Petritskii, Anatolii Galaktionovich

Born Jan. 31 (Feb. 12), 1895, in Kiev; died there Mar. 6, 1964. Soviet painter. People’s Artist of the USSR (1944). Member of the CPSU from 1943.

From 1922 to 1924, Petritskii attended the Moscow Vkhute-mas (State Higher Arts and Technical Studios), where he studied under A. D. Drevin and N. A. Udal’tsova. He taught at the Kiev Art Institute from 1946 to 1950, becoming a professor there in 1947.

After 1914, Petritskii’s work as a theatrical artist was influenced by stylized tendencies and constructivism. In the early 1930’s he overcame these tendencies and devoted himself to the design of colorful costumes and three-dimensional stage sets. His sets were executed in a decorative and painterly manner derived from a thorough study of Ukrainian folk art and life. Petritskii also produced easel paintings (including portraits of Ukrainian writers), posters, and illustrations. Among his works are The Invalids (1924) and Not a Garden But the City of Kiev (1961), both of which are in the Museum of Ukrainian Art of the Ukrainian SSR in Kiev.

Petritskii designed the sets for Mussorgsky’s opera Sorochintsy Fair (1925, the Ukrainian Metropolitan Opera, Kharkov); Miki-tenko’s play The Girls of Our Country (1933, Theater of the Revolution, Kharkov); and Korneichuk’s plays Bogdan Khmel’-nitskii (1939, Malyi Theater, Moscow), Makar Dubrava (1948, I. Ia. Franko Kiev Dramatic Theater; State Prize of the USSR, 1949), and The Snowball Grove (1950, I. Ia. Franko Kiev Drama Theater; State Prize of the USSR, 1951). He was also the theatrical artist for Shaporin’s opera The Decembrists (1953, Bolshoi Theater, Moscow) and Lysenko’s opera Taras Bulba (1954, T. G. Shevchenko Kiev Theater of Opera and Ballet).

Petritskii was awarded the Order of Lenin, four other orders, and various medals.