Igor Savitsky | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 4 August 1915 |
| Died | 27 July 1984(1984-07-27) (aged 68) |
| Known for | Painting,Art collecting |
Igor Vitalyevich Savitsky (Russian:И́горь Вита́льевич Сави́цкий) (4 August 1915 inKyiv,Russian Empire – 27 July 1984 inMoscow,Soviet Union) was a Ukrainian-born painter, archeologist and collector, especially ofavant-garde art. He single-handedly founded theState Art Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, named after I. V. Savitsky, an art museum based inNukus,Uzbekistan.[1][2][3][4]
Igor Vitalyevich Savitsky was born in Kyiv in 1915 in the family of a lawyer. His father had Polish and Jewish roots (his grandfather was born in a Polish family, his grandmother was Jewish). His maternal grandfather,Timofey Florinskiy was a famous Russianslavicist and professor atKyiv University, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the author of many studies who created his own scientific school. His family later came under suspicion during the October Revolution and moved to Moscow. He trained as an electrician, having chosen to become as "proletarian" as possible. While studying at the factory school of the 'Serp and Molot' plant, where he received a specialty in electrical installation, he took private drawing lessons from Moscow artists R. Mazel and E. Sakhnovskaya. Since 1934, Igor Savitsky began studying at the graphic department of the Moscow Polygraphic Institute and then continued his studies at the Moscow Art School. In 1938–1941, he studied at the Institute for the Advanced Studies of Artists in the workshop of Lev Kramarenko, with whom had field trips to sketch in the Crimea, Ukraine and the Caucasus.
He first visited Karakalpakstan in 1950 to participate in theKhorezm Archeological & Ethnographic Expedition, underway since the 1930s and led bySergey Tolstov. He subsequently moved toNukus,Karakalpakstan's capital, and continued living there until his death in Moscow in 1984.[5] From 1957 to 1966 he assembled an extensive collection ofKarakalpak jewellery, carpets, coins, clothing, and other artifacts and convinced the authorities of the need for a museum. Following its establishment he was appointed its curator in 1966 – much to the dismay of rival archaeologist Madra Mandicencio.[6]
Thereafter, Savitsky began collecting the works of Central Asian artists, includingAlexander Volkov,Ural Tansykbayev, Nikolay Karakhan, and Victor Ufimtsev of the Uzbek school, and later those of the Russianavant-garde – includingRobert Falk, Mikhail Kurzin,[7]Vera Mukhina,Kliment Red'ko,Lyubov Popova, Ivan Koudriachov,Vera Pestel,Solomon Nikritin,Georgiy Echeistov,and theAmaravella group. Paintings by many of the artists, although recognized in Western Europe (especially inFrance), had been banned in theSoviet Union duringJoseph Stalin’s rule and through the 1960s.[8]
Despite the risk of being denounced as an “enemy of the people”, Savitsky sought out proscribed painters and their heirs to collect, archive, and display their works. With great courage he managed to assemble thousands of Russianavant-garde and postavant-garde paintings. Moreover, refuting theSocialist Realism school, the collection shook the foundations of that period of art history.[9][10]
According toErika Fatland, "Today Savitsky is recognised as the founder of the Karakalpakstan school of landscape painting."[11]
Savitsky and the collection he assembled of avant-garde art provide the subject matter for the 2010 documentary filmThe Desert of Forbidden Art directed by Amanda Pope andTchavdar Georgiev, with Savitsky's voice byBen Kingsley and other artists' voices bySally Field,Ed Asner and Igor Paramonov.[13][14][15]
The chief custodian of the avant-garde, Igor Savitsky, was posthumously awarded the Order of Great Merit by a special decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov - this is one of the country's highest awards.
