Eduard Arkadevich Steinberg (3 March 1937 – 28 March 2012) was a Russian painter, philosopher and activist.

Personal life

Steinberg was born in Moscow, the son of poet, translator and artist. He had residences in Tarusa (Kaluga region) and Paris. His wife, Galina Iosifovna Manevich, is a Russian art critic, author and essayist.

Career

Steinberg began his career drawing live models and landscapes and later switched to "metaphysical still lifes". In the 1960–1980s Steinberg participated in the dissident movement in the USSR, which supported freedom of expression in arts and basic human rights. Steinberg became Honorary Members of the Russian Academy of Arts. Taking from the hands of Zurab Tsereteli a medal on a red ribbon, Steinberg said: "My personal fate may seem difficult and even incomprehensible, but in fact it is the exact parallel with the fate of my country, which managed to emerge from the depths of captivity and isolation to the heights of cultural rebirth and universal acceptance." He also was Chevalier of the Order of Friendship (2008). Steinberg died at his home in Paris from pneumonia on 28 March 2012.

Selected exhibitions