Petrov-Vodkin studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture under Serov, Levitan and Korovin among others. In the early years of the century he travelled widely in Europe and to North Africa, recording his impressions in paintings and drawings, which were exhibited on his return to Russia. In 1921 he went to Samarkand on an expedition organised by the Museum Affairs Council to look into the state of architectural monuments. He made a series of landscapes, portraits and other works illustrating the life and scenery of the city. See Y. Rusakov and N. Barabanova, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. Paintings, Watercolours and Drawings [etc.], (Leningrad, 1986), illus. 158-161, cat. nos.198-214.