Lev Tchistovsky (1902-1969)

Born in 1902 in Pskov, Russia, Lev Tchistovsky was a Russian figurative painter focused primarily on feminine, adult nudes. He used classical realism throughout his body of work, usually depicting sensual eroticism in females, and always striving for technical perfection.

He attended the Fine Art School in Saint Petersburg where he was a pupil of Vassili Savinsky and Alfred Eberling. He further studied at the Academia di Belle Arti in Rome and after in Florence.

He met Irene Klestova in Venice in the late 1920s, who was also an art student from Saint Petersburg, and was already exhibiting her paintings at the Salon des Independents in Paris. They married and settled in Paris, in the district of Montparnasse. Their studio on Impasse du Rouet, was in close proximity to Andre Breton and Tamara de Lempicka.

He was a member of the Salon des Independents from 1930 and regularly exhibited his paintings. He was quite prolific and most of his work was concentrated on portraits and nudes.

In the late 1930s, he executed a number of watercolor nudes using the pseudonym “Alex Jordansky.” These were commissioned by Sidney Z. Lucas for his New York art publishing company, Paris Etching Society. These works were then reproduced by lithography and distributed by the Old Print Center in New York.

He painted both in watercolor and oil and in addition to nudes and portraits, he painted mythological scenes, floral still lifes (orchids in particular), and icons.

He died in Cenevieres, France in 1969. Many of his works were donated to the local Musee Urbain Cabrol. Other works can be found at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, the Tretiakoff Gallery in Moscow, and the Castle of Cagnes sur Mer.

Online sources:
Juxtapoz Magazine
Galerie Ary Jan
Maher Art Gallery
Antiques Prints Blog
Sidney Z. Lucas