Jan Damel Belarusian-Polish Lithuanian artist of the early 19th century. Representative of classicism. He began mastering painting in 1799 at Vilna University with Francis Smuglevich and Jan Rustem. After completing several courses and passing exams, he received a master's degree in liberal arts and later became a gymnasium teacher. In 1809 he became a master of painting and vice professor.
Jan Damel wrote mainly in historical topics: “The Death of the Master of the Crusaders Ulrich von Jungingen in the Battle of Grunwald”, “The Death of Prince Poniatowski”, “Paul I frees Kosciuszko from captivity”, “The defeated troops of Napoleon in Vilna”, “The crossing of the French across the Berezina”, etc. His works are known on religious themes (“Entombment”, “Christ and the Samaritan Woman”), portraits of Prince D. Radziwill, Counts Joachim Khreptovich, landscapes of Minsk and its environs (“Water Mill”, “Trees under water”), drawings and sketches on everyday topics peoples of Siberia. In addition, Damel, like many artists of that time, paid tribute to landscape drawing. The artist’s work was formed under the influence of classicism, but in a number of his works one can feel the desire for a romantic depiction of reality. Damel's portraits have a subtle psychological characteristic.
Vankovich Valentiy-Wilhelm Belarusian painter, representative of romanticism. Born into a moderately prosperous noble (gentry) family of judge Melchior Vankovich and Scholastica Gorecka, sister of the famous Polish poet Antoni Gorecki. He studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (since 1824). Creativity is associated with artistic life Belarus and Russia
Creativity Vankovich's first teacher in painting was the future general of the Jesuit Order, Gabriel Gruber, a miniaturist. A native of Vienna, he painted extensively for the Polish king Stanislaus Augustus. Young Vankovich, in his free time from studying, read old books collected in the Jesuit library and copied paintings located in the monastery. By the time he finished sixth grade, he already knew how to paint miniatures and portraits in oil, improving his drawing and color. In St. Petersburg he is gaining increasing recognition. After four years of painstaking study, he returns to Vilnius University with a gold medal. After 1830, painting miniatures ceased to interest the artist; he was now attracted only by historical themes, and only in this direction did he want to work. However, the influence of Andrzej Towianski’s science also reached his estate in Slepyanka. At first, his old enthusiasm was still alive. Vankovich was an ambitious man, but his successes in Vilna and St. Petersburg did not continue. However, the forty-year-old artist’s thirst for new success was awakened again. He left his home and country, and went to Paris, where he again became close to Adam Mickiewicz.
Napoleon Orda Belarusian and Polish writer and composer, musician, artist, sculptor, teacher. Since 1833, while living in Paris, he took drawing lessons in the studio of F. Gerard. I travel around Europe and North Africa, made many sketches of landscapes, mainly urban views. In Belarus he is known for his album of views of the provinces of Grodno, Minsk, Kyiv, etc., the material for which he collected during his travels.
Napoleon Horde and Ukraine 177 works by the artist have survived to this day, depicting architectural landscapes Ukraine. His drawings were used during the preparation of restoration projects for the following objects: Fortress in Kamenets-Podilskyi Podgoretsky Castle
Ostrog Castle And also such architectural monuments as: · St. Andrew's Church in Kyiv, · Church of John the Baptist in Bila Tserkva, · Dubensky Castle, · Letichevsky Castle.
Napoleon Horde and Belarus Among the Belarusian works of the Horde: “Volozhin Palace”, “Geranensky Castle”, “Dyatlovskaya Estate”, “Zakozelskaya Estate”, “Logoisk Park”, “Ruzhansky Palace”, “Skokovsky Palace”, “Minsk. Cathedral Square", "Svisloch", "Grodno", "Osveya", "Krevsky Castle", "Novogrudok" (1850-1870s). Based on his drawings and watercolors in 1873-1883, lithographs (260 graphic sheets in 8 series) were created (artist A. Misurovich) and published in Warsaw. Interesting. Every Belarusian can see the work of Napoleon Horde “Nesvizh Castle of the Radziwills” on the banknote of 100,000 Belarusian rubles. Interesting. Each drawing of the Horde has a small detail - people are depicted casually, as if by accident.
Khrutsky Ivan Fomich Belarusian artist, painter, nobleman of the Leliv coat of arms. Known for his still lifes and group portraits. Born on January 27, 1810 in the family of a Greek Catholic priest, nobleman Tomasz Hrutsky. Khrutsky received his secondary art education at the Polotsk Higher School. In 1827 he came to St. Petersburg. Here, until 1829, he took lessons from the English painter J. Doe and at the same time studied in Imperial Academy arts Copied in the Hermitage. In 1830, Khrutsky entered the Academy of Arts. There he studied with such masters as A. G. Varnek, F. A. Bruni.
Creativity Ivan Fomich Khrutsky is known as an artist who worked in line with the Russian academic school. He entered the history of art with his still lifes. The artist's first dated sketches - "Still Life with a Vase" and "Still Life with a Bird" - date back to 1832. The main direction of Khrutsky’s creativity during this period was work on the still life “Still Life with a Vase” (1832) “Still Life with a Bird” (1832)
On September 24, 1839, I. F. Khrutsky “for excellent work in portraiture, landscape, and especially in the painting of fruits and vegetables” was awarded the title of academician of painting. From this time on, Khrutsky stopped painting spectacular still lifes. The painting “An Old Woman Knitting a Stocking” (1838) brings him closer to artists who did not have an academic education, for example, with A. G. Venetsianov and especially V. A. Tropipin. In 1838, for this work, as well as for the still life “Flowers and Fruits,” Ivan Khrutsky was awarded the small gold medal “An Old Woman Knitting a Stocking” (1838). Another line of the artist’s creativity at this time was represented by the depiction of interiors - a kind of “in rooms” genre : “In the Room” (1854) and others.
Last week, the exhibition and sale of works by young artists “Autumn Salon with Belgazprombank” ended. For the most expensive job(this year it turned out to be a photograph) the author asked for 77 thousand rubles - that’s more than 35 thousand dollars. In second place in cost is the installation for 62 thousand rubles, and in third place is an oil painting called “Life”, which cost 42 thousand rubles. The most budget works were sold for 195 rubles. Out of five hundred extra work 56 works were sold this year. The most expensive of the works sold is a painting by Ales Bogdanov. It cost the buyer more than 6,000 rubles.
This year, 176 authors were presented, says curator of the bank art collection Alexander Zimenko . - The posted works cost about a million dollars. Compared to last year, we managed to increase sales volume.
“Komsomolskaya Pravda” walked through Minsk galleries, looked at websites, found out how much you can buy paintings by Belarusian artists and how Minsk residents choose works of art.
We cannot talk about trends, they say, today avant-garde is sold, genre works or landscapes. No, this is not so, they talk about the preferences of buyers in the Predmestie gallery in the U Troitsky building. The first criterion that is followed when choosing a painting is whether it fits into the interior. Well, or just that you liked it, as we say, His Majesty’s case.
Paintings by a homeless Gomel artist can be bought online
There is no single website in Belarus where artists could exhibit their paintings and buyers could get acquainted with their works. The most numerous in terms of the number of works is perhaps bel-art.by. Here are the works of authors from the Belarusian Union of Artists. You can see them live in the gallery on Karl Marx, 4. There are paintings here for any choice: realism and abstraction, watercolor and original printed graphics, batik and tapestry, sculpture and ceramics. City landscapes, views of Belarusian nature, still lifes, surreal compositions... In addition modern painting and graphics, works by classics of Belarusian art of the mid-twentieth century are sold. The gallery says that new works appear here every week. Most of the paintings from the new arrival can be bought for less than 3,000 rubles. Perhaps one of the most budget-friendly are paintings by Ekaterina Sumareva - “Fish of the Emperor Tan” or “Nalivka” for 91 rubles and “Reflection” or “Lake” for 144 rubles. Some of the most expensive are works by the famous Belarusian artist Alexander Kishchenko. The 1966 painting “Sisters” costs 5,100 rubles, and the 1962 “Reflection” costs 6,900 rubles.
One of the few platforms on the Internet where you can not only view, but also buy works is artclub.by. On the website you can see how the painting looks in the interior and order what you like. The only negative is that only 12 authors are represented on the site - about 120 works. Cost - from 130 to 5600 rubles. Works by homeless Gomel artist Valery Lyashkevich are also sold here. The cheapest of his works can be bought for 210 rubles, and the most expensive for 2,600.
And I don’t need 100 masterpieces, I need to do at least one work that would record history, moral problems, and would help at least someone to understand these problems. It’s no longer in vain that I live if I did such work,” the Gomel artist is quoted as saying on the website.
A painting by Alexander Kishchenko is on sale for almost 17 thousand rubles
The Mastatstva gallery, located on Independence Avenue, 12, sells paintings by classics of the 20th century and contemporaries. Among famous names-Leonid Shchemelev (the gallery in the Upper Town is named after him) and Alexander Kishchenko. By the way, Kishchenko’s works are some of the most expensive here. The cost of most of them starts from 10,000 rubles. The most budget picture of the authorship famous artist- “Portrait of A. Obodovsky”, - 6689 rubles. For the most expensive one - “Portrait of the ballerina I. Kolpakova” you will have to pay 16,724 rubles. Graphics can be purchased from 117 to 858 rubles. The most expensive will be “Night and Day” by Maria Bonet. You can also choose a sculpture here. These are compositions made of bronze, stone, wood and other materials, three-dimensional ceramic objects and panels. The gallery is confident that the sculpture will succinctly be included in any interior of an apartment or office. The cheapest sculpture will cost 160 rubles - this is the bronze-marble “Toad” by Pavel Leonov, but for the work of Oleg Varvasheni they ask for up to more than 10 thousand rubles.
You can choose a painting by a Belarusian artist and - unexpectedly - in mall"Dana Mall". Not long ago, a gallery-salon “Art Chaos” opened here. Several dozen works hang in the bright room; many more are available, but not hung. Therefore, it is better to come here if you clearly know what kind of work you want to buy. Of the famous names, works by Anna Silivonchik, Boris and Ivan Semiletov, and Valery Shkarubo are presented here. The most expensive are the works of the famous sculptor Alexander Shappo - about 14 thousand rubles. And of the paintings, you will have to pay the most for “Still Life with Peacock” by Nikolai Bushchik and “Autumn Water” by Valery Shkarubo - both one and the second works cost more than 7,000 rubles. True, neither one nor the other painting is presented in trading floor. The most expensive painting that you can look at in person, “Fortune telling” by Tatyana Grinevich, costs more than 5 thousand rubles.
Dozens of authors are represented in the gallery of contemporary art “Ў”. There are constantly changing exhibitions here. Now, for example, you can see the works of Mikhail Gulin, but they are not for sale. You can buy, for example, photographs of one of the winners of the Autumn Salon, Alexander Veledimovich - one photograph sells for 92 rubles.
There are more than a thousand people in the Belarusian Union of Artists. Whose creativity is worth paying attention to? Special attention? We asked art critic Nadezhda Usova and exhibition curator Anna Karpenko to choose five modern domestic artists that every Belarusian should know.
“Every art critic has not 5, but 25 favorite artists,” says Nadezhda Usova. In choosing the five, she excluded her artist friends (“I’m partial to them”), as well as the younger generation experimenting with the form.
— I don’t undertake to evaluate it, because, as it seems to me, this takes time. The generation of 30-year-olds is capable of creating masterpieces (Theodore Gericault wrote “The Raft of the Medusa” at the age of 28!), and perhaps their contemporaries should know them. But they count chickens in the fall... This top five, in my opinion, should include mature artists who have something to say, whose works, it seems to me, should end up in museums in Belarus. Therefore, the approach is exclusively subjective: an artistic phenomenon.
Who? Alexander Solovyov, painter, theater artist
“The patriarch of the Belarusian avant-garde,” at the height of Soviet stagnation, turned to abstractionism and created unique color meditations.
Why? A unique personality, the patriarch of the Belarusian avant-garde, a real phenomenon, has not yet been fully appreciated, although he received honorary titles and the Francis Skaryna medal. He is 91 years old. A former partisan, front-line soldier, he graduated from the Mukhinsky School, a theater and art institute in Minsk.
Alexander Solovyov, “White Harmony”. Source: news.vitebsk.cc 
Alexander Solovyov, “Still Life”. Source: news.vitebsk.cc
In 1965, Soloviev came to Vitebsk, where long years worked as a production designer, later as the chief artist of the Yakub Kolas Theater. Once this group went on tour to Moscow and its decorations, like the works of Lev Bakst, were given a standing ovation immediately after the curtain rose. In the 1970s, at the height of Soviet stagnation, he turned to abstract art and began to create things that were striking in their philosophical imagery and color saturation—original color meditations—and exhibit them. In the late 1970s, of course, I heard nothing but insults and swearing addressed to me. The exhibitions were closed, and he was surprised: what kind of subversion of ideology is found in his canvas-spaces?
Despite everything, he found an audience. And not 50 years after death, as the artist himself believed, but during his lifetime. In 2016, he donated dozens of his works to the National Art Museum in Minsk, which were shown there in a personal exhibition. I think that soon his works will be the decoration and dream of any museum.
Lyudmila Kalmaeva, painter and graphic artist
Why? For originality of thinking and amazing skill, creative diversity. She has an inexhaustible force of vitality, originality, an amazing flair for modernity, and a natural Europeanness. And not because she has lived in Holland for many years (her late husband is Dutch). Lyudmila Kalmaeva, in my opinion, is also a phenomenon of a Belarusian artist, freely cast in one form or another. More and more often she appears and holds exhibitions in Minsk.
Fantasy painting by Lyudmila Kalmaeva. Source: kalmaeva.weebly.com 
Graphics by Lyudmila Kalmaeva. Source: kalmaeva.weebly.com 
From the series “Plenty to go on”. Source: kalmaeva.weebly.com 
From the series “Plenty to go on”. Source: kalmaeva.weebly.com
Her theater posters of the 1980s became classics that influenced Belarusian posters in the second half of the 20th century. Many of them entered the apartments of the intelligentsia and students and were fashionable and meaningful interior decorations. She then grasped some codes of Belarusianness and was able to symbolize them figuratively. Kalmaeva is a generator of crazy ideas. She is always interesting, unpredictable, both as an observant blogger, and as an analyst, and as a teacher, and a realistic portrait painter, and as a graphic artist. From the scandalous "toilet series" - artistic banter, which they did not dare to exhibit in Belarus (but the Chinese willingly bought), to the amazing "nudes" - nude series. Usually we get used to the fact that an artist has been working in one direction for many years; he can be recognized by his handwriting. She breaks the usual ideas and always surprises. Lyudmila Kalmaeva has a clear position and a special view. This makes you fall in love, surprises, delights, and inspires respect.
Who? Andrey Vorobyov, sculptor
Why? Andrey Vorobyov has attracted attention for a long time. One might think that this is the reincarnation of his own teacher - Vladimir Zhbanov - in the Mogilev urban environment (the sculptor lives in Mogilev. - Note TUT.BY). But this is absolutely not true.
I like that he is an inventor, a dreamer, a patriot of his city, and cares for his native Mogilev. And he is different. On the one hand, he can take a creative approach to an official order - he is the author famous monument- “Shklov cucumber” - and the monumental “Mogilev Lions” on the bridge over the Dnieper. On the other hand, he has chamber philosophical sculptures with original fluid plasticity that make you think about the meanings of life.
"Shklov cucumber" Photo: Anzhelika Vasilevskaya, TUT.BY This is an ironic, grotesque, intriguing sculptor. He tries to avoid pathos, although there are such works. It's always interesting to watch him. Andrey Vorobyov is the author of incredible phantasmagoric ideas and projects. For example, I wanted to build a tunnel near art museum named after Maslenikov. On one side, an adult can enter the tunnel, but will not be able to go through it, because on the other side, the entrance to the tunnel is in the form of a child’s body. Vorobiev’s conceptual objects claim to become the highlight of the city, an example artistic formation urban environment, including tourism.
Who? Vyacheslav Pavlovets, watercolorist
He works in watercolor technique, which “in its laconicism and emotional spontaneity can be compared with Japanese ones.” Creates unique Belarusian watercolor haiku.
Why? A tuning fork of absolute taste and skill in modern Belarusian watercolors. He managed to formulate Belarusian landscape, turning it into a pure aesthetic phenomenon. Vyacheslav Pavlovets is a very modest person; he works as an art editor at the magazine “Mastatstva”. Under him, the magazine acquired a stylish European look.
With this workload, he manages to create landscapes using watercolor techniques that are surprisingly Belarusian in mood and character, which can be compared with Japanese ones in their laconicism and emotional spontaneity. This is a kind of Belarusian haiku. In these watercolors we can hear the melody of our country from a side from which it has not yet been considered. They are absolutely harmonious and absolutely Belarusian. Pavlovets, one might say, glorified and elevated the Belarusian sunless “gray day” to a poetic metaphor. His works touch the soul. This, I'm not afraid to say, pure poetry in watercolor.
"Tree". From the archives of the National Art Museum Now, unlike Europe, watercolor is unpopular here: few people understand and appreciate the sophistication of this technique. Many born graphic artists betray themselves and go into painting, which is better in demand on the art market. Vyacheslav Pavlovets is one of the keepers of tradition, several masters who keep high level Belarusian watercolor school.
Pavel Tatarnikov, illustrator
“A unique talent in the field of European book illustration”, sought and found by publishers from all over the world.
Why? One appearance books with his romantic illustrations make you want to study Belarusian history. I would really like to see his illustrations in textbooks on the history of Belarus for junior classes. He is a romantic, a technical virtuoso, and, of course, a meticulous researcher.
These qualities brought him fame and prestigious awards at book competitions both in Belarus and widely around the world: Japanese publishers wanted to completely buy out the rights to the illustrations for the book “The Princess in the Underworld”; a Taiwanese publisher invited him (a Belarusian!) to design a book of the Chinese epic “ The Heavenly Emperor and the Ten Suns”, based on his illustrations, was staged puppet show « The Snow Queen"in Copenhagen, the priests of a small Italian village in the Alps entrusted him with an unusual commission - the creation of a book dedicated to the 1700th anniversary of the village. And the artist lived in that village for several days, listened to memories, searched in the archives for what the local landscape and architecture looked like several centuries ago.
"Paranoia." Source: tatarnikov.com 
"Clean streets". Source: tatarnikov.com 
“Garodnya. 1601". Source: tatarnikov.com
In fact, there are not many illustrators in the world, and Tatarnikov is one of the best. He is found and sought out by publishers all over the world. Now he can choose what interests him. It’s great that he teaches in Minsk, associate professor at the Academy of Arts. There is someone to learn skills from and, most importantly, attitude to work.
Exhibition curator Anna Karpenko warns: her opinion most likely will not coincide with the mainstream, “but in the context of our time it is very important to know the names of these artists.”
Who? Zhanna Gladko
Managed to show how personal trauma shows the distribution of power both within the family and at the societal level.
Why? Zhanna does big, serious projects. Works with sensitive social and gender topics. Unfortunately, she still has not had a personal exhibition in Belarus.
I love her absolutely amazing project, very personal, connected to her own history of relationships with her father. It reveals an interesting strategy. On the one hand, the artist exposes painful, intimate themes associated, for example, with the episode when her father dismantled her favorite piano, which was very important to Jeanne. Understandably, this was traumatic for her.
Zhanna Gladko, series “Not Alain Delon”, the series includes self-portraits of the artist in the form of Alain Delon, group exhibition QAI/by, gallery of contemporary art “Ў”, Minsk, 2016 
Zhanna Gladko, series of self-portraits, group exhibition XXY, Gallery of Contemporary Art “Ў”, Minsk, 2014 
On the other hand, through personal stories, the history of her family, the artist shows important gender connections at the social level: how classic patriarchal relationships are distributed in society, when the father - such a Freudian figure - not only manages material processes, controls the flow of money in the family, but also has important symbolic status. Without interfering in Zhanna's life, through his actions he indirectly influences her worldview. This is a story about how personal trauma reveals the distribution of power both within the family and at the societal level.
Who? Masha Svyatogor
Why? Masha works using an interesting photo collage technique. Works with both personal history and family archives.
Not so long ago, Masha had a personal exhibition at the Central Exhibition Center, which was called “Kurasoushchyna - my love.” This is an excellent example of how one of the districts of Minsk, and not the most prestigious one, can become an object of aesthetic attraction. She also has a series of stunning collages, from which she makes a tongue-in-cheek art history project. She takes pictures of the model and substitutes for her faces from famous classical paintings.
"Portrait of a Wife with Flowers and Fruit", 1838
Khrutsky is considered the founder of Russian still life. As a seventeen-year-old boy, he, the son of a Uniate priest, a student at a religious lyceum, went alone to St. Petersburg to take up drawing. And, apparently, not in vain. Khrutsky managed to develop his talent so much that in the twentieth century his still lifes were in almost every home. Not originals, of course, copies - most people could not afford real paintings. You and I observe Khrutsky’s work every day - the Russian thousandth banknote is decorated with a fragment of Khrutsky’s painting “Portrait of a Wife with Flowers and Fruits.” The artist's most famous painting depicts a young woman at a table filled with baskets of fruit, a decanter of water and a bouquet in a ceramic vase.
Art project “Fragments of the Tower of Babel”
Laureate of the State Prize of Belarus and head of the Center contemporary arts Today Viktor Olshevsky exhibits abroad more often than in Belarus. Victor's works, which are distinguished by deep symbolism and figurativeness, are in galleries and private collections in Belarus, Italy, Germany, Israel, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, France, Turkey and other countries. And his famous project “Fragments of the Tower of Babel” generally managed to travel halfway around the world: New York, Berlin, Budapest, Gdansk... The project consists of 13 canvases - 13 fragments of the Tower of Babel, which display elements of the cultures of the peoples of the world: Ancient Egypt and China, Iran and Cambodia, Mayan pyramids and Kremlin chimes, Polish Warsaw and the Belarusian World.
Marc Chagall (1887-1985) “Above the City”, 1914
Chagall is often called a Frenchman because they simply cannot believe that such an artist - avant-garde, innovative, emotional and fantastically talented - could be born in a small country and not everyone famous Belarus. A native of Vitebsk literally conquered the world with his unusual landscapes, portraits and genre compositions. It’s interesting that almost every stroke on Chagall’s canvas or paper is about love. About love for his tender and dear wife and muse Bella. The artist’s main feature is the figures of him and Bella, and sometimes other people, who fly in the paintings, ignoring all the laws of gravity and physics. One of the artist’s most famous works is “Above the City.” Small houses, tilted boards, everyday scenes... And lovers, whose flight is not hindered by any prosaic nature of life.
Andrey Smolyak (born in 1954). Project “Living Pictures”, 2010
The artist is a well-known master not only of brushwork, but also of shocking style. The idea of his popular project “Living Paintings,” which began three years ago, is the desire to unite famous, talented and honored people of Belarus through the art of painting. The essence of the project is that politicians and artists, poets and businessmen, directors and athletes “try on” the images of the heroes of the artist’s works. Smolyak’s paintings have already included singer Larisa Gribaleva and actress Vera Polyakova, tennis player Maxim Mirny and biathlete Daria Domracheva, National artist Anatoly Yarmolenko and many others. The artist’s works are today in public and private collections in Belarus, as well as in France, Italy, the USA, Belgium, Russia and Holland.
Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935) “Black Square”, 1915
A great artist, an avant-garde artist who changed the world and predicted the future of architectural buildings, the father of Suprematism, the creator of the Futurist theater, an “artist-philosopher” - this is something you can read about Malevich in any paper or electronic encyclopedia. And one more obligatory addition to all the artist’s regalia is the author of the famous “Black Square”. According to the artist himself, he painted the picture for several months. Someone jokes that the artist simply did not have time to finish the painting on time and covered it with black paint. However, art experts see deep meaning in the painting. philosophical meaning. Subsequently, Malevich made several copies of “Black Square” (according to some sources, seven). Malevich also painted “Red Square” in two copies and one “White Square”.
Chaim Soutine (1893-1943) "Meat Carcass", circa 1923
The tenth child in a poor Jewish family from the small Belarusian village of Smilovichi, Chaim had an irresistible desire to draw since childhood, even though it was forbidden to the Jews. Despite the obstacles, he gradually achieved his goal: first he studied at the private school of Jacob Kruger, then he studied in Vilnius for three years. And finally Paris! Years of suffering, fermentation, hunger, disease... It was worth it for the whole world to talk about Soutine, for his expressive, crazy, hurricane-like paintings to be measured at auction in millions of dollars. For example, at the recent May auction of Christie's, his painting “The Little Confectioner” went under the hammer for $18 million! And among the happy owners of his works were Isabella Rossellini, the Chaplin family, the publisher Gallimard, the descendants of Chagall, Francis Ford Coppola... Lee not the most famous painting The artist can be considered an expressive “Meat Carcass”, depicted in the twenties of the last century.
When the conversation turns to famous Belarusian artists, it rarely goes beyond a couple of names. And not because there weren’t more talented masters in our country, we just don’t talk so much about Belarusian art. Internationally recognized creators stay on top of the trends, while the leaders of national art remain in the shadows. I decided to correct this oversight and talk about wonderful Belarusian artists that are worth knowing about.
Ivan Khrutsky(1810-1885) - known for his still lifes and group portraits, he worked in line with the Russian academic school. Born in the Vitebsk region in the family of a Greek Catholic priest. He received his secondary art education in Polotsk. At the age of 17, he moved to St. Petersburg, where he took lessons from the English painter George Dow, while simultaneously studying at the Imperial Academy of Arts.
The artist’s most famous painting is “Portrait of an Unknown Woman with Flowers and Fruits” (1838), a fragment of which is depicted on the 1000 ruble banknote of 2000
After the death of his father, Khrutsky was forced to leave the cultural capital, because without main support survived by his mother and five younger brothers and sisters. The artist takes the boys to St. Petersburg, where he continues to work hard, earning a living by painting portraits. And then he returns to his native place and buys land near Polotsk, where he builds a house and plants a garden according to his own design. If you look at further events in the life of the painter, we can conclude that many secrets of his biography were never revealed.
Ivan Khrutsky. "Portrait of a Boy with a Straw Hat" Leon Bakst(1866-1924) - artist, set designer, illustrator and designer, one of the trendsetters of the European fashion for exoticism, member of the famous World of Art association. At one time it created a real sensation in France. And he was born in Grodno, in an Orthodox Jewish family. After graduating from high school, he went to St. Petersburg and was a volunteer student at the Academy of Arts. IN free time moonlighted as a creator book illustrations. Then a whole chain of events awaited Bakst: art exhibitions, life in Paris, communication with like-minded people, teaching painting to the children of Grand Duke Vladimir, marriage to the daughter of the famous founder Tretyakov Gallery and the associated adoption of another faith, divorce and return to Judaism...
Leon Bakst. "Ancient Horror" (1908). One of the most famous paintings artist Since 1910, Bakst has lived in Paris, where he reveals his talent in creating theatrical scenery.
Sketch for Sergei Diaghilev's ballet Scheherazade (1910) 
Costume design for the Firebird for the ballet “The Firebird” (1922). One of the few works of the artist returned to his homeland, Belarus
Yazep Drozdovich(1888-1954) - one of the most unusual Belarusian masters of the twentieth century. Born into a poor noble family on the Punki farm in the Glubokoe region. He studied at the Vilna Drawing School with professor of painting Ivan Trutnev. He served in the army, worked as an art teacher in the capital's girls' gymnasium, and as an illustrator actively collaborated with magazines and newspapers. Wrote carpets, collected folk songs and processed vocabulary for dictionaries vernacular. He published a popular book on astronomy, “Sky Runs,” and wrote a graphic series of paintings on a space theme.
Yazep Drozdovich ““Saturnian” landscape” (1931) The above facts give the right to assert that Yazep Drozdovich was a comprehensively developed personality. These days he is compared to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Mikalojus Ciurlionis and even Leonardo da Vinci. However, the artist’s unusual and multifaceted talent was not understood by his contemporaries. He died at the age of 65 in extreme poverty.
Witold Byalynitsky-Birulya(1872-1957) - landscape painter late XIX- first half of the 20th century, representative of the lyrical movement. A native of the Mogilev region. Born into the family of a small tenant. The boy's father worked for the Dnieper Shipping Company and often took him sailing along the Dnieper, Pripyat and Sozh. Byalynitsky-Birulya studied first at the Kiev Cadet Corps, and then moved to the Kyiv Drawing School. Later he entered Moscow school painting, sculpture and architecture. In Moscow, he met Isaac Levitan and worked in his workshop. Under the influence of teachers, I became interested in landscapes.
Witold Byalynitsky-Birulya. " Winter dream"(1911) The artist gradually gained popularity, showing his paintings at various exhibitions, receiving high titles and awards. The master spent most of his life in a small estate in the Tver province called “Chaika”, which he rebuilt himself. The Belarusian writer Viktor Karamazov wrote the story “Roofs on the Earth and in the Sky”, dedicated to life and creative path painter.
Witold Byalynitsky-Birulya. " Early spring"(1913) Vitaly Tsvirko (1913—1993) — Belarusian painter and teacher, laureate of the State Prize of the BSSR. Born in the Gomel region in a family of rural teachers. The father of the future artist contributed greatly to the formation artistic taste from his son: the walls of the Tsvirko family house were hung with reproductions of works by such Russian artists as Vasily Perov, Ilya Repin, Ivan Kramskoy. When they moved to Minsk, Vitaly Tsvirko’s drawings were noticed by school teachers, who began giving him private lessons. Particular impact on development creative personality The artist, by the way, was provided by the Belarusian writer, poet and playwright Kondrat Krapiva.
Vitaly Tsvirko. "Winter Landscape" (1976) In 1929, the future artist entered the Vitebsk Art College, and after graduation he lived and worked in Minsk. The colossal success at the exhibition in Moscow leads him to the Moscow Art Institute named after Surikov, where he studies with famous masters Russian landscape. In 1944, Tsvirko returned to Minsk and became actively involved in creativity and teaching.
Vitaly Tsvirko. "Indian Summer" (1980) Mikhail Savitsky(1922-2010) - a cult figure in Belarusian art. Born in the village of Zvenyachi, Tolochinsky district, Vitebsk region. Youth of the future People's Artist Belarus coincided with the bloody events of the Great Patriotic War. At the age of 20, he participated in the battles for Sevastopol, went through several concentration camps - these events had a powerful influence on Savitsky’s worldview, which was later reflected in his work. Art education he received after demobilization: he graduated from Minsk art school in 1951, then studied at the Moscow Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov. Lived and worked in Minsk. He was the first in the country to be awarded the Order of Francis Skaryna (in 1997).
Savitsky is the creator of a unique series of paintings, “Numbers on the Heart,” dedicated to concentration camp prisoners. “A Curse to Fascism” (1979) - one of the paintings in this series) 
Mikhail Savitsky. "Guerrilla Madonna" (1978). One of famous works masters Many of Mikhail Savitsky's works have gained worldwide fame. At the center of the artist’s work were both historical and modern themes. He revealed them journalistically, with expression. In 2012 it was opened in Minsk Art Gallery Mikhail Savitsky, whose exhibition Adukar advises you to familiarize yourself with.
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