- Eugène Gabritschevsky
Eugène Gabritschevsky (December
1893 -April 5 1979 ) was aRussia nbiologist andartist . He was born into a comfortable family of scientists fromImperial Russia . His father was a renownedbacteriologist , and worked withLouis Pasteur inFrance and withRobert Koch inGermany .Gabritschevsky studied biology at the
University of Moscow from 1913, specialising in problems related toheredity . He finished his studies successfully and went into research. In 1924, he was invited to theUnited States , where he continued his work for two years, and in 1926, he settled inParis , where he continued his research at thePasteur Institute . By the age of thirty-three, he was well-known in his field, and was world renowned for his knowledge on the laws ofmutation in the lives ofinsects .In 1929, his research came to an abrupt end when he was diagnosed with
schizophrenia and hospitalised in amental institution nearMunich .In the ensuing thirty years, Gabritschevsky created an extraordinary body of art: thousands of paintings and drawings. His first works look quite academic and are inspired by corals or human figures. As his condition worsened, however, his subjects gradually changed. He started painting ghost looking silhouettes, large headed monsters with huge eyes, and then later small beings that look like mutants.
He died in the same Munich hospital on April 5th, 1979.
His artistic output continues to have appeal, however, and his paintings have appeared on record sleeves of the Scottish folk band
Appendix Out and the American bandMob Trio . In addition, his scientific papers are still held in high esteem, and are often cited.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.