Outstanding People of Belarus

Belarus is a talented nation. At the dawn of its formation the Belarusian nation produced such outstanding people as the writer and orator of the 12th century Cyril Turovsky and the representative of the Enlightenment¹ Symon Budny. Among those who made the greatest contribution to the devel­opment of Belarusian culture and science is Francisk Scoryna. His activities in literature, law, medicine and book- printing gave a powerful impulse to the development of all Slavonic nations.

Belarusian poets and writers Ya. Kolas, Ya. Kupala, V. Korotkevich, I. Melezh, V. Bykov do not only belong to the outstanding people of our country, but their names are also well-known outside Belarus.

The greatest figure in Belarusian painting of the 19th cen­tury was the portrait and still life² painter Ivan Khrutsky (1810-1885). The Portrait of the Artist's Son, where the boy is shown holding a basket of grapes, and the still life Game, Vegetables and Mushrooms represent the work of this promi­nent master of the Belarusian domestic scene in the National Art Museum.

One of the leading landscape and genre artists of the 19th century was Napoleon Orda (1807-1883) who left an impressive heritage of lithographs³ depicting ancient country churches, castles and mansions⁴.

Another native of Belarus, Apolinary Garoutsky (1833-1900), travelled abroad and achieved international fame, exhibiting his works in Paris, Brussels ['brAslz] and St. Petersburg. He is particularly remembered for his landscapes of the River Svisloch and the countryside around Minsk. There are many examples of talented natives of Belarus who lived here or went abroad and contributed a lot to the culture, econ­omy and science of other countries.

The world famous artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985) was born in Belarus and started his artistic career here. The world famous The Black Square by the Belarusian artist K. Malevich (1878-1935), who, like Marc Chagall, represented the brilliant Vitebsk school of art, is on display in the Tate Gallery in London.

The impressionist school in painting is represented by an outstanding landscape artist of the first half of the 20th centu­ry Vitovt Belynytsky-Birulya (1870-1957). His works are now on display in Mogilev.

Many talented artists are to be mentioned among the repre­sentatives of "socialist realism". In the second half of the 20th century M. Savitsky (b.1922) played a leading role in Belarusian art. His painting Partisan Madonna, the portrait of Yanka Kupala and other works have contributed to the broadening of interest in Belarusian themes in many countries of the world.

Belarusian artists have been particularly successful in depicting the beauty and individuality of the countryside. Among the distinguished modern landscape artists whose works are displayed in the National Art Museum are V. Tsvirka, V. Gromyko, F. Domashkevich, V. Sumarev and others.

Belarusian sculptors have also made an important contribu­tion to the prestige of Belarusian art. The outstanding sculptor Z. Azgur (1908-1995) is famous for his classical portrayals of Belarusian and international central figures, including those of Yakub Kolas, Yanka Kupala, Rabindranath Tagore. Other famous Belarusian sculptors are A. Glebov (1908-1968), S. Selekhanov (1917-1976) and A. Bembel (1905-1986). These "Big Four", as they are sometimes called, decorated many public buildings and various places in Minsk and other

Belarusian cities.

Belarus keeps memory of its national heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of their Motherland. They are Nikolay Gastello, Victor Talalikhin, Konstantin Zaslonov, the defend­ers of the Brest Fortress and many many others.

Belarusian sportsmen have also contributed a lot to the glory and fame of the country thanks to their achievements in major international competitions.

Answer the questions.

1. What spheres of life have outstanding Belarusians con­tributed to?

2. What were F. Scoryna's interests? What is he famous for?

3. Who are the most famous Belarusian writers and poets?

4. Who is the most prominent master of Belarusian domes­tic scene?

5. What did N. Orda depict in his pictures?

6. What representatives of Vitebsk school of art received the world fame?

7. What trend in art did V. Belynytsky-Birulya belong to?

8. What other Belarusians contributed to the glory and fame of our culture?

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