Gennady Korolev

Gennady Korolev
1913-1995

Gennady Georgievich Korolev was born in 1913 in the town of Bogorodsk near Moscow. He studied at the Surikov Institute under the Professors S. Gerasimov and V. Maksimov until his graduation in 1945. He also studied under K.F. Yuon, I.E. Grabar, V.V. Pochitalov, and P.D. Pokarzhevskii. In 1943, Korolev and 11 other academically accomplished artists were evacuated to Samarkand, Uzbekistan for the duration of the war. It looked like Moscow might fall to the Germans so the Soviet government decided to evacuate their most promising artists, who they saw as cultural assets. He graduated the Instiute with his PhD in 1950. Korolev started the Surikov Institute as a student, was later bestowed the honor of becoming a Surikov teacher and assistant to professor D.Mochalsky (1950/52), and then he became a full professor (head of a major studio) in 1965. When he was a student he was very outgoing and friendly. Korolov looked very young for his age. He was a great singer with a wonderful voice. He played guitar, and loved visiting friends. Living Surikov professors who knew Korolev recollect that he could feel color in incredible ways. They say that among gifted artists, Korolev had a greater talent. He was one of the first students to graduate from the Surikov. He was a close friend with Fomkin and was friends and painted with Danilivich. His two sons were also well-known painters; Andrei Gennadevich Korolev (1947 - 1999) and Sergei Gennadevich Korolev (1953 - 2003). His wife Svetlana Petrovna Ni was a famous sculptor as well. He died in 1995.