To the 110th anniversary of Pyotr Gerasimovich (1912-1990), art historian, graphic artist, participant of the Great Patriotic War

Pyotr Gerasimovich was born on March 13, 1912 in the village of Tanezhitsy, Slutsk district, Minsk region. Graduated from a seven-year school in Krasnaya Sloboda in 1930. From 1930 to 1933, studied at the Vitebsk Art School (with I. Akhremchik, M. Kerzin, E. Minin, F. Vogt and M. Ende). In 1933-1934, he worked as a teacher of drawing at Mozyr Teacher Training College, and employed as an artist in the regional newspaper Bolshevik Polesia. Completed a two-year course for graphic artists at TASS (Moscow) in 1937.

During the Great Patriotic War he was a member of the underground, a scout of the 12th Cavalry Partisan Brigade named after Stalin. As a result of an injury, he had his right hand amputated. After that, he painted with his left hand, which severely limited his creative abilities. He was awarded the Order of Patriotic War, 2nd class, and medals for his military service.

From February 1945 he worked as a chief curator at the State Picture Gallery of the BSSR (National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus). In 1959-1964 he was the head of the department of pre-revolutionary Russian and Soviet art, and in 1964-1981 he was head of the department of Belarusian Soviet Art. He was a member of the expert-methodological commission of the Central State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art of the BSSR. Member of the BSSR Union of Artists from 1956.

Was awarded with honorary diploma of the BSSR Supreme Soviet (1955), honorary diploma of the BSSR Ministry of Culture and the Belarusian Republican Committee of Cultural Workers (1972), badge “Excellent worker of the Ministry of Culture of the USSR”.

He died on 20 April 1990.

Pyotr Gerasimovich worked in the field of art theory and history, as well as easel graphics. His main scientific works include monographs “Evgeny Alekseevich Zaitsev”, “Anatol Mikhailovich Tychyna”, a number of articles for the albums “Belarusian Fine Arts”, “The Art Born by October”, “The State Art Museum of the BSSR” and others. His main art works: “Cranes”, “Year 1930”, “Our people have come”, “After the thunderstorm”, portraits of Belarusian artists, etc.

The Belarusian State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art (BGAMLI) keeps the personal collection of Pyotr Gerasimovich (No. 301), which includes manuscripts (monographs, essays, articles, scripts, notes, reviews, speeches, memoirs), graphic works (narrative and thematic compositions, portraits, landscapes, caricatures), correspondence, and visual documents (including a collection of photographs of artists and sculptors and their works, and photographs of architectural monuments in Minsk, Mogilev, and Gomel built in the 1930s-1940s).

• P. Gerasimovich. 1960s. BGAMLI

• P. Gerasimovich, P. Nikiforov. “The Fine Art of the Belarusian SSR”. Monograph. Variant. Typescript. 1957. BGAMLI

• P. Gerasimovich. “Steps of Formation.” Article about the art of Belarus in the pre-war period. Variant. Autograph. 1979-1980. BGAMLI

• P. Gerasimovich. “Cranes”. Composition. Sketch. Paper, ink, pencil. 1974. BGAMLI

• P. Gerasimovich. “Partisan Winter”. Composition. Paper, linocut. 1970. BGAMLI

• P. Gerasimovich. “In the state farm Tanezhitsy”. Composition. Sketch. Paper, ink, pen. 1952. BGAMLI

• P. Gerasimovich. “Soligorsk residents”. Portraits of miners. Paper, ink, ballpoint pen. 1968-1981. BGAMLI

• P. Gerasimovich. “People’s Artist of the BSSR I. Akhremchik”. Portrait. Paper, linocut. 1970. BGAMLI

• P. Gerasimovich. “In Polesie. Mikhnovichi”. Landscape. Paper, black watercolor. 1937 BGAMLI

• P. Gerasimovich. “Architectural motif”. City landscape. Paper, charcoal pencil. 1935 BGAMLI