Leonid Pasternak

Leonid Pasternak Ossipowitsch (Russian Леонид Осипович Пастернак; * 22 Märzjul / April 3 1862greg in Odessa, .. † May 31, 1945 in Oxford) was a Russian painter.

Life

Pasternak was born in the family of a Jewish innkeeper. He was the sixth and youngest child in the family. He started drawing very early, but his family discouraged him because they feared that his drawing would hamper his studies. His first patron was the local street cleaning, which began the art of buying Pasternak, Leonid was seven years old.

1881-1885 studied Leonid at Moscow University, first medicine, then law. Finally, he decided to dedicate himself to art and logged on to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, where he graduated in 1887. He returned to Russia, the mandatory two years served in the army ( artillery regiment ), and in 1889 he began a career as a professional painter.

The beginning of his career was very successful. His first issued picture was bought by Pavel Tretyakov, the most important patron of the arts in Russia that time. He soon became a popular painter, a member of the so called Polenov circle, Valentin Serov of Isaac Levitan, Mikhail Nesterov, Konstantin Korovin and with included. In 1889 he married a prominent pianist of the time, Rosa Linda Kaufman.

Leonid Pasternak was one of the first Russian painter who was called Post-Impressionist. In Russia during the 1880s and 1890s that was still new, and attracted attention. Leonid was also a member of the Peredvizhniki and Russian Artists Association I Iskusstwa. He was a friend of Leo Tolstoy, spent several months in Yasnaya Polyana and painted several portraits of the great writer, also illustrated his novels War and Peace and resurrection. For his illustrations of the novels of Tolstoy him at the World Exhibition in Paris ( 1900) was awarded a medal.

Pasternak was elected a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1905 ) and also taught at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.

As Pasternak had to undergo an eye operation in 1921, this was performed in Berlin. He traveled with his wife and two daughters there and let his sons Boris and Alexander in Russia. After the surgery, he decided not to return to Russia and remained until 1938 in Berlin. From there he fled from the Nazis to Britain. He died on 31 May 1945 in Oxford.