Soviet sculptor animalist Boris Vorobyov

Soviet sculptor animalist Boris Vorobyov

Probably, each of Soviet family had porcelain or plastic animal figures at home, and the author of them was Vorobyov. The animal sculptor worked in various materials: porcelain, faience, ceramics, glass, wood and metal. He is one of the leading animal sculptors and artists of the Leningrad Porcelain Factory, Honored Artist of the RSFSR, participant of all-Union and international exhibitions. His works are in the Hermitage, the Russian Museum and the Tretyakov Gallery, museums and private collections.
Boris (Isai) Vorobyov was born in the city of Tomsk in 1911. Until the age of 25, Boris himself had no idea that he would become an animal sculptor and this would become the work of his life. During his life, he tried many professions: he was an assistant to a bricklayer, a school teacher, and even an air gymnast in a circus. Also, he served at a dairy factory and studied at the construction college. In 1932, he entered the Moscow Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering, but in 1936 left it and moved to Leningrad to enter the Academy of Arts to become a sculptor.

In his free time, Boris carved wood figures. One of these figures was seen by the artist Isaac Brodsky, his advice made the still very young Vorobyov believe in his calling. Also, animal artist Vasily Vatagin advised Vorobyov to seriously study sculpture. It was his illustrations for Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” that prompted Vorobyov to engage in animalistics. Vatagin’s influence on Vorobyov’s work was especially strong. Since then, Vorobyov all his life gently and respectfully called Vatagin – “Dad.” The oldest Russian animal artist was for him a true spiritual father. It was he who helped Vorobyev find his true place in life.

Boris entered the Leningrad Academy of Arts and almost immediately began to work in the Leningrad Porcelain Factory. When the time came to choose a topic for the diploma, he chose not a man, but a beast as a sculptural object. When he decided that the theme of his thesis would be animalistics, he recalled the following case: a she-wolf who got into the trap to get out, bit her leg and left. His thesis was a sculpture of a she-wolf in a trap carved from wood. His wolf made not only a scandal at the academic exam, but also became a kind of pass animalism into the world of great art. This event has become a landmark in the history of Soviet art.

In addition to sculptural images of animals, in the 1950s, Boris created a series of sculptures illustrating the works of Gogol and Chekhov. In the 1950s, he became a recognized master of sculpture and participated in many exhibitions, both in the USSR and abroad.

Since 1936, Vorobyov has been working at the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory (LFZ). The plant produced many works of the sculptor in mass editions, often instead of the name of the author, indicating only his own brand.

Master about his works: “… I see my creative task in showing people the beauty of wildlife, make them hear the voice of this nature and love it. Residents of big cities have little contact with nature, many of them gradually become “deaf and dumb” towards it. I want to help such people learn to love all living things, become more human.”

Soviet sculptor animalist Boris Vorobyov