Monuments reveal

Called ‘the queen of the Russian folk song’, the singer usually performed in peasant clothes. USSR people’s artist, Russian singer Lidiya Ruslanova monument in Saratov. Work by sculptor Andrey Shcherbakov

Russian singer Lidiya Ruslanova monument
Opened 3 April 2018 the monument decorates the square at the central entrance to the Saratov regional center of folk art named after Ruslanova. The bronze monument is a single-figure composition of the singer, which stands in a characteristic pose – at the time of performing a folk song. The author of the three-meter bronze sculpture is Honored Artist of Russia Andrei Shcherbakov. The sculptor portrayed the “Queen of Russian Song” at the time of his performance in front of the soldiers on the steps of the Reichstag shortly before the end of World War II. According to the biographers, the singer gave more than 1,100 concerts at the front. Ruslanova is famous for the songs “Steppe and Steppe around”, “Shining Month”, “Valenki” and “Katyusha”. On the monument, the inscription “Throw, throw me into the Volga-Mother, I will drown in it my sadness, my sadness.”
Read more »

Ishim of Tyumen region, Russia. Snowmaiden Praskovya Lupolova monument. Work by sculptor Vyacheslaev Mikhailovich Klykov (October 19, 1939, Marmyzhi, Kursk Region – June 2, 2006, Moscow)

Snowmaiden Praskovya Lupolova monument
In honor of the girl, who passed more than four thousand miles to save her father, writers wrote novels and composers composed operas. The fairytale character has real roots – all of Europe admired a girl from the snowy Siberia two centuries ago. And now she returned – already in bronze. In the Siberian city of Ishim, from where Parasha began her journey to St. Petersburg, a monument was erected near the temple. And the local puppet theater these days shows the New Year’s play “The Girl and the Tsar” after the tale of Yuri Kharlamov, based on the fate of a brave girl.
Imagine how much courage she needed to walk through the taiga in the cold. Wolves, robbers, hunger and cold – Parasha experienced everything to rescue her beloved father. He was a hussar officer, a nobleman, exiled to Siberia for evil libel. The wife and daughter went to Siberian Ishim after him. And then Parasha went to the capital of the empire, hoping to soften the fate of her father. In the passport issued by the girl recorded “captain’s daughter.” Later, Pushkin made her the prototype of his heroine, Masha Mironova in his novel “Captain’s Daughter”. Remember – in the story the heroine saved the groom by throwing herself at the queen’s feet …
Read more »

Dol hareubangs – Cheju Do island stone grandfathers

Dol hareubangs – Cheju Do island stone grandfathers
A pearl of South Korea, Jeju, or Cheju Do is the most beautiful island of all East Asia. Also, people know it as the island of three abundances: stones, wind and women. And what is most important here is stones, because the whole island consists of stone. The inhabitants came up with an original application for it: house fences, gravestones, coastal traps. According to the results of the international competition, held in late 2011, Jeju Island entered the seven new natural wonders. Strictly speaking, the island is an extinct volcano. Once poured from the crater lava, now, becoming a basalt, it serves material for the sculptors and artists of applied art. Carved from it stone idols, grandfathers became symbols of Jeju Island and accordingly, tourist destination.
The characteristic feature of the appearance of such statues is a common facial expression, similar to a grin, large bulging eyes without pupils, a large and flat nose, and closed smiling mouth. Also, a relaxed state of hands below the face, one above the other. The entire upper part of the Hareubang crowns the mushroom-like cap. The word “hareubang” (“Dol hareubang”) from the dialect spoken by the inhabitants of Jeju Island can be translated as “stone grandfather”.
Read more »

One Touch of Venus. 1948 film. Famous sculptures starring in the movies

Famous sculptures starring in the movies

There was a Spanish Bonifacius
Who wrote of mortals loving statues;
But an Italian changed the plan,
And made a statue love a man.
Charles Godfrey Leland
The story of beautiful woman captured in stone has been observed in many cultures, as myth, legend, or folklore. In some creation myths, the first people were images of clay, brought to life by the gods. The theme of the animation of a female statue haunts Western culture, in particular, Pygmalion and Galatea.
Once Pygmalion managed to cut out of precious ivory a statue of a young woman of amazing beauty. The more Pygmalion admired his creation, the more he found beauty in it. It began to seem to him that none of the mortal women exceeds his statue with beauty and nobility. Being jealous of everyone who could see her, Pygmalion did not let anyone into the workshop. In solitude – in the daytime in the rays of Helios, at night by the light of a lamp – the young king admired the statue, whispered tender words to her, bestowed on flowers and jewels, as lovers do. He called her Galatea, dressed her in purple, and put her on the throne next to him.
Read more »

Sculptural composition located in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russia. Photo by Ramil Farrakhov. The Gigantic Turnip Repka fairy-tale monuments

The Gigantic Turnip Repka fairy-tale monuments
Undoubtedly, every child knows a classic Russian fairy tale, written by Alexey Tolstoy “Repka” (Turnip). An old man plants a turnip seed that grows into a turnip of enormous size. He can’t pull the vegetable from the ground, because it’s too big. So, his wife tries to help him. Next, their grandchildren come. To pull the turnip from the ground, even the farm animals – a dog, a cat, one by one, come to help. Finally, the most unexpected creature – a little mouse enables them to pull the turnip from the ground. The moral of the story is that a collective labor and a united family, where every member is important, can do anything.
Also, the Fairy tale points to the interrelations of generations. Besides, it points to the interaction of temporal structures, life forms and forms of existence. And Turnip unites the earthly, underground and aboveground – three forms of life, three structures.
Read more »

Naro-Fominsk of Moscow region. The sculpture of Yemelya in front of a bank. Fairy-tale character Yemelya monuments

Fairy-tale character Yemelya monuments
A simple and kind guy Emelya, sitting on the stove – the main character of the Russian folk tale “On the Pike’s Wish”. The ride on the stove, on which the lazy Emelya lies, not wanting to get up from it – one of the brightest episodes of a fairy tale. Meanwhile, village guy Emelya on the stove is the embodiment of many people’s dreams. So, doing nothing, getting everything from life, isn’t it a dream? And not surprising that the lazy Emelya, lying on the stove, became an inspiration for the film makers, artists and sculptors. As a result, monuments dedicated to Emelya on the stove appear one after another in different cities of Russia.
Tale of a guy who was lying on the stove, and then married the daughter of the king – the fruit of folk art. The author of the ancient Russian legend is for certain unknown. By the time of the first publication, there were 3 different versions of the story.
Read more »

The Holy Virgin. 1st half of the 17th c. Wood, carving, multi-coloured. John Baptist’s Catholic Church, Mstsibava, Vaukavysk district, Grodna region. Belarusian Monumental Cult Sculpture

Belarusian Monumental Cult Sculpture
According to historians, the cult sculpture on the territory of Belarus origins in the Paleolithic times. To early samples of the monumental sculpture of the ancient Slavs belonged to the figures of pagan gods, destroyed with the adoption of Christianity. Noteworthy, for Orthodox churches, volumetric plastic for many centuries remained unacceptable. A sculpture of Christian content could appear in Belarus not earlier than the end of the 14th century. However, even in the 15-16th centuries it was still very rare. Traditionally, masters decorated churches, both Orthodox and Catholic, with painting.
The earliest sculptural plot was the “Crucifixion”, usually located on the prelattic arch (girder) or at the altar of the church. Quite often under the cross with Jesus depicted the future Mother of God and the Apostle John. The collection of the Museum of Old Belarusian Culture includes sculptures of the 16th century. In particular, “Our Lady” and “Apostle John” from Volkovysk. The subtle features of Mary’s face resemble Renaissance images. Deep large folds of clothes have a Gothic origin, and a calm straight figure and a canonical hand gesture tell us about the connection with the icon painting tradition.
Read more »