Ivan
Ivanovich Trush

Ivan Ivanovich Trush (January 18, 1869, p. Vysotsko, Lviv region. - March 21, 1941, Lviv) - Ukrainian impressionist painter, portraitist, landscape painter, critic, publisher.

Features of the artist Ivan Trush: received a magnificent academic education in Europe, at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, Ivan Trush was not only a representative of the new Ukrainian artistic ideology, but also an active participant in the cultural and social life of Lviv. A lyricist, a subtle colorist who works in an impressionistic style, Trush created more than six thousand paintings. Among them is a gallery of portraits of famous Ukrainian figures, from Lesia Ukrainka to Ivan Franko.

Famous paintings of the artist Ivan Trush: "Sunset in the forest", "Lonely Pine", “In the arms of the snow”, “Haystacks”, “Moonlight night above the sea”, portraits of Ivan Franko, Lesia Ukrainka.

Ivan Trush's family was poor; father was engaged in tailoring. It was he who had a great influence on the development of the creative abilities of his son, instilled a love for the beauty of nature and the history of his native land.

After graduating from elementary school, Ivan Trush entered the Brodsky gymnasium, earning meager money from private lessons and creating portraits to order. It was during his high school years that he began to study landscape and finally decided to become an artist. In 1891 Trush entered the Krakow Academy of Arts. He often interrupted himself from bread to water, giving all his strength to training, but he was repeatedly awarded silver and bronze medals. His teachers were Leon Vichulkovsky, Jan Matejko and Jan Stanislavsky. In 1894, Trush went to Vienna, and three years later he moved to Munich, where he studied at the School Anton Azhbe.

The artist returned to Lviv in 1898 and immediately became actively involved in the public and creative life of the city. He became one of the initiators of the creation of the Society for the Development of Russian Art and joined the literary and artistic activities in the pages of the Literary and Scientific Gazette. In 1899, the first personal exhibition of the artist was held: within a few weeks, all 38 paintings were sold.

In 1905, on the initiative of Ivan Trush, the “Society of supporters of Ukrainian literature, science and art” was created; He also became the founder of the magazine "Futurity" and "Artistic Herald." Masters led the idea of reviving the national culture, which Ivan Trush was faithful all his life. Painting of Ivan Trush marked the beginning of the revival of Galician and all Ukrainian painting in general.

An impressionist lyricist, a bright colorist, Trush loved working in the open air. “Sketches in nature were for me a rest ... a window into my artistic future and the beginning of plans for my paintings,” the artist wrote. He combined his works in landscape cycles - “Flowers”, “From the life of stumps”, “In the arms of snow”, “Meadows and Fields”, “Lonely Pine” - and often called them “poems”, returning for years to their favorite stories.

Brushes of Ivan Trush belong to the sign gallery of portraits. In 1900, commissioned by the Scientific Society. Taras Shevchenko, the artist took up the creation of portraits of famous Ukrainian figures. Kiev City Museum gave him a spacious studio with a glass roof. Here, in Kiev, Trush met the famous poet and writer Lesia Ukrainka. She agreed to pose for him and daily came to the Trush workshop. It was Lesya Ukrainka who introduced the artist to the daughter of her uncle, publicist Mikhail Dragomanov - Ariadna. All summer Trush spent at the Drahomanov dacha near Kiev, and returned home engaged. Ariadne and Ivan got married only three years later. The family had four children - Ariadne, Miron, Oksana and Roman. Sons were fond of football and hockey, and Miron became the world champion in archery, speaking for the national team of Poland.

In the gallery of portraits created by Ivan Trush - ten images of Ivan Franko, in which the artist captured the great Ukrainian poet in different years of life, as well as portraits of Mikhail Drahomanov, Vasyl Stefanyk, Nikolay Lysenko and other prominent figures of Ukrainian culture. In the Kiev period, Trush not only taught Alexander Murashko at the drawing school, but also created a series of small studies with views of the Ukrainian capital and the Dnieper landscapes.

The artist traveled a lot. He visited the Crimea, Egypt, visited many European countries, traveled to Palestine, and all the trips of this plein air fan are reflected in his works. Ivan Trush exhibited a lot, participated in collective exhibitions of Ukrainian and Polish artists. The works of Ivan Trush conquered the public in London and Vienna, Sofia and Warsaw, Poznan and Krakow. The largest collection of works by Ivan Trush is kept in the Lviv National Museum.

Over the years, the financial situation of Trush deteriorated. Until the end of his days, he paid off debts for a loan taken by him to build a house for his family. In old age, Trush practically lost his hearing, talked to his relatives with notes. The artist died on March 22, 1941. Relatives laid in his coffin a sketchbook and favorite folding chair, which Trush took with him in the open air. In the house of the artist his memorial museum was subsequently opened.