Isaac Itkind

Isaac Yakovlevich Itkind [app. 1871, Smarhon' (Smorgonie), near Vilnius, Russian Empire, present-day Belarus - February 14, 1969, Alma-Ata (present-day Almaty, Kazakhstan)] was a distinguished Russian and Soviet sculptor from Lithuanian Jewish origin. A self-taught primitivist and a rabbi, only aged 39 did he start his studies in art in Vilno (now Vilnius), and aged 42 years, his studies in sculpture with famous Russian sculptor Sergei Volnukhin at the School of Sculpture and Architecture in Moscow. Itkind's favorite style was wooden sculptures of people. The uniqueness of Itkind's creativity was in his genius to “see a soul in the wooden slob” as he often relayed to his creations. "To Isaac Itkind it is important that his sculptures should think and should stimulate thought". The famous artist, Marc Chagall, a personal friend of Itkind, once said: “ Itkind is the Van Gogh of sculpture”. After the Soviet revolution, the tragic events of the Great Purge threw Itkind's life into oblivion - and his masterpieces followed for decades. He was falsely declared dead in 1937. Itkind's long and unique life – full of tragic events – nourished his genius creativity. (Honored Artist of the Kazakh SSR (1968), member of the Union of Artists of the USSR).