Nikas Safronov (Nikolai Safronov)

Artist Date of birth April 8 (Aries) 1956 (63) Place of birth Ulyanovsk Instagram @safronov_nikas

During “perestroika”, changes began to occur in the USSR that stimulated the growth of popularity of creative people. Among them was the artist Nikas Safronov. He was able to devote himself entirely to painting and holding his exhibitions. The artist had the opportunity to travel abroad and collaborate with foreign galleries. From time to time, the celebrity got involved in scandalous stories, which only fueled interest in the artist’s creations and projects.

Biography of Nikas Safronov

Nikas Safronov was born in Ulyanovsk on April 8, 1956. He became the fifth child out of six in the family of a retired military man. The boy was named Nikolai, and he took the pseudonym “Nikas” much later to emphasize the Finnish-Lithuanian origin of his mother.

A passion for painting awoke in Nikolai while studying at school. At first he simply copied available reproductions, and over time he began to change them to develop his own approach. After finishing 8 grades of school, the guy went to Odessa and entered the naval school. His love for the sea and the desire to travel did not overcome his intolerance to routine, so a year later he dropped out of school and went to Rostov-on-Don.

In his new place, he was enrolled in the Art School and studied there for two years. He had to work part-time as a designer at the Theater of the Young Spectator and take on menial jobs. The aspiring artist failed to complete his studies. In 1975 he was drafted into the army and sent to Estonia, where he joined the missile forces. After the service, the young man went to Lithuania, where he worked for several months as a designer at the Donatas Banionis Theater.

In 1978, the young man moved to Vilnius and entered the Art Academy. He studied there for five years, receiving the profession of a designer. This period also marked the first personal exhibition of Nikas Safronov. It was held in the town of Panevizes, his mother’s hometown. The artist’s works were highly appreciated by experts, and two of them were even selected for participation at the International Paris Exhibition. Next was a demonstration of his creations in Vilnius, after which people started talking about the aspiring artist as a talented surrealist.

In 1983, Safronov came to conquer Moscow, but he was forbidden to exhibit. He studied at the Surikov Academic Institute, after which he received a diploma in psychology from the Moscow State University of Technology and Management. Since 1985, the painter began attending events in Japan and Italy. At one of them he met the wealthy Italian collector Cerasi. By the end of the 80s, the artist had acquired useful connections, and art connoisseurs around the world began to buy his works. Paintings by Nikas Safronov appeared in galleries in Moscow. Personal acquaintance with Mikhail Gorbachev contributed to the growth of his popularity and the development of financial success.

In the early 90s, the artist began collaborating with the Russian version of the Penthouse publication. At first he served as art director, after which he became the magazine's chief artist. Nikas's talent was in demand amid an increase in the number of commercial printed products. The range of his creativity was constantly expanding, which allowed him to take part in projects of different directions.

In the new century, the artist's popularity continued to grow. Exhibitions in Russian cities alternated with trips abroad. Safronov's contribution to the development of art has been repeatedly awarded with state awards and international prizes.

The artist’s life was not without scandals. In 2002, he was involved in a high-profile case involving the sale of his paintings. The portrait works turned out to be photographs covered with paint. The artist blamed his producer for this, but his image was seriously damaged. In 2006 Nikas announced that his creations were being exhibited in the Hermitage. The investigation rejected this fact, and the celebrity tried to turn it all into a joke. In 2012, the aspiring singer accused Safronov of rape. Based on the results of the investigation, the man was acquitted and received moral compensation in the form of 300,000 rubles.

Personal life of Nikas Safronov

The artist was married to his first wife Dragana for only three weeks. This was in 1984.

Safronov's second wife was the Italian Francesca. They met in 1990. They were together for 13 years. The couple had a son.

Now the artist is in an unofficial marriage with a girl, Maria, about whom he does not say anything. It is known that the celebrity has at least three illegitimate sons, whom he admitted.

Nikas Safronov was born into a large family of a hereditary priest, in which besides him there were six more children. The future artist’s mother was Lithuanian by origin - it was she who gave her son the unusual name Nikas.

Grade

Profession: artist
Date of Birth: April 8, 1956
Height and weight: 178 cm. 75 kg.
Place of Birth: Ulyanovsk, Russia
Best works:"Moinka Bellucci", "Ghost"
Awards: Honorary title "Honored Artist" Russian Federation"
Social network: Facebook, Instagram , Twitter

After eighth grade high school Safronov moved to Odessa, where he entered the naval school, but studied there for only a year. After which he ended up in Rostov-on-Don, where he entered the Rostov Art School named after M. B. Grekov in the painting class, which he successfully graduated in 1975.

While still studying, he began to earn his living by working as a prop artist in the Rostov Youth Theater, and also worked as a watchman, loader and janitor. After graduating, Nikas went to serve in the army, ending up in the missile forces.

After demobilization, Nikas moved to live in the city of Panevezys, Lithuania, his mother’s homeland. There he got a job as an artist at the Donatas Banionis Theater, and at the same time also worked as a textile artist at a flax mill.

Then Safronov moved to Vilnius, where until 1982 he received his education at the State Art Institute of the Lithuanian SSR (Now the university is called the Academy of Arts). There he graduated from the Faculty of Design, and later received a diploma from the Moscow State University of Technology and Management, where he was enrolled in the Faculty of Psychology.

His works were first presented at his debut exhibition, which took place in Vilnius in 1980. Three years later, Safronov moved to Moscow, where he initially began to earn his living as an art director, and therefore as the chief artist of the Russian version of Penthouse magazine. Nikas also worked as a designer and consultant for the scientific publication "Aura-Z", as well as for the magazines "World of Stars" and "Diplomat". Later, Safronov was also the art director of the publications "MONOLOT-digest" and "America", and also the chief artist of the publication "Moscow and Muscovites".

To achieve recognition and popularity in his homeland, the artist began to paint portraits of public and political figures, as well as show business stars. The idea was a success - soon his paintings began to be exhibited on an ongoing basis not only in Russia, but also abroad, for example in Germany, Mordovia, Spain, France, Great Britain, Belgium and Ukraine, for which the artist has especially reverent feelings.

The artist Nikas Safronov has a number of prestigious titles: professor State University Ulyanovsk region, honorary doctor of the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician of the International Academy of Creativity, honorary citizen of Russia and honorary citizen of the cities of Baku and Ulyanovsk, as well as Knight of Science and Arts Russian Academy Sci.

Personal life

Was married twice. His first wife in 1984 was a student of the Sorbonne Faculty of Philology, Dragana, whose marriage lasted only 20 days. Safronov's second legal wife was Italian Francesca Vendramin, whom he met in 1990 - the couple were married for 13 years. Nikas has a son from this marriage, Stefano, born in 1992. He also has three more illegitimate sons: Alexander, born in 1985, Luka Zatravkin, born in 1990, and Landin, born in 1999.

Now the artist lives in a civil marriage with a girl named Maria.

Interesting Facts

He built the Church of St. Anna in Ulyanovsk and the Chapel of St. Anna in the village of Vyshki, Ulyanovsk region in honor of his mother Anna Fedorovna

Nikas Safronov is a Russian artist whose work has been repeatedly awarded with international and state awards, including the title “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.”

His portraits from the “River of Time” series adorn the collections of world celebrities and the world’s first politicians. At the same time, the painter spends large amounts for charity and helping young talented colleagues.

Childhood and youth

Nikas Stepanovich Safronov (real name Nikolai) was born on April 8, 1956 in the city of Ulyanovsk. He was brought up in a poor, large family - the artist has four older brothers and a younger sister. Father Stepan Grigorievich Safronov was a military man who retired at the time of Nikolai’s birth. The Safronov family consists of hereditary priests, whose ancestry can be traced back to 1668. Nikolai’s family, on the side of his mother Anna Fedorovna Safronova, comes from the Lithuanian city of Panevezys and has Finnish-Lithuanian roots. Hence the Lithuanian origin of the pseudonym chosen by the artist.

Nikas's creative biography began in school years: the young man copied illustrations from school textbooks and made attempts to develop his own style, where, in a manner close to romanticism, he embodied his own dreams of adventure and travel.

After graduating from 8 classes of high school, the young man leaves his native Ulyanovsk for Odessa and enters the naval school. After the 1st year of study, Safronov left maritime affairs and moved to Rostov-on-Don, where he submitted documents to the art school named after M. B. Grekov. In his youth, he tried himself as a prop artist at the Rostov Theater for Young Spectators and at one time worked as a janitor, loader and watchman. In 1975, Nikas joined the army without graduating from college.

After the army, the guy moved to Panevezys, his mother’s hometown, where he continued his career as a theater designer. In 1978 he moved to Vilnius, where he entered the Art Academy, Faculty of Design.

Nikas Safronov in his youth (right)

After 5 years of study, the ambitious designer sets off to conquer the capital and enters the Moscow Academic Art Institute. In addition, Safronov’s collection of diplomas was replenished by the capital’s University of Technology and Management, where he studied at the Faculty of Psychology.

Safronov began exhibiting his own works in 1972. After the exhibition in 1978, people started talking about the artist as a talented surrealist. But the first serious exhibition of his works took place in 1980 in Vilnius. Later, having moved to Moscow, Nikas worked as an art director for the luxury real estate magazine Penthouse, combining this activity with the work of a designer in the magazines Aura-Z, Diplomat and World of Stars.

Paintings

Despite the fact that Nikas was already known in a narrow circle of artists, world fame came to him in the early 90s of the last century. At that time, Safronov began working on a series of canvases with portraits of public figures and politicians. His clients include presidents and high-ranking officials of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Turkmenistan; celebrities, including, and many others.

A number of these portraits are part of a series of works called “River of Time.” Her distinctive feature is a paraphrase of the great paintings of the past and simply stylization, made in the spirit of the Flemish school of the Renaissance, where famous people of our time are represented as heroes of the subjects of ancient paintings.

Safronov's exhibitions took place in major cities CIS. In 2007, an exhibition of his paintings was located on the territory of the Kremlin in the building of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. Only wealthy people order portraits or landscapes of Nikas, since the cost of the canvases varies between $6-10 thousand.

The artist himself defines his style as “Dream Vision”. The master puts into this term a generalization of the creative method, where classical painting is combined with the use of imagination and intuition.

The artist constantly travels, improves his technique, studies painting and willingly shares the secrets of his craft. Among the great masters of the brush of the past, Nikas Safronov especially highlights and. Also in his memoirs, the artist associates himself with the outstanding Italian director.

Every year Safronov gives part of his income to charity. In particular, several Orthodox churches, including the Church of St. Anna, built in Ulyanovsk and named after the artist’s mother.

In November 2016, Nikas shared the news that he had painted a portrait. True, in a hurry I confused The White house with the Capitol.

According to the master, he was in a hurry to complete the work after hearing information from the Russian Foreign Minister that Trump’s victory in the elections was very likely. The artist promised to present the finished portrait to the new President of America as a gift.

Scandals and TV programs

The artist’s lifestyle and creative style make him a controversial figure in the world contemporary art. Despite the abundance of state awards and a huge number of personal exhibitions, Safronov is subject to serious criticism from colleagues and professional art critics.

The first high-profile scandal involving him occurred in 2002, when it turned out that portraits by his brush became “slightly” edited prints on canvas. Subsequently, it turned out that many of Nikas’s paintings had duplicates, made in a similar way and sold to private collections.

Commenting on the current situation, the artist blames producer Alexander Gaisin for the production of these paintings, who allegedly unauthorizedly produced and sold counterfeits. Gaysin himself denies guilt, stating that he printed the paintings on Safronov’s orders.

In 2004, excerpts from Safronov’s book of memoirs were read in the “Processed Cheese” program, where they were called the main aesthetic shock of the year.

In 2008, on the program “Gordon Quixote,” Nikas was also seriously criticized. The information was verified that the artist’s works were purchased by the Hermitage for its own collection, which Safronov spoke about earlier in an interview. Representatives of the Hermitage officially denied this statement by the painter.

In the winter of 2012, Nikas again found himself at the epicenter of a loud scandal, which was “savored” by almost all means mass media. A flamboyant girl from Rostov-on-Don, Mary Voskanyan, accused the famous portrait painter of rape. According to her words, the artist volunteered to paint her portrait. But when the girl came to his room, the painter attacked her.

When the scandal broke out, Safronov immediately filed a lawsuit, demanding that his honor and dignity be protected. The slanderer had to pay him 10 million rubles. The Savyolovsky Court of the capital sided with the portrait painter, but reduced the amount of compensation to 300 thousand rubles.

Personal life

Both professional and personal life of Nikas is eventful. The artist provides rich food for journalists of yellow publications. His women are regularly written about in the tabloids. It seems that the portrait painter himself does not mind being remembered more often. He is extremely open, does not make personal secrets and is not afraid to shock the public.

In one interview, Safronov said that he ran away from his first wife during his honeymoon. At that time, in the early 80s, the young artist arrived to conquer the capital and lived in a communal apartment. He met a girl from a wealthy Yugoslav family, Dragana. She studied at the Sorbonne, and came to Moscow with tourists as a translator: Dragana was fluent in Russian. Nikas claims that the girl was not his type, but he was overcome by the spirit of conquest.

A year later Safronov met new love– Angela, Scottish by nationality. And everything would be fine if not for the fleeting affair of a loving artist with an American woman. The girl turned out to be insidious: she found a way to tell Angela that she was expecting a child from her lover. This ended the affair with the Scottish woman.

The second time Safronov married an Italian, Francesca. The couple lived together for 13 years. But, according to the portraitist, most of this time they existed separately, each on his own. However, this marriage produced a son, Stefano. When the boy was 4 months old, his father left for Russia because his visa was running out. He never returned to Italy.

For a long time, the couple did not officially divorce, but, according to Safronov, when his wife found out that he was a wealthy man, she decided to file for divorce. At that time, the woman was already living in England, where she introduced herself as a single mother and received assistance from the state. Francesca also planned to get a divorce in England, where the court always sides with her mother. Safronov’s lawyers found out about this, and the wife had to compromise, because in those years she received help from both Britain and her husband. At the same time, the woman did not pay taxes on the considerable amounts that Nikas transferred to her. Therefore, the couple was divorced in the same Moscow registry office where they got married.

Many years ex-wife did not allow her son Stefano to see his father. But when the guy grew up, he met his parent in London, where he came with an exhibition. Since then, Safronov has been communicating with his son.

In addition to Stefano, Nikas has four illegitimate children. Dmitry was born in 1985 and lives in Lithuania. Luka Zatravkin is a talented pianist. He was born in 1990 and lives in the capital. Youngest child The artist's son Landin Soroko was born in 1999 and lives with his mother in Australia. The fourth son, Alexander Filimonenko, is also a Muscovite.

In 2016, Safronov’s son Luka Zatravkin hit a woman at a pedestrian crossing. 78-year-old Stanislava Myshlentsova died. As it turned out, she was crossing the road at a red light. Russian media wrote about this accident. Luka took the tragedy seriously and even organized a charity concert of repentance, the proceeds of which he transferred to the regional organization of disabled people where the deceased woman worked.

Not long ago, the actress admitted to reporters that she had an affair with Nikas Safronov. But everyone in this couple turned out to be such a bright personality that living together was out of the question. The portrait, which depicts a naked Tatyana Vasilyeva, was left to descendants. True, the actress herself claims that she did not pose for the artist, so her figure in the picture is “fictitious.”

Now Safronov lives in a civil marriage with a girl named Maria and has no plans to change anything yet.

Nikas Safronov now

Nikas continues to reveal the secrets of his personal life. So, in the spring of 2018, Safronov spoke about his relationship with, which happened during his youth. The passionate romance was ended by the singer herself - she did not want to sacrifice creativity for the sake of a man.

In the year of his 62nd birthday, the artist decided to find all possible illegitimate children in order to distribute his billion-dollar fortune among them. Nikas is preparing a will in which he will include all the heirs. It is assumed that Safronov’s children will subsequently receive real estate, antique furniture and rare collections. In order to get acquainted with illegitimate children, the painter turned to the NTV channel program “DNA”, where all the intended heirs were given a test to determine kinship.

By the way, the artist now lives in a luxurious apartment in the very center of the capital. From the windows of Nikas's house there is a view of the Kremlin and Red Square. Before that, he changed several addresses in Moscow: he managed to live on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street, Pushkinskaya Square and Tverskaya. But in the 90s he finally settled in Bryusov Lane, in a house that was recognized as an architectural monument.

It took 12 years to restore it and add the 2nd and 3rd floors. On the first of them there are living rooms, and above there are rooms stylized as a Gothic palace with antique furnishings, high-tech apartments and a terrace.

Nikas Safronov is open to everything new. IN Lately the artist participates in unexpected collaborations, which he reports from the pages "Instagram". Prints based on his works appear on wardrobe items from the collections of designer Svetlana Lyalina, and gift boxes of products from the Babaevsky chocolate factory are decorated with images of Safronov’s paintings.

The painter entered into a contract with the Imperial Porcelain Factory to create a joint project; the release of a collection of ANTE KOVAC bags by fashion designer Anna Seregina is approaching.

The artist also continues to make exclusive gifts for celebrities. He presented the author's portraits. Safronov posts photos with the owners of the paintings on his personal microblog.

Paintings

• “Daytime beauty against the backdrop of Paris or Catherine Deneuve in character”
• "The Image of a Contemporary"
• "The Ship of Time or a Memory of England"
• “Portrait of V.V. Putin in a costume from the time of Francis I”
• "Self-portrait dressed as Captain Blood"
• "Impulsive memory of being in Paris"
• "Portrait of Artemy Troitsky"
• "Portrait of Sophia Loren"

There are many rumors about Nikas Safronov’s second wife: she is presented either as a selfish and eccentric woman, or as the artist’s only love.

Second wife of Nikas Safronov

Now the famous artist is not officially married. His first marriage did not last even a month, but Safronov lived with his second wife, Italian Francesca Vendramin, for thirteen years.

Brief biography of Nikas Safronov's wife

Francesca Vendramin was born in Venice in 1967 and is eleven years younger than the artist. She is beautiful in a southern way: black hair, dark eyes, dark skin. It is not surprising that Francesca worked as a fashion model. The couple was married for thirteen years; now the artist’s ex-wife lives in London. Her ex-husband claims that she was a Catholic, but converted to Orthodoxy.

What they write in the press about Safronov’s wife

Most often they remember her when they write about the artist’s marital status and his novels. However, there is a fairly popular note entirely dedicated to Francesca. This is a short memoir story that appeared in one of the blogs and spread across the RuNet. It states that Francesca studied Russian in London and came in 1990 to live in Moscow for several weeks.
She visited many art galleries, and in one of them she met Nikas Safronov. The author of the note writes that Safronov needed the opportunity to travel to the West, and a British visa was relatively easy to obtain, and Francesca was “a very nice girl, completely provincial.” It is unknown, however, how true this information is.

Family life of Nikas Safronov and his wife

According to some publications, Francesca starred in a film about the artist, but now she is not being interviewed, and all information about family life Journalists receive pairs from Safronov himself.
The first wife, according to the artist, did not suit him in bed. There was no such problem with Francesca, but her character was truly Italian: hot-tempered and quick-tempered. Safronov reproaches his wife for speaking in a raised voice even with her little son.
Unlike the author of the memoir, Safronov states that he and Francesca met in a London museum. Nikas came to the UK for three months and decided to go to an exhibition of Russian painting. Francesca seemed to him like she had stepped out of a Borisov-Musatov painting. Safronov spoke English poorly, but the girl spoke Russian perfectly. Then the Italian came to Moscow. She didn't like the capital. The artist’s young wife said that in Russia she could only live in St. Petersburg, and Safronov wanted to buy an apartment there. But soon the family moved to Italy. Nikas, according to him, quickly became bored with life in the Italian countryside. The couple began to move away from each other: he did not want to live in the West, she did not want to live in Russia.
The couple lived together for a year, but the official marriage lasted much longer. The artist claims that he supported his wife and young son Stefan, but Francesca was unhappy with the amount of payments and filed for divorce after learning how wealthy her husband had become in order to achieve greater compensation. Francesca allegedly did not allow the artist to see his son for many years, but she did not forget to demand money “for her son.”
However, Safronov himself is also not without sin: he stated several times that he was not interested in the character of his future wife, all that mattered to him was how good she was in bed. He also does not hide the fact that marriages with foreigners gave him a feeling of freedom from obligations. And this seems to be true. So, his son Londin was born in 2000, when Safronov was officially married to Francesca.
The artist is attracted to the exotic, but he does not like it when a woman brings her culture into the family. Perhaps Francesca was not so eccentric at all, she was just a little different from the calmer Russian women.
After the divorce, Safronov stated several times that Francesca was the only woman he loved. However, this did not stop him from living for eight years in a civil marriage with Maria from Penza.

Personal life of Nikas Safronov, one of the most popular contemporary Russian avant-garde artists, has always been so stormy that he can hardly count all the women with whom he had intimate relationships. But he is well aware of his illegitimate children, because he helps them financially. His eldest son is already quite an adult, and Nikas helped him open his own business. In addition, the artist is always happy to see his children, each of whom has their own room in his huge Moscow apartment.

In Nikas Safronov’s personal life there were two legal marriages that ended in divorce. The artist lived with his first wife Dragana for only twenty days, which was enough for him to understand how different people they were. Despite the fact that Dragana was a top model, a highly educated girl from a very wealthy family, with the help of whom Nikas could make a dizzying career much faster, he chose not to spoil his life and part with Dragana as quickly as possible. Six years later, Nikas Safronov had a whirlwind romance with fashion model Francesca Vendramin in his personal life. The green-eyed beauty, who was eleven years younger than the artist, turned his head, and his love for her brought him to the registry office for the second time.

This time his marriage lasted much longer. He and Francesca had a son, Stefan, his only legitimate child. But the Italian woman’s character gradually began to irritate Nikas - he could hardly tolerate her unrestrained, eccentric disposition, and, in the end, it was Safronov’s marriage that also fell apart. They lived together for thirteen years, and after the divorce, the artist’s wife went to London and took her son with her. Nikas is very proud of Stefan, who speaks several languages ​​and studies at the University of London.

In the photo - Nikas Safronov and Masha

Next serious relationship in the personal life of Nikas Safronov and a girl named Masha began after a chance acquaintance. During his visit to Penza, the artist saw a girl on the street who amazed him with her beautiful figure. He tried to get to know her, but, apparently, Masha thought that they were pestering her too brazenly, and she tried to quickly throw the nimble gentleman away. This is what hooked the young resident of Penza into Nikas, who was not used to such rebuff from female representatives. Thanks to his persistence, he got to know Masha better and invited her to his place in Moscow. Since then they started dating. Nikas’s new lover is twenty-four years younger than him and really wants to have a child with the artist. But Safronov apparently believes that he already has a lot of children and is in no hurry to make a decision.