Matvey Genrikhovich Manizer (; – 20 December 1966) was a prominent Russian sculptor. Manizer created a number of works that became classics of socialist realism.

Life

Manizer was born in Saint Petersburg into the family of Genrikh Manizer (, ), a prominent Memel-born artist of

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

descent. As a student Manizer attended the Saint Petersburg State Artistic and Industrial Academy, and the art school of the

Peredvizhniki Peredvizhniki (, ), often called The Wanderers or The Itinerants in English, were a group of Russian realism (arts), realist artists who formed an artists' cooperative in protest of academic restrictions; it evolved into the ''Society for Trave ...

from 1911 through 1916. From 1926 he was a member of the

Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia The Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (, ''Assotsiatsia khudozhnikov revolutsionnoi Rossii'', 1922–1928), later known as Association of Artists of the Revolution (Ассоциация художников революции, ''Assots ...

. In 1941 he moved to Moscow. Working in an

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and realistic style, Manizer produced a great number of monuments situated throughout the Soviet Union, including some twelve portrayals of

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 ...

. Manizer was awarded the

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

(1958), Member of USSR Academy of Arts (1947), vice president of USSR Academy of Arts (1947-1966), chairman of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists from 1937 to 1941, and three-time laureate of the Stalin Prize. Manizer's wife (1890-1971) was also sculptor, with her work at

Moscow Metro The Moscow Metro) is a rapid transit system in the Moscow Oblast of Russia. It serves the capital city of Moscow and the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy, and Kotelniki. Opened in 1935 with one l ...

's Dinamo station. Their son, (1927-2016), was a noted painter. Among Manizer's students was the Stalin Prize-winning Fuad Abdurakhmanov. Manizer is buried in Moscow's

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 ...

Work

* , , Leningrad. A 1925 work commemorating Soviet politician V. Volodarsky. * , Frunzensky District, Saint Petersburg. A 1932 work commemorating those who died in the 1905 Bloody Sunday massacre. * Monument to Vasily Chapaev,

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

. A 1932 multi-figure and equestrian sculptural composition commemorating

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

commander

Vasily Chapayev Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev (; 5 September 1919) was a Russian soldier and Red Army commander during the Russian Civil War. Biography Chapayev was born into a poor peasant family in a village called , now part of Cheboksary. During World War I ...

. * ,

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, 1933. * 80 bronzes of Soviet citizens for the

station Ploshchad Revolyutsii, 1938 * ,

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. A 1935 multi-figure sculptural composition commemorating Ukrainian poet and humanist

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...

. * Monument to

Valerian Kuybyshev Valerian Vladimirovich Kuybyshev (; – 25 January 1935) was a Russian revolutionary, Red Army officer, and prominent Soviet politician. Biography Early years Born in Omsk in Siberia on , Kuybyshev studied at the , a Cadet Corps in O ...

in Samara, 1938 * Monument on the ,

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, 1938. * Monument to Lenin in

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO Ci ...

, 1941, for which Manizer was awarded the Stalin Prize second class * Bronze sculptures of the

Heroes of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both t ...

Matvey Kuzmin Matvey Kuzmich Kuzmin ( rus, Матве́й Кузьми́ч Кузьми́н, p=mɐˈtvʲej kʊˈzmʲin; 3 August 1858 – 14 February 1942) was a Russian people, Russian peasant who was killed in World War II. He was posthumously the oldest per ...

and Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya in the Moscow Metro station Partizanskaya, 1943, for which Manizer was awarded the Stalin Prize first class * Monument to the Metro Builders, in the Moscow Metro station Elektrozavodskaya, 1944 * in

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

. A 1949 work commemorating twice-Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Pokryshkin. * Monument to

Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (, ; 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. Pavlov also conducted significant research on ...

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

, 1950, for which Manizer was awarded the Stalin Prize second class * Monument to Lenin outside

Luzhniki Stadium The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, commonly known as Luzhniki Stadium, is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. Its total seating capacity of 78,011 makes it the List of football stadiums in R ...

. A version of his 1940 Ulyanovsk monument to Lenin built for the 1958 World's Fair in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, placed outside the Central Lenin Stadium in 1960. * , Bolotnaya Square, Moscow. A 1958 work commemorating painter

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is today Ukraine. He became one of the most renowned artists in Russian Empire, Russia in the 19th century. His major works include ''Barge Haulers on the Volga' ...

. * Heroes Monument, Jakarta. A 1963 work commemorating those who fought for

Indonesian Independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence (, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 Tokyo Standard Time on Friday 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of the Indonesian Nati ...

. * , Leningrad. A version of his 1932 work, made in 1933 and installed in 1968.

References

online biography from Saint Petersburg Encyclopedia

online biography (Russian language)
1891 births 1966 deaths Artists from Saint Petersburg People's Artists of the USSR (visual arts) Soviet sculptors Full Members of the USSR Academy of Arts Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Soviet painters Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design alumni Saint Petersburg State University alumni {{Russia-sculptor-stub