Girl with an Oar

The Girl with an Oar (Russian: Девушка с веслом) is an archetypal example of Socialist Realism in outdoors architecture of the Soviet Union. Numerous gypsum alabaster versions authored by Ivan Shadr[1] and Romuald Iodko adorned Soviet parks of culture and recreation, and young pioneer camps.

A replica of the Girl with an Oar in Gorky Park, Moscow.

Seen as a symbol of Soviet park sculpture style today, it was part of the monumental propaganda of sports, a model of a healthy person, ubiquitous in Soviet arts of late 1920s–1930s.

The first Girl with an Oar by Shadr was that of a naked girl. It was heavily criticized for being "too vulgar". It was destroyed and known only from a single photo. The second one was naked as well, "more chaste" but still naked.[2] Initially installed in Gorky Park, Moscow, it was criticized as well and eventually "disappeared", and Shadr made another copy to be installed in Luhansk, Ukrainian SSR.[3]

The popular stereotype of the Girl with an Oar is the one in a swimsuit, created by Romuald Iodko.[2]

1930s in Gorky Park

See also

References
  1. "В Парк Горького вернут "Девушку с веслом"".
  2. "Чем новая «Девушка с веслом», которую поставили в ЦПКиО, отличается от старой"
  3. "Девушка с веслом" in "Encyclopedic Dictionary of Winged Words and Expressions, by Vadim Serov
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