Zverev Anatoliy (1931 - 1986) - avant-garde artist and graphic artist. One of the brightest representatives of the period of the "second Russian avant-garde" and unofficial (non-conformist) art at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s.
He was expelled from the art school in memory of 1905 "for formalism."
Exhibited mainly at apartment exhibitions in 1959 - 1962. The first foreign exhibition took place in the Parisian gallery "Mot" in 1965.
A philosopher and a poet, he splashed paint on paper, and before his eyes, chaotic drops turned into a picturesque plot. Sometimes, being away and not having a palette at hand, he could paint a portrait of the mistress of the house in a couple of minutes - with the help of ketchup and mustard.
He did not receive an academic education, but devoted a lot of time to self-education, and chose another genius as his main teacher - Leonardo da Vinci, in whose works he found a lot for himself.
The great Picasso drew attention to him, giving Zverev the title of the best Russian draftsman. Robert Falk spoke with great warmth about the paintings of Anatoly Zverev, arguing that masters of this magnitude are born no more than once in a hundred years.
Most of the paintings by Anatoliy Zverev are painted in watercolor. The artist preferred to work in raw technique, using wet paper.
His work is a chaotic, at first glance, play of light and shadow, a leapfrog of shades and shapes, which, nevertheless, add up to a specific image with its own character. Portraits, landscapes, still lifes, sketches - all of them were created with different moods, but with the only desire: to throw out on the viewer a range of emotions that overwhelmed the artist.
Among Zverev's paintings there are many works made in ink, gouache, oil. The painter created collages and experimented, creating in a mixed style. He also liked to draw illustrations for various books - among his works there are drawings for Don Quixote, a portrait of Shakespeare, sketches for the Apuleian "Golden Ass".
Anatoly Zverev did not fit into any group of artists, preferring the path of a loner.
Zverev's works are kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art, and in private collections. In 2013, a private AZ Museum (by Anatoliy Zverev) was opened in Moscow.