Leonid gechtoff biography of michael

When I first saw this painting it reminded me of Orientalist works by Louis Comfort Tiffany that I had seen over the years.  The painting is entitled The Mystic Orient (Cairo) and it was painted by Leonid Gechtoff in 1938.

 Leonid Gechtoff (1883-1941) was born in Odessa and that is where he recieved his early art education.

Leonid gechtoff biography of michael jackson

 When he was in his twenties, he and his parents fled Odessa because of the possibility of conscription into the army.  They moved to Cairo and lived there for several years.  While he was in Egypt, he painted many city and genre scenes that brought him acclaim in the "Orientalist-enamored European art world."  He was heavily influenced by the work of Vincent van Gogh, and on a pilgrimage to Holland to see van Gogh's work, he met his future wife, Etya.

 After they married, they lived in Holland, Indonesia, Java, and Manila before eventually settling in Philadelphia in 1921.  Gechtoff had a very successful career in Am