Leo Tolstoy
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1925 - 1940
Materials
Metal alloy
Measurements
180 x 95 x 100 mm
Place of origin
Leningrad
Order this imageCollection
Shaw's Corner, Hertfordshire
NT 1274922
Summary
Metal bust of Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). Signed by the artist 'Ivanov' (translation from Cyrillic characters). Head and shoulders bust of Tolstoy, his head turned slightly to his right. Hollow cast in heavy metal alloy, bust on an integrated square base. Signed on reverse of base, with the stamp of the Monumentsculptura foundry in Leningrad. Shaw admired Leo Tolstoy, the Russian writer and humanitarian, and was influenced by his plays such as The Power of Darkness (1889), and The Fruits of Enlightenment (1891). Shaw read Tolstoy’s essay What is Art? (1898), and subscribed to his opinion that it was the desire of the artist “to communicate his view to others and propagate them.” (Shaw, preface to Stephen Winsten, Salt and His Circle). He was acquainted with Aylmer Maude, who translated Tolstoy’s works and wrote a biography of Tolstoy. Shaw also corresponded with Tolstoy himself, sending him an inscribed copy of Man and Superman in 1908, followed by a copy of The Shewing Up of Blanco Posnet in 1910 (Collected Letters, vol.2, pp.899-902). Tolstoy however rebuked Shaw for his satirical approach. Although he appreciated Shaw’s literary talent, he felt that “the problem about God and evil is too important to be spoken of in jest”.
Provenance
The Shaw Collection. The house and contents were bequeathed to the National Trust by George Bernard Shaw in 1950, together with Shaw's photographic archive.
Credit line
National Trust Collections (Shaw’s Corner, The George Bernard Shaw Collection)
Marks and inscriptions
Rear of base to left: Translation from Cyrillic characters 'SK..IVANOV' Rear of base to right: Translation from Cyrillic characters 'ts. 4-50' Rear of base, centre: Mark of the Monumentsculptura plant, Leningrad, Russia.