Valentin Alexandrovitch Serov (7 January 1865 - 22 November 1911), Russian portrait painter.
Born in the family of the Russian composer Alexander Serov. Between 1871-1872 he lived to Munich with his widow mother and it was here that he took his first drawing lessons from K. Kepping. In 1874 the two moved to Paris, where Valentin would become a frequent visitor of the studio led by Ilya Repin, who cared deeply for the little boy. In 1875 the family moved to Abramtsevo, the estate of Savva Mamontov and a cultural centre at the time, where artists, writters and musicians were always welcome.
Growing up in such a creative environement, Serov had the unique chance of learning from some of the most important and talented Russian artists of his time and showed a great skill, especially for drawing. He could easily and quickly sketch a portrait, capturing the essence of the model. At the age of 15 he enrolled at the Academy of Arts, where he met Vladimir Derviz, who would be a longtime friend. He exhibited his first works with great critical acclaim, even if at that time he wasn't familiar with the French Impressionism, his manner was reminescent of Renoir.
A great talent, he easily painted various subjects and themes, from nostalgic landscapes to portraits and history scenes, being the most important and successful portraitist in Russia at the beginning of the 2-th century. He also travelled a lot, to Russia and abroad and between 1897 - 1909 he taught at the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Moscow. In 1903 he was ellected a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in St Petersburg.
