Konstantin Somov

Konstantin Andreyevich Somov (Russian: Константин Андреевич Сомов; 30 November [O.S. 18 November] 1869 – 6 May 1939) was a Russian artist associated with the Mir iskusstva ("World of Art") movement that began in the last decade of the 19th century. After the Russian Revolution, he eventually emigrated to Paris, along with other prominent figures in the Russian arts. In his private life, he had a longtime, younger male companion, Methodiy Lukyanov, and an ambiguous artistic and personal relationship with a young boxer, Boris Snezhkovsky, whom he painted many times. In the 21st century, his paintings have sold in the millions of dollars. In 2007, Somov's The Rainbow sold at Christie's London for GBP 3,716,000 (USD 7.44 million; equivalent to GBP 6.51 million [USD 13 million] in 2023), an auction record for a Russian work of art.