Oil Painting

Igor Bitman: Elaborate Figures

17th September 2024 by Josephine Zentner 1

Igor Bitman won a Judge’s Choice Award selected by Charlotte Sorapure in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with his work Europeans. In this interview, Igor discusses how he developed his process using the ancient technique of encaustic painting layered with oil pastels, and how the artists he admires have influenced his classical style.

Above image: Igor’s studio in Paris

Europeans, 2022
Igor Bitman
Oil and oil pastel on canvas, 174 x 230 cm | 68.5 x 90.5 in

Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background?

Igor: According to my parents, I started drawing at an early age, but I hardly remember that period. My father, whose desire to be an artist was interrupted by World War II, encouraged my passion for drawing. I drew my toys as well as the scenes from the Greek mythology that I adored. At the age of eleven, I began serious studies at the Fine Art School in Moscow. Upon finishing school I did not want to be a member of the official Artist Union, therefore any exhibition in Moscow could not be feasible.

At the end of the 1970s, I participated in the opposition to the government artists movement. Painting portraits and working at the theatre as a scenographer enabled me to earn a living. In 1981, I was deprived of Soviet citizenship and left behind my homeland forever. After having lived in Italy and Canada, in 1987, I finally settled in France. Since that time I have been working with fine art galleries in France, Italy, and the Netherlands, having had more than 22 solo exhibitions in these countries as well as in Germany and Switzerland. I have also taken part in many international fairs and contests. For the last ten years, apart from painting, I have been also working in the field of photography. My work has been acknowledged and recognised with many awards in France, among which there are three of the most prestigious ones of the French Art Academy.

Europe Au Cafe, 2021
Igor Bitman
Oïl and oïl pastel on canvas, 117 x 100 cm | 46.1 x 39.4 in

Josephine: What does a typical working day in the studio look like for you? Do you have any important routines or rituals?

Igor: My working days are never the same – some days I work a lot, some just a bit. Sometimes I work in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon. When I was younger, I loved to work at night but today I don’t believe in my nocturnal inspiration. Sometimes, music accompanies the process of creation, though sometimes I prefer silence. So, I don’t have any routine or rituals.

Igor Bitman in his studio in the Parisian suburbs.

Josephine: Which materials or tools could you not live without?

Igor: For a long time, I worked exclusively with oil colours. Gradually, in search of a matt texture, I turned to using oil pastels. I now work exclusively with oil pastels made by Sennelier and Caran d’Ache. Then, about twenty years ago, almost by chance, I discovered encaustic and had to reinvent this 2,000-year-old technique to find my own way of using these bricks of colour. Lately, I’ve been using oil pastels as a final layer.

Josephine: What are the stages of your work on a painting? Do you make drafts?

Igor: Yes, I make drafts but I avoid doing the precise sketching. Following the comprehensive drafts that are only for me, I elaborate with either figures or objects with the help of photo-collage. After that, I start working directly on the canvas. In the course of painting, I often change an original composition and improvise a lot so the final work has rather drifted away from the original idea.

Nocturne, 2009
Igor Bitman
Oïl on canvas, 40 x 40 cm | 15.7 x 15.7 in

Josephine: Do you regularly draw or keep a sketchbook? If so, how does this inform your work?

Igor: No, I don’t regularly draw, however, I keep my sketchbook and from time to time check it, which helps me to bring to light the forgotten ideas that could be taken back “on board”.

Tribute to Boris Zaborov, 2022
Igor Bitman
Encaustic on canvas, 175 x 210 cm | 68.9 x 78.7 in

Josephine: Have you ever had a period of stagnation in creativity? If so, what helped you overcome it?

Igor: Yes, it happened to me a few times. We say in French “L’appétit vient en mangeant” which means the appetite comes with eating. In other words, I need to be forced to do something. It is rather painful. But since I started practising photography those periods of stagnation have gone away. I could switch from painting to photography.

Tribute To Puvis De Chavannes, 2012
Igor Bitman
Oïl pastel on paper, 70 x 70 cm | 27.6 x 27.6 in

Josephine: Are there any specific artists or mentors who have inspired you?

Igor: No, I don’t have any mentors and I have never had one. But in different periods of my life, there were and still are a great deal of artists of different epochs who inspired me and continue to do so. In general, my painting is very referential, my pictures have some kind of dialogue with some painters I love. Let’s say, for the last 20–25 years, the first period of Italian Renaissance artists became a source of my inspiration as well as the work of Poussin, Zurbarán, Puvis de Chavannes, Baltus, Petrov-Vodkin, and some others. Also, I have been fascinated with the beauty and colours of ancient Chinese painting since my first voyage to China in 2019.

Woman With A Cube, 1997
Igor Bitman
Oïl pastel on canvas, 100 x 100 cm | 39.4 x 39.4 in

Josephine: How did it feel to realise you had won a Judge’s Choice award?

Igor: I am really thrilled because it’s the first time my work has been acknowledged in the United Kingdom.

In The Rococo Mood, 2024
Igor Bitman
Oïl and oïl pastel on canvas, 75 x 68 cm | 29.5 x 26.8 in

Josephine: This piece is remarkable in terms of technical ability. What first drew you to painting in this classical style, both in terms of the style of your subject matter, and the materials you use?

Igor: The idea for this painting goes back a long way. The subject of ‘The Abduction of Europa’ is not new to me; I have many paintings on this subject. What makes this work different and at the same time more difficult is the complexity of composition that involves so many different figures. As for the technique, there is nothing unusual, it is my way of working.

Woman With Fruits, 2022
Igor Bitman
Encaustic and oïl pastel on canvas, 93 x 95 cm | 36.6 x 37.4 in

Josephine: There is an ‘abraded’ quality to this painting. How have you achieved that?

Igor: For a long time and quite often, I have been using this kind of “ageing method”. It’s as if the painting I work on is just a memory of something that might have existed. Technically speaking, it depends on the medium I’m using: for example, encaustic allows me to do a real scratching, but this picture is painted with oil colours, so it’s an imitation of ageing done with a painting knife.

Chinese Undine, 2023
Igor Bitman
Encaustic on canvas, 114 x 195 cm | 44.9 x 76.8 in

Josephine: What materials are you looking forward to purchasing with your prize voucher?

Igor: I can’t wait to purchase encaustic colours by R&F.

Flandres, 2011
Igor Bitman
Encaustic on canvas, 120 x 120 cm | 47.2 x 47.2 in

Josephine: What’s coming up next for you?

Igor: I’m currently preparing to publish an art book containing over 200 of my images, paintings and photos. I’m personally designing the lay-out for this album. It’s a huge job that’s keeping me completely busy at the moment. It’s the first book of this scale devoted to my work, and it’s really important for me. I’m looking forward to the publication of this album.

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