Painter, graphic artist and art theoretician. Creator of "madeness painting". He came from a poor working class family. From 1897-1901 he studied at the painting and decorating workshop, in 1898 he attended classes at the OPH, between 1902-1908 he studied at the private school of L.E.Dmitriev-Kavkazsky, 1908-1909 he voluntarily attended lectures at the Academy of Arts, where he was taught by V.E.Savinsky and Ya.F.Tsionglinsky. In 1912 Filonov visited France, Italy and Austria. In Russia he was part of the avant-garde and Cubo-Futurist circles, and was a friend of Velimir Khlebnikov and M.V. Matyushin. From 1910-1914 he was member of the Union of Youth artistic society. In 1923 Filonov was a pioneer for establishing the State Institute of Art Culture, from 1927-1932 Filonov organised and led the "Masters of Analytic Art". P.N.Filonov created a new trend in avant-garde called analytical art. In 1915 he wrote and illustrated a book entitled "The Song of World Growth". It realized the artistic ideas for a social-aesthetic utopia, primarily set out in the theory of analytical art and backed up by the "madeness" technique. Each representational element was carefully thought out, creating the impression of a living and growing form, like the cells in a living organism. Filonov declared a new understanding of art’s potential which reflected man’s spiritual evolution, "Since I am aware analytically, I see, that instinctively there are more than two rationale (form and colour) in each object, but an entire world exists of invisible phenomena, their emanations, reactions, inclusions and origins. They have recognisable and hidden qualities which, in their turn, have an infinite number of rationale, I reject the dogma of teachings in contemporary realism that propound two predicates". According to the artist, the principle model for new art in life was to produce world prosperity. The artist published his ideas in his manifesto entitled "Finished Paintings" (1914) and "Declaration of World Prosperity" (1923). He produced paintings in parallel with his theoretical work: "Composition. Ships" (1913-1915), "The Composition. Introduction to World Prosperity" (1914-1915), "Flowers of World Prosperity" (1915). Following the Revolution, Filonov took up research and teaching, developing principles for his aesthetic methods and he actively participated in exhibitions. These were the years when he created his famous series of paintings entitled "Formulae and Heads". During the 1930-1940s in the period of Socialist Realist and the persecution of Formalism, Filonov’s creative work was forgotten. The artist continued his heroic work. He died during the Leningrad blockade. His first posthumous monographic exhibition took place in 1988.