Sofia Levytska

(1880-1937)

Ukrainian emigrant artist, worked in Paris. She is known for her painting and graphics in the styles of Cubism and Post-Impressionism.
When Sofia turned 19, she was given in marriage to doctor Manilovsky. The man turned out to be a morally degraded person, abusing alcohol. In this marriage, Sofia had a daughter, Olga, who turned out to be mentally problematic. Unable to endure the abuse and insults from her husband, Sofia returns to her parents’ home with her young child, and then goes to Paris to study painting. During her studies, she met the novice artist Jean Marchand, with whom friendly relations turned into love and life together for the next twenty years.
Sofya Levytska, having lost hope of curing her daughter, tries to poison her — but such an attempt ends in her own madness. The disease overcame her.
After her death, the French decided to organize her creative legacy and for this purpose even created the “Friends of Sofia Levytska” society, which included many well-known French artists. In 1938, an exhibition of works by Sofia Levytska was held in the Sambon gallery.