Isaak Brodsky
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Isaak Izrailevich Brodsky (Russian:
Исаак Израилевич Бродский, 6 January 1884 [O.S. 25 December 1883] -
August 14, 1939), was a Soviet painter whose work provided a
blueprint for the art movement of socialist realism. He is known for
his iconic portrayals of Lenin and idealized, carefully crafted
paintings dedicated to the events of the Russian Civil War and
Bolshevik Revolution.
Brodsky was born in the village of
Sofiyevka in Ukraine, Russian Empire. He studied at Odessa Art
Academy and the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg. In
1916 he joined the Jewish Society for the Encouragement of the Arts.
When Brodsky asked Lenin 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, 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 and a member of
the Union of Russian Artists. He was the first painter to be awarded
the Order of Lenin. In 1934 he was appointed Director of the
All-Russian Academy of Arts. In 1934 -1939 he was also a head of
personal Art workshop in institute, his pupils was the well-known
soviet painters Nikolai Timkov, Alexander Laktionov, Yuri
Neprintsev, Piotr Belousov, Piotr Vasiliev, Mikhail Kozell and
others. He died in Leningrad.
