Yakov Danilovich Minchenkov was born March 19, 1871, on the farm top-Warm, Luhansk village in the don Cossack Region. I came from an old Cossack family (his grandfather, a Cossack, was killed in the Russo-Turkish war). Father, Daniel Petrovich, was a teacher, then a priest; the person educated and well-read, with very independent views, an admirer of Chernyshevsky, he is a similar line of thought passed son: J. D. Minchenkov studied at the Seminary, but was excluded from the "freethinking". Some time after this he was teacher in Novocherkassk, but under the influence of familiarity with a mobile exhibition that visited in the late eighties this city, decided to devote himself to art of painting. He went to Moscow and, after several unsuccessful attempts, in 1894 exams in the School of painting, sculpture and architecture. His teachers here were N. A. Kasatkin and V. A. Serov.
Even before graduating from College (1898) began a long-term activity J. D. Minchenkov as a Commissioner of the Association of traveling art exhibitions. In this position, he actively participated in the life of the Partnership in the role of exhibitions organiser, Manager, administrator, head of the city. "A number of years, consists in the exhibition, got used to it, and the interests of the Partnership, road shows for me," - wrote J. D. Minchenkov in 1912 Ilya Repin (Archive of the USSR Academy of arts). At the same time he has worked creatively as a painter-a landscape painter and genre painter; from 1905 to 1918 annually exhibited his works at the travelling exhibitions, in 1905 was adopted in the exponent and in 1913 -- a member of the Association.
After the revolution, J. D. Minchenkov continued to work in the field of art. The civil war found him in the South, where he moved with his family in 1918 from Moscow. In 1920--1922. lived in Maykop, where he was a "Professor in the Department of art history" at the Institute of education and head of the art departments in GROWTH and Maikop political education; headed the art Studio and the exhibition of their works and the works of students received an award from the Maikop Executive Committee. 1922-J. D. Minchenkov lived almost entirely in Kamensk (now -- Kamensk-Shakhtinsky). There he participated in organization of the art studios at Kamensky podkursah and at the children's village, was in charge of these studios and then taught drawing and painting. He also taught art history at a local school 2nd degree and teachers College, conducted educational activities among students and the public, promoting the art of Russian artists, sharing memories of his meetings with them, arranging interviews and commemoration of the big artists of the past.
All these years J. D. Minchenkov never stopped painting -- he painted landscapes of native places, genre scenes, portraits and sketches. Among the latest designs of J. D. Minchenkov was writing a portrait of his famous countryman M. A. Sholokhov (the implementation of this plan was prevented by the illness of the artist). The location of the most beautiful artwork of J. D. Minenkov unknown. Many of them died during the great Patriotic war remained the only some work of late years.
J. D. Minchenkov was a man of versatile abilities. Deep knowledge of music and was fond of her; a good violinist, he has participated in musical evenings, which were held by the Wanderers in a friendly circle. In the last years of his life in Kamensk he taught music at a local teachers College and supervised by city Amateur Symphony orchestra, whose performances had in the city a big success.
He tried his hand also in the field of sculpture. So, in 1921 in Maykop J. D. Minchenkov together by a local sculptor by Cicillini was erected a monument to the Victims of the Revolution (wooden obelisk with a plaster bas-relief), and in the 1930s in Kamensk on the main street was installed made it with his disciples, a monument to VI Lenin.
Evidence of undoubted literary genius J. D. Minchenkov are his "memories of the Wanderers", written in the last years of his life. About the beginning of work on "Memories" - J. D. Minchenkov mentioned in letters to I. E. Repin of may 20, 1927, 15--28 Jul 1928 (see below in the "Notes"); the last essay "Patrons and collectors of art" in the manuscript marked 1934 These dates and determined the time of writing.
Died-J. D. Minchenkov in Kamensk 18 may 1938
(Biographical information about J. D. Minchenkov made B. D. Suris)
