"portrait Of A Young Black Boy In A Hat" By Leonid Tkatchenko (1927)

Leonid Anisimovich Tkachenko (1927). The artist spent his childhood and adolescence in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria. There he received his first drawing and painting lessons, studying at the Pioneer Palace art studio under the artist N. Gusachenko. He graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Fine Arts. Since 1950, Leonid Tkachenko has participated in exhibitions, presenting his works alongside those of the greatest masters of Leningrad fine arts. He paints portraits, landscapes, still lifes, genre scenes, and thematic compositions. He works in oil and watercolor. In 1951, he was admitted as a member of the Leningrad Union of Artists. From 1950 to 1970, Leonid Tkachenko undertook study trips to the untouched lands of Kazakhstan, to the construction sites of the Krasnoyarsk and Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plants, and to the ancient Russian cities of Pskov, Novgorod, Rostov-on-the-Great, Vladimir, and Suzdal. He also visited Transcarpathia, Central Asia, and Siberia. The impressions gathered during these travels resulted in numerous sketches from nature, which later served as the basis for his paintings. In the 1960s, Leonid Tkachenko's work gradually evolved, moving from plein air painting to complex compositions and greater expressiveness. The role of color and rhythm, expressions of the emotional perception of life's phenomena, increased, leading to the exploration of broader philosophical themes in his conceptual painting. His works from the 1970s and 1980s established him as one of the most prominent representatives of the "left" wing of the Leningrad Union of Artists. A solo exhibition of his work was held in Leningrad in 1983. From 1989 to 1992, the artist's works were successfully presented at exhibitions and auctions of Russian painting at the Leningrad School in France. Works by Leonid Anisimovich Tkachenko are included in the collections of the State Russian Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, as well as in museums and private collections in Russia, Italy, France, Great Britain, and other countries. Oil on canvas panel, signed upper right and dated 1954. Dimensions: 31 x 25 cm; with wooden frame: 40 x 34 cm