Aleksandr Deyneka Explained

Aleksandr Deyneka
Native Name:Александр Александрович Дейнека
Birth Date:20 May 1899
Birth Place:Kursk, Kursk Governorate, Russian Empire
Death Place:Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting Place:Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow
Citizenship:Soviet
Nationality:Russian
Alma Mater:VKhUTEMAS
Spouse:Serafima Lychyova (1930–1959), Yelena Volkova-Deyneka (1959–1969)

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Deyneka (Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Дейне́ка; May 20, 1899 – June 12, 1969) was a Soviet Russian painter, graphic artist and sculptor, regarded as one of the most important Russian modernist figurative painters of the first half of the 20th century. His Collective Farmer on a Bicycle (1935) has been described as exemplifying the socialist realist style.[1]

Life and career

Deyneka was born in Kursk and studied at Kharkov Art College (apprentice of Alexander Lubimov) and at VKhUTEMAS. He was a founding member of groups such as OST and Oktyabr,[2] and his work gained wide exposure in major exhibitions. His paintings and drawings (the earliest are often monochrome due to the shortage of art supplies) depict genre scenes as well as labour and often sports. Deyneka later began painting monumental works, such as The Defense of Petrograd in 1928, which remains his most iconic painting, and The Battle of Sevastopol in 1942, The Outskirts of Moscow. November 1941 and The Shot-Down Ace. His mosaics are a feature of Mayakovskaya metro station in Moscow. He is in the highest category "1A - a world famous artist" in "United Art Rating".[3]

Deyneka is buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

Legacy

The title from one of Deyneka's works, "Work, Build and Don't Whine", was used as the title for a 2016 exhibition of Socialist Realist art at London's Gallery for Russian Arts and Design. One modern critic, however, suggested that Deyneka's posters are less radical than his fore-bearers like Alexander Rodchenko, and as a result, less interesting.[4] [5]

Honours and awards

Selected works

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. "Left out in the cold" by Alastair Smart in The Telegraph 8 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  2. Web site: Художник недели: Александр Дейнека . 2016-01-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140202181734/http://artinvestment.ru/invest/painters/20130730_deineka.html . 2014-02-02 . dead .
  3. Web site: Московский художник Дейнека Александр Александрович. Socialist Realism. Kiev club of collectors..
  4. News: From kitchen slaves to industrial workers – the superwomen of Soviet art. Güner. Fisun. 13 June 2016. The Guardian. 24 October 2016.
  5. Web site: 10 paintings by Aleksandr Deyneka that everyone should know . en . Russia Beyond the Headlines . 2019-12-03 . 2020-02-19.