Athanas I. Scheloumoff

The following biographical information on the Russian artist, Scheloumoff, was included in a high quality folio of reproductions of the artist's works, published in Germany. There was no information as to the publisher's identity, nor the date of publication - which was probably in the 1970s. Used without permission. We would be very interested in contacting the author or the publisher!

Athanas I. Scheloumoff, Russian painter of battle scenes, was born in Kamenetz Podolsk, Ukraine, in 1892. At the age of 8, he moved with his parents to Balta, a small South-Russian town, well known for its horse-fairs to which dealers would bring various breeds and even the far-famed Orloff trotters. Brought into contact with these noble animals and fired by their beauty, at the astonishingly early age of 8, the boy started to sketch them on his school-slate and on every scrap of paper he could lay his hands on. This seems to have determined his decision as regards his future career. His decision was further strengthened by the indelible impression caused by the horse-mobilization proclaimed on occasion of the Russo - Japanese war (1904). The spectacle of countless horses brought to Balta by the neighboring gentry and horse-owners, some steeds of such ferocious temper that even the trained military grooms were hard put to master them, stimulated Scheloumoff's decision to become a painter of horses.

Whilst at school (1904-1908) the lad took private lessons with the drawing master. After finals he went to study at the School of Arts in Odessa. Having completed his studies there, he went to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Petersburg, where he attended the classes of Professor Samokisch, a famous depictor of battle scenes.

His draft, the First World War and the Russian revolution, all this interrupted the course of his studies, but the painter missed no opportunity during the Civil war to sketch horses and men. Later on, his sketches of life and inmates of the Russian Military Center in Gallipoli were made into album.

The Center being dissolved, Scheloumoff moved to Yugoslavia, where he organized with a group of painters (among them N. N. Michonsky, (presently in New York) a mobile exhibition in Belgrade and the Province of Vojvodina, an undertaking crowned with conspicuous success. Several Scheloumoff's pictures have been acquired by various institutions; his Serbian historical picture was purchased by the Yugoslavian Museum of Military History. Other pictures can be seen in the Russian Cavalry Museum in New York. The painter's home is now in Bavaria.

In 1962, on the 150th anniversary of Napoleon's invasion of Russia the painter exhibited in an art-gallery in Munich. The exhibition was a great success and highly praised by the Press.

"Attack"

The painting depicts a WWI action where Imperial Russian cavalry is attacking a German (Austrian?) artillery unit. The cavalry unit is a troop of Don Cossacks.

See Attack for details on the painting and identification on the arms as well as a large version of the picture.