv in the pre-war period, almost all of them either died during the war or disappeared during repairs, or were deliberately destroyed.

Since the work could not be visually construed as direct communist propaganda, officials asked the state to give it the status of cultural heritage.