If Rembrandt Was A Surrealist: Sensual Photography Of Alexander Sviridov

Alexander Sviridov is a Russian-born photographer who works and resides in Canada. In his images, Sviridov blends the manner of old masters of fine art with the creative approach of surrealists. He is a winner of many contests and a professional who gives interviews to prestigious magazines.

Fig. 1. nevsepic.com.ua

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15 Years Of Discontent

Alexander Sviridov was born in the 1960s in Perm (the Eastern part of the European region of Russia). He started as a painter and studied fine arts at Sverdlovsk Art College from 1984 to 1988. As the artist tells about his alma mater, "it was the most prestigious institution in the Ural region with 30 pretenders for one place. There was a strong academic staff; these people introduced me to fine art" (dzen.ru). Trained as a painter, Sviridov tried many genres, from landscapes and portraits to nu. The artist's discontent with his output made him abandon this activity for fifteen years. During that long period of creative break, the artist studied Photoshop and was employed as a graphic designer at a Canadian firm producing wall clocks.

Fig. 4. Iris with a flower (dzen.ru)

A Fan Of Rembrandt

Like many pleasing discoveries, the decision to take up photography came to the artist accidentally. It was the sight of his three-year-old daughter Iris smelling asters that drove him to capture the scene with a camera. "I came to photography in 2012. We had flowers in a vase at home, and once I saw Iris smelling them. There was a beautiful light from the window. I had Canon T2i and dabbled in photography from time to time. After making shots, I loaded one on my computer, edited it with Photoshop a bit, and, as a big fan of Rembrandt, I was amazed by the result. I realized the possibility of expressing my vision through digital art. It was a crucial moment for me."

Fig. 5. Nude by Alexander Sviridov (nevsepic.com.ua)

Fig. 6. Lucien Clergue, Nu Zebre (kunstbueroberlin.de)

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Fig. 8. Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Summer, 1563 (Wikipedia.org)

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Clergue And Arcimboldo In One Portfolio

Besides Rembrandt, the artist mentions Vermeer and Dali as the sources of his inspiration. Some of his photographs, e. g. the one with nudes covered in striped shadows, resemble the works of the iconic photographer Lucien Clergue (fig. 5, 6). When it comes to the influence of classic painters, looking at these works, it's hard not to remember Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527-1593), an Italian artist known for his portrait illusions that combined various objects (fig. 8).

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Fig. 11. Luis Falero, Walpurgus Night (Wikimedia.org)

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Fig. 13. Magritte, Golconde, 1953 (Wikipedia.org)

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In Premium more on Sviridov's art hinting at the works of Luis Falero, Félicien Rops and Renë Magritte,  the leitmotif in his art, and many more examples of his enticing photographic paintings.

Click HERE for the modern-day Renaissance sensuality of the Spanish photographer Mariano Vargas

Sources: Interview by Olga Inozemtseva (V Poiske Sebya; dzen.ru); nevsepic.com.ua