As a teenager, a student of the Moscow middle school, Peter Staronosov he became fond of drawing and copying pictures from magazines. When the artist I. L. Kalmykova learned about the harmfulness of this class, on the same day sold all their "art gallery" for fifteen cents. However, the desire to make art never left him. Staronosov tried to obtain the necessary knowledge and skills in Sunday schools of painting, visited Moscow museums. Finally, in 1909 he debuted with a small sketch at the exhibition "Independent artists".
"Speech at the exhibition, recalled Staronosov, on the one hand, inspired me, and convinced me a large, almost complete lack of training". Genuine art training Staronosov received in the editorial office of the comic magazine "Alarm clock", which came to try their hand at the chart. It was here that he found his master in the person who headed the graphics Department of the magazine D. S. Moore, later a famous Soviet artist and satirist. In 1914 the drawings Staronosov appeared in the exhibition "Free creativity", and the following year he participated in the exhibition of the Wanderers.
On the eve of the great October revolution of Staronosov demobilized to injury from the army, sent to the Urals and Siberia. In 1922 in the newspaper "Krasnoyarsk worker" appear his first linocuts.
In the first half of the 1920s years of Staronosov moved to the Caucasus. In Transcaucasia finally determined calling Staronosov as an engraver of professional. His engravings placed a local newspaper. In 1926 Staronosov already in Moscow, and soon his work become famous. But the artist can not sit still. He's going to Karelia. Then makes countless trips for new buildings, large factories, coal mines. In 1932 Staronosov part of a special expedition of the Academy of Sciences visited the Pamir. Like other places, the artist returned from there to Moscow not with empty hands. He brings a lot of watercolors and drawings, made with colored pencils, and ten albums with journey sketches. When the Great Patriotic war, Staronosov as the martial artist went under Belgorod. He experienced the bitterness of retreat and the joy of victory of the Soviet Army. In April 1942 Staronosov wrote to one of his friends: "it Started with one friend, engraver, Bibikov, giant color print, size 250X 150 cm. Engraving must be unprecedented in its size and technology. The theme - "the defeat of the Nazis near Moscow". The composition will be based on the image number of stories: parade on red square, fortifications near Moscow, the episodes of fighting in the depths of forests, fields, villages and towns". But the disease has prevented work, interesting plan remained unfulfilled. The artist soon died.
Staronosov left behind a great artistic heritage. He illustrated many books, doodling pen, pencil, did, original watercolors, participated in various Soviet and foreign exhibitions. Especially successfully it worked in linocuts. The most poetic, the most popular of linocuts Staronosov - "Northern landscape" (1937).
Great success he achieved and how the xylographs. Very successful was his woodcuts that illustrated the book "Golden tail" O. guryan (1930) and "Tales of the Northern territory" (1934).
Staronosov was also engaged in pedagogical work. In 1937 he come vividly written an autobiographical book "My life", which Staronosov he illustrated.
(M. A. Ostrovsky)
