Pyotr Gurievich Korostelev is a Russian Soviet painter, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation (since 2008).
He was born on August 6, 1924 in the village of Muchkap, Tambov governorate. He was the youngest of thirteen children in a large peasant family. From an early age, Korostelev drew with charcoal and pencils. His first teacher was Sergei Repin, an artist with an academic background. The teacher immediately noticed the boy’s talent and at the age of 14 offered him to enter the Penza Art College, where his older friend, the famous master Ivan Goryushkin-Sorokopudov, was a teacher.
In 1938, Pyotr Korostelev succeeded in becoming one of the students in the class of Ivan Silych Goryushkin-Sorokopudov. Korostelev had studied at the college for four years, but failed to obtain a degree since the war broke out.
Pyotr Korostelev fought on the Central and First Belorussian fronts. Together with a howitzer artillery regiment, he traveled from the Kursk Bulge to Berlin, and was wounded. He left the army in the rank of senior sergeant. Pyotr Gurievich was awarded the Order of the Red Star, and the medals “For Courage”, “For the Capture of Berlin”, and “For the Victory over Germany”.
After being discharged from military service, Korostelev graduated from the Leningrad Art and Graphic School named after V.A. Serov. Then, until 1970, he taught drawing and painting at the College of Light Industry in Leningrad.
At the age of 48 he became a freelance artist. In Soviet times, Korostelev was called an avant-garde artist for his free, broad manner of painting. He had his own, unique style.
He was born on August 6, 1924 in the village of Muchkap, Tambov governorate. He was the youngest of thirteen children in a large peasant family. From an early age, Korostelev drew with charcoal and pencils. His first teacher was Sergei Repin, an artist with an academic background. The teacher immediately noticed the boy’s talent and at the age of 14 offered him to enter the Penza Art College, where his older friend, the famous master Ivan Goryushkin-Sorokopudov, was a teacher.
In 1938, Pyotr Korostelev succeeded in becoming one of the students in the class of Ivan Silych Goryushkin-Sorokopudov. Korostelev had studied at the college for four years, but failed to obtain a degree since the war broke out.
Pyotr Korostelev fought on the Central and First Belorussian fronts. Together with a howitzer artillery regiment, he traveled from the Kursk Bulge to Berlin, and was wounded. He left the army in the rank of senior sergeant. Pyotr Gurievich was awarded the Order of the Red Star, and the medals “For Courage”, “For the Capture of Berlin”, and “For the Victory over Germany”.
After being discharged from military service, Korostelev graduated from the Leningrad Art and Graphic School named after V.A. Serov. Then, until 1970, he taught drawing and painting at the College of Light Industry in Leningrad.
At the age of 48 he became a freelance artist. In Soviet times, Korostelev was called an avant-garde artist for his free, broad manner of painting. He had his own, unique style.
