"Parachutists" Sculpture
Created by Sculptor Vasily
Bogolyubovat the Dmitrov
Porcelain Factory, 1941
The dream of blue sky and the love of country
are two topical issues of the time
reflected in this sculpture.
Parachutists were a popular image
in the pre-war Soviet art.
We can see a boy and a girl making
preparations for a parachute jump.
A perfect iconic image representin
the motto of the youth in the 1930s:
"Young communist, to the plane!"
This beautiful small-scale sculpture is
a remarkable example of how the interests of
young people and the state appeared to be congruent.
There were a vast number of flying clubs,
gliding schools and parachute clubs in the USSR
during the pre-war period.
Being a "winged guard" seemed to be a new
romantic, it was popular and fashionable.
Moreover, the Soviet country of that time,
living in a hostile environment, had an extreme
need for air professionals. In this art piece not
only did sculptor Vasily Bogolyubov fulfil the
agitation task of Soviet art, but also remarkably
expressed in porcelain the image of the “new
people," people of the future: brave, resolute and
fearless young men and women - always
the winners!
The sculpture was created in
1941 just before WWII
came to the Soviet Union.
reference:
Historically, Soviet institutions are interesting not only as they are,
but also for their abbreviations. In 1927, the main military-patriotic
organization of OSOAVIAKHIM – "Society for Supporting Defence, Aviation
and Chemical Construction" was established. OSOAVIAKHIM launched
an extensive aviation propaganda, with its slogan "From model to glider,
from glider to plane!" becoming a guiding light for thousands of boys and girls.
Many started their career from glider clubs, such as the future aircraft designers
Aleksander Yakovlev and Oleg Antonov, who were the fathers of Soviet planes
"YAK," "Antey" and "Ruslan," an outstanding designer of rocket-and-space
systems, Sergey Korolyov, as well as many famous pilots.