Isaac Itkind Soviet sculptor Date of Birth: 22.04.1871

1. Early Life and Inspiration
2. Artistic Training and Early Works
3. Recognition and Literary Pursuits
4. Leningrad Period
5. Arrest and Exile
6. Rediscoveries and Legacy
7. 最后的时光

Early Life and Inspiration

Born in 1868 (though he claimed 1871) in Slutsk, Belarus, Isaac Itkind was raised by his father, a Hasidic rabbi. After graduating from a Jewish spiritual school and becoming a rabbi, a chance encounter with a book about the renowned sculptor Mark Antokolsky ignited his passion for art.

Artistic Training and Early Works

Itkind's talent caught the attention of writer Peretz Hirshbein, who published an article about him. With the financial support of his hometown, he studied at the Vilnius Drawing School from 1910 to 1912. He continued his training at the Volnukhin School of Sculpture and Architecture in Moscow for two years. His early works before 1917 centered on themes of sorrow, using wood as his preferred medium.

Recognition and Literary Pursuits

Itkind's sculptures gained the admiration of Maxim Gorky, who organized a solo exhibition for him in 1918. Of the 42 works displayed, only three survived: "My Father," "The Hunchback," and "Melody." He also worked as a teacher alongside artist Marc Chagall at the Malakhovka Labor School Colony for orphans.

Leningrad Period

From 1927, Itkind was based in Leningrad, creating sculptures of historical and cultural figures such as Lenin, Karl Marx, Ferdinand Lassalle, Friedrich Engels, and three sculptures of Alexander Pushkin. He became renowned in the Soviet Union, with critics comparing him to Vincent van Gogh. Itkind was also an accomplished writer whose stories impressed many literary giants of his time, including Gorky, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Sergei Yesenin, and Vsevolod Meyerhold. He began writing at their urging, but his nomadic lifestyle led to the loss of many of his works. Only a few were published in the magazine "Zvezda" in 1934 by Alexei Tolstoy.

Arrest and Exile

In 1937, following an exhibition at the Hermitage Museum celebrating the 100th anniversary of Pushkin's death, Itkind was arrested and charged with espionage for Japan. He was imprisoned in the Kresty Prison, where he suffered severe physical abuse. He was eventually sent to Siberia and later to Kazakhstan, where he was officially declared dead in 1938.

Rediscoveries and Legacy

Despite his imprisonment, Itkind continued to create sculptures in his exile. In 1944, artist Nikolai Mukhin rediscovered him in Kazakhstan, but Itkind remained a "non-person." In 1956, he secured a job at the Alma-Ata State Theater, where he secretly carved sculptures in the basement. These works, including "Paul Robeson" (1956), "Thinking Tree" (1956), "Laughing Old Man" (1958), and "Song" (1960), were discovered in 1958 and brought him back into the limelight. A documentary film about him, "Touch of Eternity," was made in 1967.

最后的时光

Isaac Itkind passed away in Alma-Ata in 1969. His works are now housed in museums in Russia, Kazakhstan, France, and the United States, including the Russian Museum, the Hermitage Museum, and the Pushkin Museum in Saint Petersburg. He remains an acclaimed sculptor whose unique talent and indomitable spirit inspire generations of artists.