At the age of 88, a great artist, Ilya Glazunov, died of heart failure. The funeral of Glazunov will be held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Buried artist at the Novodevichy cemetery of the capital.
He was born in 1930 in Leningrad. His father was a historian. During the siege, all the relatives of the future artist perished in Leningrad, and his 12-year-old boy was taken across Ladoga along the "Road of Life" to the village near Novgorod. After the lifting of the blockade, Glazunov returned to Leningrad, studied at the Leningrad Secondary Art School,. Repin in the workshop of Professor Boris Ioganson. In 1957, he married Nina Alexandrovna Vinogradova-Benois, and in 1957 the first exhibition of works by a young artist took place in Moscow. It was a huge success. For many years the artist was guarded by the poet Sergey Mikhalkov. Glazunov himself wrote that he owed everything to Mikhalkov.
His work was influenced by Russian and French impressionists, nevertheless, Glazunov's canvases are deeply national and will not leave anyone indifferent.
On its canvases come to life the landscapes of Russia, battle and historical subjects from the life of the country, not the faces, but the faces of distant ancestors and contemporaries - everything that the artist loved. He created a whole gallery of portraits of politicians and people of art. Not all of his paintings corresponded to Soviet ideology. So on the diploma work "Roads of War" depicts the retreat of the Soviet army in 1941 - a time of heavy and dramatic.
Glazunov was always in the thick of things. He created a series of graphic journalism on the topics of Chile, Nicaragua and Vietnam, the construction of the BAM, the beautiful ceremonial portraits of Kurt Waldheim, Indira Gandhi, Pope John Paul II, the Spanish King Juan Carlos and other high figures. Glazunov was a master of portrait.
By conviction, the artist was a monarchist, a supporter of class privileges and restrictions.
In addition to remarkable paintings, Glazunov left a huge legacy. He never locked up in creativity, had an active life position. He owns the design of a number of operas and ballets, the design of the Soviet Embassy in Madrid. Glazunov participated in the reconstruction and restoration of the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin. In the 1970s, the artist actively opposed the General Plan for the reconstruction of Moscow, which threatened the complete destruction of the historic part of the city. Together with a number of artists created an album dedicated to the losses suffered by the city as a result of the urban "innovative" activity of the communist leadership. Together with composer Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov Glazunov collected signatures of many outstanding figures of science and culture under a letter to the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. The general plan was criticized by the indignant public. It was withdrawn, a public council was created, without permission of which the destruction of the historical development of the capital could no longer occur. So the preservation of its unique appearance, Moscow is indebted to the great artist, our contemporary, the indifferent person and patriot Ilya Glazunov.
At the initiative of Ilya Glazunov, the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture was established, the rector of which he was from the day of creation, with his participation - the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Monuments of History and Culture, the Petrovskaya Academy of Sciences and Arts.
His awards, not only Soviet, Russian, but other states, can be listed for a very long time. Glazunov is a full Cavalier of the Order "For Services to the Fatherland" - and rightly so. His services to Russia can not be overestimated. Glazunov was awarded the UNESCO Gold Medal for outstanding contribution to world culture.
The son and daughter of Glazunov also became artists.