Mai Dantsig

Mai Volfovich Dantsig (Belarusian: Май Вольфавіч Данцыг; Russian: Май Вольфович Данциг; April 27, 1930 – March 26, 2017) was a Belarusian artist active during the Soviet era and independence of Belarus. He is considered to have been one of the founders of the contemporary Belarusian art.

Dantzig graduated from Minsk Art School in 1952. From 1952 to 1958 Mai studied in the Surikov Art Institute in Moscow, under Mikhail Kurilko and Victor Tsyplakov. From 1958 on he taught at the Belarusian Academy of Arts. From 2001 until his death in 2017 he was the chairman of the Department of Painting there. In 1995 he became a People's Artist of Belarus. In 2005 he was awarded the Order of Francysk Skaryna.

Mai often painted in large formats, which, in addition to his expressive style, helped transform his chosen themes from quotidian to important, and imbued his pictures with a monumental character. His works often take on symbolic or metaphorical significance.

He is the author of many paintings and drawings related to World War II and Soviet partisans including the And the Saved World Remembers. He is also famous for his series of portraits of Soviet intelligentsia including Bulat Okudzhava, Georgy Tovstonogov, Ales Adamovich and Vasil Bykaŭ.

Dantsig died on March 26, 2017, at the age of 86.