Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Photographic print depicting a night scene of a nude female sculpture by Mark Markov-Grinberg. Markov-Grinberg was a major Social Realist photographer during the Stalinist era of the 1930s-1940s. He worked for major newspapers and journals, including TASS. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, he returned to his job at TASS.
- Artwork Title
- Statue of woman with oar in the moonlight, Park of Culture and Recreation, Moscow
- Date
-
depiction:
1930
- Geography
-
depiction:
Park of Culture and Recreation;
Moscow (Russia)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Mark Reichman
- Markings
- back, center, Russian script, pencil : M. Markov-Grinberg
- Contributor
-
Artist:
Mark Markov-Grinberg
Subject: Mark Markov-Grinberg
- Biography
-
Mark Borisovich Markov-Grinberg was born on November 27, 1907, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. He learned photography at secondary school. In 1925, he took his first job as a photographer for the Sovetsky Yug (Soviet South) newspaper and worked as a freelance correspondent for Ogonyok magazine. In 1926, Markov-Grinberg moved to Moscow and worked for various trade union newspapers and the magazine, Krasnoarmeyskaya Smena (Transformation). In 1930, he accepted an offer to work for the Fotokhronika TASS (Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union). He traveled around the country photographing the official Soviet Union: major construction projects, collective farms, and happy workers engaged in building Soviet Society, as well as prominent Russian and foreign personalities. His photographs appeared in major Soviet publications, including USSR in Construction, a magazine that documented Stalin’s Five-Year Plans to industrialize the Soviet Union. In 1934, TASS commissioned Markov-Grinberg to create a photo essay detailing a day in the life of Ukrainian miner, Nikita Izotov. He created an iconic portrait of Izotov as a Socialist worker hero. The Izotov photo essay launched Markov-Grinberg's career as a Stalin-era photographer and he became one of the most important photographers of his generation. His work was part of the socialist realist movement in photography which pictured life as it should be in idealized images made to look like objective recordings of things as they were.
During the Soviet-Finnish War (1939-1940), Markov-Grinberg worked for TASS as a war correspondent and documented the fighting on the Karelian Isthmus. In September 1941, he was drafted into the Red Army, and continued to take photographs. He became the army correspondent for the military publication, Slovo Boitsa (Soldier’s World), in July 1943. He created well-known images of the Battle of Kursk and the crematorium at Stutthof concentration camp, when it was liberated on May 9, 1945, by the Soviet Army.
Markov-Grinberg lost his job with TASS in 1948 as a result of the anti-Semitic climate of late Stalinism. After his demobilization in 1953, he worked as a photographer for the Red Army Illustrated Gazette and, later, for the photography publishing office of the Soviet Union Agricultural Exhibition, a theme park about the People’s Economy. From 1957–1973, Markov-Grinberg worked for the Club and Art Hobby magazine. He took part in photography exhibitions in the USSR and abroad. An honorary member of the Russian Union of Art Photographers, Markov-Grinberg died in 2006 at the age of 99.
Physical Details
- Language
- Russian
- Classification
-
Photographs
- Category
-
Artistic photography
- Object Type
-
Photojournalism (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- Black and white gelatin silver photographic print depicting a large statue of an unclothed woman holding a paddle. The massive figure is positioned on a square base in the center of a fountain, her contrapposto stance conveying a sense of movement and presence. The angle of the photograph elevates the statue close to the roofline of the building behind. From the bottom left, an intense artificial light source illuminates the front of the statue; additional light sources are on the right. To the right of her head, clouds partially obscure a bright, full moon. The photographer’s use of artificial light contrasts sharply with the shadowed background and dark sky, creating a dramatic night scene. Inscribed on the reverse are the artist’s signature, the year, and the title.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 23.500 inches (59.69 cm) | Width: 20.000 inches (50.8 cm)
- Materials
- overall : gelatin silver print, graphite
- Inscription
- back, center, Russian script, pencil : 1930 [Symbol]
back, top left corner, pencil : 3 (encircled)
back, top right corner, pencil : MMG-03
back, bottom left corner, pencil : 3500/0.5
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Markov-Grinberg, Mark B., 1907-2006. Photography, artistic. Photojournalism--Soviet Union. Soldiers--Soviet Union--Pictorial works. Soviet Union--Armed Forces--Pictorial works. War photographers--Soviet Union--Biography. World War, 1939-1945--Soviet Union--Pictorial works. World War, 1939-1945--War correspondents--Soviet Union.
- Personal Name
- Jewish photographers--Soviet Union.
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The photograph was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2005 by Dr. Mark Reichman.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-09-15 10:14:05
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn524091
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Also in Robert Capa and Mark Markov-Grinberg collection
The collection consists of photographs taken by Robert Capa, a Hungarian Jewish photojournalist, during the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, and photographic prints by Mark Markov-Grinberg, a Soviet Jewish photographer and war correspondent, before and during World War II.
Date: 1930-1949
Robert Capa photograph of an Orthodox Jewish male in a rubble strewn street
Object
Photographic print by Robert Capa taken 10 minutes after the cease-fire began in June 1948 in the old Orthodox Jewish quarter in Jerusalem. This area was the closest to the front and had experienced the heaviest shelling. It was published as part of a photojournalistic essay: ‘‘A Tale of Two Cities’’, published with text by Irwin Shaw in the London magazine, Illustrated, in July 1948.
Robert Capa photograph of an elderly stone mason cutting a road for Israeli soldiers
Object
Photographic print by Robert Capa depicting Israeli soldiers waiting for a stone mason to assemble his compressor to cut stones for a new road to Jerusalem in June 1948. It was published as part of a photojournalistic essay: ‘‘A Tale of Two Cities’’, in July 1948 in the London magazine, Illustrated, with text by Irwin Shaw. It records the last hours in Jerusalem before the cease fire, when the city and the mountain road was being bombed and under constant fire.
Robert Capa photograph of 3 soldiers loading a truck in Tel Aviv
Object
Photographic print by Robert Capa taken in Tel Aviv in July 1948 of Israeli soldiers on a street corner. It was published as part of a photojournalistic essay: ‘‘Israel’s First Year’’, published in August 1948 in the London magazine, Illustrated. The caption on the reverse of this photograph does not reflect the scene described in the caption; it is possible that it was cropped or that the caption refers to another photograph used in the article. There was an article by this title using Capa photographs, published in Life magazine in July: ‘‘Jew Fights Jew in Israel: photographer records ill-fated Irgun landing."
Robert Capa photograph of two soldiers carrying a stretcher with a wounded man
Object
Photographic print by Robert Capa taken in Tel Aviv in July 1948 as Irgun soldiers, now part of the Israeli Defense Forces, removed their wounded from the beach while under heavy fire. It was published as part of a photojournalistic essay: "Palestine War: Jews Rebellion Against Provisional Government."
Robert Capa photograph of a people on shore observing a stranded ship
Object
Photographic print by Robert Capa taken of the stranded cruiser, Altalena, offshore of Tel Aviv in July 1948. It depicts a long line of people on the beach observing a stranded ship. Passengers are abandoning the ship and there are many people visible on the ship and in the water. The photo was published as part of a photojournalistic essay: ‘‘Jews Fights Jews on the Beach of Tel Aviv."
Robert Capa photograph of the ship Altalena, Israeli War for Independence
Object
Photographic print by Robert Capa taken of the main bathing beach in Tel Aviv aof the stranded offshore cruiser, Altalena, in July 1948. It taken during the Israeli War for Independence from the rooftop of the United Nations observers station in the Hotel Kaethe Dan. The photo was published as part of a photojournalistic essay: ‘‘Jews Fights Jews on the Beach of Tel Aviv."
Robert Capa photograph of a performance by the Israeli Philharmonic
Object
Photographic print by Robert Capa taken of the Israeli Philharmonic in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv in August 1949. It was published as part of a promotional piece: "Israel's First Year: A Report on a New State."
Robert Capa photograph of an elderly Jewish man in the new state of Israel
Object
Photographic print by Robert Capa of an elderly white bearded Jewish man, a citizen of the new state of Israel, taken in August 1949. It was published as part of a promotional piece: ‘‘Israel's First Year. A Report on a new state."
Robert Capa photograph of a Palestinian in Arabic dress at a barbed wire border
Object
Photographic print by Robert Capa of a Palestinian on the other side of the barbed wire border in the middle of the street in Beit Jala, near Bethelem, Israel, taken in August 1949. It was published as part of a promotional piece: ‘‘Israel's First Year. A Report on a new state."
Markov-Grinberg photograph of a smiling girl wearing a headscarf and waving a cloth
Object
Photographic print of the Celebration of the Horsemen in the North Caucases (sic) by Mark Markov-Grinberg. Markov-Grinberg was a major Social Realist photographer during the Stalinist era of the 1930s-1940s. He worked for major newspapers and journals, including TASS. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, he returned to his job at TASS.
Markov-Grinberg photograph of a smiling young man and woman rowing a boat
Object
Photograph of a young couple in a rowboat by Mark Markov-Grinberg. Markov-Grinberg was a major Social Realist photographer during the Stalinist era of the 1930s-1940s. He worked for major newspapers and journals, including TASS. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, he returned to his job at TASS.
Markov-Grinberg photograph of soldiers driving horse drawn wagons while planes fly overhead
Object
Photograph of soldiers in Kiev on military maneuvers by Mark Markov- Grinberg. Markov-Grinberg was a major Social Realist photographer during the Stalinist era of the 1930s-1940s. He worked for major newspapers and journals, including TASS. He was a war correspondent during the Soviet-Finnish War from 1939-1940 and, in 1941, was drafted to fight in World War II. While a soldier, he continued his work as a photographer and army correspondent. After the war, he returned to his job at TASS.
