Tsvirko, Vitalii
Tsvirko, Vitalii Konstantinovich
Born Feb. 1, (14), 1913, in the village of Radeevo, Gomel’ Oblast. Soviet painter. People’s Artist of the Byelorussian SSR (1963). Member of the CPSU from 1953.
Tsvirko studied under G. G. Riazhskii at the Moscow Art Institute from 1935 to 1942. In 1952 he became an instructor at the Byelorussian Institute of Theatrical Arts; he served as the institute’s rector from 1958 to 1962. He was chairman of the governing board of the Artists’ Union of the Byelorussian SSR in 1962 and 1963.
Tsvirko’s landscapes, executed in a rich picturesque manner, create a lyrical image of Byelorussian nature. Examples are March (1947, Art Museum of the Byelorussian SSR, Minsk), Lake Naroch’ (1956, Art Museum of the Byelorussian SSR), and the series In the Byelorussian Land (1960’s; State Prize of the Byelorussian SSR, 1967). Tsvirko also painted a number of works devoted to the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45 and to revolutionary-historical themes.
Tsvirko was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and various medals.