Elena Kostenko facts for kids

Elena Mikhailovna Kostenko (Russian: Еле́на Миха́йловна Косте́нко; 9 August 1926 – 26 September 2019) was a talented Russian painter. She lived and worked in Saint Petersburg, which was known as Leningrad back then. Elena was a member of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists. Many people consider her one of the most important artists from the Leningrad School of Painting. She was especially famous for her amazing portrait paintings.

Elena Kostenko's Life Story

Elena Mikhailovna Kostenko was born in Leningrad on August 9, 1926. Her father, Mikhail Kostenko, was a very important scientist. He was an Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He helped organize Soviet science.

Becoming an Artist: Early Training

In 1938, Elena Kostenko started studying art at the Leningrad Secondary Art School. This school was part of the Russian Academy of Arts. She studied there until 1946, with a short break during the war. Some of her teachers were Leonid Ovsyannikov and Alexander Zaytsev. Many future famous Russian artists also studied with her at this school. These included Mikhail Anikushin and Maya Kopitseva.

The school had a wonderful atmosphere that encouraged creativity. Teachers taught students to love true art. They also helped them find inspiration from real life. This approach was a key part of the realistic style of the Leningrad School of painting.

Advanced Art Studies

After finishing Secondary Art School in 1946, Elena Kostenko went to the Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. This was a very famous art school. She learned from well-known artists like Semion Abugov and Yuri Neprintsev.

In 1952, Elena Kostenko graduated from the Repin Institute. She studied in Viktor Oreshnikov's special art studio. Many other talented artists graduated with her, including Irina Baldina and Boris Korneev. Her final project was a painting called "Future Builders. Kindergarten." She stayed friends with many of her classmates for years.

Starting Her Art Career

Elena Kostenko began showing her art in exhibitions in 1952. Her first show featured works from her graduating class. The next year, she took part in a big city exhibition. She showed her painting "A Portrait of sculptor A. Kryzhanovskaya" (1953). This painting was so good that it was even shown in the exhibition catalog.

Her Famous Portraits

From then on, painting portraits became Elena Kostenko's main focus. Over the years, she also painted still lifes, landscapes, and everyday scenes. But her portraits of people brought her the most fame. She painted many portraits of scientists and artists. She also created beautiful paintings of children.

Some of her famous portraits from the 1950s to 1970s include:

• "Portrait of actress Galina Korotkevich" (1956)
• "Portrait of A. Shennikov, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR" (1960)
• "Portrait of M. Kostenko, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR" (1963) – this was a portrait of her father!
• "Portrait of artist Mikhail Platunov" (1972)

Elena Kostenko loved painting children and young people. She continued this theme from her graduation project. Some of her works featuring children are:

• "Portrait of schoolgirl Ira Zykova" (1953)
• "After the Bathing" (1964)
• "Portrait of Lena Molteninova" (1975)
• "Friends" (1974)

Painting Her Family

Elena Kostenko often chose her own family members as models for her portraits. Her sons, Vladimir and Michael, appeared in many of her paintings. Painting her family helped her capture a special "thrill of life" in her art. It also allowed her to connect deeply with her subjects. She believed this connection was very important in portrait art. Some of these family portraits include "Offended" (1963) and "Winter Morning" (1964).

Exhibitions and Legacy

Elena Kostenko became a member of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists in 1953. She had her own art shows in Belgorod (1981) and Leningrad (1986). Between 1989 and 1992, her paintings were shown in France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. These shows were part of exhibitions like L'Ecole de Leningrad, which means "The Leningrad School."

Today, Elena Mikhailovna Kostenko's paintings can be found in art museums and private collections around the world. You can see her work in Russia, France, Japan, Italy, the U.S., and England.

See also

• Leningrad School of Painting
• List of Russian artists
• List of 20th-century Russian painters
• List of painters of Saint Petersburg Union of Artists
• Saint Petersburg Union of Artists