Isaac Israilevich BRODSKY

Born 1884, Sofiyevka village, near Berdiansk - Died 1939, Leningrad

Painter and graphic artist.


Note: On this page we have presented the artist's work only from his early period, not that depicting the Socialist Ideology. Post-Revolutionary work will be shown in the AKhRR group.

Paintings

Self-Portrait. 1904.

Oil on cardboard, 35x42 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

A Lake. 1907.

Oil on canvas.
Private collection, St.Petersburg.

The Academy Dacha (Summer House). 1907.

Oil on canvas, 86x105 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Through the Branches. 1907.

Oil on canvas, 67x135 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

A Sunlit Alley. 1908.

Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard, 51.2x56.7 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Portrait of the Artist's Wife (L.M.Brodskaya) on the Terrace. 1908

Oil on canvas, 202x203.5 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

In the Paris Environs. 1909.

Oil on cardboard, 27.5x39 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Bull Fighting. Study. 1910.

Watercolor, gouache on brown cardboard, 27x41 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Children at the Fountain. 1910.

Oil on canvas.
The M.Gorky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Fountain in Rome. 1910.

Oil on canvas.
The Russian Museum, St.Petersburg.

Winter. 1910.

Oil on cardboard, 18.3x28.3 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Portrait of the Writer Maxim Gorky (fragment). 1910.

Oil on canvas.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Italy. 1911.

Oil on canvas.
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Self-Portrait with the Artist's Daughter.

Oil on canvas, 72x99 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Fireworks. 1912.

Oil on canvas, 44.5x84 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Portrait of the Artist Ilya Repin. 1912.

Oil on canvas, 84.5x106 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Portrait of the Writer and Poet Kornei Chukovsky. 1913.

Oil on canvas, 85x61.5 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Golden Autumn. 1913.

Oil on canvas, 135x150 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Pskov. 1913.

Oil on canvas, 69x92 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Pskov. 1913.

Oil on canvas, 88x132 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Self-Portrait. 1914.

Oil on canvas, 75x60 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Fallen Leaves. 1915.

Oil on canvas, 98x76 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Portrait of N.Chernobayeva. 1915.

Oil on canvas, 89x106 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Portrait of Talalayeva. 1915.

Oil on canvas, 107x89 cm.
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Portrait of a Woman. 1916.

Oil on canvas, 81x107 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

New Moon.

Oil on canvas, 61x81 cm.
The I.Brodsky Memorial Museum, St.Petersburg.

Winter Landscape. 1917.

Oil on canvas.
Private collection, St.Petersburg.

Easter Night.

Oil on wood.
Private collection, Moscow.

Just Before Spring. The Gates. 1926.

Oil on canvas, 75x60 cm.
The Russian Museum, St.Petersburg.

The Terrace. 1930.

Oil on canvas, 98x76 cm.
The Russian Museum, St.Petersburg.

An Alley in the Park. 1930.

Oil on canvas.
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Biography:

Brodsky has studied at the Art School in Odessa (1896-1902) under Kostandi and Ladyzhensky, and at the Academy of Arts (1902-1908) under Miasoyedov, Zionglinsky and Repin.

From early 1900s he took part in exhibitions including Academy of Arts, SRKh (Union of Russian Artists), TPKhV (Fellowship of Traveling Art Exhibitions - The Wanderers) World of Art, AKhRR (Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia).

He has studied abroad on a grant from the Academy of Arts, visiting Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Spain (1909-1911).

Before the October Revolution of 1917, Brodsky was well-known as a landscape and portrait painter. He has developed a style, which he named "ajoure", his landscapes always have filigree-like finish. The artist's early creations are poetic and full of love of life.

The Revolution has had a very strong influence on Brodsky, he became an absolutely different artist, his goal was now depicting the Revolution epoch and its great people.

In 1924 he became a member of AKhRR (Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia).

The artist has sketched Lenin from life and produced the first "Leniniana", a series of works dedicated to Lenin, one of the most famous of which was "Lenin in the Smolny".

From 1932 Brodsky has taught in the Repin INZhSA (Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture of Academy of Arts).

His works were shown in London (1910, 1938), Rome (1911), New York (1924, 1929), Venice (1932), Sofia (1939).

Brodsky has assembled a vast collection of works of art, a part of which is now presented  in the Art Museum of Berdiansk and the rest in the famous Brodsky Memorial Apartment Museum, St Petersburg.

Brodsky was one of the artists whose work provided a model for the Socialist Realism style.