Soviet Art

On the peaceful land. Soviet artist Alexandr Dmitriyevich Romanychev (September 18, 1919 – August 21, 1989)

Soviet artist Alexandr Dmitriyevich Romanychev

Born on September 18, 1919 in the village of Russian Gorenki of Simbirsk province, A.D. Romanich was Honored Artist and People’s Artist of the RSFSR.
He studied in the Rostov-on-Don Art College named after M. Grekov (1937-1938). Veteran of the Great Patriotic War, after graduating from the Naval Aviation School he served as a naval pilot. After demobilization he returned to study at the Rostov School, from which he graduated in 1948. And the same year he entered the painting faculty of the Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after IE Repin. Noteworthy, he studied in the workshop of famous Soviet artists Mikhail Avilov and Yuri Neprintsev. After graduation, he continued studying in the graduate school of the Institute (1954-1957), and then taught art there.
Read more »

Lenin with a girl. oil on canvas. 1972. Soviet Ukrainian artist Evgeniy Volobuev (1912-2002)

Soviet Ukrainian artist Evgeniy Volobuev
Born in the village of Varvarovka of Kharkov region, Evgeniy Volobuev – Soviet painter, Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR, People’s Artist of Ukraine.
According to Evgeniy Volobuev, all his life he painted only what he worried about, and mostly worked in the genre of easel painting. “And this is a great luxury.” “Perhaps, in the sense of the good things I lost, I definitely lost, but in the main, I think, I won … Yes, otherwise I could not work”, said Yevgeny Vsevolodovich.
Volobuev grew in the family of rural teachers. He spent his childhood and youth in Kursk province of Russia, where he began his artistic education under the guidance of the artist NN Arshinov. Later, he graduated from the Kharkov Art College (1928-1931), where he studied in the workshops of AA Kokel and I.Z. Vladimirov. In addition, he received art education in the Kharkov Art Institute (1931-1934), workshops of MA Sharonov and SM Prokhorov. Also, until 1940 he studied at the Kiev Art Institute, the workshop of F.G. Krichevsky and D.N. Shavykin. And after graduation, he taught art in the Kharkov Art College, and then at the Kharkov Art Institute.
Read more »

Long live May 1st. Poster. I. Grinshtein. 1953. Soviet Leninist propaganda poster art

Soviet Leninist propaganda poster art
In fact, such propaganda aimed, clarifying a specific issue, the attitude of the Soviet authorities to current events in an accessible form. Together with radio and newspapers, they were means of agitation and propaganda, affecting the consciousness and mood of people with the aim of motivating them to political or other activities. And the nature of Soviet posters changed with the historical development of the USSR. The propaganda in them combined universal values ​​(freedom, social justice), patriotism, general educational elements, appeals for a healthy lifestyle and so on. Soviet posters, as a rule, are works of fine art and reflect elements of the Soviet cultural heritage.
Also, in the USSR were popular education posters including posters promoting healthy lifestyles, avoiding bad habits, sports and sports events. Besides, observance of safety rules, cultural enlightenment and overcoming illiteracy, academic performance, high quality or improvement of official duties. In some ways, the educational poster in the USSR was a kind of political poster, because it reflected the policy of the CPSU in relation to certain social problems.

Read more »

Selection of flax. (Portrait of a team leader P. Syrovatko). 1960. Tempera. Soviet artist Viktor Ivanovich Zaretsky 1925-1990

Soviet artist Viktor Ivanovich Zaretsky

Born in 1925 in the Kharkov province, Viktor Ivanovich Zaretsky – Soviet artist, educator, Veteran of WWII, a member of the Communist Party, a member of the USSR Artists’ Union, and public figure.
Viktor spent his childhood and youth in Donbass in the workers’ settlements of Gorlovka and Stalino (now Donetsk). His father worked as an accountant at the then created chemical production. During the Great Patriotic War (1943-1945) he served in the reserve regiment, and after the demobilization lived with his parents for some time in the village of Obidimo near Tula, Russia. There he took private lessons from the Soviet painter L. Orekhov.
In 1946 Viktor Zaretsky entered the art school at the Kiev State Art Institute, workshop of Gennady Titov. A year later he entered the institute, where his teachers were K. Yelev, M. Sharonov and S. Grigoriev.
As an excellent student, he received Repin and Stalin scholarship. Besides, the diploma picture – “The Line to Lenin’s Mausoleum” – received the highest score. After graduating from the institute in 1953, Viktor Zaretsky began to teach in his Alma Mater.
Since 1955, the artist worked in Donbass. There he created such paintings as “Miners. Shift”, “After the war”, “Hot day”, “Mine yard”, “After the change” and others.
Read more »

Perhaps, the most famous poster of the USSR period “No to alcohol!” (1954). Soviet graphic artist Viktor Ivanovich Govorkov (18 November 1906 – 13 June 1974)

Soviet graphic artist Viktor Ivanovich Govorkov
Born on November 18, 1906 in Vladivostok, Viktor Ivanovich Govorkov was a bright representative of Soviet Art. Member of the USSR Union of Artists, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1971). Known, first of all, as the author of numerous propaganda posters on various themes. In particular, foreign and domestic politics, sports, fighting alcoholism and hooliganism. Worked in the field of journal and newspaper cartoons, and book graphics.
Viktor Ivanovich Govorkov studied in Moscow VKhUTEIN from 1926 to 1930. Noteworthy, his teachers were prominent Soviet artists – SV Gerasimov, DS Moor and VA Favorsky. His thesis work was a sketch of a panel for the decoration of Red Square by May 1 (1930). Having started as a painter, Govorkov, however, later worked exclusively in book graphics and a poster.
Read more »

G. Orlova. Tapestry. Festive Moscow. Wool, handwoven. 1977. Soviet Decorative art

Soviet Decorative art
Originated in folk art, Soviet applied art flourished in the USSR, both in the midst of the people and among professional artists. Traditionally, every museum in every city had a permanent exhibition of unique works worthy of museums. In particular, porcelain and glass vases, ceramic and porcelain figurines and compositions. Also, textile art, popular and especially loved – tapestries and carpets, traditional elements of the Soviet interior.
Meanwhile, the craftsmen paid special attention to improving the artistic quality of mass household items. In the field of ceramics, many Soviet artists have successfully worked in Russia, Ukraine and Georgia.
Exhibitions of Soviet decorative art certainly included the best examples of art glass products, artistic carvings on the bone, embossing on the skin and jewelry.
A special place in the Soviet arts and crafts occupied the lacquer miniature, Palekh, Kholui and Mstera. In addition, embroidery and lacework. Also, the finest carved articles made of bone, an expressive small sculpture made of bone, horn, stone, etc., created by the Kholmogorsky, Tobolsk, Chukchi and other masters.
Read more »

As Masha, “Russian business”. 1993 film. Soviet Russian actress Irina Feofanova

Soviet Russian actress Irina Feofanova

Born on April 18, 1966 in Penza in the family of hereditary builders, Irina Feofanova is a Soviet Russian actress. The Feofanov family lived in Penza until 1979, and then moved to Moscow. Irina began to study in the sixth grade of one of the capital’s schools with a biological bias. Noteworthy, Irina graduated from the school in 1983 with honors and, on the advice of her parents, entered the construction institute – MISI named after Kuibyshev. And then a story happened to her, very similar to what once happened to Vladimir Vysotsky. He, too, at the insistence of his parents, began to study at MISI, but survived only a year, after which he moved to the actors. Irina herself, despite her inherent shyness, always secretly dreamed of acting profession. So, in six months she left the instite for the Theater Studio at Usachevka, and focused entirely on studying in the studio. There she played a major role in the play by E. Radzinsky “She is in the absence of love and death.” And not to ‘sit her parents’ neck”, she worked as a postwoman.
Read more »