Lysenko Mikhail Grigorievich is an outstanding Ukrainian sculptor of the Soviet period. Despite the fact that due to a physical disability he did not take part in the battles for the liberation of the country from fascism, he managed to capture in all colors the heroism of the revolutionary and wartime in his works for centuries.
Childhood of Mikhail Lysenko
Mikhail Grigorievich was born on October 26, 1906 in a large peasant family in the village of Shpilevka, Sumy region. Raising the facts of his childhood biography, it seems that the troubles that befell the boy would be enough for several lives. However, Misha never felt unhappy, his physical disability did not prevent him from communicating with his peers on equal terms, enjoying life in all its manifestations.
In addition to the poor existence of the Lysenko family, seven children were left without a mother very early. The disease with tuberculosis at that time was very common, and little Misha could not avoid this misfortune. In 50% of cases of bone tuberculosis, the spine suffers. Very often large joints are affected: knee or hip.
Due to the curvature of the spine, the formation of a hump is possible, and the second case leads to deformation of the lower extremities, a slowdown in their growth. This is followed by different leg lengths. I must say that Mikhail Lysenko had both of these shortcomings. The causes of the disease, experts call unfavorable living conditions: hypothermia, weak immunity, infections, hard physical labor.
Since the disease is accompanied by the destruction of bone tissue in some places and excessive calcification in others, Misha suffered a broken leg in childhood, which did not heal properly. As a result, there was a hump, an unbending knee and a 12 cm shortening of one leg. In this state, the boy was sent to an orphanage in Kharkov.
Commune life
It is clear that the orphanages also did not live richly, but here the leadership tried to organize this life in a systematic way so that the state could benefit from every native of the commune. Those of the pupils who did not show the proper interest in learning began to work physically earlier. Thanks to the attention of educators and teachers, Misha's ability to draw was noticed early.
Any children's games and entertainment were no strangers to this boy on crutches. He even succeeded, deftly jumping on one healthy leg, using a crutch and with a stick in the other hand to chase the ball. If Misha was not a participant in the game of football, then the fan from him was also excellent. Mikhail Lysenko carried this passion for football throughout his life.
After graduating from high school, in the direction of the commune, Lysenko goes to study at the Kharkov Art Institute. In 1931 he successfully completed it. In the future, the sculptor communicates very closely with his classmates Ivan Makogon and Mikhail Deregus. The Lysenko and Deregus families even lived in the same communal apartment for a long time.
Creativity of a talented artist
Already the very first works of the young sculptor Mikhail Lysenko, a graduate of the art institute, were not only noticed, but recommended by a special commission for an international exhibition. It was a sculptural group dedicated to the brotherly Chinese people - "China is fighting". It was created in 1931.
The same commission played a very important role in the fate of the talented artist, sending him for serious treatment. I must say that the Soviet doctors of the Kharkov Orthopedic Institute did the seemingly impossible then - to correct such long-standing consequences of childhood tuberculosis. One after another, the most complex operations were carried out, after which Mikhail was at the hood for several months.
Although everyone knew Mikhail Grigorievich to be cheerful, carefree, with an open kind soul, after the elimination of physical disabilities, it became clear that this still weighed him down. Yes, he never grumbled about fate, but it was after the appropriate treatment that life began to play with different colors. The main thing is that he got married. And he did not just marry, but the one for whom he had the most tender feelings in the orphanage. Vatslava Maryanovna Serafinovich became his chosen one.
In his wife, Mikhail saw not only his wife, but also a companion in his work. Vatsa posed for him when the famous post-war work called "Loyalty" was being created. And the creation of a monument to the red commander Nikolai Shchors is a whole epic. It turns out that Leonid Kravchuk, who later became the president of independent Ukraine, posed for Mikhail Lutsenko while working on this sculpture.
At that time, Kravchuk was still a student at Kiev University. Later, he recalled how, while walking along Khreshchatyk, a man who called himself the architect Lysenko approached him and offered to pose, as he saw in Leonid's features a resemblance to the image of Shchors. So Kravchuk went to work with Mikhail Grigorievich for two months. On April 30, 1954, the grand opening took place on the boulevard. Shevchenko in Kiev.
The sculptor Lysenko M. G. any special conditions for work, there was no own workshop. Immediately after the liberation of Kiev from the Germans in 1944, he moved with his family to the destroyed capital. One apartment was shared with the family of Mikhail Deregus. They lived here and worked here. The sculpture of the same Shchors was molded simply in the common kitchen.
In 1947, Lysenko created two outstanding sculptures in Lviv, dedicated to the Victory in the Second World War. In the same year he received a professorship. Lysenko began teaching at an art institute in Kiev. The daughter of Mikhail Deregus Natalya recalls that she was inspired to enroll in an art institute by observing the work of Mikhail Grigorievich as a child.
He was very sensitive to every small detail of the sculpture, believing that there are no trifles in this matter. Michelangelo was his personal idol. Experts note unrestrained energy and expression in Lysenko's works. Back in 1934, he completed a work dedicated to the prisoners of concentration camps "In the dungeons of fascism."
Personal life
Mikhail Grigorievich Lysenko lived for 66 years and died in 1972. The cause of death was aortic rupture. His wife, Vatslava Maryanovna, survived her husband by 35 years and died just a year before her 100th birthday. Despite the significant difference in appearance (Vatsa was a beauty with a gorgeous braid, and Mikhail never differed in appearance), everyone who visited their home noted the spiritual relationship and warm family atmosphere.
Together they raised three children: sons Alexander and Bogdan and daughter Galina. Mikhail Grigorievich was very proud of his children and in the most difficult war years tried to create the necessary conditions for their development. Eyewitnesses recall that in his home workshop there was a large table where a child with lessons or chess could be accommodated, but this did not interfere with his work.
Children of neighbors could freely come to this room and this never annoyed the owner. Bars were also installed there for playing sports for the sake of the sons. The father felt special pride for the elder son, especially when he became a student of the Road Institute. Later, at this large table, the students of Professor Lysenko gathered, all the hosts warmly welcomed them.
When there were feasts with friends, Mikhail Grigorievich also demonstrated his excellent singing. He possessed an excellent tenor voice, usually stood at the head of the table and flexed his hand to the beat, as if conducting. In the same way, with love, clay was malleable to the plastic of his hands. Until now, Lysenko's works are admired even abroad, where they appeared after the death of the author.
And today it is difficult to imagine that this fragile, sickly person possessed such fortitude to withstand the criticism of his contemporaries. And they condemned just for expressionism, intemperance in emotions. But thanks to this effect, the sculptures of Mikhail Lysenko will live forever, although this is a completely different layer of life that has gone down into history.
