Biography
Anastasia Nikolaeva (Berg)
The name of Anastasia Nikolaeva (Berg) today is one of the brightest and most interesting among St. Petersburg artists. A charming woman and a serious master, endowed with multifaceted talent, has been attracting the attention of the St. Petersburg public for a long time. Anastasia's artistic works are characterized by thoughtfulness and originality of compositional solutions, rich colors, fluency in technique and a joyful, life-affirming attitude.
Anastasia was born in St. Petersburg, brilliantly graduated from the Leningrad Secondary Art School named after. B.V. Ioganson at SPbAIZhSiA named after. I. E. Repin and, thanks to her hard work and early talent, was accepted into the painting department of the St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after. I.E.Repina. Here she studied in the monumental painting workshop under the guidance of the Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Arts, academician, People's Artist of the USSR, Professor A.A. Mylnikova.
She was twice awarded a scholarship from the President of Russia. For several months she completed an internship at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts (HdK) (Germany), participated in many Russian and international competitions and exhibitions. In 1997, by order of the Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of the St. Petersburg City Hall V.V. Putin, Anastasia was awarded a pensioner trip to Rome (Italy) as the best graduate of the Institute. I. E. Repin. Since 1997, member of the Union of Artists. The diploma work “The First Ceremonial Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences” written by Anastasia became a notable event in the artistic life of the cultural capital and was highly appreciated by the leadership of the Academy of Sciences, by order of which the author completed this painting, which took its rightful place in the interiors of the historical building of the Academy’s Scientific Center Sciences in St. Petersburg. After graduating from the institute, Anastasia Nikolaeva (Berg) continued her studies in the creative workshop of academician, People's Artist of the USSR A. A. Mylnikov.
In 1997, she was invited to teach at the Faculty of Painting and Composition of the Academy of Arts, where she works successfully to this day. Anastasia Nikolaeva (Berg) Associate Professor of the Department of Painting and Composition at the Ilya Repin Academy of Arts. Laureate of the “Muses of St. Petersburg” competition.
In 1998, she received gratitude from the governor of St. Petersburg for decorating the “St. Petersburg” hall in the embassy of the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, with her own works (commissioned by the Russian Foreign Ministry).
In 2008, at the invitation of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation V. M. Lebedev, Anastasia exhibited her works in the halls of the Supreme Court of Russia in Moscow. This was the first exhibition of a St. Petersburg artist in the new building of the Supreme Court.
In 2011 she was awarded the Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Arts.
The variety of genres and techniques in which the master works is impressive. She is truly capable of solving problems of any complexity: from easel painting and lithography, to historical paintings and monumental paintings. Perhaps the most significant part of Anastasia’s work is historical paintings. An amazing sense of space, precision and originality of composition, color and rhythmic harmony allow the paintings to freely and naturally “live” in the architectural environment where they are located, creating their own special pictorial intonation in it.
The author draws inspiration from classical examples of Western European painting. Impeccable skill in conveying a variety of materials, sometimes reaching the point of illusion, understanding the role of color and tone in painting, allows us to achieve excellent results even when working with complex subjects. The author's style of the artist is the preservation of traditions, intelligence and literacy of the plot of the painting, rigor and luxury in color and tone, a combination of exquisite classical forms and modern art trends. All this invariably finds a lively response in the hearts of viewers and customers. Evidence of this is not only numerous private, but also official orders executed by Anastasia Nikolaeva (Berg).
A notable event in the artistic life of the northern capital was the execution of a historical series - five canvases for the St. George Hall of the Chesme Palace. The artist truly wrote a chronicle of the history of the Chesme Palace. The names of the paintings speak for themselves: “This order should never be removed, for it was acquired through service” (Oil on canvas 220x170), “Rewarding Chief General P. A. Rumyantsev with the Order of St. George” (Oil on canvas 220x170 ), “Foundation of the Chesme Palace” (Oil on canvas 220x170), “Admiral G. A. Spiridov - winner at Chesma” (Oil on canvas 240x160), “Orlov-Chesmensky - winner at Chesma” (Oil on canvas 260x160), “ Semyon Desnitsky - the first lawyer of Russia" (Oil on canvas 100x90). The work was carried out over 3 years - from 2016 to 2019.
Anastasia was also a participant in an art project organized by PJSC Gazprom: “30 paintings from the life of Peter the Great.” She painted the painting “Peter the Great inspecting the Gobelin Manufactory in Paris” (Oil on canvas 150x250). Also noteworthy is the huge, six-meter canvas “Coronation of Catherine the Second in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin” (Oil on canvas 400x600), which is located in the central hall “Talion” of the hotel and, of course, the already famous canvas “ There will be a Russian Empire!” (Oil on canvas 200x700), made for the cultural and business center “Taleon Imperial Hotel”. It is also worth mentioning a series of paintings dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino and numerous exhibitions of these paintings in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The exhibitions were a great success among the audience and were repeatedly covered on television and in the press.
One of the artist’s favorite genres is portrait. Interest in a person’s personality is a constant source of new ideas. But not only contemporaries attract the master; with even greater pleasure, Anastasia works on historical portraits, the heroes of which are separated from us not just by time, but by centuries. In such works, much attention is paid not only to the transfer of external similarities, reconstructed from surviving images, but also to the study of views of the city, interiors, clothing, and household items of a certain era. Numerous portraits made by the artist are in various museums and private collections in Russia, Europe and China.
The creativity of Anastasia Nikolaeva (Berg) is experiencing a rapid rise. In 2015, a personal exhibition of Anastasia’s works was held in Beijing. The artist’s works are in the museum of the Beijing Academy of Arts (CAFA), in the art museum of Changsha (China). In 2016, Anastasia taught at the Beijing Academy of Arts (CAFA). She took part in exhibitions of Russian artists in the city of Jenzhou and in the city of Suchen (China).
In 2016, she was a participant in the “Monumental Painting” conference held at the Sichuan Academy of Arts (China) and in the city of Chongxin (China). In 2017, she taught at the University of Arts and Design in Shenzhen (China). In 2019, she was invited to work at the Sirius Educational Center of the Presidential Foundation “Talent and Success” (Sochi). Anastasia is the author (together with the rector of the Academy of Arts S.I. Mikhailovsky) and curator of educational programs in art at the Sirius OC.
In 2019, Anastasia was awarded the diploma “Best teacher in the field of arts” of the 3rd All-Russian creative competition of scientific and pedagogical workers of higher education in the field of musical, choreographic and visual arts. Since 2020, Anastasia Nikolaeva (Berg) has been the leading teacher of the “School of Innopraktika” held at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts.
In 2022, the foreign art session “School of Innopractice” and “Russian Seasons” took place for the first time in the Republic of Senegal in Dakar. Anastasia was one of the teachers under whose guidance students from African countries performed original works. The trip to Africa, albeit for a short time, gave a strong impetus to the artist’s creativity. A huge series of paintings and drawings, glorifying the beauty of the African continent, occupied a significant place in Anastasia’s work. The works were successfully presented during the International Summit “Russia-Africa” at a personal exhibition in the State Complex of the Palace of Congresses (Konstantinovsky Palace, Strelna) in 2023. And also at a personal exhibition with the support of Roscongress at EXPOFORUM during the international Russia-Africa Summit in July 2023.
