Yehuda Pen

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Yehuda Pen, 1905

Yudel Pen (Belarusian: Юрый Пэн, 1854-1937) was a Jewish-Belarusian artist-painter, a teacher and an outstanding figure of the Jewish Renaissance in the Belarus art of the beginning of XX century.

Yudel Pen was born on May 24 (on June 5th Old style) 1854 in the city of Novoalexandrovsk (nowadays Zarasai, Lithuania). Early having been deserted, since 1867 worked as apprentice in the painter house in Dvinsk (nowadays Daugavpils, Latvia). In 1879 he moved to Saint Petersburg, in 1880 has acted in the Academy of arts. Studied at P. Chistyakov. Upon graduating from the Academy (1886) veins in Dvinsk and Riga.

In 1891 he settled in Vitebsk and a year later opened first private school of drawing and painting in Russian Empire - the Jewish art school. Pen's pupils were Ilya Mazel, Yefim Minin, Oskar Meshchaninov, Marc Chagall, Osip Tsadkin, Lazar Lisitsky.

In 1927 to Pen was confered a rank of the Deserved Jewish artist.

The artist was killed at home in Vitebsk at night February 28/March 1, 1937. Circumstances of murder remain unknown.

After Pen's death gallery of his works was created in Vitebsk. Now Pen's works are stored in the Vitebsk art museum and the National art museum of Belarus.