Boris Danilovich Korolyov (; 1884/85–1963) was a Soviet sculptor-monumentalist, teacher and public figure.

Biography

As an artist Korolyov stood at the origins of the Soviet school of sculpture, its mainstream, but he also was one of the leading figures in the avant-garde movement. In the 1920s he played a prime role in the realization of Lenin's plan of

monumental propaganda "Monumental Propaganda" is a strategy proposed by Vladimir Lenin of employing visual monumental art (revolutionary slogans and monumental sculpture) as an important means for propagating revolutionary and communist ideas. The plan had the signific ...

. In his sculptural works Korolyov combined

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *American Realism *Classical Realism *Liter ...

with elements of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

. Born in Moscow and educated at the

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (), also known by the acronym MUZHVZ, was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow ...

under

Sergei Volnukhin Sergei Mikhailovich Volnukhin (1859–1921) was a Russian sculptor, best known for his instruction to a generation of Russian artists at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, teaching alongside Prince Paolo Troubetzkoy. ...

, Korolyov was a committed revolutionary, deported twice for his political activity, and a leading figure of avant-garde sculpture in revolutionary Russia. He was an active participant in the execution of Lenin's Monumental Propaganda Plan of April 1918, which encouraged the destruction of Tsarist monuments and the rapid production of Soviet-themed sculptures and bas-reliefs. However, Korolyov's rapidly produced 1919 concrete statue of

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...

, done in a

Cubo-Futurist Cubo-Futurism () was an art movement, developed within Russian Futurism, that arose in the early 20th-century Russian Empire, defined by its amalgamation of the artistic elements found in Italian Futurism and French Analytical Cubism. Cubo-Futur ...

style and set up in Moscow, proved to be deeply unpopular and was dismantled within weeks. Despite changing tastes, Korolyov continued working in

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

style into the 1920s, and became professor of sculpture at the Soviet state art school, Vkhutemas. In 2009 he was the subject of a major retrospective at the

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Muscovite merchant Pavel ...

. Korolyov is buried in

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Significant works

His work includes: * the granite ''Fighters of the Revolution'' in

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

, completed in 1925, with a cubist base * bronze and granite figure of

Nikolay Bauman Nikolay Ernestovich Bauman (; – ) was a Russian revolutionary of the Bolshevik, Bolshevik Party. His death in a struggle with a royalist upon his release from Taganka Prison in 1905 made him one of the first martyrs of the revolution, and ...

, Moscow, 1931 * a number of statues of Lenin, including a bronze of Lenin in Independence Square of

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, completed in 1936 and replaced in 1991

Gallery

File:Female figure, Dancer by Boris Korolev (1916, Tretyakov gallery) 01 by shakko.JPG, Women's figure (1916) File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-10076, Berlin, Ausstellung moderner russischer Kunst.jpg,

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

's marble portrait (1923)

References

External links

Online biography (in Russian)
* ''Bol'shaya sovetskaya entsiklopediia (the Great Soviet encyclopedia)'' (3d ed., vol. 13). (1973). Moscow.: Izdatel'stvo "Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya". * Grabar. (Ed.). (1957). ''Istoriya Russkogo Iskusstva (The History of Russian Art)'' (Vol. XI). Moscow: USSR Academy of Sciences. * Latushkin (1986). ''Pam'yatnik N.E. Baumanu (Monument to N. Bauman in Moscow)''. Moscow: Moskovskiy rabochiy. * Fomina, Yakhont (1989). ''Korolyov, B.D. Iz literaturnogo naslediya. Perepiska. Sovremenniki o skul'ptore (Korolyóv, B.D. Excerpts from archives and published literary works. Correspondence. Contemporaries on the sculptor''. Moscow: Sovetskiy khudozhnik. {{DEFAULTSORT:Korolyov, Boris 20th-century Russian sculptors 1880s births 1963 deaths Academic staff of Vkhutemas Russian avant-garde Russian cubist artists People's Artists of the USSR (visual arts) Russian male sculptors Soviet sculptors Socialist realist artists Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni