Ivan Ivanovitch Godlevsky was born in Dobromeritchi in 1908. In 1914 his father went to the front of I world war and his mother have died from epidemic of cholera. At the age of 6 Ivan with his younger brother Akim are being placed to children shelter with was located in aristocratic house of countess Veniaminova. She has opened this shelter at the end of XIX century. Aristocratic upbringing which came to him from his early childhood have been resting with him for the rest of his life. Ivan has learned to draw before he has learned to write and it became his calling. After revolution of 1917, the shelter was closed in 1918 and all of the children were transferred to soviet children orphanage of town Poltava. Ivan was always carrying pencil and paper with him to draw and than he was given as the gift easel and the oil paints. He was noticed for his art passion
And he was sent to study to Mirgorod Artistic Industrial School of N.V. Gogol.(It was created in 1896). The time of creation of this school happily coincided with the period of heightened interest
In society and among artists to ceramics as the most democratic publicly available material for the embodiment of their ideas. Godlevsky was very lucky to get to this school, it turned out the best school in a world for ceramics creation.

Than Godlevsky has entered Kiev Academy of Art were was working Fiodor Kritchevky - the founder of the Academy.

Fiodor Kritchesky - first professor of Ivan Godlevsky.
Fiodor Kritchesky has received his professional education шт Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture(1806 1901). Here, according to the artist himself, Abram Arkhipov and Valentin Serov had the greatest influence on him. He decided to continue his artistic education in St. Petersburg, at the Higher Art School at the Imperial Academy of Arts and in 1907 he entered the class of the battle-painter F. Roubaud. After the Academy he was sent abroad as a pensioner. Studied in Vienna with Gustav Klimt. In 1918-1922 he taught at the Ukrainian Academy of Arts, was its first rector. Fyodor Krichevsky received an excellent education and had an amazing talent for seeing colors.
Godlevsky was a favorite student of Fyodor Krichevsky and was able to perceive the correct attitude to color in painting that the master possessed.

Fyodor Krichevsky, Mother, 1929

Vasily Grigorievich Krichevsky - 2nd professor I.I. Godlevsky at the Kiev Academy.
Also, the brother of Fyodor Krichevsky Vasily taught at the Kiev Academy of Arts in the 20s, when Ivan Ivanovich studied there. ... Vasily Grigorievich immediately noticed the original talent of Ivan Ivanovich and they became very friendly. Godlevsky was lucky to learn from this magnificent master of painting. Vasily Grigorievich Krichevsky had a rare talent for seeing colors. His works are extremely beautiful and he was able to pass on his talent to his most talented student Ivan Ivanovich Godlevsky.

Vasily Krichevsky, Sea of Azov

Vasily Krichevsky, Monastery

Vasily Krichevsky, Crimean landscape

After the Kiev Academy Godlevsky in 1931. was drafted into the army. I had to serve in the army until 1935, since at the insistence of the then authorities I had to remain a "volunteer" for another two years. In 1936, after the army, Ivan Godlevsky decided to enter the best higher educational institution of the country for painting - the Leningrad Art Academy. Repin. He was accepted only for the quality of his paintings without exams, which did not happen often.

Professor Alexander Alexandrovich Osmerkin
Alexander Alexandrovich was a student of one of the best artists in the world and an enlightened person, Nicholas Roerich. In 1913. he entered the studio of the greatest master of painting, Ilya Ivanovich Mashkov. In 1914 Alexander was admitted to the "Jack of Diamonds" Society of Artists. The society included Konchalovsky, Mashkov, Larionov, Lentulov and Goncharova. Like other masters of this association, he sympathizes with the work of the French painter Paul Cézanne. Styles such as Cubism and Fauvism, which also came from France, are not alien to him. This is clearly seen in the early works of the artist.

In the above works of Osmerkin, one can clearly see the great talent of the artist and an excellent understanding of color. He was the youngest artist of the Jack of Diamonds and one of the most talented. The works of Goncharova and Larionov are now worth millions and this is only because the artists came to Paris and their works had access to the painting market. Of course, the same would have happened with the works of Osmerkin, but by the will of fate he remained to live in the USSR. Having experienced all the hardships of the revolutionary and war years, the artist remains devoted to art until the end of his days. Deineka wrote about him;

He passed among us Don Quixote in art, many things seemed to him better than they actually were, he looked at many things with sublime delight. "But not only painting conquered his heart then. The feeling of art, as he later called himself, the ability to penetrate into the world of the sublime, the beautiful, was brought up in him and literature.He knew Russian poetry perfectly - the works of Baratynsky, Tyutchev, Fet, but nevertheless A.S. Pushkin remained an idol and god for him.Everyone who knew Osmerkin was surprised his brilliant knowledge, feeling and reading of the poet's immortal creations,to which he dedicated a series of paintings painted in 1928 in the Mikhailovsky, Trigorsky, Pushkin mountains. The best achievements of French painting of the late 19th and early 20th centuries undoubtedly influenced Russian artists. Osmerkin said: "The Shchukin and Morozov galleries are my academy. I have done all the way of analytical research in painting. There were both impressionism and cubism …"

The talent for teaching woke up in the artist quite early. Since 1918 he taught at 1 and 2 Free State Workshops, then at Vkhutemas - Vhutein. In 1932. at the invitation of AT Matveev, who headed the All-Russian Academy of Arts, Osmerkin moved to Leningrad .. At that time, Osmerkin was in charge of the painting department, which, according to his students, was the most interesting in the Academy. In his article "On the Education of Artists" Osmerkin wrote: "The upbringing of a young artist is, first of all, the upbringing of artistic culture in him, and one must begin with this upbringing. Mind and feeling must guide by the hand of the artist, only in this way does the craft necessary for the master not turn into needlework. One craft taken without visual imagination leads to the passivity of artistic thinking. Without visual imagination, it is impossible to organize a picture as a whole, to achieve in it the correct subordination of details. In teaching, I strive to develop students' sense of color as the fundamental principle of painting. At first I instill in them a love of material, a love of paints: ultramarine, emerald, ocher, cadmium, ivory, etc. " Being a deeply educated person and considering his main the vital task of the development of art, until the end of his life, he remained faithful to his ideals and managed to pass on to his students his knowledge and faith in fine art, which he considered impressionism.

Osmerkin has always been reprimanded for his worship of Western painting. Both externally and internally, he was a man of the old world, a man of imperial Russia. He came to his lectures at the Academy in a fox fur coat, in an impeccable suit and always talked about art from the point of view of beauty, but in no case from the side of the establishment of Soviet power and the approval of socialist realism. A it wasn't easy at the time. In 1947. At a party meeting, Alexander Alexandrovich Osmerkin was asked to renounce the French impressionists and no longer recognize their painting, to which the professor replied that those who do not recognize Cezanne's painting are complete fools and left the meeting, slamming the door. After that, he was released from teaching at the Repin Academy in Leningrad and at the Surikov Institute in Moscow. He had to live on a small pension. In 1953. The master is gone.

Osmyorkin, In the courtyard of the Hermitage, 1945

Osmyorkin, Sergiev Posad, 1947

Osmyorkin, Malaya Holland, 1945

The great master wrote the above works in the 40s. They are beautiful in color and composition and correspond to all the canons of classical education.

The monograph about the artist was published by the publishing house Soviet Artist only in 1981. Godlevsky was asked to write about his favorite teacher and included the article below in his book "Osmerkin. Reflections on Art." Soviet Artist. Moscow 1981

Godlevsky's article on Osmerkin
"The war ended and we met again. In 1948 I found Alexander Alexandrovich rejuvenated, cheerful, full of plans and hopes for the future, although his everyday life became more difficult - he was removed from teaching at the institutes of Leningrad and Moscow. my duty to support Alexander Alexandrovich and wrote him a letter full confidence that justice will certainly prevail and history will put everything in its true place. He gave examples from the relatively recent past of world art.

Soon I received a letter from Moscow, where Alexander Alexandrovich thanked me with great warmth, but wrote that he did not is such a significant figure about which historical parallels can be allowed. But I turned out to be right - history has already said its word and today the name of Alexander Alexandrovich Osmerkin is among the brilliant masters of painting in Soviet art. However, this historical word was spoken much later than the described time.

Each visit is remembered by endless conversations: it seemed that they embraced the art of the whole world, all continents - they had no end, and whether it was a conversation about the miracle of the frescoes of Pompeii or about the Russian icon, about Negro art or Persian miniature, about our contemporaries - Matisse or Picasso - Alexander Alexandrovich was a treasure trove of inexhaustible information and amazed with the depth of knowledge, which he expressed not as it should be to the "meter" - maxims, but with the simplicity inherent only in truly big people, sometimes exploding with an unexpected joke, a slight sarcastic remark and always not a banality of judgment.

Then at the end of the 40s, when I came to Moscow, I always stayed with my teacher. His workshop was in a large communal apartment on Kirov Street in the center. There he worked and lived. The shelves of the huge library occupied almost an entire wall of the workshop, there was a harsh ottoman with a dark carpet hanging over it, and Pushkin's masks at the end of the nearest shelf. In the working space there was an easel and a podium for the model, the guests were laid to sleep on it, if it was empty, and if he was busy with a still life, then the guest naturally sat on the floor. On the high plastered walls there are paintings by the artist. Pictures and on shelves.

1914 Osmerkin Wooden bridge, Leningrad 1946
xm 102 x 120

A.A. Osmerkin Forget-me-nots
HM. 81 x 60.1953

Formation of the artist I.I. Godlevsky
By the will of fate, Ivan Ivanovich Godlevsky received an impeccable education in art. MHPSH finished with a gold medal, professors Fedor Grigorievich and Vasily Grigorievich Krichevsky and finally professor Alexander Alexandrovich Osmerkin.

Undoubtedly, the most important milestone in the artistic development of Godlevsky was training in the individual workshop of the professor of the Academy Alexander Alexandrovich Osmerkin. Of course, their long-standing friendship also helped. Osmerkin, a gifted painter and an excellent teacher, immediately considered the talent of the young student. From the first days of training and friendship that began Godlevsky eagerly absorbed and shared the worldview of the great Master. The professor demanded a serious mastering of the subjects of painting, composition and drawing. He encouraged his students to work in the open air, to master the traditions of famous masters presented in the Hermitage and in the Russian Museum.

In these museums, the young Godlevsky spent days and hours studying the world's masterpieces of painting. Godlevsky said that his teacher sent his students to the Hermitage to study painting in front of the canvases of the Impressionists. On these frequent trips to the Hermitage, looking at masterpieces of the French impressionists Godlevsky, listening and imitating his professor, formed his own taste and manner of painting, which he followed and did not betray until the end of his life.

I.I. Godlevsky, 1934
Military service

In 1941 Godlevsky went to the front after the fifth year of the Academy from Osmerkin's workshop. Instead of working on his diploma, he was mobilized to the Western Front as a battalion commander. Like all our fathers and grandfathers, he defended our Motherland. During the crossing of the Dniester, Ivan Ivanovich was wounded. He drowned, then lay in the hospital for a long time. In 1944. he accomplished a feat that was described in the front-line newspapers. Together with a group of 17 soldiers, he captured 437 enemy soldiers and officers for which he was awarded the order. In the first years of the war, there was no time for painting at the front. But when the war began to approach a victorious end and all the front-line soldiers began to think about choosing a peaceful profession, imaginary pictures began to form in Godlevsky's head, like poetry is formed in the head of a poet. He decided to try again his hand at the field of his favorite business - painting. After demobilization, he ended up in Leningrad only in 1948 to write a diploma. He wrote his diploma in a monumental workshop to avoid Professor Mikhail Ivanovich Avilov, winner of the Stalin Prize and an ardent admirer of socialist realism. Unfortunately, the plot of the diploma is artists in They did not choose the time, they were given the task of what to write. Even Godlevsky, who later embarked on his own individual, uncontrolled path in painting had to maneuver.

The diploma work "Nikita Khrushchev among the Hutsuls", of course, was made clearly in the spirit of socialist realism, the only genre required then from the artists of the USSR. It is also worth noting from the writing and impeccable composition that the artist received a higher classical education, which was becoming less and less in the world of fine arts. After defending his diploma, Godlevsky begins teaching at the Institute of Baron Stieglitz or in Mukhinka, as it is still called among artists, He was also elected chairman of the painting section of the Leningrad Union of Artists. In 1953. the artist gets a workshop on the street. Saltykov-Shchedrin 34 - the former workshop of Vereshchagin. He shared it with other artists. Party member, war hero, professor at a prestigious art university and head of the painting section, Godlevsky could have made a brilliant career in the Soviet However, remembering his beloved professor Osmerkin, he was exceptionally honest in his dealings with art and never betrayed his artistic principles. Godlevsky worked not for recognition, but for art. He wrote in his diary "Creativity is the path to absolute happiness and the only meaning of life.»

The life of I.I. Godlevsky and V, D. Lyubimova - the main admirer of his talent.
The first marriage of Ivan Ivanovich falls apart. In 1956. Godlevsky fulfills the important state order "Lenin in October", receives a large sum of money for it, gives up teaching at Mukhinka and leaves for Armenia for 8 months. He returned from Armenia at the beginning of 1957. with freshly written works, happy and enthusiastic to create. Then he leaves for a creative business trip to the ancient city of Pskov and returns to Leningrad only at the end of October, bringing with him new works created in the Pskov region.

The wife of his friend, artist Grigory Malysh, invites guests to Godlevsky's studio to view his works. Among them was his future wife Vera Dmitrievna Lyubimova. She subsequently wrote about this visit to Godlewski's atelier:

"In Ivan Ivanovich's studio there were 18 works on the table, on chairs, on the floor. These were landscapes of central Russia. I was shocked. There was so much purity, harmony in colors, a feeling of goodness and joy that I wanted to look and see. Then I have already remembered each work forever.But my first glance fell on a painting depicting a creamy pink bell tower on the bank of the river with several trees, emerald grass, a gentle blue evening sky, and although the sun was not visible, it seemed that it sparkled in every leaf and blade of grass."Oh," I screamed,"it's after the rain," that's how this picture got the name"After the Rain". and for a very long time my husband and I did not part with this picture."

I.I. Godlevsky Festival of Life, Isakievskaya Square
hmm 117 x 200 1954

In 1957 Vera married Ivan Ivanovich. First, she fell in love with his work and then with the artist. Ivan Ivanovich was 49 years old, he was a mature person and an established artist. He stopped taking orders from the Union of Artists and spent all his time painting pictures. The most devoted admirer of Godlevsky's work was his wife. They discussed his paintings, went to museums together and Vera Dmitrievna fell so in love with his painting that she helped him in everything she could. Vera Dmitrievna completely took care of household chores so that Ivan Ivanovich could create freely. Vera Dmitrievna was born in 1920. and participated in defense of Leningrad during the Patriotic War. She was a nurse during the siege of Leningrad. After the war she worked in Smolny, and then became an assistant professor at the 1st Medical Institute in Leningrad. Thanks to the connections of Vera Dmitrievna, they received a magnificent workshop with a separate apartment on the 7th floor of building 83 along the Griboyedov Canal. Sometimes in the evenings they went out onto the roof from which St. Isaac's Cathedral shone in all its glory. From the window of the workshop's round rotunda, one could see the blue domes with gold stars on the Trinity - Izmailovsky Cathedral. Excellent conditions were created for artists in the USSR. All over the country there were houses from the Union of Artists. Any artist could come and live in this house, where there was always an inexpensive dining room and comfortable rooms and everything for creativity. Every year Godlevsky went on creative business trips in various directions of our vast country. He especially loved to visit the south of Russia and often visited the Crimea.

Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin, a famous Russian artist, in 1910 built a dacha for himself in Gurzuf and called it "Salambo", in honor of his beloved ballet for which he made costumes and sets. At this dacha, Korovin received Surikov and Andreev, Gorky and Kuprin. Very often his friend Chaliapin visited him. The famous portrait of Chaliapin was also painted here.

In 1947, the house of the Union of Artists was opened at this dacha. Ivan Ivanovich was very fond of this place steeped in history.

Salammbo was built in a very picturesque bay with great views. This gave Godlewski endless plots for his pictures. After all, there was everything that the artist loved, the hot southern sun, the colorful sea and beautiful views. He lived in Gurzuf from 3 to 6 months a year, where he created his wonderful Crimean landscapes

I.I. Godlevsky Blooming almonds. Crimea
hmm 70 x 93

I.I. Godlevsky On the terrace. Crimea
hmm 60 x 80

The first official exhibition in Leningrad
The first official exhibition of Godlevsky was held in the Union of Artists of Leningrad in 1961. The Leningrad Union of Artists was located in the building of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts. It was done on an imperial scale. From 1906 to 1917 Nicholas Roerich taught at the Drawing School of the society. It was with Nicholas Roerich that the beloved professor of Godlevsky Alexander Osmerkin studied. And now the works of Ivan Ivanovich were presented in the exhibition halls of the Union of Artists of Leningrad. Godlevsky hung 89 works in the exhibition halls. Of course, his work was very different from the paintings previously exhibited here. After all, basically the artists followed the style set by the party - the style of socialist realism. Godlevsky followed his well-established style, the style of development of Russian impressionism. He continued the work of his great professor Osmerkin, wrote only what he loved and the result was magnificent.

The opening speech at the opening of the exhibition was read by his faithful admirer and wife Vera Dmitrievna Lyubimova.
To get to the exhibition, you had to wait in line for 2-3 hours. The exhibition halls were located on the 2nd floor of a beautiful building with wide and gentle staircases, and the line began on the street.

The exhibition was a huge success. This was a turning point in the artist's life. He was already 53 years old and had an excellent education in art, which he constantly replenished and developed. By this time, Godlevsky had created his own bright, easily recognizable and individual style in painting. The recognition of the public made it clear to him that he was on the right path to creating a real painting. But every artist strives for this and many never find themselves.

The newspapers, of course, scolded the artist for being "French", but still the Art Council decided to send the exhibition to 12 cities of the USSR and also show it in different halls of Leningrad. Indeed, for two years, Godlevsky's exhibition was held at the Writers' Union, the House of Scientists, the Electromechanical Institute, the House of Culture of Industrial Cooperation and the Kirov Plant. Also, according to the decision of the Art Council, the exhibition was held in Lviv and the paintings were transported for the exhibition to Simferopol.
The recognition of the public is very important for any artist. The enthusiastic reviews of his paintings in the book of exhibition visits, a large number of people striving to see his paintings, the decision of the Art Council to take the exhibition to 12 cities gave the artist great confidence in his own talent. But in order to achieve a result, you need to create a picture with great love and confidence. One of the artists, members of the Leningrad Union of Artists, Yuri Aleksandrovich Mezhirov, told me a curious story about Ivan Ivanovich. They rested and worked together in Gurzuf, in the creative house of artists (Salammbo) and Godlewski, while showing their work to other artists, said "Look, I am writing masterpieces." It is noteworthy that he never chased any isms, did not try to create a new style in painting, but simply created positive and cheerful works with which one wants to live.

During the exhibition at the Union of Artists in Leningrad, the American Symphony Orchestra toured. The musicians, being creative people, visited Godlevsky's exhibition, tracked down the artist and visited his studio. It was impossible to sell works at that time, and Ivan Ivanovich presented them with 6 of his paintings. In gratitude, the musicians for many years sent him art books and albums with wonderful illustrations of which it was impossible to buy in the USSR at that time.

I.I. Godlevsky Night pier
hmm 70 x 93

I.I.Godlevsky Sunrise over the Neva
HM. 70 x 93

I.I. Godlevsky Novgorod landscape
хм 70 х 93

I. I. Godlevsky On the Volkhov River
HM. 70 x 93

I.I. Godlevsky At the port in Porto Vecchio
хм 61 х 80 1991

I. I. Godlevsky In the port of Porto Vecchio
hmm 61 x 80 1991

I.I. Godlevsky Ile de la Cité
hmm 46 x 61.1991

I.I. Godlevsky Barges on the Seine, Paris
HM. 46 x 61.1991

I am with Ivan Ivanovich and Vera Dmitrievna
Near the Lesninsky Monastery France 1992

Ivan Ivanovich and Vera Dmitrievna
Travel across France. 1992

Ivan Ivanovich on the terrace of the villa in Le Pradet

I.I. Godlevsky Self-portrait
sq.m. 48 x 35 1974

I. I. Godlevsky Vera, the artist's wife, oil on canvas 70 x 50.1959