Bereznitsky Art Foundation is proud to present a new project from the series “Masters of Ukrainian Impressionism”, featuring the renowned Ukrainian artist and representative of the Odessa School - Viktor Sevastyanov
Viktor Hryhorovych Sevastyanov was born on July 1, 1923, in Odesa. A veteran of the Second World War, he began his artistic education at the Odesa Art College in 1945-1947.
During these years he combined art with a successful sports career: he played for the Odesa team “Pishchevik” (1945-1947), later joined “Dynamo Kyiv” (1947-1952), and served as captain of the KVO team (1952-1953). In 1953, Sevastyanov ended his career in professional football to dedicate himself fully to painting.
Two years later he joined the Kyiv Artists’ Association, and from 1958 he worked at the Production and Art Studios of the Art Fund of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1961 he became a candidate member of the Union of Artists of the USSR, and in 1963 – a full member. His circle of colleagues and mentors included renowned Ukrainian artists such as Fedir Zakharov, Viktor Puzyrkov, Petro Sleta, Anatolii Plamenytskyi, Leonid Chychkan and Mykhailo Khmelko.
By nature Sevastyanov was an apolitical painter. His universe was the quiet world of nature – its states, colors, and changing light. He found beauty in modest, everyday scenes: melting snow by a forest shed, a solitary tree beside a river, clouds descending close to the horizon.
The “heroes” of his canvases are simple yet poetic objects – an old village fence, a horse harnessed to a sleigh, blossoming lilac bushes, forest paths, rural houses. These motifs embody sincerity, contemplation, and the tranquil rhythm of provincial life.
Throughout his career Sevastyanov remained faithful to the Odesa school of painting, known for its warm spectrum, subtle tonal gradations, and devotion to plein-air practice.
The works of Viktor Sevastyanov are held in Khmelnytsky Regional Art Museum
and in a number of other museums in Ukraine, as well as in private collections in the United Kingdom, Ukraine, France, Canada, Germany, and Belgium.
