Lilya Brik. Biography of the muse of Vladimir Mayakovsky

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Is it easy to be the muse of a great man? Probably not, if only because you will have to remain in its shadow all your life (and after death too). And even their own merits and virtues will be powerless before the name of a genius. The heroine of our article, Lilya Brik, was also awarded this lot. Her biography as an independent person is interesting and not familiar to everyone. But everyone knows that this woman was the love and muse of Vladimir Mayakovsky. And even her own life path is considered by biographers exclusively in interweaving with the life and work of the poet.

Lilya Brik. Life before Mayakovsky

Lily Urievna (Gurievna, Yurievna) Kagan was born in Moscow on November 11, 1891 in an intelligent Jewish family: her father is a lawyer, her mother is a musician. The couple, in love with German romantic poetry, named their daughters accordingly: Lily - in honor of the beloved woman of Goethe, Elsa - in honor of Goethe's heroine.

Girls from an early age were taught music, foreign languages. Broad parenting perspectiveallowed their daughters to be completely independent, although later the father and mother more than once had to regret their indulgence. As a teenager, Lilya learned to win men's hearts, and, according to the memoirs of her contemporaries, she came across quite adult and famous men, among whom was even Fedor Chaliapin.

After graduating from high school, the girl studied at mathematical courses, then at architecture. Later she trained in Munich in the art of modeling. In 1911, Lilya returned to the capital, where she met her future husband, Osip Brik, whom, however, she had known before. I must say that Osip's parents were categorically against this novel and marriage - they were not at all satisfied with the moral character of the bride. However, the son went against their will, and in 1912 Osip and Lilya got married. Two years later, the couple moved to St. Petersburg, and their home soon became a favorite meeting place for creative people: poets, musicians, artists. It was rumored that more serious people also visited them: lawyers, politicians and even security officers.

Meet Mayakovsky

Lily's younger sister, Elsa, first met the poet, they even had an affair. But one day Elsa made an irreparable mistake, deciding to introduce her friend to her sister. She came with him to the salon where Lilya Brik reigned. The biography of all participants in the action from that moment made a sharp roll. Vladimir Mayakovsky read his new poem "A Cloud in Pants" and immediately dedicated it to Lilya. She could not help but fall under the influence of this huge passionate nature. In her memoirs, Lilywrote that his love literally "attacked her." So there was no way to resist. Osip Brik, a humble lawyer, fell in love with the poet's poems and has since done everything to publish and promote him.

And Elsa was forgotten. However, the girl quickly found solace: she married the French military Triolet, and then the famous writer Louis Aragon. And there she became a writer. For Vladimir Mayakovsky, that day became fateful - the whole meaning of his life from now on was Lilya Brik. The biography further became common not only for the two of them, but also for Osip Brik.

Strange family

It was really unusual. Lily's husband spared no time and money to publish Vladimir's poems, which had not been printed by any publishing house before. Love for Lily seethed in Mayakovsky, finding a way out in more and more new works: Flute-Spine, To Everything, Lilichka, Man. And every line was dedicated to her. Surprisingly, Osip was not at all embarrassed. Soon Mayakovsky moved to live with them. Mockery rumors about this "lecherous family" were circulating around Moscow. The biography of Lily Brik, written by herself, contains frank statements that the affair with Mayakovsky began when they no longer had an intimate relationship with Osip. In other sources, there are directly opposite statements that they sometimes made love with Osip, locking themselves in the kitchen, and Volodya scratched at the door and cried. The truth is one thing: it was a very painful relationship, possibly costing the life of the poet.

Lilya Brik: biography in creativity

Now about the tragedy of being in the shadow of a genius. Behind their relationship, as mentioned above, much is overlooked, including the creative biography of the heroine herself. But she was one of the most outstanding and beautiful women of the twentieth century. Writer, translator, sculptor, actress, journalist - she had many talents. With Mayakovsky, they worked a lot and fruitfully in the "Windows of GROWTH", worked on a film according to Vladimir's script, performed a lot together. Exhausted by a sick relationship with his beloved, the poet began short-term romances with other women, but again returned to his L. Yu. B.

In the first years of Soviet power, all three began to sympathize with the Bolsheviks, Osip even joined the CPSU (b), worked for some time in the Cheka. Not without the help of the couple Brik Mayakovsky began to print in the national newspapers. In 1922, Lily had another stormy romance with the Soviet banker Krasnoshchekov, and jealousy killed the poet. Then everything fell into place again, and the strange trinity reunited again: they lived together, traveled around the country and abroad together. It is surprising that at that difficult time they had no problems with traveling abroad. It was assumed that this privilege was given to them for Lily's cooperation with well-known authorities. This was also explained by the fact that her husbands (and Lily had four of them) could be arrested and even shot, but she was never touched. These rumors were not commented on by her, however, and were not refuted.

In 1926, the poet was given a new apartment, and he moved there, of course, with the Brik couple. These were years that were very fruitful for Lily in terms of creativity. She helps to publish the magazine of the creative association "LEF", participates in the filming of the film "The Jew and the Earth", writes scripts for other films, translates the theoretical works of German literary critics, deals with sculptural works and, of course, Mayakovsky's publishing issues. In 1930, the couple went to Europe, where they were overtaken by the news of the death of the poet. In his suicide note, Mayakovsky called Lilya the only heir to his works, thereby declaring her his unofficial widow and making her responsible for the future of his creative heritage. And Lilya Yuryevna devoted almost her entire life to this main goal.

Recent years

Lily Brik's biography was full of meetings with amazing people and new events from the first to the last days. She managed to publish her books during her lifetime, the most famous of which are the autobiographical collection of memoirs "Partisan Stories" and personal correspondence with Vladimir Mayakovsky. Was she a fatalist? Hardly. But one day she told her relatives that she had a dream in which she scolded Volodya for suicide. And he put a gun in her hand and said: “You will do the same anyway.”

Together with her last husband - Vasily Katanyan - she lived in a dacha in Peredelkino. The elderly writer fell and broke her femoral neck - an insidious injury for the elderly that could not be treated. And one night, 86-year-old Lilya Yuryevna took a lethal dose of sleeping pills …

She bequeathed not to buryher, but to cremate and scatter the ashes over the field. Her will was fulfilled, and a monument was erected in her memory - a large round boulder with engraved initials - "L. Yu. B." As on the ring donated by Mayakovsky.