The construction of the Moscow Metro began in the 1930s and continued during the Second World War as well as after. The Soviet Union lacked the technology and qualified personnel for constructing the metro system, and thus people of various professions were engaged in the Moscow Metro construction. This construction project with its dedicated hard workers was among the most favorite subject matters of Soviet artists, along with the everyday life of kolkhoz and factory workers.
The statue ‘Metro Construction Workers’ by Soviet sculptor Mikhail Sedov presents two workers with jackhammers. In his statues, the artist gravitated towards realism which is why he gave meticulous attention to the workers’ figures and strove to depict the correct body proportions. Sedov portrayed his characters in active poses to show that they are constantly working.
The statue was made using the maiolica technique: the artist shaped the clay statue manually and then fired it in a furnace. In order for clay to harden, it is heated to extremely high temperatures sometimes reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius. The surface of the statue is covered with a reddish-brown glaze which adds a certain ornate appearance to the industrial composition.
A similar statue named “Mine Workers” — also created by Sedov — belongs to the collection of the Salsk Art Museum Named After People’s Artist Vasily Nechitailo. It also depicts two working men. The compositions of both works are very much alike except for the workers’ poses, clothes, and headgear. Though the main difference is the artistic technique: the statue from the Salsk Museum was cast in bronze.
So far, there are only two known works by Sedov dedicated to construction: the above-mentioned statue “Mine Workers” from the Salsk Art Museum and this statue from the collection of the Yekaterinburg Museum. There are no other industrial compositions among the artist’s works.
Mikhail Sedov is a relatively unknown sculptor. He worked within the Socialist Realism traditions. His artwork explores such themes as labor, everyday routine, and peaceful life. The artist portrayed working women, animals, nude models, as well as famous people, for example, Lenin, Korolev, Gagarin, and Marx. Sedov was particularly fond of maiolica and used the technique for such of his statues as ‘Calf Carer’, ‘Calves’, ‘Korolev and Gagarin’, ‘Wolves’, ‘In the Woods on the Front Line’, ‘Nude Woman’, and ‘Jaguar’.
The statue ‘Metro Construction Workers’ by Soviet sculptor Mikhail Sedov presents two workers with jackhammers. In his statues, the artist gravitated towards realism which is why he gave meticulous attention to the workers’ figures and strove to depict the correct body proportions. Sedov portrayed his characters in active poses to show that they are constantly working.
The statue was made using the maiolica technique: the artist shaped the clay statue manually and then fired it in a furnace. In order for clay to harden, it is heated to extremely high temperatures sometimes reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius. The surface of the statue is covered with a reddish-brown glaze which adds a certain ornate appearance to the industrial composition.
A similar statue named “Mine Workers” — also created by Sedov — belongs to the collection of the Salsk Art Museum Named After People’s Artist Vasily Nechitailo. It also depicts two working men. The compositions of both works are very much alike except for the workers’ poses, clothes, and headgear. Though the main difference is the artistic technique: the statue from the Salsk Museum was cast in bronze.
So far, there are only two known works by Sedov dedicated to construction: the above-mentioned statue “Mine Workers” from the Salsk Art Museum and this statue from the collection of the Yekaterinburg Museum. There are no other industrial compositions among the artist’s works.
Mikhail Sedov is a relatively unknown sculptor. He worked within the Socialist Realism traditions. His artwork explores such themes as labor, everyday routine, and peaceful life. The artist portrayed working women, animals, nude models, as well as famous people, for example, Lenin, Korolev, Gagarin, and Marx. Sedov was particularly fond of maiolica and used the technique for such of his statues as ‘Calf Carer’, ‘Calves’, ‘Korolev and Gagarin’, ‘Wolves’, ‘In the Woods on the Front Line’, ‘Nude Woman’, and ‘Jaguar’.
