Artwork of Boris Olshanskiy

Boris Olshanskiy is a lesser-known painter from the turn of the 21st century who drew fantastic scenes from Slavic mythology. He has produce only several hundred works during his career as a painter.

Born on February 25, 1956 in the city of Tambov, Olshanskiy attended the Penza Art College and the Moscow State Institute of Painting of V.I. Surikov. Following his graduation, Olshanskiy began to work in graphics and illustration in Moscow, his talents as an artist were soon noticed and in 1989, he was inducted as a member of the Union of Artists of Russia.

During the beginning of the Perestroika, Olshanskiy began to take an interest in painting and soon applied his interest of the ancient Slavs and their mythology to his work. In 1993, Olshanskiy organized his first personal exhibition, displaying over 300 works, in his time, he would take part in many more exhibitions both locally and abroad.

In recent times, Olshanskiy and his works have faded into obscurity; his most recent painting being from 2006. The artist himself is very rarely heard of nowadays. Despite this, Olshanskiy’s works have shaped the way many view Slavic myths, possibly as much as artists such as Ivan Bilibin or Viktor Korolkov.