Vladimir Ozernikov (1919 Irkutsk - 2000 Sevastopol)
Costume Design for Tsarina for the production of 'The Tale of the Dead Princess and Seven Knights' at the Sevastopol Russian Drama Theatre
Date: c.1950
Pencil on paper. Size of sheet: 22 x 14.9 cm. Inscribed in pencil and a sketch of a costume design verso.
Provenance: From the artist’s estate.
The play is based on Aleksander Pushkin’s 1833 poem telling a fairy tale of Prince Yelisei’s search for his love, the Tsarevna (princess), who has been cast out by her stepmother. The story resembles the Little Snow White tale from the Grimm’s Fairy Tales, but it is mostly based around national Russian folklore.
£750.-
Costume Design for Tsarina for the production of 'The Dead Princess'
Vladimir Ozernikov was a Russian-Jewish artist who spent considerable time of his career as a costume and stage designer. He spent his formative years in Siberian city of Irkutsk. In 1934 Ozernikov enrolled at the Irkutsk School of Fine Arts. Quite early on in his career, he became a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR, which allowed him to get involved in artistic projects across the country, including designing theatre costumes and stage decorations. From 1941 he collaborated with different drama theatres across the country, including in cities like Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Kiev, Simferopol, Ryazan, and others. Additionally, he worked for three years in China (from 1947 to 1951) where he designed interiors and theatrical costumes.
In total, Ozernikov worked on more than 100 theatre productions.
In 1952 the artist moved to Sevastopol (Crimea region) where he joined the Lunacharsky Art and Drama Theatre as the chief costume and stage designer and worked there for over a decade until he established his own studio in 1966. Over the years, Ozernikov displayed regularly at commercial galleries and museum exhibitions. He also was involved in many public buildings projects where he worked on designing and decorating the interior space. Some of the projects included the Marine station and the Ukraine Hotel in Sevastopol.
His works can be found in the collections of regional and state museums of Russia and Ukraine and in private collections.