A big part of the life of the famous Russian artist Lyudmila Klimentovskaya (1916-2000) was inextricably linked with the Kaluga region. The artist perceived it as a second homeland and bequeathed to the city a gift of paintings, which became the basis for the gallery’s collection.
After graduating from the Ryazan Art School, where she studied in the class of Yakov Kalinichenko, she went to work at the State Mariinsky Theater in Leningrad, where she created models for costumes. Later, she briefly worked as a production designer at the Ermolova Theater in Moscow. In her life full of travels in 1943, the moment came when she returned to her native Ryazan region and headed the local art museum. Here she met the artist and poet Pavel Radimov, the last chairman of the Association of Itinerants, whose work influenced her artistic development.
Later she worked as chief production designer at the Drama Theater in Sevastopol, in the operetta and drama theater in Kaliningrad. She was more and more absorbed in easel painting, she took part in numerous art exhibitions and in 1950 she was admitted to the Union of Artists of the USSR. Her artistic talent and leadership qualities allowed her to create and head the branch of the Kaliningrad Union of Artists of the USSR.
Since 1951 the artist settled in Kaluga. Here she created a series of paintings dedicated to her fellow countryman, the founder of Soviet cosmonautics, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, whose scientific activity also turned out to be inextricably linked with Kaluga.
The second important theme in her painting was the landscapes of Russian nature, permeated with a poetic mood, the artist’s personal perception of nature. For her color scheme, the creation of color overflows is characteristic, which makes her paintings recognizable.
Klimentovskaya’s still life " The Rowan’ is imbued with rich and bright colors. The sparkling red berries are echoed by painted wooden dishes, which also reflect rowan motifs. The artist masterfully adds saturation to the painting, using just three primary colors in many shades of each. Each of the berries scattered on the table surface and its reflection open to the viewer’s eyes. Lyudmila Klimentovskaya herself spoke about her still lifes: ‘I painted a portrait of each berry, that’s why it turned out so reliably.’
After graduating from the Ryazan Art School, where she studied in the class of Yakov Kalinichenko, she went to work at the State Mariinsky Theater in Leningrad, where she created models for costumes. Later, she briefly worked as a production designer at the Ermolova Theater in Moscow. In her life full of travels in 1943, the moment came when she returned to her native Ryazan region and headed the local art museum. Here she met the artist and poet Pavel Radimov, the last chairman of the Association of Itinerants, whose work influenced her artistic development.
Later she worked as chief production designer at the Drama Theater in Sevastopol, in the operetta and drama theater in Kaliningrad. She was more and more absorbed in easel painting, she took part in numerous art exhibitions and in 1950 she was admitted to the Union of Artists of the USSR. Her artistic talent and leadership qualities allowed her to create and head the branch of the Kaliningrad Union of Artists of the USSR.
Since 1951 the artist settled in Kaluga. Here she created a series of paintings dedicated to her fellow countryman, the founder of Soviet cosmonautics, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, whose scientific activity also turned out to be inextricably linked with Kaluga.
The second important theme in her painting was the landscapes of Russian nature, permeated with a poetic mood, the artist’s personal perception of nature. For her color scheme, the creation of color overflows is characteristic, which makes her paintings recognizable.
Klimentovskaya’s still life " The Rowan’ is imbued with rich and bright colors. The sparkling red berries are echoed by painted wooden dishes, which also reflect rowan motifs. The artist masterfully adds saturation to the painting, using just three primary colors in many shades of each. Each of the berries scattered on the table surface and its reflection open to the viewer’s eyes. Lyudmila Klimentovskaya herself spoke about her still lifes: ‘I painted a portrait of each berry, that’s why it turned out so reliably.’
