Sergey Smirnov (artist)

Sergey Ivanovich Smirnov (Russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Смирно́в; 12 April 1953 – 8 November 2006) was a Russian artist.

Smirnov ranks Gustav Klimt, the Austrian cornerstone of the art nouveau movement painter, as an important influence. He also cites Andrei Rublev, Feofan Grek, Modigliani, and Rembrandt as major influences, as well as those who were celebrated masters of Slavic icon painting. Smirnov's style has traces of his favorite period of Russian art, known as “parsuna”, which bridged the worlds of religious and personal portraiture, as Russian painters began adopting the portrait painting styles of Western European salons. “Parsuna”, which is derived from the Latin persona, means 'mask' and the hybrid imagery; was first used in the 17th century, re-mains in play to this day in the art of Sergey Smirnov.