After 1917, the art of sculpture in Russia acquired special socio-political significance. The formation of Soviet sculpture is inseparable from Lenin’s plan for monumental propaganda, on the basis of which the first revolutionary monuments and memorial plaques, and subsequently many significant works of monumental sculpture, were created. For some time, Soviet sculpture still retained echoes of impressionism, modernism and the avant-garde of the early 20th century, but by the end of the 20s. The main reference point for most sculptors was the classics. This was eloquently evidenced by the 1928 exhibition dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the revolution. Here, for the first time, the intensely dramatic composition by I. D. Shadr “Cobblestone - the weapon of the proletariat”, the majestic group inspired by images of the Russian Empire style by A. T. Matveev “October. Worker, Peasant and Red Army Soldier” and the statue of V. I. Mukhina “Peasant Woman”.
Elements of the gender consciousness and national and cultural worldview of most of the artists mentioned above emerged in the forms of modernist art and even the radical avant-garde. This combination was natural in this period because in some concepts of Jewish art the concepts of "national" and "avant-garde" were closely juxtaposed or even became identical; Gender issues also figured prominently in modernist aesthetics. The cubist sculptures of Nyss-Goldman and Sandomierska in particular are compelling examples of the fruitful combination of all these elements.
The theme of revolution, the image of a participant in revolutionary events, a builder of socialism, become central to the sculpture. IN easel sculpture A large place is occupied by a portrait (works by A. S. Golubkina, S. D. Lebedeva, V. N. Domogatsky, etc.), as well as an image of a human fighter, warrior, worker ("Metallurgist" by G. I. Motovilov). Animalistic sculpture is developing, and sculpture of small forms is noticeably updated. At the beginning of the 30s. a new wave of monumentalism arrived. M.G. Manizer, in the monuments to V.I. Chapaev and T.G. Shevchenko, tried to overcome the traditional “loneliness” of the figure on the pedestal and emphasize the connection of his heroes with the people. The symbol of victorious socialism was to be the Soviet pavilion on World's Fair 1937 in Paris with the exhibited sculptural group by Mukhina “Worker and Collective Farm Woman”. Rapidly developed and decorative sculpture.
Focusing primarily on female images, Sandomierska creates them in a primitivist style inspired by ancient African art. This "Negrism" often resulted in her female characters being Jewish, since "Negroid" at this time was identified not only with the African race, but also seemed to be important feature Semitic, and especially Jewish, appearance.
Shoshana Persits, who belongs to the same generation as all these artists, was a member of the Zionist elite in Russia. Omanut specialized in publishing illustrated books in Hebrew. A number of illustrated books published by Omanut during this period share their rightful place with other masterpieces of twentieth-century Jewish publishing.
During the Great Patriotic War 1941-45 the theme of the Motherland comes to the fore. Sculptors first of all try to capture the image of a war hero. The face of the pilot, Colonel Khizhnyak, who saved a train of ammunition under heavy fire, or the scarred face of Colonel Yusupov, who withstood a duel with enemy tanks, is not at all “heroically inspired” in the busts of V. Mukhina. The composition of her portraits is simple and clear, as is the clear plastic modeling. The main thing in the face is accentuated by the rich play of light and shadow. None unnecessary details, even the image of a military order is placed on a stand.
Many of the trends that had already appeared in the work of Jewish women artists had been developing in the first years after the Bolshevik Revolution. At this time, Vitebsk and Kyiv became important art centers along with Moscow and Petrograd. The idea of creative contemporary Jewish art through the synthesis of plastic principles of Jewish folk art and formal achievements of the artistic avant-garde brought together a group of Jewish artists in Kyiv. During this period, female Jewish artists in Kyiv found subjects for some of their works in the life of the Jewish shtetl.
The tragic events and heroic achievements of the war years were especially clearly reflected in the sculpture of memorial buildings of the 40-70s. Vuchetich created the famous 13-meter bronze figure of a soldier with a child on one arm and a lowered sword in the other for the grandiose memorial to the “Soviet Soldier-Liberator” in Berlin. In the sculpture of the first post-war decade, “decoration” triumphed. The craving for superficial life-likeness, for minor details and lush, merchant-style ornamentation sometimes destroyed the tectonic logic of form construction (monument to Yuri Dolgoruky - S. M. Orlov).
At the same time, the theme of pogroms occupied a central place in their subject matter, thereby creating images of the shtetl with apocalyptic features. The tragic image of real Jewish life coexists with the optimistic utopian birth of a “new world.” This utopian Byzantine approach led artists to abandon figurative art methods in favor of avant-garde ways of expressing the symbolic representation of historical cataclysm, especially characteristic of Genke and Schor. For these women artists, and for others in their circles, the optimistic enthusiasm generated by a sense of the larger scale of change was an integral part of the overall national outlook.
During these years, sculpture plays an active role as a decorative or spatial organizing component in architecture public buildings and complexes, is used in the creation of urban planning compositions, in which, along with numerous new monuments, an important place belongs to garden and park sculpture, statues on highways and access roads to the city, sculptural design of residential areas, etc. For sculpture of small forms that penetrates into everyday life , the desire to aesthetically individualize a modern interior is noteworthy.
This view, expressed in the international manner of avant-garde art, has acquired universal meaning. Likewise, the female images that appear in the works of Jewish women artists were not concerned with gender issues, but rather served as conventional symbols of revolutionary freedom that were common at the time and comparable to Romantic art.
While Jewish artists in Kyiv chose non-figurative art forms consistent with their national artistic goals, in Vitebsk their affiliation with the radical avant-garde stream differed from their source. One of the most extreme art reformers of the twentieth century and the creator of a special abstract art stream called Suprematism, Malevich thought of his artistic utopia as a universal metaphysical system on a cosmic scale, the task of which was to reorganize the world.
17. Architecture and decorative and monumental art of the 30s - 50s.
Architects of the 20s In many ways they were utopians. Their romantic ideas about the new society and new art turned out to be far from the tastes of the “simple Soviet man", who in the depths of his soul dreamed of a beautiful life. In the early 30s. There was a sharp change in the development of Soviet architecture. In 1932, the USSR Academy of Architecture was established. The dominant creative principle of Soviet architecture from now on was the use of the heritage of the past, mainly the building art of antiquity and the Renaissance. In the interpretation of some talented masters, historical forms received a deeply unique implementation. But many eclectic buildings also appeared, unpleasantly striking with their enormous size and heaviness or abundance of tacky decorations. At the same time, massive construction was underway in the country. Developed standard projects residential buildings, schools, public institutions. The development of the construction industry was aimed primarily at reducing the cost and speeding up work: since 1927, they began to use cinder blocks, the first panel houses were built.
Most of its members were Jewish, including several young women artists: Fanya Belostoskaya, Emma Gurowitz, Eugenia Magaril and Tzivia Rosenholtz. Like many other students of Malevich in Vitebsk, Jewish artists tried to carry out the recommendations and tasks of their major and leader in the most precise way, trying to achieve their Suprematist utopia. Later, most of the Vitebsk artists mentioned above became architects and worked as industrial designers, putting into practice experiments with abstract forms, which they carried out under the direction of Malevich.
In 1935, large-scale work on the reconstruction of Moscow began. By 1941, the ensemble of the Moscow center was re-formed, the system of transport arteries of the city was updated, nine new bridges and granite embankments, three metro lines were built, green areas of the Central Park of Culture and Leisure named after M were laid out Gorky.
Magaril continued to paint, and the influence of the Vitebsk period can be traced in her later works: she remained faithful to local colors and the representation of objects as combinations of the simplest geometric bodies. Two of Per's students - Elena Kabisher and Raisa Edelson - were also students of the Art College in Vitebsk during the period when it was headed by Malevich. For some time both of these artists visited him introductory course, which dominated the college scene at the time. Edelson became his student and then his wife.
Kabischer also adopted some elements of Falk's painting style, but at the same time returned to themes and images typical of the Per school as a whole. In addition, the artist's Jewish national outlook in her works from this period is often exhibited and identified with her gender position: female images figure prominently in her paintings and are sometimes used as an allegory or symbol of Jewish life.
In the 50s A series of high-rise buildings were erected in the capital. Placed at key points of the city, they transformed its appearance - although, in essence, this was only an “enlargement” of the traditional multi-tower silhouette of old Moscow. Despite the post-war difficulties, “Soviet skyscrapers” were built from the most expensive materials(steel frame, granite finish, gilding). Each such house turned out to be equal in cost to several ordinary ones. multi-storey buildings the same cubic capacity.
Official critics attacked modernist experiments and promoted realistic realism with promulgated propaganda tendencies. Among the authoritative ideologists of this stream was a Jewish woman, Frida Roginskaya. An astute critic and observer, she was keenly aware of the emphasis on ethnic themes in the work of some Jewish artists, which she interpreted as a celebration of traditional Jewish life and an expression of what she called "bourgeois nationalism."
Along with the destruction of Jewish objects, Soviet art created an ideal image of a woman devoid of any distinct ethnic or even gender characteristics, which were replaced by class characteristics. Among them was Rosa Luxemburg, who was included not as a woman and a Jew, but as a representative of the pantheon of the world's revolutionary heroes. Sandomirska's work underwent a similar transformation during the same period, when she created a gallery of images of "Soviet women" and, in addition, abandoned the cubist style in sculpture.
A direct consequence of the change in the course of cultural policy in the mid-50s. there was a resolution issued condemning “architectural excesses” and “decoration.” The main content of the architecture of the second half of the 50s and 60s. began mass housing construction. New type housing was formed in the experimental development of the Moscow outskirts. Instead of the traditional row layout, the principle of a green microdistrict with groups of residential buildings around public and cultural institutions was introduced. The decoration of five-story buildings is extremely modest, and the square footage of apartments is kept to a minimum. This corresponded to the designers’ ultimate goal - to make housing truly accessible to the average consumer.
This transition to ideologically more “neutral” forms visual arts can be seen as a hidden form of artists refusing to publicly express their national and gender point of view. A typical manifestation of this tendency towards ideological idealization female image became the exhibition “Woman in the Construction of Socialism,” which opened in the spring in Leningrad. It is noteworthy that this exhibition was organized with the assistance and creativity that male artists took part as well as women, and that there was virtually no representation of Jewish women artists.
After 1917, the art of sculpture in Russia acquired special socio-political significance. Monuments played a key role in Soviet sculpture.
The symbol of victorious socialism was to become the Soviet pavilion at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. The building, designed by B. M. Iofan in the form of a stepped composition of rapidly increasing volumes, served as a pedestal for Mukhina’s twenty-three-meter sculptural group “Worker and Collective Farm Woman.” Decorative sculpture also developed rapidly. For example, in 1937, the territory of the Moscow Northern River Station was decorated with fountains designed by animal sculptors A. N. Kardashov and I. S. Efimov.
There were no works devoted to national, in particular, Jewish subjects. Works that showed women as builders of a “new way of life” and as active workers determined the character of the exhibition and fully justified its title. This group included students of the famous Soviet graphic artist Vladimir Favorsky: Lee Ratner, Hannah Bloom, Elena Gurevich, Rosalia Kagan, Tamara Rein, Alexandra Rubleva and Nadezhda Elkonina-Rosenberg, who all belonged to the leading stream of Soviet illustration art.
Some of them also worked as porcelain decorators and monumental artists. Other Jewish artists of this generation—Dora Brodskaya and Lyubov Rabinovich—were primarily painters, and Lee Reitzer became known as a textile designer. Among the theater designers we should mention: Elena Fradkina, Sofia Yunovich and Raisa Margolina. The latter graduated from the Jewish School of Arts and Industry in Kyiv and was appointed chief designer of the Jewish puppet theater in the capital of Ukraine.
In the second half of the 50s. the need for a clear and weighty sculptural image was increasingly realized. Original memorials appeared in which the sculpture itself yielded the leading role to the landscape or architectural composition preserving historical memory
Along with the appeal to abstract forms dating back to the avant-garde, sculpture preserved the traditions of monumentalism
All these women connected with the art of realism and demonstrated high level artistic skills that they acquired during their studies in the best studios of Soviet artists. At the same time, their works were almost completely devoid of national themes, while gender themes were interpreted in accordance with official ideology.
For Jewish artists in particular, there was an opportunity to communicate their Jewish identity. She started art classes at the Pera school in Vitebsk. During this period, she painted only landscapes and still lifes, in which she solved only formal problems - the relationship between color and form, creating a composition, etc. when she was released, she returned to Moscow, where she worked on a large series graphic works on subjects from the books of Ruth and Esther. These stories are about women's destinies were not chosen by chance by the artist, who focused on the most dramatic moments, emphasizing the element of tragedy and loneliness of the characters.
In 1918, Lenin issued a decree “On the Monuments of the Republic” with a plan for monumental propaganda. It announced a plan to influence the masses through sculpture. In a short time, the best Soviet sculptors erected many monuments to revolutionary and cultural figures.
Sculpture 30s-50s
Monuments played a key role in Soviet sculpture. Characterized by a tendency toward monumentality and a strong ideological orientation. Famous Soviet sculptors.
The artist's own life was interpreted in the universal content of these biblical stories. The images of Ruth and Esther, which are of paramount importance to the Jewish psyche, imbue the life of the Jewish artist with national significance, turning him into a symbolic reflection of the tragic history of all Jewish people.
Although Jewish themes could not be directly expressed, they were usually alluded to through allusions and symbolic and allegorical imagery. For example, in some sculptural compositions, Julia Seagal, depicts scenes of everyday life in pre-war Kyiv. The characters could easily be identified as Jews, turning the compositions into nostalgic memories of a world that no longer existed.
Vera Mukhina– decorativeness and plastic power, ( portrait of a doctorA. A. Zamkova , sculptural group "Worker and collective farmer »– an outstanding piece of monumental art, "the ideal and symbol of the Soviet era", representing a dynamic sculptural group of two figures with their heads raised above sickle and hammer.); The 23-meter composition crowned the pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris. Flame of the Revolution" (1922); monument to Gorky in N. Novgorod (1939), portraits of contemporaries.
During these years, many Jewish women played prominent roles in Soviet art criticism and art historical research. Dora emigrated to Israel in All layers of Russian artistic culture, which were discovered thanks to their research. Her research focuses on early twentieth-century Russian art, and she is a leading and respected art historian.
Rimma Zanevskaya was a member of the Movement group, which developed the principles of abstraction and kinetic art. Jewish artist, Natalya Abalakova, is one of the most radical creators of conceptual art in Moscow. She organizes events and installations together with her husband Anatoly Zhigalov. In their joint projects there is a conscious division of gender roles when Abalakova accepts provocative and creative functions, according to her understanding of her female role, which is also in Lately takes on a certain Jewish quality.
Ivan Shadr “Monument to M. Gorky); a series of portraits such as “Red Army Soldier”, “Sower”, “Worker”. The works are characterized by: powerful sculpting of volumes, expressiveness of movement, romantic pathos. Composition “Cobblestone-weapon of the proletariat” original in its plastic motif, intensely dramatic composition.
Matvey Manizer ; strictly modeled and clear in composition monuments to T. Shevchenko in Kharkov (1935), in which he tried to overcome the traditional “loneliness” of the figure on the pedestal, to emphasize the connection of his heroes with the people), to Lenin in Ulyanovsk, in the monuments to V. I. Chapaev in Kuibyshev(1932)
Alexander Matveev characterized by classical clarity in understanding the constructive basis of plasticity, the harmony of sculptural masses and the relationship of volumes in space (“Undressing woman”, “Woman putting on a shoe”), as well as the famous "October" (1927) , where the composition includes 3 naked male figures - a combination of classical traditions and the ideal of the “man of the Revolution” (attributes - sickle, hammer, budenovka).
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, artists turned art into a weapon against the enemy.
In the post-war years, monumental trends in sculpture intensified. This was facilitated by the publication of a government decree on the construction of monuments-busts of twice Heroes Soviet Union and twice Heroes of Socialist Labor for their subsequent installation in their homeland. The sculptural monument and monument as a genre have become extremely popular
Nikolay Tomsky on the basis of the bust monuments he created earlier, he creates monuments to generals Apanasenko (Belgrade, 1949) and Chernyakhovsky (Vilnius, 1950 - transported to Voronezh). In them, the sculptor combines a measure of concrete similarity with generalized modeling, harmony of sculpture and architectural pedestal, clarity and expressiveness of the pedestal. Evgeniy Vuchetich continues to work on busts of heroes and monuments. He was one of the first to create portraits of heroes of labor (“Uzbek collective farmer Nizarali Niyazov”, 1948), achieving pomp, resorting to a spectacular composition. Juozas Mikenas created an expressive Monument to 1200 guardsmen in Kaliningrad(1946) - two forward-looking figures with a clear dynamic silhouette, the monument expresses the spirit of victory.
In addition to monuments to war heroes and memorials, monuments to historical figures and cultural figures were erected in the 1950s.
In the sculpture of the first post-war decade, “decoration” triumphed. In 1953, according to the project Sergei Orlov was delivered Monument to Yuri Dolgoruky– the craving for minor details and lush, merchant-style ornamentation sometimes destroyed the tectonic logic of form construction.
In the second half of the 50s. The need for a clear and weighty sculptural image, where the idea would be expressed directly through form, was increasingly realized. This is how Moscow is monument to V.V. Mayakovsky (1958) by sculptor A.P. Kibalnikova.
Mikhail Anikushin created monument to Pushkin (1957); sculpted him Alexander Matveev(1948-60), although the work remained unfinished, the depth of penetration into the character, the transfer of a complex state makes this work one of the best works of the post-war years.
In the 1940-50s, sculptors of the older generation continued to work fruitfully, including Mukhina. Her most successful monumental work of these years is Monument to Tchaikovsky Conservatory She also participated in the completion of the monument to Gorky in Moscow, begun by Shadr - maintaining Shadr’s decision, she brought her own attitude to the project: freedom of plasticity, the power of sculptural forms, harmonized by precise constructive calculations.
In 1945, the sculptor returned to his homeland Sergey Konenkov. His programmatic work was " The Liberated Man" (1947): Samson, who broke the chains, raised his hands in a victory gesture. “In the image of a liberated giant, the sculptor embodied his joy and pride for the people who won victory over fascism.” In 1949 he creates “Portrait of the oldest collective farmer of the village of Karakovichi I.V. Zuev”- his fellow villager and childhood friend. The sculptor did a lot for the development of the portrait of the 1940-50s, introducing into the portrait “acutely perceptible plastic diversity, an excellent sense of material, high culture and sensitivity in the perception of the personality of a contemporary.” In 1957, he was the first among Soviet sculptors to receive the Lenin Prize.
Sculpture 50-70. The most developed genre of easel sculpture was the portrait of war heroes and prominent figures. Given great importance monumental sculpture. Monuments are erected in squares. Vuchetich sculpted a bronze figure Soviet soldier with a child in one hand and a lowered sword in the other for the memorial to the "Soviet Soldier-Liberator" in Berlin. Memorials and busts of war heroes are being erected. Monuments to historical figures of Russia are being built in Moscow: S. Orlov, A. Antropov, N. Stammcompleted a monument to Yuri Dolgoruky (1953-1954). Architectural and sculptural memorial complexes dedicated to the memory of those who fell in the fight against fascism on the sites of former concentration camps are widespread. Among them: V. Tsigal, monument to General Karbyshev in Mauthausen; E. Vuchetich,monument to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad on Mamayev Kurgan. A genre motif appears in monumental sculpture ( O. Komov , monument to Pushkin in Tver). In the easel sculpture there is a lyrical and poetic line: T. Sokolova“Portrait of M. Tsvetaeva”,O. Baranov"Pushkin", "Shakespeare".
Memorial complexes as a synthesis of arts
Significant work in the field of synthesis of arts in the 20th century was associated with the creation of large memorial buildings and exhibition complexes. Memorial complexes were created in former camps and battle sites. The complexes were installed in the USSR and abroad (Treptow Park in Berlin; monument to General Karbyshev in Mounthausen). The memorial complex often includes a museum exhibition. This is the Brest Fortress, monument to heroes battle of Stalingrad on Mamayev Kurgan (sculptor E. Vuchetich). There are memorials designed for the museum as the main element of the compositional solution - the Piskarevskoe cemetery (sculptors V. Isaeva, R. Taurit), the memorial ensemble in Salaspils (sculptors L. Bukovsky, J. Zarin, O. Skarainis; architects G. Asaris, O Zakamenny, I. Strautmanis, O. Ostenbergs). The space of nature is combined here with architectural and sculptural volumes - landmarks. Monument in the village of Pirchupis (G. Iokubonis - created according to the same principle. Khatyn complex in Belarus solves the problem in a different way - as an example of the complex transformation of the remains of a burnt village into a memorial.
"Khatyn"- a monument to the victims of Hitler's terror on occupied Belarusian soil. The memorial complex is an original, impressive architectural and artistic structure, created through a synthesis of arts and carrying a high patriotic idea, expressed by realistic artistic means. The monument to the victims of fascism is distinguished by an unusual, original solution to the theme, laconicism, simplicity and clarity.
Synthesis of arts is one of the important means of creating an environment that meets the ideological and aesthetic needs of a developed socialist society.