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Yehuda
Moiseevich Peng

Russia • 1854−1937

Born into a poor large family in the small town of Kovno province - Novo-Aleksandrovsk (now Zarasai in Lithuania) and orphaned early, he was only four years old when his father died. Soon the mother determined the Yehuda to the header, and then the boy showed a talent for drawing. A capable boy became known distant relative of the Pans - painter, engaged in the manufacture of signs, painting of floors, etc. in Dvinsk (Daugavpils), located close to Novo-Aleksandrovsk. At the end of 1867. Yehuda went to Dvinsk and became an apprentice painter. Thus, the earliest experience of artistic creativity pan is associated with different genres of traditional Jewish art, which was an organic part of national life and synagogue worship. We can say that the pan, in a sense, lucky: becoming a journeyman painter, he still got "specialty". Here he acquired some experience, and eventually that he owner was to entrust the most responsible and challenging jobs.

In 1880 pen became a student of the Academy of Arts. After graduating the Academy in 1886, pen returned to Novo-Alexandrovsk, where in search of work moved to Dvinsk and finally in Riga, where he met Baron N. N. Korf, who invited him to work at his estate near the Kreizburg, a place located approximately halfway between Vitebsk and the Dvina. Pan in these years could be installed in the Vitebsk and business contacts, to find patrons and patrons of the local Jewish bourgeoisie. However, pan left Kreizburg, trying to get first in St. Petersburg and in March 1896. receives a passport for "permanent residence" in the Russian capital. But his fate was decided in Vitebsk: most likely, Vitebsk friends and well-wishers persuaded him to return, promising to help open a private drawing school, what pan had long dreamed of, and worked in official bodies, as this required a formal resolution of the Governor and the Metropolitan authorities. A real opportunity to open a school that would provide a stable income and normal conditions for creativity, for pan was the decisive argument in favor of his move to Vitebsk.

School pan may be considered Jewish due to natural causes: in the late nineteenth century the Jewish population of Vitebsk was more than 52% of all residents, and the vast majority of students pan - Jews, many of whom didn't even know the Russian language, studied in useboth - Jewish religious schools. Pan himself did some of the prescriptions of Judaism and had visited, though occasionally the synagogue. On Saturdays classes in his school were not conducted. However, neither attempts to promote contemporary Jewish art or almost mono-ethnic composition of pupils of the school, it seems to me that by themselves do not determine the atmosphere that prevailed in it. Senior fellow and friend he was to his disciples Peng, who shared with them not only creative but also life experience. Of course, pan taught his disciples first of all, art in its broadest humanistic sense, but in the personality of the artist, the specifics of his creative Outlook and position in life, finally in his own work contained something more significant and that are not reducible to a single artistic task.

Pan belongs to that generation of artists of the Jews in Russia, which at the turn of the century came to understanding artistic creativity as a form of national life, as a way of national identity. In the context of such self-awareness is paradoxically combined a cosmopolitan, romantic myth about the artist-Creator and ideas of the Jewish artist for not professional or genre specialization, but a national modus vivendi, equivalent to traditional forms of Jewish life, manifested in the national meaningful aesthetic and civic positions. Throughout his life pan considered himself a Jewish artist, is well perceived by others. That sense of self he gave many of his disciples, and, perhaps most accurately, he was able to Express to Marc Chagall: "If I was not a Jew (in the sense, as I understand it), I wouldn't be an artist or would be a completely different artist."

Private school pan lasted until 1918., when Marc Chagall founded the people's art school. He invited their first teachers to lead one of the workshops. After the reorganization of the College Institute pan in addition to teaching was also acting Vice-rector for academic part. In 1923 he along with his Brother, Minin and Yudovina, not accepting those methods of art education and practices which implanted the new leadership, headed by M. Garinim, was forced to leave the school. By the time it was again reorganized, this time, with the lowering of status to the College. Peng retires and is out of work, But this does not affect his credibility and popularity - in 1927, Vitebsk solemnly celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of his creative activity in Vitebsk, and his house until the very last minute attracts young artists and everyone interested in the arts. The house pan, the walls of which were entirely covered with pictures, came to the Museum, come for advice, come to distinguished master and a warm friend.

In the night of 1 March 2, 1937. Yehuda pen was murdered in my house, the circumstances and motives of this senseless and brutal murder has still not been clarified. But with the death of pan the history of Vitebsk art school is not prekratilis, and his disciples, far departed from the artistic principles of his first teacher, sooner or later, he returned to them, returned to Vitebsk.

The yudel M. Peng was born may 24 (June 5), 1854 in the city of Novoaleksandrovsk (now Zarasai, Lithuania). Orphaned early, since 1867 worked as an apprentice painter in Dvinsk (now Daugavpils, Latvia). In 1879 he moved to St. Petersburg, where 1880 entered the Academy of fine arts. He studied under p. P. Chistyakov and N. A. Laveretskogo. At the end of the Academy (1886) lived in Dvinsk and Riga, where he met Baron N. N. Korf, who invited the painter to his estate in Vitebsk, where are the friends of the Baron, I. Repin, Yu. Klever and others.

In 1891 he settled in Vitebsk and a year later opened a private School of drawing and painting, which existed until 1919 — Russia's first Jewish art school. Disciples of Yudel pen was Raymond Brainin, Lazar Lissitzky, Ilya Mazel, Oskar Meshchaninov, Yefim Minin, Ossip Zadkine, Marc Chagall, Helen Kaiser, Zaire Azgur, Solomon Yudovin, David Akerson. In 1907 and 1914 were exhibitions of pan and his students.

In 1927, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of creative activity of the Yudel Peng was awarded the rank of the Deserved Jewish artist.

In his paintings, Yudel Peng showed the life of the Jewish poor ("the Watchmaker", "the Old tailor", "Old soldier," "After the strike"). After 1905 in the work of pan appear religious motifs — "Jewish Rabbi", "the Last Saturday". In the 1920-ies creates paintings "Shoemaker-member of the Komsomol" (1925), "the matchmaker" (1926), "the Seamstress" (1927), "Baker" (1928).

The artist was killed at home in Vitebsk in the night of 28 February on 1 March 1937. The circumstances of the murder is not clear so far. Buried in Old St. Petersburg cemetery in Vitebsk.[2]

After the death of Yudel pen in Vitebsk was created by his art gallery. Now his works are kept in Vitebsk art Museum and the National art Museum of the Republic of Belarus.

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