By Natalia Bordilovskaya: There are many ex-soldiers and concentration camp inmates in Belarusian art who managed to truthfully and convincingly convey the drama of the Great Patriotic War in their works. Among them is Hero of Belarus and People's Artist of the Soviet Union and Belarus Mikhail Savitsky. One of his most significant paintings is the famous Partisan Madonna.
The painting has been on permanent display in the new building of the National Art Museum since 2006. His other painting under the same name, created in the late 1960s, is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.
The Tretyakov Gallery’s Partisan Madonna traveled around the world to international exhibitions in Europe, America and Asia. Director of the State Art Museum of the BSSR Elena Aladova persistently tried to persuade the artist to paint a copy of the Madonna for Belarus, which he did in 1978.
Today, the Belarusian side is negotiating with the Tretyakov Gallery for the two Madonnas to be reunited at a future exhibition.
