Mazel Reuben (Ilia) Moiseevich

January 24, 1890 (Vitebsk) - 1967 (Moscow)

Painter, graphic artist

from family violinist. In mid-1900's, he studied at the School of Painting and Drawing YM Peng, where he met with MZ Chagall and MV Libakovym. He continued his education in the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts in St. Petersburg (1907-1908), who left because of lack of residence in the capital. In 1909 he returned to Vitebsk, where he organized an art studio. In 1910-1914 he lived in Munich, studied at the Academy of Arts and workshop etcher P. Hulme, made several trips to Italy.

In 1914 he returned to Russia, was conscripted and sent to the Eastern Front in Turkmenistan (Krasnovodsk and Ashgabat).

After demobilization he lived in Ashgabat (until 1923), then - in Moscow. He painted portraits, landscapes, paintings and sketches of everyday scenes. Many worked in the techniques of watercolor, ink. He performed the graphic series (watercolor, pencil, ink): "Patterns of the Persian city" (1916-1918), "Steppe said," Carpet Tales "(both - 1920-1925). Together with artists AP Vladychukom and MV Libakovym organized in Ashgabat art studio (1920), which in 1922 was called "Shock Art School of the East" (closed in 1925). Participated in the exhibition of Turkmen art school in Moscow (1923). Member of the Association of the Turkmen artists.

Since the late 1920's worked extensively in the techniques of oil painting and tempera. In the early 1930's created a series of works on biblical subjects. Book illustrations. Has worked in the publishing house "Moscow", "Red Virgin Soil," "Rainbow" and others. The designer of the book by R. Kipling, Ilya Ehrenburg, Anton Chekhov. Since 1934 he worked as a designer at the Moscow Central Museum of Ethnology. In 1930-50's participated in expeditions to Dagestan, Karakalpakstan, Turkmenistan. Author of poetry, dedicated to Turkmenistan.

Mazel - one of the most outstanding masters of the first third of the twentieth century, whose work is connected with Central Asia. In the late 1910's - early 1920's went through a fascination with cubism. "Middle Asia" cycles of the mid 1920's characterized by diminutive letters, the desire for decorative expressiveness of color and line: brightness, color richness, the abundance of ornamental motifs, rhythmic coordination, the geometrization of lines and shapes on the verge of figurative art and abstraction. In the late 1920's moved away from the "miniature" style, turning to writing full-scale paintings in tempera and oil.

Creativity Mazel represented in many museum collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, State Museum of Oriental Art, GMII im. Pushkin State Museum of Arts Karakalpak them. Savitskiy in Nukus and others.