Soviet Art

Soviet artists painting BAM. Amiran Parkosadze (b. 1941) On the construction of BAM. 1976. Oil on canvas

Soviet artists painting BAM – Baikal–Amur Mainline, Great Soviet construction – leading theme of Soviet art of the time. The new, fast rhythm of life experienced artists. On construction sites of the country they saw the unprecedented rise of enthusiasm with which the young boys and girls met the most amazing accomplishments. That brought joy to the creative mind of artists. Again, continuing the tradition of the masters of the older generation, the young artists were going to All-Union shock Komsomol constructions of the country to see their peers in work and life, truly recreate the images of the young builders. “For a young artist’s creative trips, trips to such places as BAM, was the beginning of everything, – said Vyacheslav Kubarev about his visit to Tynda – to see those characters sitting in the studio was impossible.
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Soviet artist Semyon Chuikov (1902 — 1980). Girl from Madras. 1968. Oil

Soviet artist Semyon Chuikov (1902 – 1980) – People’s Artist of the USSR (1963), the winner of two Stalin Prizes (1949, 1951), full member of the USSR Academy of Arts (1958), the founder of the modern Kyrgyz art. Semyon Afanasievich Chuikov was born 17 October 1902 in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR. His father served as a military clerk. S. Chuikov began as a writer-essayist. In 1924 – 1930 he studied at the Higher Art (class of RR Falk). Later he worked as a teacher – including Proletarian Fine Arts Institute (formerly the Higher Art and Technical Institute, VHUTEIN) in Leningrad (1930-1932). He was one of the founders and chairman of the board of the Union of Artists of the Kirghiz SSR (1933-1937, 1941-1943). In 1934 on his initiative in Frunze (former Pishpek), the first in the country Art Gallery (now the Kirghiz Museum of Fine Arts) was opened. Soon Chuykov organized school-studio, which in 1939 received the status of the Art School, for these places it was the first of its kind. He lived mainly in Frunze, often visiting Moscow.
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Soviet artists painting war 1941-1945. SV Gerasimov (1885-1964). Mother of Partizan. 1943. Oil on canvas. State Tretyakov Gallery

Soviet artists painting war 1941-1945
Early in morning of 22 June 1941 the Soviet people were shocked by the message of the treacherous attack of the fascist hordes on the USSR. On the second day of the war in the streets of Moscow appeared a poster by Kukryniksy “Mercilessly crush and destroy the enemy!”. Immediately after the war, the Soviet artists, together with all the people were ready to defend our homeland. Artists worked in different directions: they produced political posters, inspiring the Soviet people to the act of bravery.
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Isaak Brodsky (1884-1939). ‘Lenin and demonstration’. 1919. The State Historical Museum. Soviet artists painting Lenin

Leniniana – Soviet artists painting Lenin

Leniniana – the name for works of art and literature, dedicated to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Anatoly Lunacharsky pointed out that Leniniana captured the image of the historical figure of world scale. On the creation of the image of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin worked many masters of the fine arts of the USSR. One of the first artists of this genre was Isaak Brodsky (1883-1939) – Soviet Russian painter and graphic artist, teacher and organizer of art education, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1932), one of the main representatives of the realist movement in Soviet art of 1930-ies, the author of an extensive pictorial Leniniana. Starting from 1917 the image of Lenin entered into works of arts and crafts, especially in the works of the masters of the Union republics of the USSR.
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The sculptural group ‘partisans’ in the lobby of the metro station Partizanskaya, Moscow closeup. Soviet sculptor Matvey Manizer (1891-1966)

Works by Soviet sculptor Matvey Manizer (1891-1966) are well known to millions of people visiting Moscow. Frontier guard with a dog, woman with chicken, a young worker with a gear wheel, a revolutionary sailor, and dozens of other sculptures decorate the most famous Metro station “Revolution Square”. Soviet sculptor Matvey Manizer created them during 1936-1939. Matvey Manizer (1891-1966) – People’s Artist of the USSR (1958), Vice-President of the USSR Academy of Arts (1947-1966), the winner of three Stalin Prizes (1941, 1943, 1950). He created a number of works that have become classics of socialist realism. During the Great Patriotic War, in 1943 he donated the awarded Stalin Prize (the sum of 100 000 rubles) to the defense Fund. Soviet sculptor Matvey Manizer was the author of Stalin’s death mask.
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Soviet Artists Painting War Time. S.D. Kichko (b. 1946) Farewell. 1972. Oil on canvas

Soviet Artists Painting War Time
The Great Patriotic War became obvious the most important factor in the development of art in the 1940s. Soviet artists and sculptors, like other citizens, have been actively involved in the protection of the country, but because of the nature of their profession, they (as well as writers) were attracted to propaganda tasks, determined by the government, who gave an enormous role in this period. During the war, there were significant works of easel graphics, and the variety of experiences has given rise to a variety of forms. It is fast and accurate front-line documentary sketches, different in technique, style and artistic level. These were portrait drawings of soldiers, guerrillas, sailors, nurses, commanders – a rich chronicle of the war, then transferred in part in the engraving. In the scenery of the war a special place is occupied by the image of besieged Leningrad. War time painting had its stages. At the beginning of the war – the artists mainly fixed what they saw, not aspiring to a generalization, almost hasty pictorial sketches. Artists painted on live impressions, which they had a lot. These paintings always had a great sincerity, passion, admiration by people bravely withstanding inhumane challenges, integrity and honesty of artistic vision, a desire to be extremely conscientious and accurate.
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Sitting ballerina. Bronze. 1971. Soviet sculptor Angelina Filippova

The creative manner of the Soviet sculptor Angelina Filippova (1923-1986) is characterized by an excellent ownership of the form, understanding of the expressive possibilities of the material, sense of composition. The ability to successfully and rhythmically organize a composition space appeared in a series of works devoted to the ballet: “Sitting ballerina”, “Russian Ballet School”, “The Ballerinas”, “Holiday”, “Debutante,” “Ballet” and others. Since 1960, Filippova began working with great enthusiasm in the most interesting area of ​​plastics – medal art in which she showed great ingenuity and subtlety of composition. The first medal, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the death of Bagration, was followed by other works. Her medal gallery consists of bronze images of Beethoven, Rafael, Schiller, Stepan Razin, Dargomyzhsky, Magellan and others. Filippova was a constant participant of art exhibitions. Many of her works were awarded diplomas and certificates, and the sculptor herself – the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
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