Among the outstanding sculptors of the world, Ernst the Unknown takes a worthy place. Sculptures, photos of which can be seen in all textbooks on art of the 20th century, betray an unusual view of the world. The works of the Unknown are always recognizable and make a vivid impression with their expression and vitality. The artist’s life was not easy, but he was able to maintain his personality, humor and optimism until the very end of his days.
Milestones Biography
Ernst Unknown was born on April 9, 1925 in Sverdlovsk. Parents, a doctor and a poetess, were repressed in the 30s. The boy’s talent appeared very early, he attended art school as a child, and at the age of 17 he entered the school at the Academy of Arts. During the Second World War, Ernst volunteered for the front and, after training, went to serve in the airborne troops. In 1945 he was badly wounded and sent for treatment. For the battle in which he was wounded, the Unknown was introduced to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But because of the name, confusion occurred, and for 28 years the award commission could not find Ernst. Just at that time, the Unknown had a direct conflict with Khrushchev on the topic of art, and the title of Hero was not given to the artist, replacing him with the Order of the Red Star. After the war, the Unknown is educated at the Riga Academy of Arts, at the Institute. Surikov, at the Faculty of Philosophy, Moscow State University. By the mid-1950s, Ernst Iosifovich became a prominent artist, nonconformist. In 1962, he took part in an exhibition of contemporary art, defeated by N. S. Khrushchev. Since that time, it becomes difficult for the Unknown to work in the USSR, and in 1976 he emigrated, first to Switzerland and then to the USA, where he will live most of his life. After the perestroika, Ernst Iosifovich often visited Russia. His works are in private and museum collections in the homeland and in many countries of the world. Unknown was married several times, he had a daughter. At the age of 88, he underwent a complicated operation and for several years continued to create and live to the fullest. The artist died on August 9, 2016 in New York.
Creative way
Since the late 50s, the Unknown has been actively working and experimenting. First of all, he is realized as a sculptor. But since the 70s, he devotes a lot of time to graphics, illustrating literary works, in particular, “Crime and Punishment” by F.M. Dostoevsky. In the USSR, the Unknown managed to go through only two exhibitions, after which he was harassed for his desire for avant-garde. Since 1965, he has been actively participating in exhibitions in the West. Before leaving abroad, Ernst managed to create 850 different works in the USSR. And after emigration, the Unknown becomes a regular participant in various artistic events in different countries of the world. He always had a very high productivity. The sculptures of Ernst the Unknown are becoming very popular, he quickly becomes a real celebrity. After perestroika, the artist again began to work actively at home. From the end of the 20th century, the Unknown was perceived throughout the world as a living classic, master.
The author's style of Ernst Unknown
In his early works, the sculptor was innovative. The sculptures of Ernst the Unknown combine deep symbolism and powerful expressionism. He is the founder of the new sculpture of the 20th century. His creations are universal metaphors with the deepest philosophical meaning, it is not in vain that some critics, trying to determine his style, called the work of the Unknown “intellectual sculpture”. In his mature work, Ernst Iosifovich most often refers to the human body, trying to connect it with the world of artifacts, the artist called it "second nature." The main theme of his work is humanism, it is the tragedy of human life, its meaning that most of all occupied the Unknown throughout his life. He constantly turned to the ultimate human problems, he was interested in the highest manifestations of the human spirit. Researchers call the features of his author's style large-scale, expressive deformation of the image, a high degree of generalization of the image.
The most famous sculptures of Ernst the Unknown
The creative heritage of Ernst the Unknown is huge, so far no one has ventured to calculate how many works the master created. He was always distinguished by great capacity for work, so there are a very large number of his creations. His most famous works include: a monument to N. Khrushchev, monumental sculptures “The Tree of Life” and “Orpheus”, the composition “Prometheus and the Children of the World”, the monument “Lotus Flower”, sculptural portraits of A. Tarkovsky and D. Shostakovich, religious work “ Heart of Christ ”, sculpture“ Golden Child ”in Odessa, monument“ Renaissance ”. This list is completely incomplete, as the artist had a lot of creations. Modern sculpture is not only a collectible, but often it becomes part of the human environment. Many contemporary monumentalists created specially works for different cities, Ernst Unknown also often worked. The sculptures in Moscow were installed already during the perestroika period and are mainly part of the master’s mature work. So, in the capital of Russia you can see such monuments of the artist as the “Tree of Life”, “Renaissance”, the tombstone of N. Khrushchev.
Orpheus
The two-meter sculpture Orpheus by Ernst the Unknown was created in 1962. The original is in the artist’s workshop in New York. Sketches for this work were used to create a prize figurine for the TEFI Prize. The figure has an impressive weight of 8.5 kg, and exactly repeats the image of its "great progenitor". The idea of creating a sculpture came to the artist after Khrushchev defeated his creations at an art exhibition. In the image of a poet with torn chests, playing “on the strings of his soul”, of course, Ernst Iosifovich conveyed his own experiences of that time.
Tree of life
Global, universal problems are always of interest to great artists such as Ernst the Unknown. The sculptures "The Tree of Life" and "Prometheus and the Children of the World", created according to the plots of myths, are devoted to the universal issues of being, good and evil. In The Tree of Life, the author addresses not only biblical motives, but also the symbolism of other religions, as well as elements of island beliefs. In the sculpture you can see the faces of people of all times, from Adam and Eve to Yuri Gagarin. The crown of the whole composition is not in vain is the human heart as a symbol of life and feeling. Unknown worked on this creation for more than 50 years. Today, the sculpture is in Moscow, and anyone can see it.
Monument to Khrushchev
An example of unexpected life turns can be considered a sculpture of Khrushchev. Ernst the Unknown in the 1960s, after Khrushchev smashed his creations to the brim, calling the work of the Unknown “degenerative art”, he could not sell a single work. For 15 years, he sold only 4 works, could not receive government orders, worked as a loader. Therefore, the Unknown had an understandable negative attitude towards Khrushchev. However, when after the death of Nikita Sergeyevich, his relatives asked to make a tombstone, the sculptor agreed. He created a composition that metaphorically conveyed the idea of struggle and the unity of opposites, light and darkness. The work stands on the grave of Khrushchev at the Novodevichy cemetery.
Mask of sorrow
Ernst the Unknown, whose sculptures can be seen in the best museums in the world, often in his work addressed the topic of the lack of freedom of the body and spirit. For several years he worked on a project of a monument to the memory of victims of repression in the USSR, called the "Mask of Death." In an allegorical form, the artist conveys the idea of the hypocrisy of the Soviet political regime. He creates a symbol of sorrow for wives and mothers who were waiting for innocently convicted. A copy of the prison cell has been recreated inside the monument, into which you can climb the iron stairs as if on a prison tower. The 15-meter-high monument is visible from almost anywhere in Magadan, the unspoken capital of the Soviet-era camps.
Lotus flower
Describing the sculptures of Ernst the Unknown, one cannot but recall the grandiose monument "Lotus Flower" in Egypt. The monument symbolized Soviet-Arab friendship and was erected near the Aswan Dam. Unknown created this grandiose 75-meter building in collaboration with two architects, who later tried to underestimate the role of the sculptor in the work on the project. One way or another, it was Ernst Iosifovich’s sketches that allowed the group of authors to win the competition for the creation of the monument. Today it is one of the ten highest monuments in the world. The entire inner surface of the flower is decorated with bas-reliefs according to drawings by Ernst the Unknown.
Heart of christ
Ernst Unknown, whose sculptures are in the best collections in the world, was honored to create a work stored in the Vatican Museum. The sculpture “The Heart of Christ” is a variation on the theme of canonical crucifixion. The artist creates a complex composition, in the center of which there is a cross, but the figure of Christ is surrounded by a certain entity, symbolizing pain, fear, the cry of a person. Pope John Paul II wanted to buy the work , but the sculptor gave it to the priest, and now it adorns the Vatican Museum.
Awards and memory
The sculptures of Ernst the Unknown are in different places of the world. In New York, the artist’s studio has a good collection of his works. An interesting collection is in the homeland of Ernst Iosifovich, in Yekaterinburg. Several sculptures and many graphics are kept here. In the Swedish city of Uttersberg there is a museum with a small but good collection of works by the master. But the main works of the artist are on the streets of cities around the world, some are located in famous cemeteries.
During his life, Ernst Unknown received many awards and prizes abroad. Homeland also paid tribute to the artist. He was awarded the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, the Order of Honor, and the State Prize of the Russian Federation.