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1908 - 1974

Yevgeny Vuchetich

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A Russian sculptor-muralist, master of the portrait genre in marble and bronze, professor, an author of theoretical works on monumental art.

The natural talent allowed Vuchetich to become one of the most prominent representatives of “Soviet classicism”, whose works are known in many countries of the world. He was repeatedly awarded the Grand Prix of international exhibitions; his merits were evaluated by six USSR state awards, as well as the J. Nehru Prize.

The sculptor was awarded medals and orders (including as a participant in the Great Patriotic War), was Vice-President of the Academy of Arts; he became a Hero of Socialist Labor and People’s Artist of the USSR.
In his works, Yevgeny Vuchetich depicted the most significant events in the history of his country; the images of his works symbolize the military and labour heroism of the people. Such subjects determined the dramatic nature of his creations, which, however, always were life-affirming.

The most significant in scale are his sculptural ensembles in Berlin Treptower Park and on the Volgograd Mamaev Kurgan. The sculpture “Motherland Calls” was inscribed as the tallest non-religious statue in the world in the Guinness Book of Records.

Key ideas:

– Studying at the art school of Rostov-on-Don, the young sculptor was fond of depicting battles and horse-racing men striking the enemy. In his early works, we can feel the strong temperament of the sculptor, striving to convey romance, the life expression of events.

– Having become one of the creators of the special style of “Stalinist classicism”, Yevgeny Vuchetich, using the power of realistic generalization, recreated the most important events in the history of the country; the images he created most often had the meaning of a heroic symbol.

– As a monumentalist by the nature of his talent, Vuchetich introduced modern plasticity into his designs with its tendency towards grandiose ensembles that amaze the viewer’s imagination. This applies primarily to multi-figure plot high reliefs.

– Vuchetich made a considerable gallery of sculptural portraits of heroes of the war, in which he also took part. Working in bronze and marble, he tried to find new compositional solutions. Some busts are created in the style of solemn baroque, in others, following the traditions is observed (in particular, the sculptor loved the work of Fedor Shubin); in other statues, there is either romantic excitement or pathos of drama.

– Working in collaboration with architects, Vuchetich thought globally and designed dozens of sculptures and monuments that were included in one memorial and complemented each other, making up a peculiar story about historical events.

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1908

1926

1931

1935

1937

1940

1943

1946

1957

1958

1972

1974

Yevgeny Vuchetich was born into a Serbian family from Montenegro

Yevgeny Vuchetich was born into a Serbian family from Montenegro, Viktor Vyacheslavovich and Anna Alexandrovna, nee Russo, who had French roots. His early childhood passed in the Caucasus, not far from Grozny, where his father, a mining engineer, worked. His painting talent manifested itself from Yevgeny’s early childhood. After the 1917 revolution, the family moved to Rostov-on-Don.

Entered the Rostov art school

Entered the Rostov art school, where he studied for four years, showed his extraordinary talent as a sculptor. His diploma work, a sculptural group depicting a sailor on a rearing horse, impressed viewers by emotional stress. It was bought by the North Caucasus Museum of the Revolution.

He studied at the Leningrad Institute of Proletarian Fine Arts

He studied at the Leningrad Institute of Proletarian Fine Arts, which was named after I. Repin in 1932 and was united with the All-Russian Academy of Arts. At the end, there was an advanced training in the class of sculptors at the workshop of B. I. Yakovlev.

He moved to Moscow

On the advice of his colleague, architect V. A. Shchuko (their joint project is the Drama Theater in Rostov-on-Don), he moved to Moscow and participated in the construction of the Moscow Hotel and the State Library named after Lenin.

“Clement Voroshilov on horseback”

Participated in major art exhibitions, received the Gold Medal at the Paris World Art and Industrial Exhibition for the sculptural composition “Clement Voroshilov on horseback” (it was completed in 1936).

He volunteered for the front

He was appointed to run art-experimental workshops at the Construction Department of the Palace of Soviets in Moscow. In the first weeks of World War II, he volunteered for the front as an ordinary machine gunner (he retired as a lieutenant colonel).

He was appointed a military artist

After getting over the concussion, he was appointed a military artist to the Moscow Studio of Military Artists named after Grekov, where he worked until 1960. He created portrait busts of the commanders Suvorov, Kutuzov, General Bagration and famous Denis Davydov – the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812.

He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 2nd degree

He began to lead a large project of the construction of a magnificent monument in the Treptower Park in Berlin – an ensemble for soldiers of the Soviet Army (he worked together with architect Y. Belopolsky). The key figure in the composition was the bronze “Warrior-Liberator” by Vuchetich. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 2nd degree. Soon he was appointed chief sculptor of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition.

“Swords to ploughshares”

Finished work on an allegorical statue, “Swords to ploughshares”, the original of which is installed in New York; its copies are in the Tretyakov Gallery, Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan) and Volgograd.

At the World Exhibition in Brussels, three of his works were awarded the Grand Prix

At the World Exhibition in Brussels, three of his works were awarded the Grand Prix. He became the direct project manager for the construction of a memorial ensemble on the Volgograd Mamaev Kurgan dedicated to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad (opened in 1967). He worked together with other sculptors and a group of architects under the leadership of J. Belopolsky. The following year he was awarded the title of People’s Artist of the USSR.

"Motherland"

The master, who received the title of Hero of Socialist Labor in 1967, began working with a group of sculptors on the implementation of the project “National Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War” in Kyiv. The central figure of the memorial – the 90-meter “Motherland” – was significantly changed after the death of Vuchetich by Ukrainian sculptor V.Z. Boroday who continued working on it.