Vladimir Vasilyevich Lebedev (russian: Влади́мир Васи́льевич Ле́бедев; 26 May 1891 – 21 November 1967) was part of the
Russian avant-garde: A painter, a political cartoonist and a poster artist, with an experimental style influenced by Russian folk art, ''lubki'',
futurism,
constructivism
Constructivism may refer to:
Art and architecture
* Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes
* Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s a ...
,
suprematism
Suprematism (russian: Супремати́зм) is an early twentieth-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term ''suprematism'' refers to an abstra ...
,
productionism and
cubism.
A pioneer in the field of children's illustration, he would later acknowledge his role in inventing a new illustrative style, created in the "language of cubism."
Lebedev's most important contributions to children's literature were made in the 1920s, and some of his most ground-breaking work was created in collaboration with the poet
Samuil Marshak
Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (russian: link=no, Самуил Яковлевич Маршак; 4 July 1964) was a Russian and Soviet writer of Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. ...
, whom
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
called "the founder of Russia's (Soviet)
children's literature
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
." Together, they published more than a dozen picture books, on topics both fanciful: ''Tale About a Foolish Mouse'' and instructive: ''How a Plane Made a Plane''.
Raduga Raduga (russian: Радуга:'rainbow') can refer to :
* MKB Raduga, a Russian maker of missile systems formerly known as OKB Raduga
* VBK-Raduga, an unmanned reentry capsule used to return material from the Russian Mir space station
* Raduga (sa ...
("The Rainbow"), a renowned Soviet publishing house published most of them.
Founded in 1922 by Lev Kliachko, it was shut down by the government in 1930."
The demise of Raduga coincided with the state's push toward social realism, which forced Lebedev toward a more naturalistic style. By then, however, his reputation was already made. Nowadays, he is still classified as one of the most important Russian and Soviet children's book illustrators. His collaboration with Marshak is also considered among the most innovative in the history of children's literature.
Career
Lebedev began his career at age 14, painting postcards sold in a shop in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
[Misler, Nicoletta. “A Public Art: Caricatures and Posters of Vladimir Lebedev.” ''The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts'' 5 (1987): 60–75. https://doi.org/10.2307/1503936.] His first exhibit at the Academy of Fine Arts was held five years later.
In 1913, he began working as a political cartoonist for several satirical journals, including the famed ''
Satirikon'' (Сатирикон). By then, he was already a prolific illustrator for the children's magazines ''Jackdaw'' (Галчонок), ''Blue Journal'' (Синий Журнал), ''Everyone's Journal'' (Журнал для всех), and ''Argus'' (Аргус) and, in 1917, he had also illustrated the children's book ''The Lion and the Bull''.
From 1920-1922, only a few years after the Revolution, Lebedev was hired to create more than 500 posters, or placards, for the Russian Telegraph Agency (
ROSTA Rosta may refer to:
*Rosta, Iran, a historical district in Isfahan area in Iran
*Rosta, Piedmont, a ''comune'' in the province of Turin, Piedmont, Italy
**Rosta railway station
*Rosta, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Russia
* Rosta, Öreb ...
) and the Department for Agitation and Propaganda (
Agitprop
Agitprop (; from rus, агитпроп, r=agitpróp, portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', " propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in Soviet Russia where it referred ...
).
The goal in both cases was to promote the solidarity of the working class.
Since both newspapers and literacy were limited, the posters were strategically displayed in empty shop windows — known as
ROSTA windows — which functioned as a crude form of mass communications.
Lebedev's posters were notable for their stark, simplified imagery: a single figure, in bold color, built from spare geometric forms, and engaged in varying kinds of labor.
In the 1910s and 1920s, he kept company with many of the most influential figures in the radical
Soviet avant-garde art movement, among them constructivist
Vladimir Tatlin
Vladimir Yevgrafovich Tatlin ( – 31 May 1953) was a Russian and USSR, Soviet painter, architect and stage-designer. Tatlin achieved fame as the architect who designed The Monument to the Third International, more commonly known as Tatlin's Towe ...
,
cubo-futurist
Cubo-Futurism (also called Russian Futurism or Kubo-Futurizm) was an art movement that arose in early 20th century Russian Empire, defined by its amalgamation of the artistic elements found in Italian Futurism and French Analytical Cubism. Cubo- ...
Ivan Puni
Ivan Albertovich Puni (russian: Иван Альбертович Пуни; also known as Jean Pougny; 20 February 1892 – 28 December 1956) was a Russian avant-garde artist (Suprematist, Cubo-Futurist).
Biography Early life
Ivan Puni was born in ...
,
suprematist
Suprematism (russian: Супремати́зм) is an early twentieth-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term ''suprematism'' refers to an abstra ...
Kazimir Malevich,
futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...
Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...
and
acmeist Acmeism, or the Guild of Poets, was a transient poetic school, which emerged in 1912 in Russia under the leadership of Nikolay Gumilev and Sergei Gorodetsky. Their ideals were compactness of form and clarity of expression. The term was coined after ...
and
formalist literary critic
Nikolay Punin
Nikolay Nikolayevich Punin (russian: link=no, Никола́й Никола́евич Пу́нин; – August 21, 1953) was a Russian art scholar and writer. He edited several magazines, such as ''Izobrazitelnoye Iskusstvo'' among others, and w ...
.
In the mid-1920s, he partnered with poet
Samuil Marshak
Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (russian: link=no, Самуил Яковлевич Маршак; 4 July 1964) was a Russian and Soviet writer of Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. ...
to create both picture books and politically conscious "production books." The latter form, unique to the Soviet Union, told stories that taught children about "the world of workers and how things are made"
Their titles included: ''Circus'', ''Ice Cream'', ''Tale About a Foolish Mouse'', ''Moustached and Striped'', ''Book of Many Colours'', ''Twelve Months'' and ''Luggage'', as well as The Table, ''How a Plane Made a Plane, Bread, My Little Book about the Seas and the Lighthouse, the Mail,'' and ''On the River.''
The books were well received. Nikolai Punin, who wrote the first monograph on Lebedev, considered him one of the most important illustrators of the era:
After his brilliant experiments with "Circus" and "Ice Cream" ... bookstores burst into color with numerous imitations of his examples, and book illustrations in the receding cultural tradition—all the 'World of Art' illustrations—paled in comparison ... in terms of form, hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
began to seem impotent, overly concerned with aesthetics, and unexpressive.
By the late 1920s and 30s, most of Lebedev's peers had left the Soviet Union, but he remained. As social realism began to dominate arts and letters, and "acquir
dthe status of state policy in 1934," Lebedev was among the artists who "became victims of frequent attacks."
The book ''Inside the Rainbow - Russian Children's Literature 1920-35: Beautiful Books, Terrible Times'' published by Pegasus, in Holland, details threats made by Soviet authorities against Lebedev.
The book was the subject of reviews in ''The Guardian'' and ''The Financial Times'',
among other publications. Forced to accommodate Stalinist art
diktat
A diktat (german: label=from German, Diktat, ) is a statute, harsh penalty or settlement imposed upon a defeated party by the victor, or a dogmatic decree. The term has acquired a pejorative sense, to describe a set of rules dictated by a foreign p ...
s, Lebedev's professional experiments ceased. In the late 1940s, his work turned to the naturalistic depiction of “healthy” Soviet children and animals.
Personal life
Lebedev was married three times. His first wife
Sarra Lebedeva (Darmolatova) was a sculptor.
His second wife was ballerina and choreographer
Nadezhda Nadezhdina
Nadezhda Sergeevna Nadezhdina (Russian: Надежда Надеждина) (1904/8–1979) was a Russian choreographer, ballerina, and former director of the Russian female dance troupe Beroyzka ("little birch") from its inception in 1948 unti ...
, whose portrait Lebedev painted several times. His third marriage was to writer Ada Lazlo in 1940.
Collections
The Art Institute of Chicago: 1940s war propaganda* Dartmouth Digital Library
* Getty Research
Union List of Artists NamesLibrary of Congress: 1920s Soviet Production illustrationsMuseum of Modern Art (MOMA): Children's book illustrationref>
Miami University: Walter Havighurst Special Collections & University Archives: Children's books
References
External links
ArtnetArtonline.ru
SOVCOM (bio)«Из истории детской иллюстрированной книги 1920-х годов» В. Петров (examples of his children's book illustrations near the middle of the article)
Russian Art Gallery (bio)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebedev, Vladimir (painter)
1891 births
1967 deaths
Painters from Saint Petersburg
People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd
20th-century Russian painters
Russian male painters
Soviet painters
Burials at Bogoslovskoe Cemetery
20th-century Russian male artists