Nikas Safronov is a Russian artist, whose work has been repeatedly noted with international and state awards, including the title "Honored Artist 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 sums on 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 family with many children - the artist has four older brothers and a younger sister. Father Stepan Grigorievich Safronov was a military man who had retired by the time of Nikolai's birth. The Safronov family consists of hereditary priests, whose genealogy can be traced back to 1668. Nikolai's family from the mother's side of Anna Fedorovna Safronova is 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 his school years: the young man copied illustrations from school textbooks and made attempts to work out 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 nautical school. After the 1st year of study, Safronov leaves the maritime business and moves to Rostov-on-Don, where he submits documents to art school named after M. B. Grekov. In his youth, he tries himself as a props artist in the Rostov Theater of the Young Spectator and at one time works as a janitor, loader and watchman. In 1975, Nikas joined the army without graduating from college.
After the army, the guy moved to Panevezys, hometown his mother, where he continued his career as a theater designer. In 1978 he moved to Vilnius, where he entered the Art Academy at the 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 named after. In addition, the collection of Safronov's 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, they started talking about the artist as a talented surrealist. But the first serious exposition of his works took place in 1980 in Vilnius. Later, after moving to Moscow, Nikas worked as the art director of the Penthouse luxury real estate magazine, 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 to work 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 many others.
A number of these portraits are part of a series of works entitled "River of Time". Its distinctive feature is the paraphrase of the great paintings of the past and just stylization, made in the spirit of the Flemish school of the Renaissance, where famous people of our time are represented by the heroes of the plots of old canvases.
Safronov's exhibitions were held in large cities of the CIS. In 2007, the exposition of his paintings was 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 paintings varies between $ 6-10 thousand.
The artist himself defines his style as "Dream Vision". In this term, the master puts a generalization of the creative method, where classical painting is combined with the use of imagination and intuition.
The artist is constantly traveling, improving his technique, studying painting and willingly sharing the secrets of his craft. Among the great masters of the brush of the past, Nikas Safronov especially distinguishes and. Also in his memoirs, the artist associates himself with an outstanding Italian director.
Safronov annually donates part of his income to charity. In particular, several Orthodox churches were built with his money, including the Church of St. Anne, erected 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 he confused the White House with the Capitol.
According to the master, he was in a hurry to complete the work, having heard information from the Russian Foreign Minister that Trump's victory in the elections is 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 manner make him an ambiguous figure in the world of contemporary art. Despite the abundance state awards and a huge number of solo exhibitions, Safronov is severely criticized by colleagues and professional art critics.
The first high-profile scandal with his participation occurred in 2002, when it turned out that the portraits of his brush had become "slightly" edited prints on canvas. Subsequently, it turned out that many of Nikas's paintings have duplicates made in a similar way and sold to private collections.
Commenting on the current situation, the artist accuses producer Alexander Gaisin of the production of these paintings, who allegedly made and sold fakes without permission. Gaisin himself denies guilt, claiming that he printed pictures on the orders of Safronov.
In 2004, excerpts from the book of Safronov's memoirs were read in the Processed Cheese program, where they were named the main aesthetic shock of the year.
In 2008 on the program "Gordon Quixote" Nikas was also heavily criticized. The information was verified that the works of the artist were acquired by the Hermitage for its own collection, which Safronov said earlier in an interview. Representatives of the Hermitage have officially denied this statement of the painter.
In the winter of 2012, Nikas was again at the epicenter loud scandal, which was "savored" by almost all the media. Outrageous girl from Rostov-on-Don Mary Voskanyan accused the famous portraitist of rape. If you believe 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 in court, demanding to protect his honor and dignity. The slanderer had to pay him 10 million rubles. The Savelovsky court of the capital took the side of 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 gives rich food to the yellow journalists. The tabloids regularly write about his women. It seems that the portraitist himself does not mind being remembered more often. He is extremely open, does not make secrets from his personal 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 came 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 seized by the spirit of conquest.
A year later, Safronov met a new love - Angela, a Scottish national. 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 was the end of the affair with the Scotswoman.
The second time Safronov married the Italian Francesca. The couple lived together for 13 years. But, according to the portraitist, most of this time they existed apart, each on its own. However, in this marriage, Stefano's son was born. When the boy was 4 months old, his father left for Russia, as 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 help from the state. Francesca also planned to divorce in England, where the court always takes the mother's side. Safronov's lawyers found out about this, and his 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 those considerable amounts that Nikas transferred to her. Therefore, the married couple was divorced in the same Moscow registry office where they signed.
Many years ex-wife did not allow her son Stefano to see his father. But when the guy grew up, he met with 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. The artist's youngest child, the son of 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 knocked down a woman at a pedestrian crossing. 78-year-old Stanislava Mysthtsova died. As it turned out, she crossed the road at a red light. The Russian media wrote about this accident. Luka was very upset by the tragedy and even staged a charitable repentance concert, the funds from which he transferred to the regional organization of the disabled, where the deceased woman worked.
Not so long ago, the actress admitted to reporters that she had an affair with Nikas Safronov. But each in this couple turned out to be such a bright personality that there could be no question of living together. The portrait, which depicts a nude Tatyana Vasilyeva, remained for descendants. True, the actress herself claims that she did not pose for the artist, therefore her figure is “fictional” in the picture.
Now Safronov lives in a civil marriage with a girl named Maria and so far does not plan to change anything.
Nikas Safronov now
Nikas continues to reveal the secrets of his personal life. So, in the spring of 2018, Safronov talked about the relationship with, which happened in his youth. The passionate romance was stopped by the singer herself - she did not want to sacrifice creativity for the sake of a man.
In the year of his 62th birthday, the artist decided to find all possible illegitimate children in order to distribute a billion-dollar fortune between them. Nikas prepares a will, where he will enter all the heirs. It is assumed that the children of Safronov will subsequently be transferred to real estate, antique furniture and rare collections. For the sake of acquaintance with illegitimate children, the painter turned to the NTV channel "DNA", where all the prospective heirs were given a kinship test.
By the way, the artist now lives in luxurious apartments in the very center of the capital. Nikas's house overlooks the Kremlin and Red Square. Prior to 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, add the second and third floors. The first of them houses the living rooms, and above - the premises, stylized as a Gothic palace with antiques, high-tech apartments and a terrace.
Nikas Safronov is open to everything new. V recent times the artist participates in unexpected collaborations, as reported from the pages of "Instagram". Prints based on his work appear on wardrobe items from the collections of designer Svetlana Lyalina, images of Safronov's paintings decorate gift boxes of the Babaevsky chocolate factory.
The painter signed a contract with the Imperial Porcelain Factory to create a joint project, and the release of the ANTE KOVAC bag collection by fashion designer Anna Seregina is on the way.
The artist also continues to make exclusive gifts to celebrities. He presented the author's portraits,. Safronov posts photos with the owners of the paintings in his personal microblog.
Paintings
- "Daytime beauty against the background of Paris or Catherine Deneuve in the image"
- "The image of a contemporary"
- "A ship of time or a memory of England"
- "Portrait of Vladimir Putin in a costume of the times of Francis I"
- "Self-portrait as Captain Blood"
- "Impulsive memory of a stay in Paris"
- "Portrait of Artemy Troitsky"
- "Portrait of Sophia Loren"
Nikas Safronov's 25-year-old son is in critical condition. Luka weighs over two hundred kilograms. Doctors sound the alarm - if a young man does not take up his health, he may die.
Friends of the celebrity family, experts and doctors gathered in the studio of the program "Live". Luka made it clear that the roots of his problem go back to distant childhood. As an example, the young man recalled one of the dialogues with the famous father.
“My father didn’t give me a painting for my bedroom. I always dreamed of a picture with a naked lady, and he said: "If you lose weight, I will give it." I lost weight once, as they say, for the fun of it. And he was not going to give anything, it turns out. And again I decided to get fat, so that the second time for sure… ”- Luka joked.
However, in the studio no one was amused by his words. The audience did not even immediately believe that the famous artist raised the child in this way. However, Nikas Safronov, who appeared, justified his words.
“The son is an independent person, of course, but I'm worried. This is physiology, and I made an agreement with a hypnotist who might influence him. He has a predisposition for his mother, and it is very difficult for him to cope with it now. When Luka was 16 years old, he was dependent on me, and I supported them. But I set a condition: "Come on, lose weight, otherwise I will end the relationship with you." He began to lose weight and lost weight. But at the same time, he became withdrawn. Stopped answering calls. There was a stressful moment of some kind, and he began to communicate little with people, "Safronov said frankly.
Nikas admitted that he regretted not giving attention to his son. “I would, of course, go to the pool with him, swim, I myself am a sports person. I only supported when it was necessary to give money for concerts, for a competition, roads, hotels. But I did not have such a state with him - to breathe over a sick child, ”the artist said.
One of the participants in the discussion that unfolded after Safronov's words, Irina Agibalova, spoke harshly about what she had heard. The ex-participant of "House-2" herself a few years ago dropped 40 kilograms excess weight.
“I am not confused by this form of education. I believe that Nikas is trying to make a man out of a boy. And I see a faint-hearted one in front of me, a weak person who is trying to depend on his father. If you constantly think about whether your dad will help or not, then you will not succeed. Dad is doing it right. He throws you into the water so that you learn to swim, ”Agibalova said.
Meanwhile, Nikas admitted that he did not turn away from his son. The artist understands that his heir is a deeply vulnerable person who has gone through a lot of stressful situations lately.
In addition, it turned out that Safronov was generally not aware of the real state of his son's health. Luka did not tell his father that his weight was critical. Doctors diagnosed young man an incompatible form of obesity. He was recommended hospitalization. The famous artist admitted that he was depressed by what was happening, and promised after the program to start more seriously dealing with his son's problems.
“I think that with today we will start studying together, ”the art worker assured the audience.
The son of Nikas Safronov told Life journalists about his father's attitude. He said that Safronov Sr. flew abroad, although he knew about his son's illness.
The famous pianist, 26-year-old son of the famous artist Nikas Safronov, Luka Zatravkin, told Life about his hospitalization. According to the young man, his father did not try to contact him during the time that Luka was taken to a medical facility.
"I was hospitalized urgently. New Year I met in intensive care. I have pneumonia. I got cold somewhere, my body could not stand the stress. At first he was in intensive care, but now he was transferred to a regular ward. When my father found out that I was sick, he flew to Australia or the Emirates. I tried to congratulate him, but he doesn't answer. We haven't spoken to him since New Year. I am alone coping with my illness and being treated in a regular ward, "Luka commented to Life.
At the moment, the musician is in the hospital, the doctors prescribed him a course of intensive therapy. He is diagnosed with pneumonia.
But the young man hopes to recover soon and continue his concert activity. There are even plans for charity concerts.
It must be said that the artist's heir weighs more than 200 kilograms. Luka Zatravkin discovered the truth that his problems come from childhood. Nikas Safronov promised that he would support his son in his quest to regain health.
25-year-old son of Nikas Safronov is in critical condition. Luka weighs over two hundred kilograms. Doctors sound the alarm - if a young man does not take up his health, he may die.
Friends of the celebrity family, experts and doctors gathered in the studio of the program "Live". Luka made it clear that the roots of his problem go back to distant childhood. As an example, the young man recalled one of the dialogues with the famous father.
“My father didn’t give me a painting for my bedroom. I always dreamed of a picture with a naked lady, and he said: "If you lose weight, I will give it." I lost weight once, as they say, for the fun of it. And he was not going to give anything, it turns out. And again I decided to get fat, so that the second time for sure… ”- Luka joked.
However, in the studio no one was amused by his words. The audience did not even immediately believe that the famous artist raised the child in this way. However, Nikas Safronov, who appeared, justified his words.
“The son is an independent person, of course, but I'm worried. This is physiology, and I made an agreement with a hypnotist who might influence him. He has a predisposition for his mother, and it is very difficult for him to cope with it now. When Luka was 16 years old, he was dependent on me, and I supported them. But I set a condition: "Come on, lose weight, otherwise I will end the relationship with you." He began to lose weight and lost weight. But at the same time, he became withdrawn. Stopped answering calls. There was a stressful moment of some kind, and he began to communicate little with people, "Safronov said frankly.
Nikas admitted that he regretted not giving attention to his son.
“I would, of course, go to the pool with him, swim, I myself am a sports person. I only supported when it was necessary to give money for concerts, for a competition, roads, hotels. But I did not have such a state with him - to breathe over a sick child, ”the artist said.
The famous artist admitted that he was depressed by what was happening, and promised after the program to start more seriously dealing with his son's problems.
The son of Nikas Safronov, Luka Zatravkin, who killed a 78-year-old woman on Bolshaya Akademicheskaya Street in his BMW X6, told how the accident happened.
According to him, he was driving at a permitting traffic light. He remembers both the moment of the blow and how he tried to save the pensioner. Luka claims that he tried to give her first aid and even called people, but he was indifferent. As a result, according to the artist's son, when the ambulance arrived, it was already too late.
"I just left my mother. She is very sick, and just passed the first traffic light. I look - the second traffic light is green and I continue to move. There was some kind of car on the right, I was driving, driving. And the moment of impact. I ran out and immediately ran up. that this is a woman. I took her, I started, I tried to lift her, turn her, help. I shouted, I shouted that people would not pass. But everyone was going somewhere, driving around, I asked for help. Then to me a man ran up who told me not to be nervous that he saw me driving to the green. But I thought how to save her. I started calling the ambulance, someone also called the ambulance. I tried not to hurt anyone. her out of the cars, turn her. I tried to turn her, I realized that she might still be alive. An ambulance arrived, and the doctor said that it was too late. " said Zatravkin.
After that, according to Zatravkin, he underwent a medical examination, which revealed that he had no alcohol in his blood. He clarified that this is natural, because "everyone should be sober while driving."
"I waited until the end of all the investigative actions. And they took me for a medical check under escort. I passed the test. Naturally, I was sober. Everyone should be sober at the wheel. I am grieving with my family. I will try to somehow help my relatives ", - he explained.
Lawyer Luka Zatravkina also shared his version of the fatal accident. His words echo the statement of his client.
"According to preliminary information that we have, on the 11th at about 20.30, the driver Luka was driving his BMW X6. crosswalk and at this time a green traffic light for traffic and a red signal for pedestrian traffic were on. Suddenly, a victim entered the pedestrian crossing, Luka tried to take measures to brake and also to bypass this woman. But since the distance was small enough, he did not have time to do this and there was a collision. As a result of the collision, the victim died at the scene, Luka stopped, did not leave the scene. Tried to give her first aid. I called emergency services, an ambulance, wrote down the names of eyewitnesses at the scene. After that, a medical examination of Luka was carried out, which showed that he did not drink alcohol, "- said the lawyer.
Recall, on March 12, virtuoso pianist Luka Zatravkin, driving a BMW X6, hit a 78-year-old woman on Bolshaya Akademicheskaya Street. She died from her injuries. A 25-year-old young man assures that she was crossing the road in the wrong place and at a red traffic light. In addition, according to him, he knocked down a woman at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour.
In relation to him, the investigators opened a criminal case under the article "Violation of the rules road traffic and the operation of vehicles ".
Nikas Safronov in an interview with reporters REN TV confirmed that he did not really know anything about the accident. The artist admitted that he, as a father, a person and a citizen, was very sorry that such a tragedy had happened.
Not so long ago, journalists interviewed 28-year-old Luka Zatravkin, the son of the famous artist Nikas Safronov. The guy told the media about his long struggle with overweight... The artist's son said that he suffered from obesity since the age of 11. At some times, its weight reached 100 kilograms. He always tried to get rid of excess body weight, but this is given to him with great difficulty.
Luca in his interview told reporters that already at the age of 11, his weight had reached the 110-kilogram mark. At the age of 17, the guy weighed more than 150 kilograms. The doctors unanimously insisted that in order to lose weight, he needed to undergo a series of operations. Luca set himself up for a stubborn struggle. He sat on the strictest diet and went in for sports. His food was minimal: he had to absorb no more than 400 calories per day and did not stop physical exercise... Within a year, his weight reached 76 kilograms. Then he decided that he won, but the effect was short-lived. He started to get better fast pace again.
Two years ago, the guy began to weigh over 200 kilograms. Doctors sounded the alarm. Luke, so that the weight goes away as quickly as possible, gained treadmill worth 250 thousand rubles, designed specifically for overweight people.
Luka notices that every year it becomes more difficult for him to live with more weight. It is not easy for him to move, fly on airplanes. He constantly exercises on a treadmill to speed up the process of losing weight. He can run to the point of exhaustion to achieve results.
Luca is a professional pianist. The guy admits that the weight interferes even with his work. Because of the extra pounds, other pianists, even not very good at playing the instrument, have a more presentable appearance. Luka understands perfectly well that modern world and modern society pays a lot of attention to the appearance. Year after year, more and more people are ready to talk for hours about his excess weight, completely ignoring the merits, awards and talent.
Luka admits that his dad, 62-year-old artist Nikas Safronov, is very worried about his son's health problems.
People are not shy in expressions, and sometimes in plain text they ask him how he can look like that? Many people consider being overweight to be indecent and ugly. Luke leads healthy image life, and is very worried that his father, the favorite of many women, is constantly faced with shame for his son.
The problems in the artist's relationship with his son intensified when Luca was involved in a serious traffic accident in March 2016 that killed a woman. On that day, Luca hit his grandmother to death in his BMW in Moscow. She went out to a crosswalk at a red traffic light. In relation to Zatravkin, a case was initiated under the article "Violation of the traffic rules, resulting in the death of a person by negligence." Zatravkin is still worried about this terrible event.
His inner feelings of remorse and grief cannot be conveyed, he said.
He also feels his guilt before his mother, Safronov's former common-law wife, Inna Zatravkina. He feels involved in her illness. For several years now, a woman has been battling cancer. That evening, when the accident happened, he was driving from his mother ... The first course cost them 2 thousand dollars. A month later, her joints and bones began to hurt. We thought it was due to fatigue. Nine months later, the course was repeated. The condition became even worse - Luka's mother could not move. The hospital was diagnosed with osteochondrosis, prescribed treatment ... In 2014, Inna began to fade before our eyes. She was prescribed chemotherapy, but because of it, calcium was washed out of the body, and her bones became weak, and in December the woman broke her spine. Now her life is constant hellish pains, sleepless nights, IVs, a mountain of expensive medicines and four injections a week worth 100 euros. And it all started because of the herb that provokes cell mutation. Luca learned that many celebrities who drank this rubbish got cancer.
