A painting by Paris School artist Yakov Balgley to return to Belarus
The Maldzis initiative has purchased the painting "Portrait of a Woman" by Yakov Balgley, a native of Belarus. In the future, the artwork will be transferred to the artist's homeland — the Museum of the History of Brest.
On July 13 in Warsaw, the Maldzis initiative presented another artwork purchased for future transfer to a Belarusian museum, Radio Svaboda reports.
This time, Belarusians purchased "Portrait of a Woman" by Yakov Balgley, a representative of the Paris School, at an auction in Germany.
Yakov Balgley was born in 1891 in Brest into a rabbi's family. He studied medicine in St. Petersburg, and attended the Grekov Odessa Art School. In 1911, he moved to Paris, where he studied architecture and philosophy. Like many other young artists of the Paris School, Yakov Balgley lived in the famous "La Ruche" commune. In 1920, he enrolled in the School of Decorative Arts.
Pavel Matsukevich emphasizes that Balgley found his place on Parnassus and became one of the prominent representatives of the Paris School.
"His etchings were recognized as among the best. But in Belarus, the artist's name remains unknown: the events of the 20th century proved stronger than our memory. Yakov Balgley died quite young, at 43 years old. After him, paintings were scattered around the world. Today's event is very important because the name of an artist from Brest is returning. He was part of the history of world art.
And Belarusian culture was created by representatives of different nationalities. Unfortunately, we don't know where this woman came from, we don't know her name. We only know that she was painted in Paris between 1920 and 1930. We acquired the painting in Germany at an auction. And this name - Yakov Balgley - is returning to us," says Pavel Matsukevich.
He thanked Belarusian Pavel Senchanka and other patrons who wished to remain anonymous and donated their personal funds for the purchase of the painting. In the future, "Portrait of a Woman" will be transferred to the Museum of the History of Brest.
"This young woman will become a symbol of returning home. Just as another painting by our famous countryman became a symbol of protest in 2020," Pavel Matsukevich is convinced.