Rostislav Ivanovich Vovkushevsky (; March 22, 1917 – August 14, 2000) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

realist painter, who lived and worked in Leningrad. He was a member of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists (before 1992 named as the Leningrad branch of Union of Artists of Russian Federation), and regarded as one of representatives of the Leningrad school of painting.

Biography

Rostislav Ivanovich Vovkushevsky was born March 22, 1917, in the city of

Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

, Vitebsk Province,

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in family of railway engineer. In 1925 his family comes to Leningrad. In 1936 after graduation high school Rostislav Vovkushevsky entered at the Department of Architecture of the Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he studied of noted art educators Pavel Shillingovsky, Ivan Bilibin, Konstantin Rudakov, and Leonid Ovsannikov. In February 1942, together with the institute, he was evacuated from besieged Leningrad to Central Asia in Samarkand. In June 1942, Rostislav Vovkushevsky was drafted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and took part in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which led the Soviet people against Nazi Germany and its allies. As gunner he fought on the

Volkhov Front The Volkhov Front () was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group North in its offensive thrust towards L ...

and

2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (, ''Vtoroi Belorusskiy front'', also romanized "Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussian"), was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. I ...

, took part in the liberation of the Nazi occupation of Poland and Baltik Republics. He was wounded and received military awards:

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

, Medal for Combat Service,

Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" The Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" () was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on December 22, 1942 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to recognise the valour and hard work of the Soviet ...

, Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945", and others. After demobilization Rostislav Vovkushevsky returned to his studies and in 1949 graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after Ilya Repin in Victor Oreshnikov studio, together with Ivan Godlevsky, Maria Rudnitskaya, Valery Pimenov, Nikolai Babasuk, Victor Teterin, and other young artists. His graduated work was monumental painting named "Climbers". Rostislav Vovkushevsky has participated in art exhibitions since 1949. He painted portraits, landscapes, still lifes, genre scenes, worked as easel and monumental painter. His personal exhibition was in Saint Petersburg in 1995. Most famous for his decorative paintings of still lifes and portraits. His individual style evolved under the strong impression of dating as far back as the 1930s, with the works of French artists

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist gr ...

André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. In 2025, all of Derain’s work entered the public domain in the United States. Life and career Early ...

, love to which he retained for life. Painting of Rostislav Vovkushevsky bright and decorative. He uses pure color and half-tones, almost without having to mix paints. In 1949–1959 years Rostislav Vovkushevsky taught painting and drawing at the Leningrad Higher School of Industrial Art named after Vera Mukhina. Since 1949, Rostislav Vovkushevsky was a member of the

Leningrad Union of Artists Union of Artists of Saint Petersburg () was established on August 2, 1932, as a creative union of the Leningrad artists and arts critics. Prior to 1959, it was called ":ru:Ленинградский Союз художников, Leningrad Union of ...

(since 1992, named as Saint Petersburg Union of Artists). Rostislav Ivanovich Vovkushevsky died on August 14, 2000, in Saint Petersburg. His paintings reside in art museums and private collections in Russia, Japan, England, Germany, Italy, in the U.S., France,''L' École de Leningrad. Auction Catalogue.'' - Paris: Drouot Richelieu, 27 Novembre 1989. - p. 66. and others.

References

Bibliography

* ''Artists of the peoples of the USSR. Biography and Bibliography Dictionary. Vol. 2''. Moscow, Iskusstvo Edition, 1972. P.308–309. * ''Directory of members of the Leningrad branch of Union of Artists of Russian Federation.'' Leningrad, Khudozhnik RSFSR, 1987. P.25. * ''L' École de Leningrad. Auction Catalogue.'' Paris, Drouot Richelieu. 1989, 27 Novembre. P.66. * ''L' École de Leningrad. Auction Catalogue.'' Paris, Drouot Richelieu. 1990, 12 Mars. P.98-99. * ''L' École de Leningrad. Auction Catalogue.'' Paris, Drouot Richelieu. 1990, 11 Juin. P.156-157. * ''A Parisian from Leningrad. Rostislav Vovkushevsky''. Saint Petersburg, Costa Edition, 2007. * ''Sergei V. Ivanov. Unknown Socialist Realism. The Leningrad School.'' Saint Petersburg, NP-Print Edition, 2007. P.9, 18, 26, 29, 231, 240, 298, 359, 388–396, 402–406, 413–417, 421-423, 446. , . * ''Anniversary Directory graduates of Saint Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture named after Ilya Repin, Russian Academy of Arts. 1915 – 2005''. Saint Petersburg: Pervotsvet Publishing House, 2007. P.60. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Vovkushevsky, Rostislav 1917 births 2000 deaths People from Polotsk People from Polotsky Uyezd 20th-century Russian painters Russian male painters Soviet painters Socialist realist artists Leningrad School artists Repin Institute of Arts alumni Members of the Leningrad Union of Artists Soviet military personnel of World War II 20th-century Russian male artists

Biography

See also

References

Bibliography