Pavel Grigoryevich Grigoryev-Savushkin is one of the most significant portrait painters in Chuvash art. He was born into a family of Valdai peasants on November 12, 1916. He graduated from the Leningrad Art School and finished preparatory courses at the Academy of Arts. He worked as a graphic designer in the Leningrad fine arts section, and during the war, he was evacuated to work as an artist for the Ural Turbine Works.
In 1946, Pavel Grigoryevich, together with his wife Augusta Moiseyevna (daughter of Moisei Spiridonovich Spiridonov), arrived in Cheboksary and began teaching at the Cheboksary Art School. Savushkin was an innovator and always tried to implement new trends in the educational process. When a new generation of teachers came to work at the school, it became one of the best educational institutions in Russia. The young teachers paid great attention to their students and were very passionate about art, dedicating their lives to it.
Pavel Grigoryev-Savushkin specialized in psychological portraits. He created a large number of graphic and oil portraits of outstanding people of Chuvashia: the poets Pyotr Khuzangai and Yakov Ukhsay, the composer Philipp Lukin, the composer Grigory Khirbyu, and the actors Boris Alekseyev and Vera Kuzmina. The artist achieved mastery in charcoal portraits, which hold a special place in his oeuvre. “Crane Operator” and “Olga Fyodorova the Painter” are among his most famous early works, which for a few years were displayed at all-Union and international exhibitions. Inspired by socialist realism, the paintings combine the romantic spirit with “a realistic portrayal of the genuine truth of the surrounding world.”
The painting “Crane Operator” is very specific. Active construction is being led in the post-war Cheboksary. In the background, one by one, houses spring up near the gigantic industrial plant — the Cheboksary Cotton Mill.
Women eagerly participate in the construction. Not so long ago, they were buried in everyday life and incessant housekeeping, but now they learn to operate the equipment and choose non-traditional careers, while still keeping their beauty and femininity intact.
In 1946, Pavel Grigoryevich, together with his wife Augusta Moiseyevna (daughter of Moisei Spiridonovich Spiridonov), arrived in Cheboksary and began teaching at the Cheboksary Art School. Savushkin was an innovator and always tried to implement new trends in the educational process. When a new generation of teachers came to work at the school, it became one of the best educational institutions in Russia. The young teachers paid great attention to their students and were very passionate about art, dedicating their lives to it.
Pavel Grigoryev-Savushkin specialized in psychological portraits. He created a large number of graphic and oil portraits of outstanding people of Chuvashia: the poets Pyotr Khuzangai and Yakov Ukhsay, the composer Philipp Lukin, the composer Grigory Khirbyu, and the actors Boris Alekseyev and Vera Kuzmina. The artist achieved mastery in charcoal portraits, which hold a special place in his oeuvre. “Crane Operator” and “Olga Fyodorova the Painter” are among his most famous early works, which for a few years were displayed at all-Union and international exhibitions. Inspired by socialist realism, the paintings combine the romantic spirit with “a realistic portrayal of the genuine truth of the surrounding world.”
The painting “Crane Operator” is very specific. Active construction is being led in the post-war Cheboksary. In the background, one by one, houses spring up near the gigantic industrial plant — the Cheboksary Cotton Mill.
Women eagerly participate in the construction. Not so long ago, they were buried in everyday life and incessant housekeeping, but now they learn to operate the equipment and choose non-traditional careers, while still keeping their beauty and femininity intact.
