Monument to good defeats evil in front of the UN building. Zurab Tsereteli - biography, information, personal life. Tsereteli's scandalous works

On January 4, sculptor Zurab Tsereteli turns 82 years old. The foreman celebrates his birthday at the construction site. On the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Puerto Rico, where the final stage of construction of the tallest monument to man on Earth begins. The world has yet to hear about this monument, but we decided to recall the 10 most famous works of Zurab Konstantinovich.

1. Monument “Friendship of Peoples”

In 1983, in honor of the 200th anniversary of the reunification of Georgia with Russia, a “paired” monument was erected in Moscow - the “Friendship of Peoples” monument. This is one of Tsereteli’s most famous early works.

2. Monument “Good conquers Evil”

The sculpture was installed in front of the UN building in New York in 1990 and symbolizes the end of the Cold War.

3. Victory Monument

4. Statue of St. George the Victorious on Poklonnaya Hill

6. Monument to Peter I

Erected in 1997 by order of the Moscow Government on an artificial island at the fork of the Moscow River and the Vodootvodny Canal. The total height of the monument is 98 meters.

7. “Saint George the Victorious”

This sculpture is installed on a 30-meter column on Freedom Square in Tbilisi - St. George is the patron saint of Georgia. The monument was opened in April 2006.

8. "Tear of Sorrow"

From travels around Georgia, Tbilisi Academy of Arts, years of work at the Georgian Academy of Sciences. It’s a long way from Zurab Tsulukidze from Tbilisi to Muscovite Zurab Tsereteli. With unique experience: for example, in Paris, where, during a course on the development of artistic imagination, the young master had the opportunity to communicate with Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall. Chief artist of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Moscow Olympics. UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and President of the Russian Academy of Arts. The main artist of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, who at the head of the artel painted the dome of the cathedral... Zurab Tsereteli created more than five thousand paintings and monumental works that were sold all over the world. Natalya Letnikova - about five monuments of the sculptor, about which there were no heated debates.

Zurab Tsereteli. Photo: Artem Geodakyan / TASS

“That’s my opinion! Whoever has been to Italy, say “forgive” to other lands” - Gogol’s words about the sunny country. "Signor Nicolo" wrote "Dead Souls" in the eternal city. And for ten years now, in the Roman park of Villa Borghese there has been a three-meter monument to the writer by Zurab Tsereteli.

This is a gift from the sculptor to the Italian capital on the 150th anniversary of the death of the Russian writer. Gogol in bronze sits thoughtfully on a bench with a cheerful mask in his hands and sadly looks at those around him. “I can only write about Russia in Rome, only in this way will it all appear before me, in all its enormity,” is carved on the pedestal.

Monument from the gallery of sculptures of outstanding women. The monument to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya in Ruza, near Moscow, was given to the city by the Russian Military Historical Society and the author. All works: sketches, models and bronze casting were performed by Zurab Tsereteli himself. The bronze image of the first woman - Hero of the Soviet Union came out simple and strict.

Under the fir trees, near the House of Culture, stands a four-meter tall figure of a girl with her hands tied behind her back. According to the sculptor, this was a work for the soul and “came out to the people” only at the request of the Russian Minister of Culture. In the year of Zoya's 90th birthday.

"Good conquers evil." The triumph of justice, clad in bronze, is one of the most famous creations of Zurab Tsereteli. The monument was opened in front of the UN building in New York to mark the 70th anniversary of the international organization.

St. George the Victorious tramples a dragon with a spear. The plot is classic, but the dragon is made from fragments of dismantled American and Soviet Pershing-2 and SS-20 missiles. The figure of St. George was cast in Moscow, but the missiles were assembled in the USA: the parts were provided on behalf of the USSR Ministry of Defense and the American side. This is how the symbol of the end of the Cold War appeared.

The world's first monument to d'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers is a gift from Zurab Tsereteli to Gascony. The literary quartet appeared at the request of a descendant of the famous Gascon, Senator Count Emery de Montesquiou. The prototypes of the bronze heroes were the characters from the film by Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich.

The monument was opened with a solemn parade of the current musketeers in the presence of actors Veniamin Smekhov and Valentin Smirnitsky. Together with Zurab Tsereteli, the film musketeers became members of the Musketeers Society. They were greeted by 650 “fellow soldiers” who came to Gascony from different countries.

“It’s not easy to argue with a guard of such stature.” The six-meter tall Uncle Styopa appeared in 2015 in the center of Samara. Employees and veterans of the internal affairs bodies collected money for the monument to their literary colleague. The author of the sculpture, Zurab Tsereteli, refused the fee. The bronze composition seems to have stepped out of the pages of a book by Sergei Mikhalkov: a high-rise guard at a traffic light surrounded by children.

Everyone loved Uncle Styopa,
They respected Uncle Styopa:
He was the best friend
All the guys from all the yards...

The opening of the monument was timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the policeman beloved by all children.

Name: Zurab Tsereteli

Zodiac sign: Capricorn

Age: 85 years

Place of birth: Tbilisi, Georgia

Activity: artist, sculptor, teacher, People's Artist of the USSR

Tags: artist, sculptor

Marital status: widower

The biography of Zurab Tsereteli is monumental as well as his activities. The list of works of this outstanding artist includes hundreds of sculptures, monuments, panels, mosaics, and canvases all over the world; more than forty personal exhibitions of the monumentalist have been held. The list of honorary titles, awards, bonuses and other merits of the master is long. Today Zurab Tsereteli lives in Moscow, heads the Russian Academy of Arts and the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, and continues to work fruitfully.

The most popular muralist of our time was born on January 4, 1934 in Tbilisi. The formation of young Zurab on the path of creativity was determined by the atmosphere in which the boy grew up. The parents did not belong to the world of art: mother Tamara Nizharadze devoted her life to home and children, father Konstantin Tsereteli was a mining engineer and worked as a teacher at a technical university.

But his mother’s brother, Georgiy Nizharadze, was a painter. While in his house, little Zurab not only learned to draw, but was also imbued with the aura of conversations about art, since leading people of that time came to visit his uncle. At the age of eight, Zurab entered the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, from which he graduated with excellent marks in 1958.

It seemed that time itself dictated the artist’s development in the style of the monumental genre. The era of the sixties, industrialization, the development of virgin lands, the solution of global problems, mass construction and resettlement - all this was reflected in Tsereteli’s desire to introduce novelty into what he was doing. And my first job—as an artist-architect—gave me such an opportunity.

Among the works performed during this period are artistic decorations of resort complexes in Georgia (Gagra, Sukhumi, Borjomi, Pitsunda). Mosaic painting becomes a feature of the master’s work. A striking example of this were bus stops in Abkhazia, created at the stage of early creativity in the early sixties and representing amazing art objects in the form of fantastic sea creatures.

Along with artistic and decorative work, Tsereteli takes part in exhibitions. The first success was brought by the painting “Guardian of the World” at the exhibition of the same name in Moscow. In 1967, a personal exhibition of the master was held in Tbilisi. At the same time he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Georgian SSR.

In parallel with this, Tsereteli is actively expanding the geography of its activities. One by one, orders came in for the design of a wide variety of buildings and structures: the House of Cinema in Moscow (1967-1968), the Palace of Trade Unions in Tbilisi, the Seabed swimming pool in Ulyanovsk (1969), the resort complex in Adler (1973), the hotel " Yalta-Intourist" in Crimea (1978) and much more.

During the 70-80s, the master worked hard and fruitfully. Since 1970, being the chief artist of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he has been involved in the decoration of Soviet embassies abroad, travels a lot, and gets acquainted with popular foreign artists. He also worked hard at home, especially after being appointed chief artist of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. All this brings the master the honorary title of People's Artist of the Soviet Union in the eightieth year.

The artist began working on monumental sculptures back in the late seventies. The bright conclusion of the work was the sculptural composition “Happiness for the Children of the World.” In 1983, the “Friendship Forever” monument was opened in Moscow, marking the two hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Georgievsk between the Russian Federation and Georgia.

In the same year, in honor of this date, in his native Georgia, the artist built and opened the Arch of Friendship - a mosaic panel that even today gives joy to tourists on the Cross Pass near the Georgian Military Road.

The master dedicated a number of sculptures to famous figures of history and modernity. Among the memorable creations of this direction: a monument to the poetess Marina Tsvetaeva in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie (France) and Moscow, a monument to Pushkin in Apatity, a monument to John Paul II (France), and St. George the Victorious in Moscow.

The year before last, the Alley of Rulers opened in Moscow - a gallery of bronze busts by Zurab Tsereteli, depicting the leaders of the Russian state from the era of Rurik to the 1917 revolution.

But the monument to Peter the Great involved the artist’s name in a scandal. The capital's public reacted very negatively to both the sculpture and the idea of ​​its construction, calling the former, as Izvestia reported, “disfiguring the city.” The king is depicted at full height, standing on the deck of a very large sailing ship.

The question of demolishing the monument was even raised, but today passions have calmed down, and the monument continues to stand on an artificial island on the Moscow River, remaining one of the largest in the capital (height - 98 m, weight - more than 2000 tons).

Tsereteli is no stranger to criticism: the master’s works are sometimes accused of gigantomania and bad taste, as was the case, for example, with the “Adam’s Apple”, located in the Art Gallery he opened, or with the “Tree of Fairy Tales” in the Moscow Zoo. The author himself takes this calmly.

While still studying at the Tbilisi Academy of Arts, Zurab Tsereteli met his future wife Inessa Andronikashvili, who came from a princely family. The couple have been married for more than forty-five years. In 1998, after the death of Inessa Alexandrovna, the artist held his first personal exhibition in Moscow, named after his wife.

The daughter of Zurab Konstantinovich and Inessa Alexandrovna, Elena, and her children Vasily, Victoria and Zurab live in Moscow. Today there are already 4 great-grandchildren in the Tsereteli family: Alexander, Nikolai, Philip, Maria Isabella.

The life of Zurab Tsereteli is closely intertwined with charity. Some works were created by the master free of charge, as a gift to a particular city, institution, or foundation.

The artist takes part in charity exhibitions and auctions, donating money from sold works to the fight against childhood diseases.

It is worth noting that in 2007, The Georgian Times included Zurab Tsereteli among the 10 richest persons of Georgian nationality in the world, indicating the artist’s fortune at $2 billion.

Last year Zurab Konstantinovich turned 84 years old. However, the rhythm of creative life does not subside. The master creates, holds exhibitions, organizes master classes for children, happily participates in interviews and poses for photos, but most importantly, he is full of new ideas and projects. In 2016, the Tsereteli house-museum opened its doors in the village of Peredelkino near Moscow.

In 2014, the muralist became a full holder of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, receiving the IV degree award. The sculptor calls endless work “without any vacations or vacation breaks” the main secret of health and longevity.

Works

• 1997 — Monument to Peter the Great (Moscow, Russia)
• 1995 - Memorial “Tear of Sorrow” (New Jersey, USA)
• 1983 — Monument “Friendship Forever” (Moscow, Russia)
• 1990 — Monument “Good conquers evil” (New York, USA)
• 2006 — Monument to St. George the Victorious (Tbilisi, Georgia)
• 1995 — Victory Monument on Poklonnaya Hill (Moscow, Russia)
• 1995 — Monument “The Birth of a New Man” (Seville, Spain)
• 1995 — Monument “Tragedy of Nations” (Moscow, Russia)
• 2016 — Monument to Shota Rustaveli (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• 2013 — Sculptural composition dedicated to women (Moscow, Russia)

(born 1934) Russian sculptor, designer

All his life Zurab Tsereteli has been busy saturating cities with his sculptural compositions. In Moscow alone there are about a dozen of them. This is a column with script from the letters of the Armenian, Georgian and Slavic alphabets on Tishinskaya Square, the sculptural composition “Tragedy of Nations” on Poklonnaya Hill, figures of animals in the Alexander Garden at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, sculptural fragments of crosses and doors, as well as the interior decoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior , reconstruction of Manezhnaya Square according to Tsereteli’s design, his monument to Peter I.

Obviously, contemporaries should be grateful to the sculptor for his desire to please people with his art. However, the work of Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli evokes an ambiguous attitude towards itself. Some speak of him as a man of great talent, others believe that the sculptor achieved fame thanks to his organizational skills. “There are too many Tseretelis everywhere,” say his critics. And there really is a lot of it. Sculptural compositions of Zurab Tsereteli are installed not only in Moscow, St. Petersburg, in the sculptor’s homeland in Georgia, but also in other countries of the world. Tsereteli made three sculptures for the USA. His composition “Good Conquers Evil,” made from the remains of Soviet and American SS-20 and Zersching nuclear missiles, is installed in front of the UN headquarters in New York. Tsereteli's sculptures are located in London, Paris, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, in the capitals and cities of eleven countries around the world.

However, Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli knows how to defend his point of view on art. He has no doubt that time will put everything in its place and his descendants will be grateful to him for his functional art, which is aimed at the benefit of man.

It seems that Zurab Tsereteli had to defend his position all his life, and he fully mastered the art of compromise. “I was often criticized, but I always did my job. I did not allow myself to be distracted by sorting out relationships and conflicts. I have such a character: I wake up and don’t remember yesterday’s grievances. A creative person cannot be vindictive,” says the sculptor.

Problems with self-affirmation began in his student years. Zurab Tsereteli studied at the Tbilisi Academy of Arts and prepared a painting for graduation called “Song about Tbilisi.” However, the commission saw elements of convention in it, and Tsereteli was not allowed to defend himself. Someone else in his place would have been confused or would have continued to defend his point of view. But he chose a different path. Tsereteli persuaded his friend to pose for him and in two weeks he painted another picture called “The New Man,” depicting a strong athlete with a tennis racket in his hands. This time the painting fully complied with the principles of socialist realism and was made in the spirit of the then recognized poster art. This work completely satisfied the demanding commission. Zurab Tsereteli defended his diploma with honors, and thus the conflict was resolved.

After the academy, he had to go to work at the Institute of Ethnography and Archeology to support his family. He was already married then, and his wife was expecting a child. However, this time was not wasted for the sculptor. Together with scientific expeditions, he traveled the length and breadth of Georgia, learned its history, life, and customs of the people well, without which a true artist cannot become a true artist.

Finally, Zurab Tsereteli managed to receive an order to decorate the city of Pitsunda. This became his first big professional work. He based his project on a plot on an ancient theme about the Argonauts who sailed to Colchis for the Golden Fleece. His next work - a project for a children's town in Adler - was awarded the Lenin Prize.

Since then, Tsereteli has been rapidly growing and there has been no shortage of orders. He designed the Yalta Hotel in Crimea, worked in Miskhor, and became the chief designer for the design of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. By this time, Zurab Tsereteli was already settling in Moscow. In 1967, he received a studio on Tverskoy Boulevard, in which, according to the sculptor, Vladimir Vysotsky celebrated his wedding with Marina Vladi.

However, Tsereteli does not break his ties with his homeland and alternately lives in Moscow and Tbilisi. This continued until he had disagreements with the then President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who demanded that the sculptor not host US President George W. Bush in his Moscow workshop. By refusing to comply with this demand, Zurab Tsereteli became “an enemy of the Georgian people.” In Tbilisi, his statue “Ring of Friendship” was blown up, a house was set on fire, in which 100 paintings were burned and many other valuable things were destroyed. After this incident, Tsereteli finally moved to Moscow. Here the sculptor received as a gift from the Russian government a luxurious mansion and a plot of land in the very center of Moscow, on Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Street, which previously belonged to the German Embassy. This also caused disapproval in artistic circles, but Tsereteli believes that in this case justice prevailed, since his ancestors once owned this land, and now it has rightfully returned to him.

Tsereteli, in turn, donated his mansion in Tbilisi, which once housed the first Russian mission in Georgia, to the Russian government, and now the Russian embassy in Georgia is located there.

Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli likes to say that all his wealth comes from his work and his friends. He works really hard. However, the sculptor has not only obvious and secret ill-wishers, but also good friends. Among them are artists, scientists, and politicians. He considers the now deceased great artists of our time M. Saryan, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, D. Siqueiros to be his friends. Tsereteli says that Siqueiros specially came to Tbilisi to look at his mosaic panel, he also went to Adler, where the sculptor was designing a children’s playground at that time, and seemed to say: “My teacher Rivera once worked like that, but he had plastic art.” evil, but yours is kind.”

His family is small. His only daughter is married to the son of the former chief architect of Moscow M. Posokhin, and his grandson graduated from high school at the UN.

Zurab Tsereteli is not offended by the authorities. He is a laureate of the Lenin and State Prizes of the USSR. Currently he is a People's Artist of the Russian Federation and President of the Academy of Arts.

Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli is still tireless, continues to work hard and is thinking about many new projects, not forgetting to repeat his favorite saying: “The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.”