Felix Lembersky



Felix Samoilovich Lembersky (Russian: Феликс Самойлович Лемберский)[1] (November 11, 1913 – December 2, 1970) was a Russian/Soviet painter, artist, teacher, theatre stage designer, and organizer of artistic groups.[1] He is known for his 'Execution: Babi Yar' series (1944–52), which are considered to be among the earliest artistic representations of the Nazi massacres of Jews in Kyiv.

Biography
Felix Samoilovich Lembersky was a Russian/Soviet painter, artist, teacher, theater stage designer, and organizer of artistic groups. He was born in 1913 into the family of Samuil Lembersky of Lublin and relocated with his family to Berdyczów (now Berdychiv, Ukraine) following the Russian loss of Lublin to the Austro-Hungarian army in 1915. In 1928, Lembersky moved to Kiev to attend the Jewish Arts' and Trades' School (known as the "Kultur-Lige Art School," studio of Mark Epshtein). He worked as a set designer for the Jewish Theater in Kiev and Berdichev from 1930 to 1933 and attended the Kiev Art Institute from 1933 to 1935 to study painting with professor Pavel Volokidin. He then moved to Leningrad to study at the Russian Academy of Arts in 1935.

During his studies, Lembersky toured the Urals to collect material for his thesis, and he returned to Leningrad after Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. His parents remained in Berdichev and perished in the Holocaust. Lembersky was wounded during the defense operations on the outskirts of Leningrad in July 1941. He then contracted typhoid and was brought back to the Academy, which was converted into a home and a hospital for its students, professors, and staff during the war. He completed his thesis during the Siege of Leningrad and defended it in December 1941, earning a degree in easel painting with honors for academic achievement.

Lembersky joined the Union of Soviet Artists in 1944 and offered private art classes at his studio. From 1944 to 1954, he worked on commissions and portraits of workers, and he headed group projects. During this time, he created his Execution: Babi Yar series, which are the earliest known artistic renderings of the Nazi massacres of Jews in Kiev. He created the triptych Leaders and Children for Anichkov Palace in 1955, and he worked on the Novgorod and Pskov series from 1956 to 1957. He worked on the Urals Series from 1958 to 1964, and he created the Railway Pointer and Miners series and the Staraya Ladoga series during this time. Lembersky held a personal exhibition at the LOSSKh exhibition gallery in Leningrad in 1960.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Lembersky spoke out for greater freedom in Soviet art, and he organized unofficial exhibitions of young artists. He died on December 2, 1970 at his home in Leningrad.

Career
Lembersky became a member of the Leningrad Union of Artists after the war and participated in both national and private art exhibitions across Russia. He traveled to various regions, including the Urals, Ladoga, Pskov, and the Baltic Republics, where he engaged in artistic endeavors. His artistic style was deeply influenced by his upbringing in Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine and the Soviet Union. During his time as a theater set designer in Kiev during the 1920s and early 1930s, he was exposed to the early Soviet avant-garde, a period that left a lasting impact on his work.

His affiliation with the Kiev Art Institute, where influential artists like Malevich and Tatlin taught, further immersed him in the avant-garde movement. This influence persisted throughout his studies in the 1930s. Lembersky also attended art history lectures by Punin at the Academy of Art, where he received a classical education that greatly influenced his techniques as a realist and impressionist artist. Despite the constraints imposed by state regulations on Western art, Lembersky's creative process drew from a diverse range of inspirations, including German Expressionism, the French School, Mexican mural painting, Russian icons, African folk art, and Dutch and early Renaissance painting.

His artistic interests extended beyond visual arts to encompass modernist and contemporary literature, poetry, theater, and music, which all played integral roles in shaping his creative vision. Lembersky's artistic expression often carried spiritual undertones and incorporated religious symbols. The memory of the Holocaust deeply affected him, and he incorporated symbols related to it in his work. Themes of war and industrial labor also found their way into his art, while his paintings were celebrated for their vibrant colors, luminosity, and formal elegance, evoking emotional responses and captivating the viewer's eye.