Manova, Polina K. The Classical Tradition in the Monumental-Decorative Sculpture Exemplifi ed by the Works of Igor V. Krestovsky

Title The Classical Tradition in the Monumental-Decorative Sculpture Exemplifi ed by the Works of Igor V. Krestovsky
Author email appolinarrium@rambler.ru
About author Manova, Polina K. — researcher, I.I. Brodsky’s Apartment Museum of Th e Russian Academy of Fine Arts Museum. 17 Universitetskaya embankment, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation 199034.
In the section Russian Art of the 20th Century
Year 2014 Volume 4 Pages 566–575
Type of article RAR Index UDK 7.027.2 Index BBK 85.14
Abstract

The article is focused on analysing the creative heritage of the Soviet sculptor, conservator, educator and the honoured artist of the Russian Federation Igor V. Krestovsky (1893–1976), who took an active part in shaping the monumental design and decorative appearance of Leningrad in the 1930s and 1940s.
A shift in the political regime is always refl ected in monumental art. In the fi rst decades of the Soviet power artists faced a challenge of creating the new set of symbols. Being graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts well familiar with the art history, the artists founded a new style on the basis of the experience accumulated by the former generations. Th e sculptor Krestovsky worked as a conservator at the Russian Museum and was actively involved in conservation of sculptures at the facades of classical buildings all over the city. The vast experience gained from conservation works and thorough research of classicism art pieces had a substantial impact on the artist’s individual manner in decorative and monumental sculpture.
An unquestionable relationship between the «Stalin’s Empire style» and classicism sculpture of the first half of the 19th century is demonstrated in the article. The works of Igor V. Krestovsky such as the monumental decorations of the Council House and the «Moskva» cinema in Leningrad, as well as the Military Academy of Mikhail V. Frunze in Moscow etc. are cited as perfect examples.
The author summarized the materials that had earlier been known only from the archive sources. The origins of the «Stalin’s Empire style» are presented using the works of the sculptor Igor V. Krestovsky as a case study.
Keywords
Reference Manova, Polina K. The Classical Tradition in the Monumental-Decorative Sculpture Exemplifi ed by the Works of Igor V. Krestovsky. Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art: Collection of articles. Vol. 4. Eds: Svetlana V. Maltseva, Anna V. Zakharova. St. Petersburg, NP-Print Publ., 2014, pp. 566–575. ISSN 2312-2129.
Publication Article language russian
Bibliography
  • Arkin D.E. Monumental sculpture of Leningrad. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo Akademii arkhitektury SSSR, 1948. 106 p. (in Russian).
  • Brodskii I.A. The exhibition of works of Igor Krestovsky (On the 60th anniversary of the birth and on the 35th anniversary of the creative work). Leningrad, Iskusstvo, 1954. 40 p. (in Russian).
  • Kalinin V.V. Igor V. Krestovsky: Catalogue of the exhibition. Leningrad, Khudozhnik RSFSR,1972. 62 р. (in Russian).
  • Krestovskii I.V. Monumental and decorative sculpture (technique, technology, restoration). Leningrad, Iskusstvo, 1949. 266 p. (in Russian).
  • Krivdina O.A., Tychinin B.B. Sculpture and sculptors of St. Petersburg. 1703‒2007: Illustrated encyclopedia. Saint-Petersburg, Logos, 2007. 764 p. (in Russian).
  • Lisovskii V.G. Architecture of St. Petersburg. Th ree centuries of history. Saint-Petersburg, Slaviia, 2004. 415 p. (in Russian).
  • Mahov A.E. Emblems and symbols. Moscow, Intrada, 2000. 368 p. (in Russian).
  • Pohliobkin V. Dictionary of the international symbols and emblems. Moscow, Tsentropoligraf, 2007. 543 p. (in Russian).
  • Rudnev L.V. Architecture and construction of the Frunze Red Army Military Academy. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo Akademii arkhitektury SSSR, 1940. 31 p. (in Russian).