Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin was a Russian, later Soviet, painter and writer.Petrov-Vodkin often entered in open conflict with the Russian-Orthodox Church, which considered his paintings too erotic. His use of Russian religious iconography was also deemed blasphemous, and at one point the church, disapproving of the artist’s work on a chapel in Samara, destroyed his paintings. His paintings were often centered on what he considered his “spherical perspective,” which made the viewer aware of the curve of the globe. He was also an accomplished violinist. After contracting pulmonary tuberculosis in 1927, Petrov-Vodkin was forced to quit painting. He thusly turned to writing, completing a number of works, including three semi-autobiographical novels, the first two of which are considered some of the finest Russian literature of the time.