Shakhovtsov, Vitaly Ivanovich

Born May 9, 1924 in the city of Slavyansk . His father, a former White Guard officer, was forced to emigrate, but later repatriated with his wife, the Bulgarian Communist, who became the artist's mother. Soon after the birth of his son, his parents moved to Kharkov , where Vitaly spent his childhood. Already studying in elementary school, he became interested in drawing and, on the advice of his parents, entered the art studio of the Kharkov Palace of Pioneers. At the age of 11, the young artist received his first award - the prize of the regional exhibition for a still life made from life.

During the mass repressions, Vitaly’s parents were executed - his mother was shot dead in 1935, and his father was shot in 1938, after which Vitaly was placed in an orphanage for children of “enemies of the people” , where he graduated from a seven-year school and met his future wife Nina ^{[2 ]} . After the seven-year plan, the future artist moved to relatives in Poltava , where he graduated from the eighth grade at school No. 1 before the war.

World War II

After graduating in Aktyubinsk from the Kharkov artillery special school No. 14 evacuated to Kazakhstan in September 1941, Vitaliy Ivanovich was drafted into the Red Army on March 20, 1942. For fearlessness in battle, he was awarded the medal " For Courage ", and in 1945 joined the CPSU (B.) . Vitaly met the end of the war in Austria, with the rank of sergeant and the job of the platoon calculator of the 1st Division 164 howitzer artillery brigade BM 31st artillery division breakthrough RGK. Retired in January 1948.

Beginning

After being transferred to the reserve, Vitaly Ivanovich worked for some time as an artist at the House of Officers of the Central Group of Forces in Vienna, and in 1948 he moved to Moscow and entered the Moscow Art and Industrial College named after M. I. Kalinina , however, due to material difficulties, after a year left school, returned to Poltava and entered the work as an artist at the Poltava City Industrial Complex ^[3] .

In 1952, Shakhovtsov, as a capable artist, was sent to study at the Kharkov State Art Institute , where he studied painting and graphics with A. Kokel , V.V. Sizikov and S.F. Besedin. His diploma work “On Front Roads” was recognized as one of the best works of graduates of art universities in the country, published in the magazine “ Spark ” and shown at an exhibition in Moscow. For this work, the artist was awarded the Stalin scholarship ^[2] .

Maturity

In 1958, Shakhovtsov graduated with honors from the institute and returned to Poltava . With his active participation, the Poltava branch of the Union of Artists of Ukraine was organized. In 1959, he was elected a member of his board, a member of the art council and a leading artist of the society, and after a while - the head of the city organization of the Union of Artists and the Art Fund. Vitaliy Ivanovich made a lot of efforts to open an art salon in Poltava and the first rural art gallery in the Poltava region ^[3] . With the assistance of Vitaliy Shakhovtsov, an active exhibition activity was launched in the Poltava region. His students were the Poltava artists A. Gontar, V. Trohimets-Milyutin, Yu. Strashko, E. Putrya, A. Serbutovsky and others.

The artist’s picturesque and graphic works were positively appreciated by critics - his skill as a landscape painter, portrait painter and author of genre scenes was noted with the laconicism of expressive means. Ukrainian artist Pavel Gorobets characterized Shakhovtsov as a “natural portrait painter” ^[2] . At the exhibition in 1960 in Moscow dedicated to the decade of Ukrainian literature and art, four works by Vitaliy Ivanovich were shown: “For the First Time to School”, “The Owner”, “From the Field”, “Collective Farm Blacksmiths”. Critics of the beginning of the 21st century noted his large brushstroke and compared Shakhovtsov’s painting with “Russian seasonism” of the beginning of the 20th century, while noting its vitality ^[4] .

In Lugansk

In 1966, Shakhovtsov accepted an invitation to the post of teacher at the Lugansk Art College and in the same year became its director, which position he held until his death in the spring of 1969.

• 1954 - Ukrainian SSR: Poltava Regional Art Exhibition dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine and Russia.
• 1957 - Ukrainian SSR: Exhibition of works by young artists, dedicated to the youth festival of the Ukrainian SSR. 1957
• 1958 - Moscow: Sixth All-Union Exhibition of theses of students of art universities of the USSR graduating in 1957 and 1958
• 1960 - Moscow: Exhibition dedicated to the decade of Ukrainian literature and art.
• 1964 - Kiev: Anniversary art exhibition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of T. G. Shevchenko.

In May 2004, a memorial plaque in memory of V. I. Shakhovtsov made of pink granite (108x54 cm) with a bas-relief and the inscription “ In this house from 1958 to 1964, was opened on a house on Gogol Street, 19 in Poltava . the famous artist Shakhovtsov Vitaly Ivanovich lived and worked, one of the founders of the Poltava regional organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine ”(authors - artists Evgen Putrya, Yuri and Vitaliy Dryable, Victor Tsimbalist, architect Anatoly Chernoshchekov).

In 2004, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the artist, a documentary film “Artist Vitaliy Shakhovtsov. The palette of his life. "

• Poltava Museum of History: small houses of history, museums, memorial protection [Text]: Зб. sciences. Art. Vip. 4 book 2 / Exercise Cultures of the Poltava Regional State Administration. - Poltava: Divosvіt, 2008 .-- 472 p.