Our Notes & References

Fine artistic linocuts in early Soviet Union: the only edition, only issue of this very rare collection, limited to 300 copies, this one being no. 129. No holdings traced in the catalogues of the Russian State Library, the Russian National Library, or on OCLC; not listed in the International Union Catalogue of Russian Books (1918–1926). We could trace three copies at auctions, including two in Russia, each with a different plate pasted to the title.

Proletkult, a federation of local mass cultural and educational organisations of the proletariat, emerged soon after the February Revolution. It was able to “make cultural creativity accessible to all, brighten up workers’ leisure time, and distract them from the cruelty of social confrontation during the Civil War” (Iudin, our translation here and below). Members of these organisations were encouraged to develop a new, working-class aesthetic, in keeping with the new political era.

The present edition brings together the work of ten young artists from the Moscow branch of Proletkult’s graphic art workshop and contains twenty original linocuts, most in black-and-white and some in colour. As printing resources remained scarce in the early Soviet state, a contemporary critic highlighted the difficulties the creators of this edition had to overcome. Apparently, the linoleum used for the engravings was taken “from the kitchen floor of the [extravagant] former mansion of [Arsenii] Morozov” (Sidorov), a relative of the famous collector and philanthropist Savva Morozov. Between 1918 and 1928 the building housed the Proletkult theatre group and was the venue for experimental productions by Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Meyerhold.

The folder and title page were designed by the workshop’s master, Ilia Sokolov (1890–1968). The upper cover bears a linocut by one of the student artists. Of the 300 numbered copies, each set of one hundred featured different plates: by M. Borovkov, as here, by N. Serov, and by A. Zugrin. This was the first and only issue of such a collection, as in 1922 the activities of Proletkult began to decline following Vladimir Lenin’s criticism of the organisation. The contemporary reviewer voiced his concern: “Proletkult abolished art in its midst by a decree — the future of the workshops is unclear” (Sidorov). Over the following decade, Proletkult fragmented into independent associations of proletarian writers, artists, musicians, and theatre critics.

Provenance

With contemporary artistic provenance. Leonid Tanklevskii (1906-84; a Kyiv-born Soviet artist and educator; in 1923-26 he studied at the Kyiv Art Institute; ownership inscription in purple pen on upper title: “L. Tanklevskii. Kiev XII. 1926”); private NYC collection.

Bibliography

Sidorov A. A. “Retsenziia na ‘Grafika studiitsev graficheskoi masterskoi Moskovskogo Proletkulta'” // Pechat i revoliutsiia. Kniga 2, 1922, pp. 315-316; Iudin, Mikhail. “Tvortsy novogo: Iz opyta raboty moskovskogo proletkulta” // Vestnik slavianskikh kultur. 2022 (#66).