Nathan Altman

Nathan Isaevich Altman (Russian: Натан Исаевич Альтман, transliterated: Natan Isayevich Altman; December 22 [O.S. December 10] 1889 – December 12, 1970) was a Jewish, Russian and Soviet avant-garde artist, Cubist painter, stage designer and book illustrator.

He was born in Vinnytsia, in the Podolia Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) to a family of Jewish merchants.

From 1902 to 1907, he studied painting and sculpture at the Art College in Odessa (now independent Ukraine). In 1906, he had his first exhibition in Odessa.

In 1910, he went to Paris, where he stayed for one year. He studied at the Free Russian Academy in Paris, working in the studio of Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine, and had contact with Marc Chagall, Alexander Archipenko, and David Shterenberg. In 1910, he became a member of the group Soyuz Molodyozhi (Union of Youth).

In 1912, Altman moved to Saint Petersburg. His famous Portrait of Anna Akhmatova, conceived in Cubist style, was painted in 1914. From 1915 to 1917, Nathan Altman was the teacher at Mikhail Bernstein's private art school. After 1916 he started to work as a stage designer.

...
Wikipedia