Born in 1975 Ignatenko is an emergent contemporary painter. Nevertheless, through all his artistic career he looked respectfully at old classical masters, like Velasquez, Raphael, and Michelangelo and got inspired by their technique and motifs.  By the mid of 20th-century modern art movements like cubism and abstract expressionism strained ties with the past, and the works of the historical masters were often dismissed as more illustration than art. However, in recent decades, Masters from the last great day of realism have gained serious new regard from scholars and curators. Ignatenko stepped into the arts right in this movement. The early development of Ignatenko’s unique style came in large part through his parents. His mother, an accomplished amateur painter, recognized the rambunctious boy’s talent at a young age and introduced him to great museums, masterpieces, and painters like Michelangelo, Titian, and Tintoretto.From the young age of eleven to early 20s, he studied in the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Gomel, where he got the all prima approach – painting spontaneously on the canvas directly from life, without the classical traditions of first executing careful composition underpinnings on the canvas.    When at Beaux-Arts he was selected as best Pupil and Ignatenko got the invitation to continue the study at the prestigious  Belarusian Art Academy in Minsk.At the age of 24, Ignatenko burst into the public eye, exhibiting a widely admired portrait of his teacher Mai Volfovich Dantsig. However, many high-appreciated paintings followed, as his Portrait of Madame – a highly sensual depiction of a pale-skinned young social with a bare shoulder, coquet revealing on shady black background.   Sergey Ignatenko became a widely celebrated portraitist, and his bold, mostly life-size, and often full-length figurative works endure today for their striking poses and compositions, evocative lighting, and bravura paint application.Sergey Ignatenko continued to set himself technical challenges. Fascinated by the play shadow and light, the artist launched into extensive works in oil that explored the nude female figure depicting figurative scenes presented with dramatic contrasts of bright light and deep shadow.