Stepan Dmitriyevich Erzia retained his love for sculpture throughout his life. From the first childhood attempts at molding the figures of people and animals from clay, he went on to furthering his parochial education in the Moscow Painting, Sculpture and Architecture College. Afterwards, he put in many years, practicing in Russia and abroad, continuously enhancing his mastery of a sculptor.
After the Revolution of 2017, the artist spent several years in Yekaterinburg, Baku, Batumi and Novorossiysk, creating monumental works that glorified liberty, fraternity and labour, set up art studios and was engaged in academic work.
Upon emigration to Argentina, Erzia made creating the portrait sculpture and nude female figures the focus of his attention. This choice was motivated both by the pursuit of ideal beauty and spiritual harmony and mastering the potential of the new decorative materials, such as astronium, algarrobo and quebracho, which were distinguished for their superior hardness, expressive texture and a rich variety of tints.
The Nude was created by Stepan Dmitriyevich in 1930 from the solid trunk of the South American tree and presents the embodiment of the artist’s conceptions of grace, inner balance and everlasting beauty. The harmony of its proportions is emphasized by the effect of the light and shadows’ play on the tree surface, which creates the overall aura of poetic sentiment and musicality.
Erzia applied a rare technique of direct carving, cutting figures from the wood without making a preliminary draft or sketches. The splendor of agility and softness, mastered by the artist to perfection, is particularly noteworthy. He is sensitive to the capacities of the material and renders the verdure of the youth and the purity of the perception of the world masterfully.
The female characters created by the sculptor are endowed with the mighty power of love, entraining us to the world of purity and uplifting us above the mundanity. Being a true lyrist, Erzia strived to express the most delicate and intimate descriptions of a woman; he created female figures dozens of times from various materials: gesso, marble, concrete and wood.
The merits and downsides of these works are debatable; nevertheless, one thing is certain: There is no mawkishness or sickly sweetness in them; they came into being by virtue of a deep emotion, the purity of the world perception, and the painter’s professional and personal goodness.
The artist generally has a gust for the special features of any material, the uniqueness of the situation; he is sensitive to the harmonious agility of a female body. The Nude of Erzia, like any outstanding work of art, is so captivating, due to the youthful novelty of feeling, the insatiable yearn for attaining the beauty and harmony of the world and the vital force, that the professional techniques of the sculptor and his level of excellency become irrelevant.
After the Revolution of 2017, the artist spent several years in Yekaterinburg, Baku, Batumi and Novorossiysk, creating monumental works that glorified liberty, fraternity and labour, set up art studios and was engaged in academic work.
Upon emigration to Argentina, Erzia made creating the portrait sculpture and nude female figures the focus of his attention. This choice was motivated both by the pursuit of ideal beauty and spiritual harmony and mastering the potential of the new decorative materials, such as astronium, algarrobo and quebracho, which were distinguished for their superior hardness, expressive texture and a rich variety of tints.
The Nude was created by Stepan Dmitriyevich in 1930 from the solid trunk of the South American tree and presents the embodiment of the artist’s conceptions of grace, inner balance and everlasting beauty. The harmony of its proportions is emphasized by the effect of the light and shadows’ play on the tree surface, which creates the overall aura of poetic sentiment and musicality.
Erzia applied a rare technique of direct carving, cutting figures from the wood without making a preliminary draft or sketches. The splendor of agility and softness, mastered by the artist to perfection, is particularly noteworthy. He is sensitive to the capacities of the material and renders the verdure of the youth and the purity of the perception of the world masterfully.
The female characters created by the sculptor are endowed with the mighty power of love, entraining us to the world of purity and uplifting us above the mundanity. Being a true lyrist, Erzia strived to express the most delicate and intimate descriptions of a woman; he created female figures dozens of times from various materials: gesso, marble, concrete and wood.
The merits and downsides of these works are debatable; nevertheless, one thing is certain: There is no mawkishness or sickly sweetness in them; they came into being by virtue of a deep emotion, the purity of the world perception, and the painter’s professional and personal goodness.
The artist generally has a gust for the special features of any material, the uniqueness of the situation; he is sensitive to the harmonious agility of a female body. The Nude of Erzia, like any outstanding work of art, is so captivating, due to the youthful novelty of feeling, the insatiable yearn for attaining the beauty and harmony of the world and the vital force, that the professional techniques of the sculptor and his level of excellency become irrelevant.
