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- He painted for his Homeland: the exhibition of the legendary cartoonist Boris Yefimov opened
He painted for his Homeland: the exhibition of the legendary cartoonist Boris Yefimov opened
The world's oldest cartoonist, the "sniper of Soviet newspaper satire," Hitler's personal enemy, whom the Fuhrer demanded to be found and hanged, is the artist Boris Yefimov. On November 18, Izvestia together with the Russian Academy of Arts opened a large-scale exhibition dedicated not only to the 125th anniversary of the master, but also to the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Nuremberg Trials. Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, guests from the foreign agencies Xinhua and Al Mayadeen, as well as academics and journalists who worked with Boris Yefimov arrived to evaluate the unique exhibits, as well as the original of the once-lost folio "Hitler and his Pack". The details are in the Izvestia report.
The cartoonist who survived the centuries
On Prechistenka Street, in the halls of the Zurab Tsereteli Art Gallery, not just an art exhibition was opened — the living fabric of history unfolded in front of the guests, which was directly witnessed and participated in by Boris Yefimov, the permanent cartoonist of Izvestia.
— This is a very important project for Izvestia, especially in a significant year when the whole country celebrates the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The history of Izvestia is inextricably linked with the history of the country. The newspaper's correspondents, photographers, and cartoonists made history during the Great Patriotic War. Memory preservation is our direct responsibility and daily job. Therefore, we are actively engaged in the restoration and replenishment of the large historical archive of Izvestia. The exhibition is a concrete result of these efforts," says Vladimir Tyulin, General Director of Izvestia and REN TV.
You enter, and it's as if you've crossed the threshold of decades: your eyes immediately cling to Boris Yefimov's three—dimensional hologram. He stands almost as if alive, smiling with that familiar grin with which he once drew Hitler, Goering, and Goebbels on paper. Technology allows you to see things that cannot be moved to the second floor. For example, Tsereteli's sculpture "Brothers": here Efimov is next to his brother, publicist Mikhail Koltsov.
— Today's exhibition is of particular relevance. You can talk endlessly about Efimov, but in an amazing way he became a seer and a prophet. Most of his works are the answer to today's questions. And what a great blessing that we have an inventory of those times 85 years ago, both from the point of view of dry documents and chronicles of documentary films and photographs, and through the prism of the perception of the artist, who emphasized the urgency of the moment, - said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova in her speech.
The exhibition, prepared by Izvestia together with the Russian Academy of Arts, is not just a tribute to the anniversary of the Nuremberg trials and the 125th anniversary of the artist. This is a story about how the country's oldest newspaper brought victory closer — with pen and ink. And also about how the man whom the Fuhrer dreamed of finding and hanging survived his enemy and turned his work into a chronicle of the struggle.
— Thank you very much to Izvestia for such an important project, for remembering this outstanding artist. He was a man of fantastic energy, intelligence, humor, and at the same time brilliantly deep, very subtle," said Vasily Tsereteli, President of the Russian Academy of Arts, who personally knew Boris Efimov.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, at the opening of the exhibition of the Izvestia International Exhibition Center and the Russian Academy of Arts dedicated to the 125th anniversary of Boris Yefimov's birth and the 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials
Together with Maria Zakharova and Vasily Tsereteli, the opening ceremony was attended by Sergey Koroteev, Izvestia's editor-in-chief, Alexander Bezborodov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, specialist in the modern history of Russia, Viktor Litovkin, military observer, screenwriter and writer, Viktor Fradkin, grandson of the artist, and Sergey Uvarov, curator of the exhibition.
— The project opens on the eve of an important date — the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Nuremberg trials, which Yefimov covered for Izvestia.We are addressing not only history, but also today. Unfortunately, the topic of the fight against fascism sounds relevant again, and Efimov's cartoons are striking by how modern they read, how many direct parallels they evoke with current events," Sergey Koroteev emphasized.
The artist versus the dictator
The exposition includes three halls. Each reflects not only the stages of the newspaper's struggle against the Nazi regime, but also the fate of the artist himself. Boris Efimov lived for 108 years, created about 70 thousand works and entered the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest cartoonist in the world.
On the walls are photographs from the early 20th century, yellowed cards from family archives, authentic prints that have never been shown to the public before. On the screen next to it, there are shots of Yefimov working: confident movements, like an artist talking to a sheet.
But the most important thing is the drawings themselves. The originals are adjacent to the newspapers of the 1930s, where they first appeared. It is a rare case when you can literally trace the path of a cartoon: from a rough draft to a newspaper strip. A real journey through the "backstage" of the editorial office, where Yefimov worked for 85 years.
For many decades, the "sniper of the Soviet caricature" — as Yefimov was called — hit the Nazi regime with precise "shots". His main target was Adolf Hitler. Already in the drawings of the 1930s, one can see with what fury and insight the cartoonist smashed Nazism and the big business supporting it. Here is Hitler lying in a cradle; in the next drawing, he is sucking "Krupp, Thyssen, Goldschmidt money" out of his swollen chest; next, he is standing dejectedly at the blackboard in front of the teacher, Napoleon.
The drama of the second, central, hall of the exposition is built almost like a frontline chronicle. On the left wall is Hitler by Yefimov: comical, small, disheveled. On the right are Soviet fighters: strong, confident, heroic. There are also letters from soldiers here. Touching, naive, sometimes with mistakes, but always sincere.
"Draw more. Caricatures are weapons that can not only make you laugh, but also cause hot hatred and contempt for the enemy. They force us to fight even harder and destroy the damned Nazis," soldier Dukelsky wrote to Yefimov. The artist kept these frontline greetings all his life. And today you can not only read them, but also hear them: Izvestia announcers have voiced fragments available by QR codes.
In the center of the hall is the main exhibit, the story of which resembles a detective story. The album from which the famous book "Hitler and his Pack" was printed. Released in 1943, it sold millions of copies in the USSR and other countries. Yefimov personally pasted drawings on thick gray sheets, creating the original of the future folio. But when he demanded the originals from the printing house, it turned out that Stalin had given some of the works to Churchill, and the rest had disappeared. Only this year, Izvestia employees discovered a priceless album in a private collection and bought it back. Now he is back at home, in a showcase, next to a photo of the two leaders and the first copies of the book.
The Court of the Century in strokes and colors
By the end, not only the drama is enhanced, but also the color. From monochrome works at the beginning, the curators lead the guests to Yefimov's color works. Among them are not only individual cartoons, but also a real Soviet comic about the journey of the Nazi soldier Fritz, full of caustic sarcasm and wit.
Here is the picture: the eastern part of the map is a bright offensive line. Next is a huge screen with an animated banner above the Reichstag, visible even from the first hall. The whole space seems to be directed to one point — to Victory.
But the story doesn't end there. The third hall is Nuremberg. Here is Yefimov's notebook, his field diary at the trial of the century. The pencil faces of the defendants are still looking for a shape. Nearby there are carcass, already recognizable grotesques. Then - the famous cycle "The Fascist Menagerie", published in Izvestia.
In the final, there is an auto garage "100", created by the centenarian Efimov. He easily jumps over the age-old barrier, as if he is catching up with time or running away from it. Nearby is a gallery of rulers whom he saw in person: from Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin. A hundred years of life — and a whole century before my eyes.
The Prechistenka exhibition is not just a story about a great cartoonist. This is a story about a man who turned his struggle into art, about a newspaper that worked on the front line as well as a separate division, and about how drawings created with a sharp pen outlive their models and continue to march through the pages of time.
While working on the legacy of their legendary colleague, Izvestia thought about reviving political caricature on the pages of the newspaper and today they are actively looking for a cartoonist who could take over the baton of the great Boris Yefimov. If you feel that your work should be seen by readers, send them via the feedback form. The Izvestia editorial board and experts from the Russian Academy of Arts will select the best works from the received works, which can then be published on the Izvestia News Center resources. And the brightest authors will get a chance for permanent cooperation.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
