The famous sculpture, named in the Bolshoi Soviet encyclopedia"benchmark socialist realism", was made in 1935-1937 for the Soviet pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris, which was opened there on May 25, 1937. It was created by the famous Soviet sculptor Vera Mukhina and architect Boris Iofan. A sculptural group of two figures raising a sickle above their heads and a hammer, made of stainless chromium-nickel steel Its height from the foot to the top of the sickle is 24 m.
In 1937, the monument was transported from Moscow to Paris for the World Exhibition. In order to take the 24-meter figures out of the Union and smuggle them through the tunnel in Paris, and then re-install them in their homeland, they had to cut and weld the frame on the spot. The sculpture was taken to Paris, disassembled into 65 parts and placed in 28 railway cars. Leading engineers, assemblers, metalworkers, welders and tinsmiths went to Paris for assembly on site. Then French workers were hired to help them. It took eleven days to assemble - and already on May 1, 1937, the sculpture was assembled. There, the sculpture was erected in the pavilion of the USSR just opposite the German pavilion with the Nazi eagle on top.
After the exhibition, the sculpture was planned to be melted down, but the French liked it very much; the Parisians even wanted to keep her.
From Paris, the sculpture was returned divided into 44 parts. It was damaged in transit. For eight months (January - August 1939) in Moscow, the sculpture was reconstructed and installed on a pedestal in front of the Northern entrance to the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (now the All-Russian Exhibition Center).
The sculpture became not just the pride of the country, in 1947 "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" became the brand of domestic cinema - the symbol of the Mosfilm film studio. With her image against the backdrop of the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin in 1947, Grigory Alexandrov's film "Spring" began. In July 1948, the Ministry of Cinematography officially approved this emblem of Mosfilm. But since the sculpture is large and some distortion of the image occurred when shooting it at an angle, in November 1950 a special agreement was concluded with Mukhina, according to which she undertook to make a reduced model of her "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" for Mosfilm. Made of plaster, the sculpture became the property of the studio on May 29, 1951 - it received the right to use it. 3D image on the screen saver to their tapes. In accordance with the current Russian legislation, Mosfilm re-registered the trademark as a trademark protected by law for a period up to 2009. Films such as "The Cranes Are Flying", "The Ballad of a Soldier", "Andrey Rublev", "Kalina Krasnaya" and hundreds of other films that made up the worldwide fame of Russian cinema began with the "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" stamp. The entire cinematic world began to associate this image both with the name of Mosfilm and with the great names of Russian filmmakers. And herself sculptural group Now it is stored with special care at Mosfilm.
In 1979 the sculpture was restored. During the years of perestroika, an idea arose to erect a monument on the spit of Bolshoy Kamenny Island, between the Udarnik and the Crimean bridge, but this place turned out to be occupied by Peter I by Zurab Tsereteli. A little later, the lawyer Anatoly Kucherena became interested in the fate of the monument, turning to the Moscow Office for the Protection of Architectural Monuments with a request to sell "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" to an American firm. He was refused, deciding that sooner or later Russia would also have money for restoration.
In October 2003, work began on the reconstruction of the sculpture "Worker and Collective Farm Girl". It was dismantled, dismantled first into 17 parts, then into forty. Restoration of this level is carried out for the first time. According to the new project, the height of the pavilion-pedestal will be 34.5 meters (previously the sculpture stood at a ten-meter mark). With the "growth" of the sculpture at 24.5 meters, the total height of the monument with the pedestal will be about 60 meters. Special high reliefs will appear at the foot of the sculpture, as was the case at the Paris exhibition. The monument will be included in a beautiful multifunctional complex. For everything that will be located under the monument, the investor is responsible - the owner of a multi-tiered underground parking lot, which will be "drowned" under the multifunctional complex.
The deadlines for the completion of the restoration are constantly being pushed back - they planned to complete it in 2005, then in 2006, they promised that in 2007, on the 70th anniversary of the Paris World Exhibition, "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" would again take its place. But in March 2007, First Deputy Mayor of Moscow Vladimir Resin announced that the sculpture would return to its historical place - to the pedestal near the Moscow pavilion of the All-Russian Exhibition Center - no later than 2008.
While working on the building of the pavilion, the architect had the image of the sculpture of a young man and a girl crowning it, personifying the working class and the collective farm peasantry. According to Iofan's idea, they were supposed to raise the CCCH emblem high - a sickle and a hammer. He was prompted to such a plot by the idea of the ancient statue "Tyrant-Fighters", where the swords raised to the sky in the hands of the heroes were replaced by a "peaceful" hammer and sickle.
Vera Mukhina won the competition for the creation of a Worker and a Collective Farm Woman. The athlete Igor Basanko became the model for the worker, and Anna Bogoyavlenskaya, an employee of the Moscow telephone exchange, posed for the collective farmer.
The embodiment of the sculpture took 3.5 months, while using the latest technologies discovered by the Soviet metallurgist P.N. Lvov: a chromium-nickel steel shell molded on wooden templates was hung on a multi-ton frame and welded. To take the Worker and Collective Farm Woman to Paris, the 25-meter monument was cut into 65 pieces and packed into 28 railroad cars. In Poland, the boxes did not fit into the tunnel, and the sculpture had to be cut into several more pieces.
At the exhibition in Paris, the Worker and the Kolkhoz Woman made a splash! They became the center of attraction, so it is not surprising that several sabotage was discovered during the installation work. Photos of the statue were published by all the leading newspapers, its copies were repeated on many souvenirs of the exhibition. And about the pavilion of Germany standing opposite the Soviet pavilion with a coat of arms on the roof, they said that he turned his head away from shame.
When returning from Paris, the monument to the Worker and Collective Farm Woman was damaged. After reconstruction in 1939, it was installed on a low (11 meters instead of the required 33) pedestal in front of the Northern entrance to VDNKh.
In 2003, the sculpture "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" was dismantled. It was planned to be restored before the end of 2005, but due to financial problems, the work was delayed.
Only in November 2009, the monument was installed on a new pavilion-pedestal specially built for it, repeating the proportions of the original Iofan pavilion.
On December 4, 2009, the Worker and Collective Farm Woman monument was opened, and on September 4, 2010, the Worker and Collective Farm Woman Museum and Exhibition Center began its work on its pedestal. There you can learn the history of the creation of the sculpture from photographs, projects and layouts.
It is believed that since 1947 the sculpture "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" has become a symbol of the film studio "Mosfilm". But the monument first appeared in the comedy Hello, Moscow. It is known that the son of Vera Mukhina tried to challenge in court the right of Mosfilm to use the image of the Worker and Collective Farm Woman, but his claim was rejected.
They say that...... in the competition version, Vera Mukhina sculpted a worker naked, but the jury demanded that he wear overalls.
... while working on the statue, denunciations were received that in the profile of the worker and in the folds of the skirt of the collective farmer, the "enemy of the people" Lev Trotsky was guessed. But Molotov and Voroshilov, who accepted the sculpture, did not notice the similarities, they only asked to remove the bags under the eyes of the collective farmer.
... Mukhina did not like the pedestal of the Worker and Collective Farm Woman, so she called it "stump", and the worker's hand restored with a violation of the location of the elbow joint - "gut".
... the workers suffered for a long time with a fluttering scarf, and then Molotov came to Mukhina with the question of whether it was possible to do without this difficult element. The sculptor replied that the scarf was needed for balance, meaning artistic harmony. The frightened Molotov exclaimed: Well, if for balance, then let's do it! and gave the go-ahead to continue the work.
"Worker and Collective Farm Woman" is outstanding monument monumental art, symbol and ideal of the era Soviet Union, which is a movable sculptural group composed of two figures that raise a sickle and a hammer above their heads. The author of this sculpture is Vera Mukhina; compositional idea and concept of the architect Boris Iofan. The monument is cast in stainless steel. It reaches a height of about 25 m, the pedestal is 33 meters, the mass of the entire monument is 185 tons. This monument was created for the Soviet pavilion at the world exhibition, which was held in Paris in 1937. The sculptural idea, as well as the very first model, was carried out by the architect B. M. Iofan, who won the competition for the construction of the pavilion. Even when working on a project for the competition, the architect immediately got the image of a statue: a girl and a young man, who personify the masters of the Soviet space - the collective farm and the working class. The emblem of the Soviet Union, the hammer and sickle, rises high above them. A competition was announced for the sculpture, which was won by the sculptor V.I. Mukhina. In order to create a huge monument, work was carried out at an experimental plant for mechanical engineering, as well as metalworking, where Professor P. N. Lvov acted as the head. From here we recommend going for a visit.
Sculpture reconstruction
During transportation from Paris to Moscow, it was damaged. And already in 1939, the sculpture was sent for reconstruction and installed on a pedestal near the Main entrance of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition. This sculpture was called the standard of socialist realism. In 2003 The monument was dismantled into 40 parts. The sculpture was supposed to be restored and returned to its place in 2005, but due to financial difficulties, the reconstruction was delayed and was completed only in 2009. During the reconstruction, the experts of TsNIIPSK them. Melnikov were able to significantly strengthen the main frame of the composition. All elements of the sculpture were cleaned and treated with anti-corrosion compounds. The sculpture was again installed on a new pedestal built especially for it, which repeated the original Iofan pedestal of 1937, but slightly shortened at the back. The installation took place in 2009 on November 28 by means of a special crane. The festive opening of the monument took place in Moscow on December 4, 2009. The pedestal on which the statue is placed today is almost 10 meters higher than the previous one. See where it is
"Worker and Collective Farm Woman" is one of the outstanding and recognizable monuments of monumental art of the once great country. This truly gigantic sculpture made a splash not only at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937, but has always aroused genuine interest among quite ordinary people. After all, this colossus to this day is fraught with many amazing stories both about the method of its creation, and about what is so remarkable that can be found inside the grandiose pedestal.
The huge monument "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" was not only a symbol of the Soviet Union, but also a recognizable brand of the famous film studio "Mosfilm", so there would hardly be a person in the vast country who did not know about its existence. And it was created to represent the young country of the Soviets at the World EXPO in Paris in 1937 and personified the power of a state that was taking huge strides forward.
The grandiose project for the construction of the pavilion and the concept of the sculpture itself were developed by the architect B.M. Iofan, who became the winner in the announced competition, but V.I. Mukhina, together with her team, offered the most acceptable option for bringing the gigantic dimensions of the sculpture to life.
Although in the original version, the sculptor depicted a young couple in a semi-naked form, as if emphasizing the primitiveness of a man and a woman, thus linking them with antiquity (the prototype was the sculptural group “Tyran-killers Harmodius and Aristogeiton”). The guy was wearing pants and the girl was wearing a skirt. But, naturally, Mukhina was offered to “dress” them and she had no choice but to dress her couple in thin steel fabrics. Vera Ignatievna did not compromise in vain, because it was this work that immortalized her name. The monument was unique not so much because of its gigantic size, but in more he surprised the whole world with the assembly process and the material from which he was created.
Indeed, looking at this gigantic sculpture, it seems that it is monolithic, but this is not at all the case. As it turned out, this is a prefabricated steel structure attached to a metal frame. And this is understandable, given that it was created for installation thousands of kilometers from the place of manufacture.
The monumental group was based on a metal frame, on which about 5,000 parts made of stainless chromium-nickel steel were attached. It was a risk, because no one had ever made sculptures from such an alloy. But after some experiments, doubts disappeared, because steel was a very malleable, malleable and flexible material that is capable of betraying a physical sense of volume, while not becoming cloudy and not susceptible to corrosion.
The biggest difficulty during the creation of the elements of the entire monument was that the thickness of the steel was half a millimeter thinner than ... human skin. It was incredibly difficult to work with such material over huge areas, because any inaccurate movement in creating the desired bend caused the steel to fold in half or severely deform.
In fairness, it must be said that this was an experimental method not only as the use of such a steel composition, but also the method of spot welding of parts, which was invented by the chief engineer of the TsNIITMASH pilot plant - Professor P.N. Lvov, subsequently awarded the Order of Lenin for a number of unique discoveries. It took only two months for the elements of gigantic figures to be created with filigree accuracy by a huge number of people and went to Paris on 28 train platforms.
And in just 11 days, 25 people were able to assemble this unique monument on a pavilion built in advance, which served as a powerful pedestal for the “young couple”, personifying the inspired movement forward of the Soviet state. At its foot, a strong impression was created that this couple was constantly on the move, resisting gusts of wind, rushing somewhere up and forward at the same time. Such a powerful optical effect was achieved thanks to the amazing alloy of steel, the thoughtful decoration of the collective farmer (fluttering skirt and scarf) and with the help of increasing volumes.
It is noteworthy, but it was precisely because of the scarf that a real scandal erupted, because many nomenklatura could not understand why a rural worker needed such an unnecessary wardrobe attribute. It even got to the point that Mukhina had to put forward an ultimatum, because it was this scarf that was needed to create the necessary horizontal of the entire monumental structure, as well as to create the necessary illusion of continuity of movement. After all, if you remove it, then the proportionality of the entire monument will be violated, because it is voluminous - exactly the same in length as in height.
Thanks to the perseverance of a woman, this building delighted everyone who approached it. Many eyewitnesses of this exhibition said that being next to the pavilion, it seems that you are standing near a skyscraper, although its height in Paris reached only 33 meters.
And another remarkable fact - the USSR pavilion was symbolically placed opposite Nazi Germany (by that time Hitler had been in power for 4 years) on both sides of the Eiffel Tower. And when the Germans learned about the height of the Soviet pavilion, it was decided to urgently increase their structure. But the erected eagle against the background of our hard workers with a sickle and a hammer in their hands, not only got lost, but generally looked ridiculous and became a reason for ridicule for many years.
Unique newsreel footage that was filmed during the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937 can be seen in the following video.
Naturally, the Soviet pavilion was a huge success and was awarded the highest award, and the sculpture itself was returned to Moscow after the end of the exhibition, where it stood for almost 70 years in front of the Northern Entrance, but already to the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy (VDNKh).
Naturally, time takes its toll, if nothing threatens the outer part of the monument, then the metal frame by the year 2000 was completely rusted and required major repairs. Therefore, in 2003, the monument was dismantled and sent to the production laboratory at the Central Research Institute of Steel Structures. V.A. Kucherenko, where it was restored for six whole years, although, according to the workers, only 500 parts out of 5,000 had to be replaced.
For the official opening, they specially created exactly the same exhibition pavilion that was presented in Paris and its height reaches 34.5 meters, as originally planned by Vera Mukhina (the height of the pedestal located at VDNKh was only 10 meters). Also, on the front of the symbol of socialism and continuous movement forward, they installed the coat of arms of the USSR of quite impressive size (3.5 m by 3.5 m), which was stored in storerooms for several decades. Now the whole complex is surrounded by original statues of athletes, completely repeating the appearance of the “Worker and Collective Farm Woman”, presented back in 1937.
Few people know that there is a museum and exhibition center in the pedestal of this monument.
Naturally, the museum was decorated in the best traditions of the socialist era, but already in modern reading. Everyone entering this complex is greeted by a huge foyer with marble walls, floors and magnificent columns, pompous leather sofas, bronze sconces, photographs of the Soviet era and a model of the exhibition center itself.
The museum contains a unique collection of sculptures and photographs reflecting the life of the Soviet people (Monument "Worker and Collective Farm Girl").
There is a small cinema where you can watch documentary about the creation of the center. On the exhibition grounds you can see photographs of both the creators of this grandiose monument, and the stages of its construction and installation in Paris, and then in Moscow.
Also exhibited are working notes, sketches, sketches, calculations and personal belongings of the chief architect Iofan and sculptor Mukhina, and much more. One of the main and most visited places of the whole complex is the wonderful cafe "Paris". Naturally, with its interior and amazing atmosphere, it resembles a real French coffee house of that era.
On the three remaining floors, interesting exhibitions and meetings are held, which not only tell about that time and achievements, but also about the real achievements of Russian scientists and engineers in various industries, which have been written about on the pages of the site more than once.
But not only real monuments, embodying the power of the country or reflecting real events, attract tourists. Entrepreneurial people have managed to create false sights that travelers like to deceive, although most of them know that these are just movie characters or romantic and terrifying places described by writers. For those who do not want to be deceived, we recommend to look
The standard of socialist realism was the name given to this monumental work by Vera Mukhina, which became one of the main symbols of the USSR. The idea of the sculpture belongs to the architect Iofan, who came up with the idea of combining the ideas of two ancient statues at once - the "Tyranoclasts" (Critias) and the "Nike of Samothrace" (unknown author). In the first case, the architect was inspired by the common line of sculptures of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, who plotted against the tyrant Hipparchus. In the second case - the dynamics and patriotic sound of the sculpture.
The state order provided for the placement of the sculpture at the entrance to the Soviet pavilion at the world exhibition in. Since the pavilions and the USSR were opposite each other, the sculptural composition by all possible artistic and monumental means had to demonstrate the ideological superiority of communism over Nazism.
Vera Mukhina approached the creation of the main ideological work with her usual scope and talent. Two figures - a worker and a peasant woman, raising symbols of the USSR high above their heads - hammer and sickle. They seem to be directed upwards, they are united by a moment of triumph, a great victory. The idea of victorious labor and the eternal indestructible alliance of the proletariat and the peasantry - the main communist dogma - is being carried out great Faith Mukhina looks immutable and attractive.
To achieve an additional effect, it was decided to make the sculpture from thin sheets of stainless steel, which reflected light and changed its color depending on the sunlight.
In May 1937, a sculpture 58 meters high (25 meters of the actual sculpture and 33 meters of pedestal) adorned the exhibition pavilion of the Soviet Union. It is authentically known that the intelligence of the USSR was seriously interested in the design of the German pavilion, as a result, the height of the Soviet pavilion was several meters higher, which undoubtedly pleased the country's leadership and upset the Germans.
Parisians went to look at the sculpture several times a day, because it constantly changed its color - at sunrise it was pink, during the day it was bright silver, and at sunset it was golden.
After the end of the exhibition, the French began to raise funds in order to buy the sculpture from the USSR and leave it in Paris. Stalin categorically refused.
Since the late 1940s, "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" has been the main symbol of the Mosfilm film studio. Sculpture is often seen in documentaries and feature films. Now she has become the most impressive and talented monument of her era.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the monument underwent a serious and protracted restoration. Since 2009, the standard of socialist realism has again adorned the entrance to the All-Russian Exhibition Center.
