Skip to main content

The Sad Fate of Konstantin Kryzhitsky


Konstantin Kryzhitsky (1858-1911) Early Morning in the Fields, 1897

A Ukrainian-born Russian painter named Konstantin Kryzhitsky (1858-1911) killed himself when it was found out that he copied from a photo.


Konstantin Kryzhitsky Early Snow

According to art historian Natalya Gorlenko: “It turned out that Kryzhitsky used a still [photo] in his painting called “A Whiff of Spring.”


Konstantin Kryzhitsky, A Whiff of Spring, 1910

“Another painter, Yakov Brovar, used the same still in his piece “A View in Bialowieza Forest”. The resemblance in both images struck the eye, and a debate in the newspapers ensued.”

Konstantin Kryzhitsky Early Spring

“Kryzhitsky was accused of plagiarism and, unable to withstand the disgrace, killed himself.” Wikipedia says: “His maid found him in his office, where he had hung himself and left a suicide note.”


Konstantin Kryzhitsky Before the Rain

Gorlenko continues: “Usually, artists were disinclined to reveal that they made use of photographs in the course of their work on paintings, and even mentions of photography with respect to their art are hard to find. It became a matter of general consensus that the painter disgraced himself when resorting to photography. And yet photography was a permanent fixture in artistic activities, and painters could no longer ignore it.”
—–
Wikipedia on Konstantin Kryzhitsky
Read Natalia Gorlenko’s full article in Tretyakov Gallery Magazine: “Anticipations of Photography. Notes on painting and photography in Russia” 
The info about Kryzhitsky comes from Grigory. “The Fate of the Artist: Remembering Konstantin Kryzhitsky.” Kiev, 1966. Pp. 62-64.)