Sergey Merkurov

Sergey Merkurov
A 1981 Soviet stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of Sergey Merkurov's birth
Born(1881-11-07)7 November 1881
Alexandropol, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire
Died8 June 1952(1952-06-08) (aged 70)
Moscow, Soviet Union
NationalityRussian, Soviet
StyleSocialist realism

Sergey Dmitriyevich Merkurov (Russian: Серге́й Дми́триевич Мерку́ров, 7 November [O.S. 26 October] 1881 – 8 June 1952) was a Soviet sculptor-monumentalist of Armenian descent.[1] He was a People's Artist of the USSR in visual arts, an academic at the Soviet Academy of Arts,[2] and director of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts from 1944 to 1949. Merkurov was considered the greatest Soviet master of post-mortem masks.[3][4] He was the sculptor of the three biggest monuments of Joseph Stalin in the USSR.[5]

He was the cousin of George Gurdjieff, a mystic and spiritual teacher.[6]

  1. ^ Rosenberg, Suzanne (1991). A Soviet odyssey. Toronto: Penguin. p. 55. ISBN 9780140129274.
  2. ^ "Меркуров С.Д. (in Russian)". Monulent.ru. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Скульптор Сергей Меркуров". Deathmask.kiev.ua. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  4. ^ Vladica, Viorica (27 June 2003) Art of the Departed: Gyumri museum houses rare, if creepy, death masks. armenianow.com
  5. ^ "Меркуров, Сергей Дмитриевич". Krugosvet.ru. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  6. ^ Grossman, Vasily (2013). An Armenian Sketchbook. New York Review of Books. p. 127. ISBN 9781590176351.