Exhibition of Works by the Celebrated Sculptor Stepan Erzya (1876-1959) in Tsereteli Art Gallery

Organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Mordovia, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Russian Academy of Arts to mark the 1000th anniversary of the unification of the people of Mordovia with peoples of the Russian state, the exhibition features works by the celebrated Mordovian sculptor Stepan Erzya (1876-1959).

 

The pseudonym Erzya of the sculptor Stepan Nefedov (1876-1959) has come from the name of one of the peoples living in Mordovia where he was born. In 1907 he graduated from the Moscow College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In 1907-1914 the sculptor lived and worked in Italy and France, took part in 10 major international exhibitions in Milan, Rome, Venice and Paris. In the late 1926 his works were exhibited in France where Stepan Erzya was invited by the President of Argentina to move to Buenos Aires. He worked there from 1927 till 1950 and created hundreds of his sculptures of subtropical trees.   

 

In 1950 Erzya returned to Russia. In 1954 there was the artist’s solo show of over 250 sculptures that won a big success.  The creative work of Stepan Erzya was highly appreciated by state honors and awards.

 

The major retrospective in Tsereteli Art Gallery includes Erzya’s works of various periods – the Urals, Argentine and the late Moscow period. The highlights are ten sculptures from the collection of the State Russian Museum and 25 works from the holdings of S. Erzya Mordovian Republican Museum of Fine Arts.   






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