Paper

Student Artwork Guide

Squash

Sergey Solomko

Name Class Date
Sergey Solomko, Squash. Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Sergey Solomko artsdot.com/en/artists/sergey-solomko/
Artist’s dates
1867 – 1928
Movement
Realism Painting ordinary people and ordinary work exactly as they are, without making them prettier or grander.

Copyright This work is in the public domain. Sergey Solomko died in 1928; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1998.

Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 24, 2026

Squash — Sergey Solomko Part 1 · The artwork

In context

Squash — Sergey Solomko

When might this have been painted?

  1. 1860
  2. 1870
  3. 1880
  4. 1890
  5. 1900
  6. 1910
  7. 1920

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 61 at death.

Shaded: the lifetime of Sergey Solomko (1867–1928) every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1909 Main working years: 1909–1915 Late works: from 1915

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: artsdot.com/en/art/similar/sergey-solomko-squash-8XZ273-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Putty #d7baaa

    Catalogued palette

    • #D7BAAA
    • #FBFBF9
    • #705954
    • #AA9086

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Neutrals The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Putty
    Intensity
    Balanced How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Gentle How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Unified Palette How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Brilliant How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Muted How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Sergey Solomko over the last twelve months — 4 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 70.4%
    2. 2 Brazil 18.5%
    3. 3 United States of America 7.4%
    4. 4 Singapore 3.7%

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by Sergey Solomko

    1. 1 Dream of Icarus 19.4%
    2. 2 Meeting 6.5%
    3. 3 Vive la France!, 1916 6.5%
    4. 4 Squash this painting 6.5%
    5. 5 Parting 6.5%
    6. 6 Plate 'Egyptian Queen' 3.2%
    7. 7 Bacchus 3.2%
    8. 8 Returning from matins 3.2%
    9. 9 Visiting 3.2%
    10. 10 Pledge of Love 3.2%
    11. 11 Design of male medieval costume 3.2%
    12. 12 Evening Walk 3.2%
    13. 13 Blarney 3.2%
    14. 14 Proud 3.2%
    15. 15 The admired beauty 3.2%
    16. 16 Find 3.2%
    17. 17 Jokester 3.2%
    18. 18 Seducer 3.2%
    19. 19 Glowworm 3.2%
    20. 20 What have they done with my home. 3.2%

    Together these works take 93.4% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 119 works by this artist, of which 22 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 4 of them, with 6.5% of that attention. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 24, 2026

    Squash — Sergey Solomko Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Sergey Solomko

    Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Sergey Solomko: Life and Legacy

    Early Life and Education

    Born: August 22, 1867, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

    Sergey Sergeyevich Solomko was the son of Colonel (later Major-General) Sergey Solomko, who served under Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. He grew up within the Konstantinovsky Palace, providing early exposure to aristocratic life and culture.

    Education: From 1883 to 1887, he attended the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He later audited classes at the Imperial Academy of Arts for a year.

    Early Career as an Illustrator

    Solomko began his career as a magazine illustrator around 1888, contributing to publications like Север (North), a weekly literary journal.

    Key Publications: He quickly gained employment with Нива (Grainfield), Russia’s most popular magazine at the time. He also worked for Мир искусства (World of Art) and the satirical journal Шут (The Fool).

    He illustrated works by prominent Russian authors such as Pushkin, Chekhov, and Lermontov.

    Artistic Development and Diverse Projects

    Illustrative Work: In 1901, Solomko illustrated a special edition of Gogol’s Dead Souls, published by Adolf Marks.

    Design Versatility: After 1900, he expanded his design work to include theater posters and a popular series of postcards depicting Old Russia, published by Maison Lapine in Paris.

    Imperial Commissions: He created models for the Imperial Porcelain Factory and collaborated with the House of Fabergé. In 1903, he designed elaborate historical costumes for the famous ball at the Winter Palace, some adorned with real jewelry.

    Parisian Period and World War I

    Move to Paris: In 1910, Solomko moved to Paris but continued to exhibit in Russia and contribute to Russian magazines.

    War Work: During World War I, he painted portraits of officers from the Russian Expeditionary Force in France under commission by a government committee dedicated to collecting war trophies.

    Post-Revolutionary Life and Exile

    Political Shift: After the Russian Revolution, Solomko fell out of favor with the new Soviet government and became a self-imposed exile.

    Continued Artistic Work: He created costumes for renowned dancers Mathilde Kschessinska and Anna Pavlova. He also illustrated books by French authors like Émile Gebhart, Ernest Renan, and Albert Samain.

    Exile Activities: In 1921, he participated in an exhibition of exiled artists from the former Imperial Academy of Arts. Later, he helped establish the “Russian Art and Industry Institute.”

    Death and Legacy

    Final Years: Solomko died on February 2, 1928, while convalescing at the “Maison Russe,” a retirement home for White émigrés near Paris.

    Historical Significance: During the Soviet period, his work was criticized as decadent and bourgeois. However, interest in Solomko’s art revived in the 1990s. His detailed and accurate depictions of Old Russian culture are highly valued today.

    His legacy lies in his ability to capture a vanishing world with remarkable detail and artistry.

    Where to read more

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for Squash

    artsdot.com/en/art/download/sergey-solomko-squash-8XZ273-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Solomko, Sergey. Squash. n.d., https://artsdot.com/en/art/sergey-solomko-squash-8XZ273-en/
    APA
    Solomko, Sergey (n.d.). Squash [Painting]. https://artsdot.com/en/art/sergey-solomko-squash-8XZ273-en/
    Chicago
    Sergey Solomko. Squash. n.d. https://artsdot.com/en/art/sergey-solomko-squash-8XZ273-en/
    Harvard
    Solomko, Sergey (n.d.) Squash. Available at: https://artsdot.com/en/art/sergey-solomko-squash-8XZ273-en/

    Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 24, 2026

    Squash — Sergey Solomko Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    Squash — Sergey Solomko

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. Our catalogue files this work under: sports. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    4. Look back at Russian beauty with the traditional headdress, earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. Realism: Painting ordinary people and ordinary work exactly as they are, without making them prettier or grander. Where can you see that in this work?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 24, 2026

    Squash — Sergey Solomko Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    Which palette and lead color define "Squash"?

    The color identity of "Squash" by Sergey Solomko: a neutrals palette, dominated by putty (#d7baaa).

    What is "Squash" about?

    The themes present in "Squash" by Sergey Solomko include sports. Together they summarize the artwork's subject matter.

    Is "Squash" by Sergey Solomko a portrait, landscape or square composition?

    "Squash" by Sergey Solomko is a portrait composition. The proportions are worth checking before choosing a print size.