Julia

Mediums: wood.
Location: The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (Russia).

The masterpiece of Mukhina’s plasticity was made in a spiral-shaped dynamic movement characteristic of avant-garde art. The name of the work is associated with the name of Podgurskaya, a famous ballerina who served as the model for the embodiment of the complex creative idea. This work is a rare example of wooden sculpture, preserving the uniqueness of human-made craftsmanship. A. Bakushinsky called it “a truly round sculpture”. The author loved “Julia” and did not part with her all her life, choosing for it the best place in her studio. In 1989, Mukhina’s Venus was the center of her solo exhibition and later was stored in the family of the artist’s son V. Zamkov, who then gave it to the State Tretyakov Gallery. In the 1940s, the author recreated this work in art glass with some changes.