The local population was made up of Moslems and a Russian minority, who suffered from an unfriendly, anti-Semitic and even cruel attitude, according to Matusevitch.
Matusevitch got a job as a welder in a factory, but he dreamed of being a painter, and to study in the Grekov Odessa Art school.
At the age of 19, Matusevitch passed the entrance examinations and was accepted despite heavy competition and the unofficial restrictions regarding Jews.
Matusevitch began his studies with great enthusiasm, but they were cut short in the middle of the first course, as he was recruited into the Red Army.
I saw the closely packed life of the Jewish street, and this helped me to describe in painting the special atmosphere of Odesa.
I felt that this atmosphere, so unique, was gradually disappearing.” An important painter who greatly influenced Matusevitch was Vincent Van Gogh.
He found many things in common with the great artist: an outlook of the world, a total devotion to art and also a ritual inclination in painting.
The authorities were not enamored with his style and urged him to paint political subjects of note, but the public did like him very much, which was important for the artist.
A long list of exhibitions, a lecturer’s post at the People University and membership in the painters’ confederation, while he continued to create and establish himself in the Israeli family of artists.
As times changed, he created an online gallery, together with Rima, as they realized that was what Matusevitch would have want the most - all of his paintings are available worldwide - [1].