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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