Isaak Izrailevich Brodsky (russian: Исаак Израилевич Бродский; uk, Іса́к Ізраїльович Бро́дський, – 14 August 1939) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

painter whose work provided a blueprint for the art movement of

socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

. He is known for his iconic portrayals of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

and idealized, carefully crafted paintings dedicated to the events of the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

and

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...

Life and career

Brodsky was born in the village of Sofiyivka near

Berdyansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea ...

in what is now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

to Yisrael, a Jewish merchant. He studied at Odessa Art Academy and the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thr ...

in Saint Petersburg. In 1916, he joined the Jewish Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. When Brodsky asked

to autograph his painting ''Lenin'', he said: "I am signing to what I don't agree with for the first time". Brodsky was on good terms with many leading Russian painters, including his mentor, Ilya Repin. He was an avid art collector who donated numerous first-class paintings to museums in his native Ukraine and elsewhere. His superb art collection included important works by Repin, Vasily Surikov,

Valentin Serov Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (russian: Валенти́н Алекса́ндрович Серо́в; 19 January 1865 – 5 December 1911) was a Russian painter and one of the premier portrait artists of his era. Life and work Youth and educ ...

, Isaak Levitan, Mikhail Vrubel, and Boris Kustodiev. After his death Brodsky's apartment on Arts Square in St. Petersburg was declared a national museum. His art collection is still on exhibit there. Brodsky was an Honoured Artist of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

and a member of the Union of Russian Artists. He was the first painter to be awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

. In 1934, he was appointed Director of the All-Russian Academy of Arts. From 1934 to 1939 he was also a head of personal Art workshop in institute, where his pupils included the well-known Soviet painters Nikolai Timkov, Alexander Laktionov, Yuri Neprintsev, Piotr Belousov, Piotr Vasiliev,

Mikhail Kozell Mikhail Georgievich Kozell (russian: Михаи́л Гео́ргиевич Ко́зелл; October 20, 1911 – July 26, 1993) was a Soviet Russian painter and Art teacher, who lived and worked in Leningrad (now Saint-Petersburg), and who ...

and others. He died in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1939. His memoirs were published posthumously.

Gallery

File:Cavalry officer by Isaak Brodsky (1909).jpg, Cavalry Officer, 1909 File:Isaak Brodsky skazka.jpg, Fairy Tale, 1911 File:AleksandrKerenskiPorIsaacBrodsky1918.jpeg, Alexander Kerensky, 1918 File:Lenin and soldiers of Red Army on the way to Poland by Isaak Brodsky.jpg, Lenin and soldiers of Red Army on the way to Poland, 1920 File:Day of Constitution by Isaak Brodsky (1930).jpeg, Day of Constitution, 1930 File:Lenin's funerals by I.Brodsky (1925).jpg, Lenin's Funeral, 1925 File:Isaak Brodsky putilov.jpg, Lenin at Putilov factory at May 1917, 1929 File:Brodsky-Alley-of-park-1930b.jpg, Alley in a Park, 1930 File:Brodski lenin.jpg, Lenin in Smolny, 1930 File:State portrait of Stalin.jpg, State Portrait of Stalin, 1933

References

Sources

* Sergei V. Ivanov. ''Unknown Socialist Realism. The Leningrad School''. Saint Petersburg: NP - Print, 2007. P. 450.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brodsky, Isaak 1884 births 1939 deaths People from Zaporizhzhia Oblast People from Berdyansky Uyezd Ukrainian Jews Soviet painters Socialist realist artists 20th-century Russian painters Russian male painters Ukrainian male painters Leningrad School artists Jewish painters Ukrainian art collectors 20th-century Ukrainian painters 20th-century Ukrainian male artists Jewish art collectors Jewish socialists Recipients of the Order of Lenin

Life and career

Gallery

See also

References

Sources

External links