Life Writings of Queer Artists from the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, 1900s–1960s

This project elucidates the interplay between the literary and artistic practices of queer modernist artists in the Russian Empire (Soviet Union), its colonies, and the Russophone diaspora. It integrates textual analysis and art historical methods to examine their life writings—such as diaries, biographies, memoirs, personal essays, and correspondence. This research uncovers how queer artists articulated their experiences of sexuality and introduced gendered narratives throughout their personal documents. In parallel, the project explores how these themes are visually represented in the artists’ artworks, offering insights into the connections between their written and visual expressions.

The artists and their writings are selected across different temporalities to highlight aesthetic and textual asynchronies. The project introduces unpublished literary documents and unknown (or overlooked) artworks into scholarly circulation, offering new perspectives on queer Russian culture and international modernism.

This work includes the journal of the artist Konstantin Somov (1869, St. Petersburg–1939, Paris), which is one of the most extensive and substantial documents in the history of queer Russian culture. Four volumes of the fully commented-upon edition were published in 2017–2022, covering the everyday notes of the artist from 1917–1929. The edition, which has won critical acclaim and received favorable reviews from recognized specialists, is now halfway through its realization: Work on the last three volumes of Somov’s richly detailed homoerotic diary, spanning the artist’s life in Paris from 1930–1939, are planned for completion during the stay in Potsdam.

In the early interbellum period, Pavel Tchelitchew (1898, Kaluga Region of Russia–1957, Grottaferrata, Italy) began his artistic career in Ukraine, situating himself in the broader context of international modernism. His correspondence and other personal writings, preserved at Yale University, document his life and artistic evolution in Germany, France, and the United States. Additionally, the life writings of Sergei Kalmykov (1891, Samarkand, Uzbekistan–1967, Almaty, Kazakhstan) are notable for their unusual and sometimes paradoxical nature, providing profound insights into gendered themes. These documents also reflect Kalmykov’s pursuit of bold and free artistic expression amid his isolation and self-marginalization during his internal exile to South Kazakhstan from the 1930s to the 1960s.