Lenin ArtSocialist Realism and Communist Propaganda

Socialist Realism

• Artistic and literary doctrine of political censorship in the Soviet Union.1

• "Socialist Realism is art that is realistic in form but Socialist in content.” --Aleksandr Gerasimov

• 1932- Party disbanded existing artistic organizations and set up party-led unions for individual art forms.2

• After Stalin’s death, artists began to have more freedom.3

Lenin leading the Bolshevik Revolution by Mikhail Fedorovich Kholuev (1923-1987) and Ludmila Sergeevna Manevich (1943- ). (Oil on canvas, 150 x 310 cm, 1973).

Lenin with the Marines by P. Mishchenko (1918- ). (Oil on canvas, 130 x 180 cm, 1971)

Lenin Speaking in Red Square Galina Alexsandrovna Neledva (1938). (Oil on canvas, 130 x 180 cm, 1965)

Peasant's Dinner Lenin by Vladimir Fedoseevich Yatstenko (1915- )(Oil on canvas, 127 x 144 cm, 1960)

“Painted shortly after Stalin's death, the painting depicts hope and rising expectations. Both old and young people are gathered around the table sharing a meal. This was the traditional way of propagating the ideals of communism.” --Visser

Fishermen by Nikolai Mikhailovich Shelyuto (Oil on canvas, 135 x 180 cm, 1959)

“Showing Lenin in this very romantic painting with two young friends as they strolled in nature is the highest level of propaganda. Such a man clearly could do no harm to others.” – Anne Visser

Lenin in the Park by Viktor Grigorevich Sevastianov (1923- ) and Mikhail Konstantinovich Poplavsky (1914-1980). (Oil on canvas, 100 x150 cm, 1954)

Lenin on Park Bench

The Musicians by Vyacheslav Vasilevich Tokarev (1917- ) (Oil on canvas, 120 x 160 cm, 1970)

“Lenin is no longer depicted as a leader. Rather he is shown relaxing with like any bourgeois family man. He no longer is the center of focus in the scene as all eyes are fixed on the young violinist. It's like the artist is trying to show Lenin as an outsider.” --Visser

Mikhail Khmelko: Greeting the First Cosmonaut Back to Earth (1961)Sketch for Greeting the First Cosmonaut, Iurii Gagarin, on his Return to EarthSource: Matthew Cullerne, ed.: Soviet socialist realist painting 1930-1960s. Oxford: Museum of Modern Art. 1992.

References

1 A. Visser: Lenin in Art: The History of an Illusion, The Romanticism of Art After Stalin's Era. http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai142_folder/142_articles/142_lenin_art.html

2 D. Elliot: Socialist Realism. The Dictionary of Art. Vol. 28. 919.

3 D. Elliot: Socialist Realism. The Dictionary of Art. Vol. 28. 920