Under the Hammer

The online auction of Soviet Political & Propaganda Posters, The Collection of Sergo Grigorian is now live until 30 November. Sergo Grigorian's 169-lot collection is the fruit of his 25-year search for Soviet propaganda; the resultant ensemble of posters encompasses the history of the Soviet Union and the messages that were projected onto society.

Here, Russian Art Specialist Jacqueline Senior tells us more about her favourite lots going under the hammer.

Bolsheviks in 1917 and revolution had shaken the empire. Hardline revolutionaries, led by Lenin and later Stalin, found ways to disseminate their political message to the masses; posters were one of the best means, especially as sixty percent of the population was illiterate (pre-revolution). Many initiatives were publicised during the Soviet period, such as the education of the people about collectivity and socialism; promoting the personality cults of Lenin and Stalin; inspiring people about the war effort; and conveying the utopian society at the end of the socialist struggle against the rest of the capitalist world.

Lot 67

Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky

This lot was designed by Mayakovsky, who was a prominent figure of Futurism, a poet, and a play director. This particular Soviet propaganda poster message comes from the Polish front and is a great example of a poster made for windows of the Russian Telegraph Agency (also known as ROSTA). This famous project by the telegraph agency brought together artists who transformed telegrams from Red Army soldiers into posters, which were then circulated throughout the Soviet Union and placed in empty windows. The slogan encourages men to stand up and fight - during this period, most Soviet resources were sent to the Polish front.

Lot 3

Aleksandr Mikhajlovich Rodchenko

Rodchenko was one of the founders and leaders of constructivism and Russian design. Influenced by Cubism, Futurism and Suprematism, the present poster repurposes and rearranges photographs, text, and documents into an original composition with bold block colours. Realism and abstraction are combined, time and space condensed, and multiple narratives layered and mixed.

As part of a series of fifteen posters based on the history of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the poster includes a collection of documents (such as a signed document declaring the abdication of Nicholas II and the Bolshevik manifesto), references to the February Uprising on Nevskiy, and photographs of the members of the Russian Provisional Government.

Lot 120

Victor Nikolaevich Deni

Having begun his career during the origins of Soviet propaganda art, Deni became one of the most famous political cartoonists and poster designers.

In 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union and the Russian army prepared a colossal campaign to retaliate. Aimed at inspiring his countrymen to fight, Deni's cartoons distinctly defined the enemies’ characters. In this particular poster, these characters include a member of the SD (the intelligence-gathering body of Nazi Germany), a Nazi with a hanging post, the pope waving his cross, and a big fat capitalist with claws. On the right towers a Soviet man, representing the formidable spirit of socialism itself.

Lot 132

Gustav Klutsis

Stalin’s image was built on the foundations of the Lenin cult: Stalin positioned himself as a great Marxist theoretician and revolutionary thinker alongside Marx, Engels and Lenin. Posters were a key platform through which his formulaic and enticing biography was created, and they consistently portrayed Stalin as the saviour, legitimate successor, and wise man of the nation.

In the present lot, Stalin appears side by side with the pantheon of great communist thinkers, theoreticians and world leaders of the proletariat, depicting his ideological lineage. This poster brilliantly demonstrates Stalin’s place in the public Soviet ideology.

Lot 128

Gustav Klutsis

A major member of the constructivist avant-garde in the Soviet Union, Gustav Gustavovich Klutsis was a photographer as well as a pioneer of photomontage - as represented by this poster. The photomontage style increased propaganda posters' circulation and distribution through mechanical means of reproduction, such as photographic printing and lithography. Printed in the tens of thousands, these posters strengthened Stalin’s legitimacy and united Soviet citizens into a singular core collective. The present a lot is a brilliant example.

This poster is in Yakutian, a language spoken in Sakha, which was known as the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The poster represents the Turkmenistan, Estonian, Ukrainian, Russia, Belorussian, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan Republic people as a united whole, each represented by their republic flags.

The online sale of Soviet Political & Propaganda Posters will take place from 19 - 30 November. To find out more, browse the catalogue online or contact Jacqueline at jacqueline.senior@bonhams.com