Ivan Albertovich Pougny (Jean Pougny) (1892-1956) is a Russian-French artist who, during his creative development, several times radically changed his creative style from avant-garde, cubism, futurism and suprematism to lyrical primitivism in line with the direction.
Ivan Pougny was born on March 4 (February 20 old style), 1892 in the village of Kuokkala (now Repino). Pougny received his basic art education in Kuokkale - he studied with Ilya Repin. Little Ivan dreamed of a career as an artist, but his father had already decided that he would send his son to build a military career.
From 1900 to 1908 Ivan Albertovich studied at the Nikolaev Military Academy, without leaving drawing and painting classes. After graduating, Pougny opened his own art workshop, but did not develop a military career.
In 1910, Pougny went to Paris, where he lived for about a year - during this time he became friends with many French avant-garde artists, who seriously influenced his creative style. Returning to St. Petersburg, Pougny quickly joined the lurid company of local avant-garde artists, consisting of the Burliuk brothers, Kazimir Malevich, Vladimir Tatlin, Olga Rozanova and other similar characters.
In 1913, Pougny became the husband of the artist Ksenia Leonidovna Boguslavskaya - she was also an avant-garde artist.
In the first half of 1919, Ivan Pougny was invited by Marc Chagall to be a teacher at the Vitebsk People′s Art School, but the artist did not stay there for a long time and in October 1919 he returned to Petrograd, and then, at the very end of the year, he left with his wife through Finland to Germany, and from there in 1924 to France.
Ivan Pougny managed to obtain French citizenship only in 1946.
Ivan Albertovich Pougny died on December 28, 1956.