Облака

1885–1914

Work as a Theatre Designer

He began working as a theatre designer in 1885 at Savva Mamontov's Private Russian Opera; in the early 1900s he created sets for operas including Rimsky-Korsakov's "Sadko" and "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh" for the Mariinsky Theatre (1908) and the final scene of "A Life for the Tsar" for the Bolshoi Theatre (1914).

1890

Journey through Northern Russia and the Urals

He made a journey through the north of the Russian Empire, recording views of Siberia and the Urals; it yielded "Forest on the Slopes of Mount Blagodat" and "Taiga in the Urals" (both 1890).

1895

Journey to the Caucasus

He visited the Caucasus, climbed the glaciers of Elbrus, saw Tiflis, and lived in the Darial Gorge; he produced numerous studies, among them "View of Elbrus from Bermamyt" (1895) and "Daryal" (1897).

autumn 1898

Trip to Europe

In the autumn of 1898 he went to Europe "in the line of duty": he visited France, Italy, Switzerland, and German cities; in Paris he settled near the Latin Quarter and sought to take part in the Salon of 1899. The trip "lightened" his palette — without it, he said, he "would have remained a black painter."

1900

Academician of the Academy of Arts

He became an academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, and from 1903 a full member.

1901–1918

Head of the Landscape Class at the Moscow School of Painting

He headed the landscape class of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture; his students included the future pictorialist photographer Yuri Yeryomin.