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Victor
Ivanovich Zaretsky

Ukraine • 1925−1990
Victor Ivanovich Zaretsky (02/08/1925, Belopole - 08/10/1990, Kiev) - Ukrainian artist, teacher, public figure.

Features of creativity. About painting, Zaretsky himself said: "An academic school is a necessity, academicism is inevitable." He called baroque, modern, secession his favorite styles. Favorite artists - Serov, Vrubel, Klimt.

Famous works. “Muse cooks kulish”, "Ascension", "Labor city", "First love", "The Soldier", "Girls", "Vasyl Stus", "The spirit has come out", "The soul of Alla Gorsky".

His universities
“When I was studying, I worked in such a way that sometimes I fell from fatigue from a chair,” Viktor Zaretsky will write about the time he studied at the Kiev Art Institute. He entered there late, at 22, after the army service. He really was one of the best students. He possessed encyclopedic knowledge about the life and work of many artists.

I went to the Donbass, where he spent his childhood, and wrote a lot of paintings on industrial topics.

The thaw of the 60s brought new themes to his style: “Twist”, “In a cafe”. The marriage of Viktor Zaretsky to the artist and human rights activist Alla Gorskaya also revealed to him the political component of life. A new circle of acquaintances encouraged more active expression of citizenship. So, Zaretsky put his signature on a letter in defense of the dissidents. True, he later recalled the signature, as he was threatened with expulsion from the Union of Artists. In the memoirs of Viktor Ivanovich, one can trace his painful thoughts on the topic “Artist and Power”. As a result, Zaretsky decided for himself that the most reasonable thing is to remain out of politics.

Family tragedy
The first wife of Zaretsky - Alla Gorskaya - died in obscure circumstances. On November 28, 1970, she left Kiev for Vasilkov. Three days later, the police found her with a broken head. The investigation settled on the fact that her father-in-law, who later allegedly laid hands on herself, was to blame for the death of the woman. The corpse of father Viktor Zaretsky was found on the railroad with his head cut off. During the investigation, the artist confirmed that not everything was all right between his father and his wife. However, he later wrote that he did not believe in such a murder. My father recently suffered a stroke and still felt weak. Gorskaya was a strong and large woman.

Some of the friends of the Gorskaya-Zaretsky couple turned away from the artist after this terrible tragedy. Rumor had it that it was he himself who was to blame for what had happened.

Viktor Ivanovich was very upset by what had happened. After the death of his wife, he painted several of her portraits and paintings related to her death. The most famous of them is the "Soul of Alla Gorsky."

Ukrainian Klimt
The new wife of Viktor Zaretsky was Maya Grigorieva - the daughter of his mentor at the Art Institute of Sergei Grigoriev. The latter rescued his son-in-law more than once, blocking his illegal, at that time, artistic activity - Zaretsky gave private painting lessons.

During that period of his work, the artist increasingly resorted to the manner of Gustav Klimt, for which he received the nickname “Ukrainian Klimt”. In work"Kum to kum klitsyvatsya Zaretsky simply repeats the Klimt Kiss.

In his paintings becomes more eroticism. He writes a lot for sale, and some of the works of those years are not of artistic value, but they show the audience a lot of bare-chested popular print. But the artist creates true masterpieces: “Lilac”, “First Love”.

Victor Zaretsky died of cancer. He was treated for some time by herbalists, and resorted to the help of psychics. His students assure that Viktor Ivanovich himself had super powers and could predict the future.

Several films have been shot about Zaretsky’s life and work: “Portrait” (1990) and “Reflections at the Canvas” (2015).

Read about the relationship of Viktor Zaretsky with his first wife in the article "History in paintings. Zaretsky and Gorskaya. Creativity and tragedy."

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