The Post - Impressionist Leonid Pasternak was born as the son of an innkeeper in a coastal town on the Black Sea. At birth he was given the name Isaac. However, after he became seriously ill as an infant, his family decided to rename him in accordance with Jewish tradition to save him from future hardships. He was given the name Leonid, under which he later became famous as a painter. In the family with many children there was always a lack of money. Therefore, his parents were not pleased that their son was interested in painting. Instead, they held out the prospect of a lucrative, future-proof profession for him. Leonid did not want to go against his parents' wishes, but he could not give up his passion for painting. That is why he attended both high school and art school, where he learned the basics of painting. He received his first paid commission at the age of seven, from a street cleaner who wanted paintings on the theme of hunting.
After Pasternak graduated from high school, he took up the study of medicine. However, a year later he switched to the faculty of law, which he successfully completed by distance learning. However, he never worked as a lawyer after that. Parallel to his law studies, he graduated in painting from the Royal Academy of Art in Munich. At the age of 24 Pasternak met the 18 - year old pianist Rosalie Kaufmann. In order to be able to offer his beloved something, he traveled to Moscow, where he presented his painting "News from the Native Village" at an artists' exhibition. The painting was bought by the art collector Pavel Tretyakov. With the fee, Pasternak returned to his hometown and proposed to Rosalie.
Pasternak met the Russian writer Lev Tolstoy, and a friendship developed between them. He painted his portraits and illustrated his novels. Pasternak met the October Revolution in Russia with enthusiasm and painted portraits of Lenin and the heroes of the revolution. However, in the years that followed, he became disillusioned with the new political regime. Due to the difficult political situation in the country and health problems that required surgery, he emigrated with his family to Germany. There he drew new inspiration for his artistic activity - painted pictures of the German streets, portraits of Albert Einstein, Leo Shestov and other famous personalities. However, after the Nazis came to power, his stay in Germany became dangerous due to his Jewish ancestry. As a result, the family moved to England. The death of his wife and the onset of World War II made it difficult for him and worsened his health. A few weeks after the end of the war, he died in Oxford, where he had spent the last years of his life.
The Post - Impressionist Leonid Pasternak was born as the son of an innkeeper in a coastal town on the Black Sea. At birth he was given the name Isaac. However, after he became seriously ill as an infant, his family decided to rename him in accordance with Jewish tradition to save him from future hardships. He was given the name Leonid, under which he later became famous as a painter. In the family with many children there was always a lack of money. Therefore, his parents were not pleased that their son was interested in painting. Instead, they held out the prospect of a lucrative, future-proof profession for him. Leonid did not want to go against his parents' wishes, but he could not give up his passion for painting. That is why he attended both high school and art school, where he learned the basics of painting. He received his first paid commission at the age of seven, from a street cleaner who wanted paintings on the theme of hunting.
After Pasternak graduated from high school, he took up the study of medicine. However, a year later he switched to the faculty of law, which he successfully completed by distance learning. However, he never worked as a lawyer after that. Parallel to his law studies, he graduated in painting from the Royal Academy of Art in Munich. At the age of 24 Pasternak met the 18 - year old pianist Rosalie Kaufmann. In order to be able to offer his beloved something, he traveled to Moscow, where he presented his painting "News from the Native Village" at an artists' exhibition. The painting was bought by the art collector Pavel Tretyakov. With the fee, Pasternak returned to his hometown and proposed to Rosalie.
Pasternak met the Russian writer Lev Tolstoy, and a friendship developed between them. He painted his portraits and illustrated his novels. Pasternak met the October Revolution in Russia with enthusiasm and painted portraits of Lenin and the heroes of the revolution. However, in the years that followed, he became disillusioned with the new political regime. Due to the difficult political situation in the country and health problems that required surgery, he emigrated with his family to Germany. There he drew new inspiration for his artistic activity - painted pictures of the German streets, portraits of Albert Einstein, Leo Shestov and other famous personalities. However, after the Nazis came to power, his stay in Germany became dangerous due to his Jewish ancestry. As a result, the family moved to England. The death of his wife and the onset of World War II made it difficult for him and worsened his health. A few weeks after the end of the war, he died in Oxford, where he had spent the last years of his life.
Page 1 / 1