The Ural artist Grigory Necheukhin was mostly known for his portraits of famous people, such as the writer Vasily Belov, poet Boris Maryev, and opera singer Boris Shtokolov. This 1974 portrait depicts an amiable, brown-eyed woman — Inga Alexandrovna Balabanova. She was a Candidate of Medical Science at the time and would soon become a Doctor of Medical Science and a professor. Her son was the cult filmmaker Alexey Balabanov, whose movies called “Brother” and “Brother 2” have grown to symbolize an entire generation and have become a hope for the ultimate triumph of justice and a hymn of Russian rock music.
In this portrait, the artist meticulously highlighted the soft features of Balabanova’s face and her thin fingers with the use of colored shadows and overtones. On the table next to her are attributes of her occupation — a tonometer and printed charts. The window behind Inga Alexandrovna opens up a view of the city of Sverdlovsk in the blue winter twilight.
The portrait was created largely as a result of the artist’s aspiration to depict his talented and beautiful acquaintance: Necheukhin was friends with the intelligent Balabanov family and was their frequent guest.
In 1972, Inga Balabanova headed the Scientific Research Institute of Balneology and Physiotherapy. Under her leadership, the institute was engaged in the studies of the natural resources of the Urals, its climate, mineral waters and therapeutic muds, as well as the survey of industrial injuries, the development of nutritional treatment, etc. She was an active researcher and manager. She had a full-time position that included taking trips abroad.
Inga Balabanova’s husband Oktyabrin Sergeyevich Balabanov was a journalist and screenwriter. He worked for the “Na Smenu!” newspaper and later at Sverdlovsk Film Studio, where he headed the association of popular science and educational films.
In 1990, the Balabanovs decided to move from the Urals to Kuban. Inga Balabanova, being a leading scientist and physician, headed the physiotherapy department in one of the sanatoriums in Anapa, and lived in a house that was a gift from her son Alexey Oktyabrinovich Balabanov.
In this portrait, the artist meticulously highlighted the soft features of Balabanova’s face and her thin fingers with the use of colored shadows and overtones. On the table next to her are attributes of her occupation — a tonometer and printed charts. The window behind Inga Alexandrovna opens up a view of the city of Sverdlovsk in the blue winter twilight.
The portrait was created largely as a result of the artist’s aspiration to depict his talented and beautiful acquaintance: Necheukhin was friends with the intelligent Balabanov family and was their frequent guest.
In 1972, Inga Balabanova headed the Scientific Research Institute of Balneology and Physiotherapy. Under her leadership, the institute was engaged in the studies of the natural resources of the Urals, its climate, mineral waters and therapeutic muds, as well as the survey of industrial injuries, the development of nutritional treatment, etc. She was an active researcher and manager. She had a full-time position that included taking trips abroad.
Inga Balabanova’s husband Oktyabrin Sergeyevich Balabanov was a journalist and screenwriter. He worked for the “Na Smenu!” newspaper and later at Sverdlovsk Film Studio, where he headed the association of popular science and educational films.
In 1990, the Balabanovs decided to move from the Urals to Kuban. Inga Balabanova, being a leading scientist and physician, headed the physiotherapy department in one of the sanatoriums in Anapa, and lived in a house that was a gift from her son Alexey Oktyabrinovich Balabanov.
