Soviet Social Realism

Evgeniy Vuchetich

‘Let's Beat Swords into Plowshares'

Bronze Sculpture

ca. 1959

DIMENSIONS

Height: 9.75 in (24.77 cm)

Width: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)

Depth: 4 in (10.16 cm)

MARKINGS

On the right side of the bronze base there is an engraved inscription: “I dedicate it to my dear contemporary” and the sculptor’s signature “E. Vuchetich." (in Russian).

On the left side of the base, “Made in the USSR”; and “SLG-502”.

ABOUT SCULPTURE

This is a famous bronze sculpture ‘Let's Beat Swords into Plowshares' by artist Yevgeny Vuchetich (1908 – 1974). He was a highly revered Soviet sculptor and artist, well known for his heroic monuments. In 1959, Vuchetich received the People's Artist of the USSR award.

The sculpture depicts the figure of a man holding a hammer high above his head in one hand and a sword in the other, hammering the sword into a plowshare, a tool for cultivating soil for crops. This action symbolizes man's desire to end war and transform destructive weapons into tools for the benefit of humanity.

The book of Isaiah contains the following paragraph: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”

This sculpture was presented to the UN as a gift from the USSR on December 4, 1959. On behalf of the Soviet delegation, the sculpture was presented by Vasily V. Kuznetsov, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, and received by Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld on behalf of the UN.

ABOUT ARTIST

YEVGENY VIKTOROVICH VUCHETICH (Russian: Евгений Викторович Вучетич | 1908 - 1974) was a prominent Soviet sculptor and artist. He is known for his heroic monuments, often of allegoric style, including The Motherland Calls, the largest sculpture in the world at the time. Vuchetich was born in Yekaterinoslav in Russian Empire (now Ukraine), the son of Viktor Vuchetich (Vučetić), a Montenegrin immigrant from the clan of Grbalj, and Anna Andreevna Stewart, of Russian and French decent. He was a prominent representative of the Socialist Realism style and was awarded with the Lenin Prize in 1970, the Stalin Prize (1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950), Order of Lenin, Order of the Patriotic War (twice), Order of the Patriotic War (2nd degree), Hero of Socialist Labor (1967) and People’s Artist of the USSR (1959).

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