Leaving biggest legacy of canvases devoted to women

Whether trained professional or amateur, few artists can truly surprise and astonish us, inspiring us to look anew. However, Belarusian Alexey Kuzmich was one such, listed in the Divo (Miracle) Book of Records and Achievements (the post-Soviet analogue of the Guinness Book of Records).

Divo mentions Mr. Kuzmich as having painted the largest number of works featuring the Madonna. Over his three decades of artistry, Alexey created 700 such works: a world record. In fact, he may have painted closer to a thousand images of Madonnas, but not all are officially recorded, being kept not only in museums but in private collections. “As an artist, the assertion of true beauty and God’s presence inside us gives my life and creativity purpose,” said Mr. Kuzmich.

His works reflected the cosmos of the human soul so it’s symbolic that a galaxy is named after him. Alexey received a certificate confirming so from Yuri Yelkhov: the famous Belarusian film operator, director, playwright and head of Universe Production Centre. He explains, “I believe this award to be higher than all other possible titles, since the galaxy will preserve the memory of Mr. Kuzmich for centuries.”

It’s no secret that his wife, Inessa, was the artist’s muse and model, and his strictest judge. She says that Alexey occupied all living space with his cosmic energy. “Alexey considered that there is nothing more terrible for an artist than a state of quietness. He worked as if obsessed, with ‘thermo-nuclear energy and plasma explosion’ — as he loved to say. He painted in one breath, sometimes working on several pictures simultaneously — investing in them his whole soul. Alexey wished to bring kindness to the world through his pictures and was pleased to see that they cheered even the most heartsick. Being an artist, he always noticed this.”

It’s strange to speak of the master in the past tense but he sadly died in 2013, leaving us an artistic legacy always ‘past perfect’. A gallery to Alexey Kuzmich has opened in his home village of Mokhro, in the Brest Region’s Ivanovo District, allowing schoolchildren, students and tourists to view his works in a peaceful atmosphere. On June 1st, 2015, fans, friends and family members will celebrate the 70th anniversary of his birth. By this date, Kuzmich junior will have released a book about his father and will have realised the artist’s major dream: building a church to the Virgin Mary, filled with light and pictures.