RUSAKOV Alexander Isaakovich

March 16, 1898 (Sevsk, Orel province) — 1952 (Leningrad)

Painter, graphic artist

Aleksander Rusakov was born to a family of country doctor. In 1901 he together with his parents moved to St. Petersburg. In 1917 he finished secondary school. At the same time he attended the E. N. Zvantseva’s and M. I. Ignatiev’s School of drawing. In 1918–1924 he studied at Petrograd State Free Art Studios, at the Higher State Artistic and Technical Workshops (VKhUTEMAS), at the Higher Art Technical Institute (VKhUTEIN) under the guidance of N. N. Dubovsky, D. N. Kardovsky, and O. E. Braz.

Rusakov lived in Leningrad. In late 1920s — 1930s he spent summer months in Sestroretsk. He was married to the painter T. I. Kupervasser. Rusakov was engaged in easel painting and graphic art (oil, watercolor, Indian ink, colored crayons). He often painted landscapes, rarely portraits and still lifes. The main subjects of his art were landscapes from the windows of his studio (in the corner of the Bolshoi Prospect); in 1920s–1930s he painted views of the Central park of culture and rest in St. Petersburg, views of Sestroretsk.

Since 1925 Aleksander Rusakov participated in different exhibitions. He was a member and active participant of the exhibitions of the group Obshchina Khudozhnikov (“Artist Community”, 1925–1927), the association Krug Khudozhnikov (“Circle of Artists”, 1927–1930). Since 1932 Rusakov was a member of Leningrad Union of Soviet Artists (LSSKh). He participated in the exhibition The modern Leningrad art groups (1928–1929), in the First public Exhibition of Fine Arts in Leningrad (1930), in the exhibition Artists of the RSFSR for 15 years in Leningrad and in Moscow (1932–1934), in the exhibition of the Soviet art in Berlin (1930), in the exhibitions of Leningrad Department of the Union of Soviet Artists (LOSSKh) — Leningrad Union of Soviet Artists (LSSKh) in 1937–1941, 1943, 1946, 1952, and in other exhibitions.

During the Great Patriotic War, Rusakov lived in Leningrad, painted a cycle of landscapes of the blockade Leningrad. Since late 1940s he painted mainly in tempera. Except landscapes from the windows of his studio, in that period he painted a lot of works from memory.

Personal exhibition of Rusakov were held in Leningrad–St. Petersburg (1957, 1984, 1998, 2006) and in Moscow (2008). In 2007 works of the artist were exposed at the big retrospective exhibition Krug Khudozhnikov in St. Petersburg.

Aleksander Rusakov was a leading artist of so called Leningrad school of 1920s–1940s, along with N. A. Tyrsa, N. F. Lapshin, A. A. Uspensky, A. S. Vedernikov, V. A. Grinberg, A. N. Samokhvalov and others. Artworks of Rusakov were characterized by repetition of artist’s motifs, chamber, lyricism and free manner of painting.

Works by Aleksander Rusakov are in many museum and private collections, including the State Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery, Saratov State Art Museum named after A. N. Radishchev, Odessa Fine Arts Museum and others.