- Date of birth: 4 APR 1862
- Date of death: 31 may 1945
- Country: Russia
Biography:
Leonid Pasternak – a versatile and very talented person. He managed to convey his gift and creativity to his children, among whom were world-famous writer Boris Pasternak is the author of the brilliant novel “Doctor Zhivago”.
The childhood of the future artist, drawing, Illustrator and writer took place in Odessa, a large Jewish family with six children. Father Leonid, who was then still called itskhok Avrum-Leib Pasternak (Pasternak or, such writing is found in several historical documents), and the whole family did not approve of the passions of a boy from a Jewish family art, but do not let him. In those days, Odessa was one of the few large cities of the Russian Empire where Jews were free to live and do business, so their environment especially as Commerce prospered. Grandfather Leonid, Kiva-itskhok, was one of those people who founded the Jewish funeral brotherhood in Odessa.
But the boy undoubtedly was a talented and immensely passionate about his art, so do not follow the footsteps of their ancestors and began teaching at the drawing school, who later became a famous art school named after M. Grekov. However, the future of the profession he came at once, trying to find himself in medicine (Moscow University, 2 years) and law (Odessa Novorossiysk University, from 1883 to 1885). Even in the years of study he left his painting and soon realized that it’s the one he wants to continue to do.
His skill level was so high that one of the paintings was purchased by Pavel Tretyakov for his gallery of art. After that, Pasternak decided to move to Moscow, where he successfully married and started a family. All in the family had four children — two sons and two daughters.
The artistic career of Pasternak in Moscow is developing successfully. He becomes a regular participant of exhibitions of the Wanderers, a member of the famous Association “World of art”. During the decade, in 1880, he teaches at the School of fine arts Gunst A. O., in 1894 he was invited to work in Moscow school of painting, sculpture and architecture, which later became famous all over the country Vhutemasa. Interestingly, with the consent of the teaching of the parsnips expressly stated that to be baptized in the Orthodoxy do not intend to. But the name is still used not what he was given at birth parents.
The revolution he took a low profile, but was not accepted. In 1921 Pasternak daughters and wife left for surgery in Germany and more home has not returned. While living abroad he made famous portraits of famous people such as albert Einstein, Rainer Maria Rilke and John Osborne. In 1924 he had the opportunity to go on an expedition to Palestine, which conducted historical and ethnographic research. The year before he wrote and published the book “Rembrandt and the Jews in his work”.
When life in Germany because of the coming to power of the Nazis was dangerous for Jews, parsnips left in 1938 the country and settled in the UK, in Oxford, where he died in 1945.
The merit of the artist is appreciated in Israel — his name is one of the streets of tel Aviv. In Odessa memorial plaque in honor of the talented native of the city.