André Andrejew (21 January 1887 â€" 13 March 1967) was one of the
most important art directors of the international cinema of the
twentieth century. He had a distinctive, innovative style. His décors
were both expressive and realistic. French writer Lucie Derain
described Andrejew at the peak of his career as "an artist of the
grand style, blessed with a vision of lyrical quality." Edith C. Lee
wrote recently: "Believing in creative freedom rather than academic
reconstruction, André Andrejew fulfilled the 20th century's notion of
the romantic, individualistic artist. The unusual titillated his
imagination."André Andrejew was born in Schawli (Lithuanian: Å
iauliai), Russian Empire (now Lithuania), on 21 January 1887 as Andrej
Andreyev (Russian: Рндрей Рндреев). He studied
architecture at the Fine Arts Academy in Moscow. At the time in
Russia, architecture could be studied at technical universities and
with the more artistic angle at art academies, where accent was on
interior design and decor and students were trained as artists. After
the studies, André Andrejew worked as a scene designer at the
Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre.After the October
revolution of 1917, Andrejew left Russia. In Germany and Austria, he
worked as stage designer in theater productions in Berlin and Vienna,
working among others with Max Reinhardt. In 1921/1922, he designed
stage decorations for the Jasha Jushny's Der Blaue Vogel (Blue Bird),
a legendary Russian émigré cabaret at Goltzstrasse in Berlin.In
1923, he designed his first cinema décor for Raskolnikow, directed by
Robert Wiene, film based upon Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. This
expressionist work made him the foremost art director in Germany.
Rudolf Kurtz in his Expressionismus und Film (1926) wrote: Andrejew is
a typical Moscow mixture, distinction of the streaked folk art (his
decors) dissolves the rhythm of images, creates gentle forms,
establishes balance even when everything is broken and torn.
most important art directors of the international cinema of the
twentieth century. He had a distinctive, innovative style. His décors
were both expressive and realistic. French writer Lucie Derain
described Andrejew at the peak of his career as "an artist of the
grand style, blessed with a vision of lyrical quality." Edith C. Lee
wrote recently: "Believing in creative freedom rather than academic
reconstruction, André Andrejew fulfilled the 20th century's notion of
the romantic, individualistic artist. The unusual titillated his
imagination."André Andrejew was born in Schawli (Lithuanian: Å
iauliai), Russian Empire (now Lithuania), on 21 January 1887 as Andrej
Andreyev (Russian: Рндрей Рндреев). He studied
architecture at the Fine Arts Academy in Moscow. At the time in
Russia, architecture could be studied at technical universities and
with the more artistic angle at art academies, where accent was on
interior design and decor and students were trained as artists. After
the studies, André Andrejew worked as a scene designer at the
Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre.After the October
revolution of 1917, Andrejew left Russia. In Germany and Austria, he
worked as stage designer in theater productions in Berlin and Vienna,
working among others with Max Reinhardt. In 1921/1922, he designed
stage decorations for the Jasha Jushny's Der Blaue Vogel (Blue Bird),
a legendary Russian émigré cabaret at Goltzstrasse in Berlin.In
1923, he designed his first cinema décor for Raskolnikow, directed by
Robert Wiene, film based upon Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. This
expressionist work made him the foremost art director in Germany.
Rudolf Kurtz in his Expressionismus und Film (1926) wrote: Andrejew is
a typical Moscow mixture, distinction of the streaked folk art (his
decors) dissolves the rhythm of images, creates gentle forms,
establishes balance even when everything is broken and torn.
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