Aleksei Mikhailovich Gritsai (russian: Алексей Михайлович Грицай; 7 March 1914 – 6 May 1998) was a Soviet and Russian artist. From 1924 to 1931 he studied 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 the studios of S.M. Zaidenberg and from 1932 to 1939 at the

Academy of Arts An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

under P. S. Naumov, Vasily Yakovlev, and

Isaak Brodsky Isaak Izrailevich Brodsky (russian: Исаак Израилевич Бродский; uk, Іса́к Ізраїльович Бро́дський, – 14 August 1939) was a Soviet painter whose work provided a blueprint for the art movem ...

. Gritsai became best known as a landscape painter with a deep appreciation for the power of nature to provide inspiration for humanity. He believed that since humans are a part of nature they can find joy and consolation through positive interaction with it. Due to the reduced mobility brought by sickness at the end of his life, he was unable to work directly in nature and had to rely on his memory. Because of this, much of his final work is imbued with the poignancy of reminiscence. Gritsai was a People's Artist of the USSR (russian: Народный Художник СССР; 1974), an academician of the USSR Academy of Arts (1964), the laureate of two Stalin Prizes (1951 and 1952) and one

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

(1978).

External links

Online Gallery of Gritsay's works

Gallery of Gritsai Works
1914 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Russian painters Full Members of the Russian Academy of Arts Full Members of the USSR Academy of Arts Repin Institute of Arts alumni People's Artists of the USSR (visual arts) Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Medal "For Courage" (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Russian landscape painters Russian male painters Russian portrait painters Soviet painters {{USSR-artist-stub Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery