Stepan Dmitrievich Erzia (Nefyodov) (; – 24 November 1959), also known as Stefan Erzia, was an Erzya sculptor who lived in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Erzya chose his pseudonym after the native ethnic group.

Biography

He was born October 27, 1876, in the village Bayevo, Alatyrsky Uyezd,

Simbirsk Governorate Simbirsk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 to 1928. Its administrative center was in the city of Simbirsk, renamed Ulyanovsk in 1924 (likewis ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. In 1892 his family moved to Alatyr; Stepan became an apprentice of various icon-painting studios. In 1893–1897 he lived in

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

, previously at the joiner's shop, later he worked at P. A. Kovalinski's icon-painting studio in

. That time Erzia decorated churches in the various cities and villages of the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

area and attended

Kazan Art School The Kazan Art School is a state autonomous education institution in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern ...

. In 1902–1906 he studied at

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 ...

, participating in the exhibitions of the School's students. In 1906-1914 he lived in Italy and France. He took part in the exhibitions in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1909, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1912. In 1914 he returned to

and in 1918 he moved to

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

where he created his monumental works of art. In 1921 he moved to

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk (, ; ) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was History In antiquity, the shores of the ...

, then to

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

. Living there, he created portraits 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 ...

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. In 1923 he lived in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, where he created in monumental genre. In 1926 the Soviet government took a decision to send Stepan Erzia abroad "to spread the knowledge of the Soviet art". He came to Paris again. Again his one-man shows were sponsored followed by positive response in the Western press. Erzia and Moisey

In 1927–1950 he worked in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, creating portraits there of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using pre-reform Russian orthography. ; ), usually referr ...

, and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

. There Erzya developed a project of transforming entire mountains in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

into monuments to the heroes of the

war for independence This is a list of wars of independence, including armed conflicts fought for independence of a nation. These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List : : : : : : See also * Resistance during World ...

. The local authorities approved his plan, but failed to finance its implementation. While in Argentina, Erzya invented a method of processing some locally grown, extra-hard types of wood: algarrobo and quebracho. In 1950 he returned to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In 1956 he was awarded with the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

. Stepan Erzya died in 1959 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and was buried in

Saransk Saransk (, ); ; is the capital city of Mordovia, Russia, as well as its financial and economic centre. It is located in the Volga River, Volga drainage basin, basin at the confluence of the Saranka and Insar Rivers, about east of Moscow. Sar ...

, the capital of

Mordovia Mordovia ( ),; Moksha language, Moksha and officially the Republic of Mordovia,; ; is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, situated in Eastern Europe. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of S ...

. On 26 June 1958 '' Erzya Mordovian Museum of Visual Arts'' () was opened in Saransk. The museum has the most complete collection of Erzya works (204 works).Site of Erzia Museum
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Major works

''Horror'', ''Despair'', ''Courage'', ''A Chilean Lady'', ''A Parisian Lady in a Hat'', ''Head of a Mordvin Woman'', ''Lev Tolstoy'', ''Beethoven'', ''Moses'' and ''Christ''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erzia, Stepan 1876 births 1959 deaths People from Mordovia People from Alatyrsky Uyezd Mordvin people Sculptors from the Russian Empire Soviet sculptors 20th-century Argentine sculptors 20th-century Argentine male artists Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni Soviet emigrants to Argentina