Boris Ignatovich (1899-1976)
Youth, 1937
Vintage gelatin silver print mounted on board
Title and date in pencil in Russian on verso
Photographer's stamp in ink on verso
16 1/2 x 21 15/16 in. (41.9 x 55.7 cm)
Among Ignatovich's most beloved works of art, this photograph is a timeless celebration of the joy and energy of youth. The artist positioned his subjects in a triangle composition that successfully corresponds to the rounded shape of the camera lens, and the interaction of light and shadow gives the photograph a warm vitality. He gave the image a warm vitality by masterfully balancing depth and tone, light and shadow — a technical control of light that he developed in the 1920s. This photograph has become an icon of Soviet photography, and this large size print was made for an exhibition and is very rare.
Boris Ignatovich (1899-1976)
Shower, 1935
Gelatin silver print mounted on board
Title, date, and photographer's name in pencil in Russian on verso
Photographer's stamp on verso
23 5/16 x 16 5/8 in. (59.1 x 42.2 cm)
In Shower, a group of young athletes enjoys a therapeutic water massage; in the foreground is the back of a young man, whose stately figure takes up almost the entire frame. The masterful light and airiness of the image have a stunning aesthetic effect, illuminating the drops of water that are sprinkled across the spine and muscles of his tanned back. Aleksandr Deineka (1899–1969) was so captivated by the powerful composition of Shower that he recreated the scene in his painting After the Battle (1937–1942).
Sergey Shimansky (1898-1972)
Navy Fleet, Black Sea, 1930s
Vintage gelatin silver print
15 x 22 7/8 in. (38.1 x 58.1 cm
Foto S Shimansky stamp on verso
Roman Karmen (1906-1978)
Untitled (Black Sea), 1930s
Vintage gelatin silver print
8 1/2 x 5 in. (21.6 x 12.7 cm)
Photographer's stamp on verso
Roman Karmen was born in 1906 in Odessa, on the Black Sea, and is considered one of the most influential figures in Soviet documentary filmmaking. He worked as a photographer for newspapers and magazines in the 1920s, including USSR in Construction, Ogonyok, and Sovetskoe foto, and participated in the landmark exhibitions 10 Years of Soviet Photography in Moscow in 1928; Film und Foto in Stuttgart in 1929; and the Exposition internationale de la photography contemporaine at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris in 1936.
In the 1930s, Karmen turned to filmmaking and cinematography. A lifelong Communist, he produced documentary films portraying the Spanish Civil War, the Siege of Leningrad, the Nuremberg Trials, the Vietnam War, and more international conflicts and events. When he died in 1978 at the age of seventy-one, the New York Times lauded him in his obituary as “one of the Soviet Union’s foremost filmmakers…highly respected by cinematographers of varying political ideologies for the brilliance of his work.”
Arkady Shaikhet (1898-1959)
Motor Boat and Eight Oarsmen, 1939
Vintage gelatin silver print
19 1/4 x 11 in. (48.9 x 27.9 cm)
Signed, titled, and stamped on verso
Arkady Shaikhet (1898-1959)
The Morning Exercises, 1927
Vintage gelatin silver print
6 1/2 x 8 1/4 in. (16.5 x 21 cm)
Signed and dated on verso
Photographer's stamp on verso
Evgeny Khaldey (1917-1997)
The memory of Spartakiada, 1933
Photocollage
6 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. (16.5 x 19.1 cm)
Spartakiada was an international sporting event organized in the Soviet Union as a response to the Olympics. The last Spartakiada was held in 1937, and in 1952, the Soviet Union joined the Olympics.
Ivan Shagin (1904-1982)
Pioneers on Red Square, 1936
Vintage gelatin silver print
10 3/4 x 7 1/4 in. (27.3 x 18.4 cm)
Fototeka stamp and artist's signature on verso
Aleksandr Deineka (1899-1969)
Work, Build, and Don't Whine!,1933
Lithograph on paper, poster
38 3/4 x 28 1/2 inches
40 x 29 3/4 inches, support
Courtesy of the Merrill C. Berman Collection
A 1933 poster by Deineka conveys the spirit of the time with both its imagery—a dynamic young girl on the verge of throwing a disc, against a background of rhythmic rows of cyclists and runners—and its slogan: “Work, build, and don’t whine! The path to a new life has been shown to us. You may not be able to become an athlete, but to become a sportsman—you must.”
Arkady Shaikhet (1898-1959)
The Summer Sport Season Has Began!, 1928
Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1950s
15.45 x 11.33 inches (39.24 x 28.79 cm)
Date 1931 in ink on verso
Title In the Factory Sport Club Hammer and Sickle, Moscow in pencil in Cyrillic
Rabotnitsa magazine stamp on verso
This photograph first appeared in Ogonyok #20 in 1928 to promote physical culture among the Soviet youth. A flirtatious young couple looks glamorous as if from the screen of a Hollywood movie.
Georgy Petrusov (1903-1971)
Armenian Delegation at Sport Parade, Red Square, Moscow, 1935
Vintage gelatin silver print
Title, date, photographer's name in pencil on verso
18 1/2 x 12 3/8 inches (47.0 x 31.4 cm)
A trio of Armenian athletes stand before a 1935 sports parade in Moscow’s Red Square. Petrusov meticulously planned his composition, as evident in the Armenian Delegation’s impeccable geometry. The interlinked pattern created by the figures’ backs conveys the fraternity and unbreakable bond between the athletes. Petrusov also structured his photograph as a cinematic shot, creating a deep perspective: focusing on the trio in the foreground and illuminating the performance space with shadowy silhouettes of dancers in the distance. A rare vintage print, Armenian Delegation evokes the warmth and texture of distinctly early 20th century paper — from the soft canvas of the athlete’s shoes to the rough cobblestone they stand on.
Nikolai Sedel'nikov (1905-1994)
The victory of a Champion, 1929
collage with gouache on recto of a proof sheet
13 1/8 x 9 15/16 inches (33.33 x 25.2 cm)
Courtesy of the Merrill C. Berman Collection
Georgi Zelma (1906-1984)
Sport Parade, c. 1930s
Vintage gelatin silver print
6 5/8 x 4 5/8 in. (16.8 x 11.8 cm)
Aleksandr Rodchenko (1891-1956)
Acrobat, 1940
Gelatin silver print c. 1950s
6 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (16.5 x 11.5 cm)
Title, date, and photographer's name in Russian in pen on verso
Boris Ignatovich (1899-1976)
Portrait of Galya Mel'nikova, Kuban, 1937
Gelatin silver print
8 7/8 x 7 in. (22.5 x 17.8 cm)
Title and 1936 date in pencil in Russian on verso
Photographer's stamp on verso
Kuban Cossack Galya Mel’nikova was awarded a gold watch for winning equestrian competitions. Scholar Valery Stigneev has recognized the especially rich detail and expressivity found in Ignatovich's portraits, adding that he sometimes modified his camera to achieve a more shallow depth of field.
Aleksandr Rodchenko (1891-1956)
Horse Race, 1935
Gelatin silver print, printed later
8 1/4 x 11 5/8 in. (21.0 x 29.5 cm)
Title, date, photographer’s name in pencil on verso
Georgi Zelma (1906-1984)
Komsomol Girl, 1932
Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1960s
Image 11 x 8 in. (27.9 x 20.3 cm)
Paper 11 1/4 x 8 in. (28.6 x 20.3 cm)
Title, date, and artist’s name on verso
Victor Ruikovich (1907–2003)
Muza Malinovskaya, One of the First Women Parachuters, 1937
Gelatin silver print
Titled and dated in pen in Russian on verso
Photographer's stamp on verso
11 1/4 x 7 1/2 in. (28.6 x 19.1 cm)
Ruikovich captures the famous paratrooper Muza Malinovskaya just after a landing, her face flushed with excitement and the bright parachute billowing behind her. Malinovskaya was one of the first female paratroopers in the Soviet Union, and in 1935, she became famous throughout the country as one of a group of six female paratroopers who set a world record by jumping from a height of 7,000 meters. After setting this record, she toured the Soviet Union and the world, giving lectures, and worked as an instructor in the Soviet Air Force academy. She was featured, along with a reproduction of this photograph, in the book Soviet Women, printed in 1939. During World War II, Malinovskaya became part of a special brigade that parachuted behind enemy lines to perform reconnaissance. After the war, she married Nahum (Leonid) Eitingon, a Soviet intelligence officer with whom she had two children. Eitingon was arrested and imprisoned in the 1950s due to accusations of involvement in a “Zionist plot,” and for some time she was unable to find work due to her association with him. Malinovskya died in 1989.
Georgy Zelma (1906–1984)
Paratrooper, 1930
Gelatin silver print
2 3/4 x 3 7/8 inches
In this portrait, Zelma depicts an Uzbek paratrooper from a low vantage point, drawing attention to the long, flowing straps on the front of the uniform. Shot in Central Asia in 1930, the photograph most likely was used by Rodchenko for the Red Army Album. 1930 was the year that the Russian Airborne Forces performed their first parachute jump; larger parachute units were not performed until 1932–1933, and as such, the paratrooper in this image is likely not only one of the first in the Soviet Union, but also one of the first Asian paratroopers. Zelma’s photograph captures the joy and exhilaration that surrounded much of early Soviet aviation.
Boris Kudoyarov (1898–1973)
Parachute Sport, Tushino, 1937
Gelatin silver print, mounted
Signed and titled on verso
22 3/4 x 16 in. (57.8 x 40.6 cm)
Kudoyarov’s photograph shows one of the lavish air demonstrations that occurred annually at the Tushino airfield to celebrate the All-Union Day of Soviet Aviation, also known as Soviet Air Fleet Day or Soviet Air Forces Day. Soviet air shows were enormous and highly significant displays of Soviet military power, as well as opportunities for the public to marvel at the spectacle of new aviation technology and to celebrate their country’s achievements. This image likely depicts the 1937 celebration, which was attended by almost a million people and included aircraft spelling in the sky “LENIN,” “STALIN,” and “SSSR.”
Kudoyarov communicates the remarkably artistic, dance-like motion of the paratroopers’ drops. At the center of the scene is the extraordinary sight of a paratrooper descending with two parachutes deployed. The paratroopers most likely jumped from the wings of a plane, usually from the Tupolev TB-3, the world’s first cantilever-wing four-engine heavy bomber. Kudoyarov's framing and composition render the horizon just a thin line a the bottom of the image, which is dominated by a sky peppered with paratroopers; the varied tones of the billowing parachutes echo the shapes of the thick clouds behind them and confer a sense of fullness and animation to the scene as a whole.
Nailya Alexander Gallery is pleased to present A Pageant of Youth, an exhibition inspired by the photography book of the same name, designed by Aleksandr Rodchenko (1891–1956) and Varvara Stepanova (1894–1958) for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The book emphasizes the importance of physical culture among Soviet youth and showcases one of the extravagant annual All-Union Sports Parades held on Red Square in Moscow, as well as other athletic activities fashionable in the 1930s. Athleticism and physical health were promoted by the newly formed Soviet state in order to serve one of its main objectives: the creation of an entirely novel and advanced type of human being called “The New Soviet Man” who would be selfless, educated, and physically strong, while constantly striving for self-improvement.
Photography, like no other media, was especially instrumental in the formation of this idealized image and its dissemination to mass audiences of young people. Artists drew from the nascent style of Socialist Realism to create emotionally uplifting scenes that would glorify a perfect body as an essential component of a perfect Soviet citizen. Our exhibition highlights the breadth and diversity of these representations of youth, health, and strength by the most significant artists of the period, including seminal photographers of the Russian avant-garde Boris Ignatovich (1899–1976) and Aleksandr Rodchenko; one of the founders of Soviet photojournalism, Arkady Shaikhet (1898–1959); and artists Aleksandr Deineka (1899–1969) and Nikolai Sedel'nikov (1905–1994), among others.
One of the most iconic images of the period is Youth, 1937, by Ignatovich, who focuses on a fresh-faced, beaming young couple. The young man and woman exude enthusiasm and energy and seem to be the embodiment of an ideal young family—the builders of a bright Communist future.
A 1933 poster by Deineka conveys the spirit of the time with both its imagery—a dynamic young girl on the verge of throwing a disc, against a background of rhythmic rows of cyclists and runners—and its slogan: “Work, build, and don’t whine! The path to a new life has been shown to us. You may not be able to become an athlete, but to become a sportsman—you must.”
Close-up perspective and framing draw attention to the classical beauty of subjects’ bodies, as in Sergey Shimansky’s (1898–1972) Navy Fleet, BlackSea, c. 1930s, where the muscular forms of young Navy oarsmen are shown straining backward against the weight of the sea; and Georgy Petrusov’s (1903–1971) Armenian Delegation at Sports Parade, Red Square, 1935, which shows the slender silhouettes of Armenian men performing a national dance. In Ignatovich’s Shower, 1935, a group of young athletes enjoys a therapeutic water massage; in the foreground is the back of a young man, whose stately figure takes up almost the entire frame. The masterful light and airiness of the image have a stunning aesthetic effect, illuminating the drops of water that are sprinkled across the spine and muscles of his tanned back. Deineka was so captivated by the powerful composition of Shower that he recreated the scene in his painting After the Battle (1937–1942). In this way, this exuberant ”pageant of youth” explores the early 20th-century Soviet state’s idealization of perfect young men and women as embodiments of optimism and a belief in a better life.
We are grateful to the Boris Ignatovich and Arkady Shaikhet estates for their collaboration on this show. We give special thanks to the Merrill C. Berman Collection for the virtual loan of works by Deineka and Sedel’nikov in this exhibition.
