Pasternak Leonid Osipovich. The brilliant artist Leonid Pasternak, who remained in the shadow of his world-famous son Painting of Parsnip at a meeting of the council of artists

Leonid Osipovich Pasternak(1862-1945) - Russian painter and graphic artist of Jewish origin, an excellent master of book illustration, and also a versatile and very talented person who managed to pass on his talent and creative abilities to his children, among whom was the world famous writer Boris Pasternak. But, unfortunately, the very name of the brilliant artist, ironically, was forgotten for many years.

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The Pasternak family, being one of the oldest and most respected Jewish families, believed that their lineage originated from King David himself. And mother and father dreamed that their youngest would become “a pharmacist, or a doctor, or, at worst,"ходатаем по делам"».!}

masterpieces" with ordinary black coal. And one day the janitor of their yard asked the boy to draw pictures on a hunting theme and promised to pay five kopecks for each work in order to decorate the janitor's room with them. The boy coped with the task perfectly: at the age of 6 he received recognition and his first income .

And years later, Leonid Pasternak, remembering that fateful janitor, will call him “my Lorenzo Medici.” And the artist’s passion for drawing with charcoal and a simple pencil, instilled in childhood, will remain with him until the end of his days.

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The talented young artist returned to Moscow with a whole arsenal of educational experimental works, which were instantly snapped up by collectors. And then the time came for Pasternak to go to serve in the army, where he also fruitfully worked on painting in his free time. A large canvas, written under the impression of the service - “News from the Motherland”, was bought straight from the easel by Pavel Tretyakov for his collection.

https://static.kulturologia.ru/files/u21941/0-Pasternak-022.jpg" alt="L.O.Pasternak with his wife." title="L.O.Pasternak with his wife." border="0" vspace="5">!}

Soon the artist marries a fairly famous pianist Rosalia Kaufman. The newlyweds will settle in Moscow, and after a year their first child will be born, who will become a Nobel Prize winner in the future - the master of literary words Boris Pasternak. Then a son, Alexander, a future architect, and two daughters, Josephine and Lydia, will be born.

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https://static.kulturologia.ru/files/u21941/0-Pasternak-026.jpg" alt="Leo Tolstoy at work." title="Leo Tolstoy at work." border="0" vspace="5">!}

Once, at an exhibition of works by the Itinerants, where Leonid Osipovich exhibited his work “Debutante,” two talented masters of pen and brush met. The Pasternaks were introduced to Leo Tolstoy, who later became frequent guests in his house.

Mirror" by Leo Tolstoy - this is what Leonid Pasternak was called in those years, in confirmation of which it should be said that the artist created not only a huge number of illustrations for his creations, but also thirty-six portraits of the writer.

https://static.kulturologia.ru/files/u21941/0-Pasternak-027.jpg" alt=" Leo Tolstoy on arable land.

https://static.kulturologia.ru/files/u21941/0-Pasternak-019.jpg" alt="“Students. The night before the exam." (1895). Author: L.O.Pasternak." title="“Students. The night before the exam." (1895).

In addition, Leonid Pasternak painted a huge number of portraits of great and famous contemporaries. Rubinstein and Scriabin, Gershenzon and Gorky, Mechnikov and Einstein posed for him. He had friendly relations with the latter for many years. The artist created a series of portraits of the famous scientist.

The artist fell into disgrace and was forced to leave with his family for Germany in 1921; according to another version, he went there for treatment. He was no longer destined to return to Russia. In 1938, fascism came to power and forced Pasternak to leave Germany. And in May 1945 he died in Oxford. (Great Britain).

https://static.kulturologia.ru/files/u21941/0-Pasternak-025.jpg" alt=" The pangs of creativity.

The fate of the Russian-American painter from Kazan, who emigrated to America in the post-revolutionary period, and was forgotten by his historical homeland for many years, is surprising - he created a huge number of stunning portraits in a unique"фешинской" манере, которые в наши дни продаются за десятки миллионов долларов.!}

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Not everyone knows that the father of the famous Russian poet and writer Boris Pasternak is an equally talented person, namely the artist Leonid Osipovich Pasternak. His work will be discussed in this article.

Childhood

The young artist Leonid Osipovich Pasternak (1862-1945 - years of life), whose real name is Avrum Yitskhok-Leib, grew up in a poor Odessa family. The future talented painter was the youngest of six children. The boy began to show signs very early. However, despite the obvious talent of their child, the parents accepted Leni’s hobby without enthusiasm. And yet the young artist did not refuse to attend art school. The boy continued his studies in fine arts after graduating from high school. Although Leonid chose medicine as a specialty, in parallel with his studies at the university, he combined visits to the studio of the master E. Sorokin. Moreover, studying in the specialty gave the future artist the opportunity to thoroughly study the features of the human body, its specificity in movement and statics.

Then the master’s studies took an even more unexpected turn. At twenty-one, Leonid suddenly changed his profession and continued his studies at the Faculty of Law. However, this was not the end of his life’s search, and after a short time he left his hometown and went to try his luck in Germany.

Life abroad

Having settled in Munich, Leonid Osipovich Pasternak devoted several semesters to studying painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. It was there that life brought the master together with the mother of the famous Russian artist Serov, who at that time organized a circle. It was this meeting that became significant for both the Pasternak family and the Serov family. Leonid Osipovich's acquaintance with this woman marked the beginning of a long-term friendship between several generations.

First publications

During the session, the artist returned to Odessa for some time, where he first published his works in humorous magazines. These were sketches, caricatures, sketches, etudes. As Maxim Gorky himself admitted to the artist much later, it was at that time that Pasternak captured the first, in the writer’s words, “tramp” in Russian literature.

The master's training did not end there. After graduating from the university, Leonid Osipovich Pasternak, whose biography was supplemented with another important achievement, served as a volunteer. Even during his military duties, he did not stop making sketches and small sketches. This is how his author's style was formed.

Personal life

In Pasternak's hometown, Leonid Osipovich met Rosa Kaufman, an incredibly talented pianist. Already in 1889, the lovers got married and moved to live in Moscow. There Rosa gave one concert after another, and Leonid became interested in Polenov’s circle.

A year later, the newlyweds had their first son. It was he who later became a famous Russian poet. It was Boris Pasternak. Three years later, the couple had a son, Alexander, who became a successful architect.

In addition to boys, there were also representatives of the fair sex in the Pasternak family. In 1990, the young artist’s daughter Josephine was born, two years later his beloved wife Rose gave her husband Lydia. Pasternak dedicated a separate gallery to his children. These canvases capture all the sincerity and warmth of the family nest that the young couple has built.

Confession

In a significant year for the young artist, 1889, luck smiled upon him again, and the master’s first known painting, “Letter from the Motherland,” was bought by a respected collector. It was a successful year for Pasternak. After the exhibition of this painting, the artist’s name was forever entrenched in the same ranks as his equally famous contemporaries.

After a resounding triumph in the Moscow society of painting connoisseurs, Leonid Osipovich Pasternak became popular among the artists of that time. He began collaborating with equally famous collectors and craftsmen. Moreover, the artist himself began to give lessons to novice painters. Thus, even Ilya Repin sent young students to study with Pasternak. Later, the master began giving private lessons in Moscow. Seeing the success, he decided, together with his friend the artist Shtemberg, to open a personal studio for teaching drawing. While working with students, Pasternak established himself as a progressive artist and teacher. Thus, while teaching, he not only taught students the basics of fine art, but also showed young people new techniques that had not been used by anyone before. The master learned all this earlier, during his studies in Germany. Thus, Russian art gradually developed in the direction of European art.

Working in a magazine

Since 1890, Leonid Osipovich, under the patronage of the Russian writer, playwright and publicist Fyodor Sologub, became the artistic editor of the new magazine “Artist”. A year later, Pasternak took charge of the publication of the works of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov with illustrations. The artist not only decorated this collection with his illustrations, but also gave other talented but lesser-known artists the opportunity to work on it. Among them was Mikhail Vrubel, who was not very famous at that time, but no less talented.

In addition to his work in the field of journalism, the master also excelled in painting. In 1892, Leonid Osipovich Pasternak wrote “The Throes of Creativity.” The painting became iconic in the artist’s collection.

Creating portraits

Despite the fact that Leonid Osipovich Pasternak is known as a painter, a significant part of his creative heritage consists of portraits.

Even in this form of fine art, the artist embodied his own innovative ideas. The most striking feature of Pasternak’s portraits is that the master not only depicted a bust of a person, but also turned to the inner world of the person depicted. In his paintings, the artist sought to convey the entire character, mood of the person being portrayed, his experiences, sorrows, and changes of mood. Pasternak wrote in an impressionistic manner. Despite the fact that a similar style can be attributed to all of the artist’s work, it is in portraits that this property manifests itself most powerfully.

International success

Pasternak continued to develop as a master and already in 1894 he took the post of teacher at an art school. At the same time as Pasternak, other outstanding masters became teachers, among them Serov, and thanks to their activities in the teaching field, the school became one of the most progressive not only within Russia, but even became famous abroad. Young, proactive teachers, many of whom received their education abroad, introduced new standards in teaching painting. In addition, it was this group of teachers that contributed to the introduction of courses for general education. So, he became a teacher of Russian history. Later, Leonid Osipovich captured him in one of his portraits. It is worth noting that it was not for nothing that the school gained great fame: thanks to the dedicated work of the teachers, many of the students subsequently became great masters. Among them are such famous artists as Gerasimov, Konchalovsky, Krymov, Shcherbakov and others.

However, Pasternak’s fame is not limited to this. In 1894, the artist’s painting “On the Eve of Exams” took first place at the international exhibition in Munich. It was purchased in 1890 to decorate the Luxembourg Museum directly from an exhibition in Paris.

After such a resounding success, the demand for Already in 1901, the Luxembourg Museum ordered several well-known painters at that time, including Leonid Osipovich, to depict scenes from Russian life, became quite logical. Pasternak painted one of his most famous creations, the beautiful painting “Tolstoy in the Family Circle.” Even Prince Georgy Alexandrovich himself highly appreciated it after watching the exhibition “World of Art”.

Later, Pasternak himself became the founder of the department of Russian art in the city of Düsseldorf. During his work abroad, the master made good use of the time allocated to him and visited the Mediterranean coast. While in Italy, the artist made many sketches of landscapes.

Life outside the homeland

During the events of 1905, Leonid Osipovich was in Berlin for a whole year. He had to stop working at the school, which he loved, because the educational institution was closed. At this time, Pasternak participated in many European exhibitions, including in Berlin. At the same time, the master painted paintings for many foreign customers.

In 1912, during the treatment of Rosa Pasternak in Kissingen and near Pisa, the master began his large canvas “Congratulations”. According to the idea, the children came to please their parents with gifts for the silver wedding anniversary, as the artist depicted them. Leonid Osipovich Pasternak completed the painting in 1914. She was a resounding success.

During this period the master lived in Moscow. It was here that Leonid Osipovich Pasternak wrote “Portrait of a Son” - one of his most famous creations.

Beginning in 1921, Pasternak lived in Berlin. Despite deteriorating health and weakened vision, he felt a surge of creative strength and during this time painted a series of portraits of famous personalities, including A. Einstein, M. R. Rilke and many others. In 1924, he and his friends went on a trip to Egypt and Palestine. During the trip, Pasternak wrote a series of vivid sketches.

During the Nazi seizure of power, most of the artist’s works were publicly burned, and exhibitions were banned. In this regard, at the end of the thirties, Pasternak moved to London, where he painted a series of paintings, which were later transferred to the British Museum. Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the master died in Oxford.

At the moment, the artist’s rich heritage is stored in many of the most famous museums in the world, including the Moscow Tretyakov Gallery. It is difficult to assess what contribution Leonid Osipovich Pasternak made to Russian and world art. The master's paintings still occupy pride of place at international exhibitions.

If you mention the surname Pasternak, then, most likely, most people will continue by association - Boris. The name of Boris Leonidovich Pasternak is known to any cultured person in Russia. At least for those familiar with the school literature curriculum. And they know Pasternak primarily as a poet. But the father of the Nobel laureate Leonid Osipovich Pasternak is a man of no less talent and fame, albeit in a different field of art.

Leonid Pasternak: drawing in spite of

To the question “How do you live?” he answered: “I don’t live, I draw.” That’s probably why he was able to go through the suppression of his parents, even to the point of physically destroying the drawings. Leonid Osipovich Pasternak was born on March 22, 1862 in Odessa, into a poor Jewish family (although, according to family tradition, very famous medieval figures were among the ancestors - the philosopher and politician Don Isaac Abrabanel and his son the poet Yehuda). Osip Posternak (this is how the surname was originally written) maintained an inn on the outskirts, his wife Leah took care of the household. They understood their son’s happiness and success in their own way and wanted “him to go out into the world.” In other words, he received a “normal Jewish profession” - he would have become a doctor or a lawyer.

But Leonid turned out to be a man - although still small - but already with character. So he didn’t even think about giving up drawing, and still found ways to release his creative energy. For example, he painted the walls with charcoal. (It would seem like nothing special, how many of the boys didn’t draw on the walls? But here is a reason to once again think about the talents of the kids and take a closer look at the young artists, singers, actors, magicians, etc.)

At the age of seven he received his first order. From a janitor who lived nearby. He asked the boy to make several paintings about hunting. The master completed the order, and the janitor, whom the artist later jokingly called “my first Lorenzo Medici,” was satisfied. And he even paid a “substantial” fee of five kopecks. True, for each “canvas”.

In 1881, Leonid graduated from the Odessa gymnasium, and the very next year he tried to enter the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. However, the vacancy has already been filled - and not by anyone, but by Leo Tolstoy’s daughter Tatyana. At the same time, Pasternak was already studying at the medical faculty of Moscow University - perhaps this can be called a tribute to the wishes of his parents. From there he soon transferred to the Faculty of Law, and in 1883 he entered the Royal Academy of Arts in Munich, from which he graduated as a full-time student, and as an external student.

Returning to his homeland, Leonid Osipovich became the happy husband of the talented pianist Rosalia Kaufman.

A year later, a son, Boris, was born into the Pasternak family. Then - son Alexander and two daughters, Lydia and Josephine. They all grew up to be talented and highly cultured people. But it was Boris Leonidovich Pasternak who was destined to win worldwide recognition, surpassing his father’s fame.

Boris Pasternak: the path to poetry

The children in the Pasternak family grew up in an atmosphere of the highest and somewhat orthodox culture, rather typical of the 19th century. Mother is a wonderful musician, father is a wonderful artist. Friends of the family - just a list of names - Leo Tolstoy, Sergei Rachmaninov, Rainer Maria Rilke and many other outstanding people. All this, of course, shaped the inner world of that young man who would soon become one of the main poets of the 20th century.

When parents think that their child’s poetry, drawings, and music lessons are just a hobby that will soon pass and be forgotten, and that it is necessary to get a serious profession - this situation, you see, occurs so often that it can perhaps be considered the norm. Leonid Pasternak's parents wished well for their son, and they can hardly be blamed for hindering the future artist's passion. Another option, when relatives take the child’s creative quests seriously, is rather an exception. And most often we see this approach in families where the parents themselves are artists in the broad sense of the word. This is how Boris Pasternak was brought up. Father and mother wanted their son to find his place in life and be happy. And they encouraged his hobbies in every possible way - in all their creative diversity.

Before consciously and irrevocably deciding on his choice of creative path, Boris entered the Moscow Conservatory. Here, too, one cannot do without family connections - in this case, we are talking about Scriabin, a close friend of Leonid Osipovich. But soon the future poet gives up thoughts of a musical career, despite, as they say, “all the data.” He becomes a student at the Faculty of History and Philosophy at Moscow University. And in 1913 he went to Marburg, where he studied philosophy under the supervision of Professor Cohen, head of the Marburg Neo-Kantian School. However, his passion for philosophy also does not last long, Boris falls in love, returns to Moscow and finally realizes himself as a lyricist - more than a logician.

The following year, Pasternak’s first poetry collection, “Twin in the Clouds,” was published, the poet met Mayakovsky and other futurists, graduated from the university and completely devoted himself to literary activity.

And yet, as one good song says, “nothing on earth passes without a trace” - both philosophy, and especially music, will always have an important place in the poetry and prose of Boris Pasternak. Critics and literary scholars will write about this, from Marina Tsvetaeva to Dmitry Bykov.

Boris inherited a lot from his mother - the ability to live through art and in art, creative and life-giving dedication.

You can find many similarities in creativity with your father. The artist Leonid Pasternak tried to capture the moment; this was one of his main methods, largely formed under the influence of the experience of impressionism. He made sketches literally “on the go.” In fact, the poet Boris Pasternak did the same thing in his texts. From a certain sequence of metaphors and images “the more random, the more true,” the effect was obtained as if it were an instantaneous frame, which can be examined in detail. A certain impressionistic “photographic” blur, generated by the rapid movement of the “camera”, is also similar to the brush of Leonid Osipovich and the word of Boris Leonidovich.

Poet-father: “I had to give up childishness for a while...”

In 1921, Leonid Pasternak with his wife and daughters left Soviet Russia. As they thought - for a while, for treatment. As it turned out - forever. They live in Munich, where the artist undergoes eye surgery and writes a lot. In the thirties, the Nazis came to power, a normal creative life quickly became impossible, and in 1935 Leonid Osipovich moved to Oxford, where his daughter Lydia, who had married an Englishman, was already waiting for him. Sons Boris and Alexander remain in their homeland.

Soon after his parents left, Pasternak married Evgenia Lurie, a talented portrait painter. Their marriage did not last long, but in this marriage, in September 1923, the poet’s first-born, Eugene, was born. My father was very happy, as he admitted in diaries, letters, and conversations. Although, again, according to his own assurances, he was not yet ready for fatherhood.

“I was poor. We have a son.
I had to give up childishness for a while.
Looking at your age with a sidelong glance,
I was the first to notice gray hair on him,” Pasternak wrote about this time in his novel in verse “Spektorsky.”

The boy grew up very similar to his father - the resemblance was literally a portrait, moreover, the son resembled Boris Leonidovich both in voice and even in handwriting. Their relationship was trusting and close, and the son became a true friend for his father, and later a thoughtful researcher of his father’s work, the author of many works related to the biography and literary heritage of Pasternak.

In 1931, Pasternak married again, this time his chosen one was Zinaida Nikolaevna Neugauz, who in 1938 gave Boris another heir, Leonid. The pregnancy occurred during the difficult and terrible time of the winter of the “Great Terror.”

“But the boy was born, sweet, healthy and, it seems, nice. He managed to be born on New Year’s Eve at the last, twelfth stroke of the clock, which is why, according to statistics from the maternity hospital, he was immediately published in print as “the first boy of 1938, born at 0 o’clock on January 1.” I named him Leonid in your honor,” Boris wrote to his father (January 6, 1938, Moscow).

Boris Leonidovich's relationship with his second son was perhaps even more tender, attentive, and sensitive. It is difficult to judge what kind of father he was, but from the children’s recollections one thing is clear - they loved, respected, and were interested in their father. And it was mutual.

Poet-son: “I wrote to dad...”

From the letters of that time one can understand a lot about Boris Pasternak - both as a son and as a father. Moreover, the attention of Boris Leonidovich and Leonid Osipovich relates not only to the creative, but also to the everyday side of each other’s lives.

Here are typical excerpts from Boris Pasternak’s letter to his father, dated one of the last peaceful days of 1941, June 19.

"Dear Dad!

<…>Depicted on the card is your grandson and namesake Lenya, the most timid, amazing and vulnerable creature I have ever seen, whose main passion is drawing and who, when asked: “Who draws best? ” points his finger at your magnificent graphic and oil sketches on the wall and answers “My grandfather.”

<…>Among other concerns, I am busy with “Romeo and Juliet,” half of which I have already done in Russian. Don't judge Hamlet too harshly. You, accustomed to good old translations, will never like it.

And now, goodbye! Don't torture yourself by writing letters frequently. We have enough, as before, of your telegrams. Forgive me if I have upset you in any way with my words.
<…>I kiss you tenderly.

Yours, Borya."

Leonid Osipovich Pasternak passed away on May 31, 1945, at the age of 83. Boris Leonidovich learned about this from a telegram that came in response to his unsuccessful attempts to find out the fate of his letter to his father.

He sent a telegram to his remaining relatives in Oxford, which, among other things, contained the following words:

“How to survive an irreparable loss and a dark, colorless life without this amazing big man, artist and life example. Poor, poor, dear dad."

(translation from English)

Boris Pasternak once wrote about his father like this:

"Dad! But this is a sea of ​​tears, sleepless nights and, if I were to write it down, volumes, volumes, volumes. Surprise at the perfection of his skill and gift, at the ease with which he worked (jokingly and playfully, like Mozart) at the numerousness and significance of what he accomplished - the surprise is all the more vivid and ardent because comparisons on all these points shame and humiliate me. I wrote to him that there is no need to be offended, that his gigantic merits are not appreciated even in a hundredth part, while I have to burn with shame when my role is so monstrously inflated and overestimated... I wrote to dad... that, ultimately, he triumphs yet he, he, who lived such a true, unfictional, interesting, active, rich life, partly in his blessed 19th century, partly in loyalty to it, and not in the wild, devastated unreal and fraudulent twentieth ... "

You probably shouldn’t look for better evidence about the relationship between “fathers and sons” in the family of Boris Pasternak.

Leonid Osipovich Pasternak is a versatile and very talented person. He managed to pass on his gift and creative abilities to his children, among whom was the world famous writer Boris Pasternak, the author of the brilliant novel Doctor Zhivago.

The future artist, graphic artist, illustrator and writer spent his childhood in Odessa, in a large Jewish family with six children. Leonid’s father, who was then still called Avrum Yitzchok-Leib Pasternak (or Posternak, this spelling is found in several historical documents), and the whole family, did not approve of the boy from a Jewish family’s passion for art, but did not interfere with it. At that time, Odessa was one of the few large cities of the Russian Empire where Jews could live and do business freely, so commerce especially flourished among them. Leonid's grandfather, Kiva Yitzchok, was one of those people who founded the Jewish funeral brotherhood in Odessa.

But the boy was undoubtedly talented and immensely passionate about his art, so he did not follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and began studying at a drawing school, which later became the famous art school named after M. Grekov. However, he did not come to his future profession right away, trying to find himself in medicine (Moscow University, 2 years) and law (Odessa Novorossiysk University, from 1883 to 1885). Even during his years of study, he did not abandon his passion for painting and soon realized that this is what he wanted to do in the future.

The level of his skill was so high that one of the paintings was purchased. After this, Pasternak decided to move to live in, where he successfully married and started a family. In total, four children were born in the family - two sons and two daughters.

Pasternak's artistic career in Moscow is developing well. He becomes a participant in regular exhibitions of the Itinerants, a member of the famous World of Art association. For a decade in 1880 he taught at the School of Fine Arts Gunsta A.O., in 1894 he was invited to work at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, which later became famous throughout the country VKHUTEMAS. It is interesting that when agreeing to teach, Pasternak specifically indicated that he did not intend to be baptized into Orthodoxy. But he still used a name that was not the one his parents gave him at birth.

He perceived the revolution with restraint, but did not accept it. In 1921, Pasternak with his daughters and wife left for an operation in Germany and never returned to his homeland. While living abroad, he created 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 Jewry in His Work.”

When life in Germany became dangerous for Jews due to the Nazis coming to power, Pasternak left the country in 1938 and settled in Great Britain, in Oxford, where he died in 1945.

The artist’s merits are appreciated in Israel - one of the streets in Tel Aviv bears his name. A memorial plaque was unveiled in Odessa in honor of a talented native of the city.